Slovak (and Slavic/ Central/ Eastern European) Kilt Wearers

[Andrewson]

I had a short trip to Krakow in Poland in June during which I was kilted for most of the time. Judging by the almost complete lack of any reaction among natives and tourists alike, I'd have said that they were very familiar with Kilt wearing in that city.

[macwilkin]

Sigh --- so there seems to be no real connection to kilts and Celts and Slovaks. Well -- there's a least one Slovak who is proudly wearing his kilt

Would have loved to have worn it at Mass yesterday. I am cantor at a Roman Catholic church that is for people of Croatian heritage, so I sing in Croatian. It was super hot up at the altar and after spending the previous 10 hours in my kilt, I hated putting on me troosers!

Anyway, back to the Slovak connection. Looks like I shall have to create my own

I have a particular fascination with Orkney and have been there 4 times. I have considered writing about it, calling it 'One Slovak's Insatiable Love of Orkney' -- or something silly like that. I still have to wonder why I am drawn there, not having any ancestral ties at all. Perhaps, many many years ago, an intrepid, but bumbling Slovak explorer (one of my ancestors), attempting to find a link from Brno to Bratislava got lost and ended up in Kirkwall. Since his transport sank in the Peedie Sea at tea time, he stayed on and married a local girl by the name of Sheila. He adopted many Orcadian customs including kilt wearing. Together they brought up a family of many strong daughters (hence the absence of our last name in Orkney history), and one equally bumbling son, who set out in search of a lost sheep one day and ended up back in Slovakia, bringing the love of kilts back with him. The gene lay dormant until now!

Tony

Tony,

Just a point to keep in mind, but most Orcadians (and Shetlanders, for that matter) don't think of themselves as "Scottish", but look instead to their Norse roots and heritage first. There's never really been a strong tradition of kilt-wearing in Orkney:

My family are from Orkney.
Why don’t they have a tartan or belong to a clan?

Quite simply tartan, clans, bagpipes et al, are traditions from the Scottish Highlands.

Orkney and Shetland never operated under the clan system, with surnames either being patronymic - i.e. Sigurd Erlendson - or changeable until the eighteenth century.

As an example, surnames more commonly came from where the person was actually from. To a certain extent this still exists today.

David Towrie of Clickimin, for example, would generally be referred to locally only as David o’ Clickimin.This was more common in early years, so a person's surname might change over a period of years as he moved from dwelling to dwelling. However, Jimmy Leonard of Langskaill might leave Langskaill after many years but would always be referred to thereafter as "Cheemy o' Langskaill".

Using the fictional character, John, who moved from the Orkney Mainland onto one of the islands, say Rousay. There he might be referred to as John Mainland. Moving back to the Mainland a few years later he may become John Rousay etc etc.

As such tartans, clans and all the associated trappings are not a part of the islands' indigenous culture.


-- http://www.orkneyjar.com/orkney/faq.htm

There are several pipe bands in the islands, however.

Regards,

Todd

[2176agp]

Just a point to keep in mind, but most Orcadians (and Shetlanders, for that matter) don't think of themselves as "Scottish", but look instead to their Norse roots and heritage first. There's never really been a strong tradition of kilt-wearing in Orkney:

I should have known that. Naturally after I made my post and then began looking up tartans I discovered this fact.

Yep -- the Norse roots -- which is why they brew an ale called 'Skull Splitter'

Oh well -- still learning!

Tony

[CDNSushi]

Another thing to bear in mind, if it makes you feel better, is that many anthropologists (I've been told) believe that the original Slavic tribes that settled in the areas that are now Czech Rep., Slovakia, Poland, etc. are descendant from the ancient Celts. I don't know much about this but maybe some research would uncover something. Or talk to an anthropologist or something.

[beloitpiper]

Another thing to bear in mind, if it makes you feel better, is that many anthropologists (I've been told) believe that the original Slavic tribes that settled in the areas that are now Czech Rep., Slovakia, Poland, etc. are descendant from the ancient Celts. I don't know much about this but maybe some research would uncover something. Or talk to an anthropologist or something.

This anthropologist mentioned the ancient Celts in the second post in this thread. 2176agp, maybe you should look into the Urnfield and Hallstatt Celts. They weren't kilt-wearers, but it's some connection to the more recent Celts of Scotland.