Poem: "Na h-Oighreachdan"

[ysabetwordsmith]

This poem is spillover from the March 2, 2021 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by rix_scaedu. It also fills the "Tartan" square in my 3-1-21 card for the Celtic Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette.


"Na h-Oighreachdan"


In 1746, the Jacobites crushed
the army of King George at
the bloody Battle of Culloden.

The survivors withdrew to England
and left Scotland to its own devices,
like estranged spouses sleeping
each on their own side of the bed.

In the interest of keeping the peace,
England formally acknowledged that
land ownership in Scotland belonged
to the clans rather than individuals,
and the border clans of Scotland
quit squabbling over the lines.

Na h-Oighreachdan were marked
on maps by tartans, and use rights
given to those who wore the clan's plaid.

Not wanting to deal too closely with
each other after their recent spat,
offers were made for Scotland
to attend the Empire's interests
in some of its colonies abroad.

When the Thirteen Colonies in
America began to get restless,
Scottish ambassadors went around
them to native tribes -- who all held land
in common -- and made arrangements
until the Colonies were contained.

While Tasmania had been overrun
and turned into a penal colony,
Australia greatly appealed to
the Scottish lords who saw it
as a fine place to field sheep.

So some of the smaller clans
moved over to gain more room,
negotiating with the local tribes
to establish new territories.

In Africa, the British Empire ruled
Egypt, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, part of
Somaliland, Uganda, British East Africa,
Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia,
Bechuanaland, Union of South Africa,
Swaziland, Basutoland, Nigeria,
Gold Coast, and Sierra Leone.

Then Britain traded Nigeria
for German East Africa and
Gold Coast for South West Africa,
allowing both Britain and Germany
to expand their contiguous holdings
by means of the consolidation.

Next it bought out the Italian
and French interests in
Somaliland and Eritrea.

The Empire of Ethiopia
remained independent,
now quite surrounded, but
far too much trouble to fight.

So a Scottish diplomat brokered
a deal in which Ethiopia would
keep its independence, gain
a guaranteed food supply,
and take over Djibouti for
coastal access in exchange
for supporting British interests
in Africa instead of fighting
over territory and water rights.

Ethiopia promptly built up
the port of Djibouti and
concentrated on trade
connecting the Red Sea
and the Indian Ocean,
becoming a notable power
in that area through its alliances
with the East India Company.

Then a problem arose in
East Africa -- the cattle
had no grass because
trees had grown up,
choking their pastures.

The Maasai people
complained that without
elephants to break down
the trees, their cows
would surely starve.

The English lords didn't
want to give up hunting
elephants, and there weren't
as many as there used to be,
because they ate all the trees in
their reserves and then starved.

So the Scottish lords pointed out
the traditional Maasai proverb that
"cattle grow trees, elephants grow grass."

They set up the Maasai territory so that
people could wander as they used to,
following some distance behind the herds
of elephants with their herds of cattle,
growing grass and trees in turn.

The Maasai took the pattern of
cowhide as "pied at random"
in heraldry for their "tartan,"
with each of the Iloshon
adding its own details.

It just went to show that
some new problems could
be solved with very old solutions.

* * *

Notes:

oighreachd
Scottish Gaelic
From Middle Irish eigrecht.
oighreachd f (genitive singular oighreachd, plural oighreachdan)
3. estate (land possessed)

The Estates
Na h-Oighreachdan

Map of Scotland and Northern England during the Jacobite Risings between 1688 and 1746, subtitled, "Campaigns of the Pretenders." The map shows important cities of the uprising to return the House of Stuart to the thrones of England and Scotland, including Dunkeld, and the battle sites of Killiecrankie and Sheriffmuir.
Place Names: United Kingdom, Badenoch,

British Islands Map 1749

The Battle of Culloden in 1746 ended in genocide that signaled the beginning of the end for Scotland's clan system. See a map of former clan territories. Clan land was held in common.

Tartan is a Scottish cloth created by weaving together bands of horizontal and vertical threads in multiple colors. It is traditional for kilts and wraps.

The British Empire once contained vast holdings that later broke away. The colonization of Africa was especially fraught, as shown in these resources. This map shows the division of Africa by European invaders.

In this setting, the British Empire started out with Egypt, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, part of Somaliland, Uganda, British East Africa, Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia, Bechuanaland, Union of South Africa, Swaziland, Basutoland, Nigeria, Gold Coast, and Sierra Leone. It traded Nigeria for German East Africa and Gold Coast for South West Africa, allowing both Britain and Germany to expand their contiguous holdings by consolidation. Then it bought out the Italian and French interests in Somaliland and Eritrea. The Empire of Ethiopia remained independent, now surrounded, but far too much trouble to fight. So a Scottish diplomat brokered a deal in which Ethiopia would keep its independence, gain a guaranteed food supply, and take over Djibouti for coastal access in exchange for supporting British interests in Africa instead of fighting over territory and water rights. Ethiopia promptly built up the port of Djibouti and concentrated on trade connecting the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, becoming a notable power in that area through its alliances with the East India Company.

The East India Company formed in England to trade in the Indian Ocean.

Elephants have ranged over much of Africa.

Maasai live in East Africa, where they traditionally follow cattle herds. They favor a communal land system. They have a saying that "cattle grow trees, elephants grow grass."

Pied at random
Used in some South-African coats, this means patterned like the markings of a bull or cow. There other examples of South African heraldry that are more elaborately blazoned. This Zulu family crest shows an example.

Comments

[readera]

💖💖

[technoshaman]

The Scots have one other peculiar peacekeeping institution - tanistry. When the monarch dies, Parliament - or before that, the Clan Chiefs - met and VOTED on who would be next. If the eldest son were an idiot, he would simply be passed over. Now, it might cause some hard feelings, but if the Clans were against ye, laddie, then it were a Bad Idea to stir up too much trouble.

It was a similar idea that had brought William and Mary over some years before.

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

That was the Ard Riochtas. Think of it as a pool of candidates from the royal clan or clans. There's a hilarious account of this in one novel where someone threatens to assassinate the Queen who says, "If you kill me, you will have my immediate family to deal with; and if you kill them, I have a number of warlike aunts and uncles and a great many bellicose cousins. An election could turn up anyone from here to there ... you would be very much worse off with a Queen Slaine."

So much more daunting than Hydra's "Cut off one head, two more grow in its place." The Ard Riochtas is fractal. It goes from the current monarch to the immediate family to the extended family, and if necessary all the kin -- which includes fosterlings.