Saint Patrick’s Day, the only day each year I wear my saffron kilt. Although sometimes I get the question wether I’m Irish even if I’m wearing a kilt in a—to me clearly—Scottish tartan, most people associate any kilt with Scotland, and rightly so.
But there certainly is such a thing as an Irish kilt, and saffron kilts have been around as an expression of Irish nationality for over a hundred years!
The ancient Irish actually wore the léine, a linen tunic with voluminous sleeves and a hemline reaching the knees or higher, often dyed with saffron, which turned out quite yellow on linen. When there was a revival of Gaelic nationalism in the nineteenth century, the Gaelic League and the Gaelic Athletic Association—two major nationalist organisations, both concerned with Irish identity—wanted a ‘costume’ or national form of dress. The léine was considered to be too difficult to be updated to the fashions of the day, so they adopted the garment of their Gaelic cousins in Scotland: the kilt, dyed either green or saffron. Used on wool, the saffron dye gave it a bit more of an orange-brownish colour, the one we associate today with saffron kilts.
The school uniform of St. Enda’s School for Boys (1908) included the saffron kilt.
Nowadays the saffron kilt is mainly worn by pipers of Irish regiments, often without a sporran.
Yesterday, the first of March, pub Les Halles in Ypres became the Scottish Clans’ Pub. To mark this occasion, some of the clans with members in Belgium were invited to mount their clan crest on the wall. I had the honour to do this on behalf of the MacLarens.
Last night I went to my first Boombal: a popular Flemish folk dance event. The first two dances they taught us—the tovercirkel (‘magic circle’) and the chapelloise or gigue—were remarkably similar to respectively the Circassian Circle and Gay Gordons (described below)… These Boombal versions were both ‘mixer’ dances, changing partners all the time, while this isn’t very common for the Gay Gordons.
Other dances were less familiar.
A Boombal apparently usually starts with an initiation, with just one instrument on stage, and an instructing couple in the middle, taking you through each dance step by step, and practicing each step before moving on to the next one. Quite a bit more extensive than the explanations I had at ceilidhs so far, but basically the same principle.
After the initiation — the first hour or so — the ‘real’ band gets started, and unlike ceilidhs, there are no more instructions or calls. I even didn’t always hear the band announce the dance, but that could have been just me…
So if you’ve never been to a Boombal, better come early!
Oh, I was—not surprisingly—the only guy in a kilt, but some really did seem to appreciate it!
The Circassian Circle
Formation: Large circle round the room, ladies on the right of their partner. Music: 32 bar Reels.
Bars 1-4: Hands joined in a circle, all advance for four steps, retire for four steps. Bars 5-8: Repeat. Bars 9-12: Drop hands, ladies advance and retire. Bars 13-16: Men advance, turn round and walk out to the next lady clockwise (the one who was on their left; the one who is now to the right of their partner as they view). Bars 17-24: All spin with new partners Bars 25-32: Hands crossed in front (right to right and left to left), ladies on the outside, promenade anti-clockwise around the room.
Repeat ad lib.
The Gay Gordons
Formation: couples around the room facing anti-clockwise, ladies on the right. Music: 2/4 or 4/4 march. E.g. “Scotland the Brave”, “The Gay Gordons”.
Bars 1-2: Right hands joined over lady’s shoulder (man’s arm behind her back) and left hands joined in front (allemande hold), walk forward for four steps, starting on the right foot. Bars 3-4: Still moving in the same direction, and without letting go, pivot on the spot (so left hand is behind lady and right hand is in front) and take four steps backwards. Bars 5-8: Repeat in the opposite direction. Bars 9-12: Drop left hands, raise right hands above lady’s head. Lady pivots on the spot. (The man may set). Bars 13-16: Joining hands in ballroom hold, polka round the room.
Last night I went to my first Boombal: a popular Flemish folk dance event. The first two dances they taught us—the tovercirkel (‘magic circle’) and the chapelloise or gigue—were remarkably similar to respectively the Circassian Circle and Gay Gordons (described below)… These Boombal versions were both ‘mixer’ dances, changing partners all the time, while this isn’t very common for the Gay Gordons.
A Boombal apparently usually starts with an initiation, with just one instrument on stage, and an instructing couple in the middle, taking you through each dance step by step, and practicing each step before moving on to the next one. Quite a bit more extensive than the explanations I had at ceilidhs so far, but basically the same principle.
