Tag: scotland

Òran na Mara – Song of the Sea

What comes to your mind when you think of song of the sea? For some people it might be the noise, the tide, the storms of the calm lapping of the waves on to the beach. For other people it might be the mystical calling of the sea, how we can stand for hours on a nice day staring at it and listening.

Before the days of caring for the environment it was fairly common for children in rural area to write letters, put them in a bottle and throw the bottles into the sea, hoping somebody would see it and read it. There are stories of friendships and even marriages which started that way.

For me it reminds me of Catholic devotions to the Virgin Mary (Moire in Gaelic) like the Star of the Sea or the the Song of Bernadette, the Divine Female who brings peace to our unconcious, especially if we see the sea as giving birth to nature and feeding the planet.

A few questions:

What is your song?

How would you describe Òran na Mara – Song of the Sea? What does it mean to you? It is religious or something more mystical and unexplainable?

Try to find 10 Gaelic adjectives that might help define it.

Cairdeas –Friendship

Some people think of Gaels as having a very close communal existence. From my experience that isn’t the case, in fact many people live in places where there aren’t many neighbours. Also in Scottish culture people can be very proud, they don’t like to admit that they might feel alone. Also, you might not know that more people live in the city of London than the entire population of Scotland.

What does friendship mean to you? What words in Gaelic describe how you feel today?

Try to make simply sentences with these words and do your own research to find more

toilichte – happy

aobhach – glad or joyful

an diugh – today

Tha mi: I am

Tha e: he is

Tha i: she is

Sàm anns a’ Bhùth

(Sam in the Shop)

Sàm: Halò! Tha mi ag iarraidh tombaca.
(Hello! I want tobacco.)

Sealbhadair: Chan urrainn dhomh tombaca a reic riut.
(I cannot sell you tobacco.) Chan e duine a th’ annadsa! You are not a human!

Sàm: Tha mi a’ fuireach an seo! Tha mi pòsta! Tha cead agam.
(I live here! I am married! I have permission)

Sealbhadair: ‘s mi nach creid thu…. Falbh!
(I don’t believe you. Go away!)

Sàm: Tha sin mì-chothromach! Bidh mi a’ bruidhinn ri mo neach-lagha!
(That is unfair! I will speak to my lawyer!)

(Sàm a’ falbh, feargach.)
(Sam leaves, angry.)

Tha Sam a’ coiseachd… – Sam is Walking…

Chapter 1 (Part 1)

“Tha Sam a’ coiseachd bhon taigh-solais – tha e ag iarraidh tombaca.”
(Sam is walking from the lighthouse – he wants tobacco.)

Pronunciation

  • Tha = “Ha” (like “ha” in “haha”)
  • Sam = “Sam” (same as English)
  • a’ coiseachd = “uh KOSH-uchk” (the ch is like the ch in “loch”)
  • bhon = “von” (soft v sound)
  • taigh-solais = “TIE-sho-lish” (taigh sounds like “tie”, solais like “so-lish”)
  • tha e = “Ha eh”
  • ag iarraidh = “egg EE-ruh-ee” (the ch is like the ch in “loch”)
  • tombaca = “tom-BACH-kuh”

Pronounced like: Ha Sam a kawshuchk von tie solish tha eh ak eerie tom bachkuh