Origins of the Games
The famous Highland Games are a series of events held in spring and summer in Scotland and several other countries with a strong Scottish influence that aim to celebrate Gaelic culture, especially that of the Scottish Highlands, with unusual competitions such as the caber toss and emblematic bagpipe concerts which give a remarkably high-pitched, upbeat tone to the event.
The main annual gathering of the Highland Games is the Cowal Gathering in Dunoon, Scotland. Held every August, this event houses 3500 athletes and more than 23000 spectators but pales in comparison to the monumental Sesquicentennial Games of Pleasanton that take place in California, rounding up 50000 spectators from all over America.
Even though the Games’ origins have been lost in the passing of time, most of the competitions practised nowadays date back to the Victorian Age. Further endeavors to discover when these gatherings first took place have led to nothing since evidence of the Games’ existence is so thin.
This said historians believe that the first event was held in the XI century under King Malcom III as an exploit to find the fastest man that would become the messenger of the King himself. The bravest Scottish soldiers were also put to the test in combat and musicians and artists competed against each other to honor their home clan.
Strongmen
Strongmen are the absolute stars of the Highland Games, prodigious individuals capable of lugging trains and lifting rocks high overhead! The term strongman was born in the 19th century, referring to men displaying incredible sheer physical strength that would often engage in circus-like performances, such as breaking chains, bending steel rods and lifting enormous weights over their heads.
These competitions have recently developed in the strength athletics, official events consisting of lifting heavy weights using different methods, the gained points all sum up to a total that determines the winner. Scottish strongmen are typically renowned for wearing the kilt, a rather masculine skirt particular to the Scottish Highlands, and partaking in heavy competitions like the caber toss.
List of the Events
Even though side activities play an important part in the modern Highland Games, the focus of the festival has always been, and always will be, the Scottish athletics. These competitions are universally regarded as what the games are all about, but it’s understandable that the entertainment of a wider audience be important as well, hence implying the presence of dances, ceremonies, music and also other aspects of traditional Scottish culture such as bake-offs and other culinary competitions. Here is a list of the main and most common events:
Caber Toss
A long log is held by the competitor, the upper end being wider and heavier than the lower one which has to be grabbed with both hands in the attempt at balancing the caber vertically. The athlete now runs forward and tosses the log in such a way that it lands on the wider end with the smaller one flipping over it and touching the ground in a 12 o’clock fashion, relative to the direction of the run. The score is then measured based on how off the log is from that 12 o’clock position and if the athlete succeeds they’re said to have turned the caber.
Stone Put
This is an easy one. The competition consists in throwing a rock as far as one can. There are though, two different versions of the event: the “Braemar stone” and the “Open stone”.
The former is a standing throw where the stone has got a handle used to spin and toss it.
The latter allows a run-up and the competitors have to use a lighter stone (literally a smooth stone without any handle) but any throwing technique is allowed, so long as the stone rests against the thrower’s neck until the toss.
Scottish Hammer throw
Similar to the previous event, the hammer throw consists in throwing a steel ball, attached to the end of a shaft 1.2 meters long, weighing from 7.5 to 10 kg as far as possible. The hammer must be spun above the head and thrown over the shoulder, while firmly standing still (feet can’t be moved but the athletes are allowed to wear special footwear with steel blades that plow into the ground to keep balance).
Weight throw
We are yet again throwing a blunt sphere around, this time the weight is linked to a handle by a steel chain and the athlete can only throw with one hand. The longest toss wins.
Weight over the bar
Now we’re throwing stuff with purpose. The competitor has to throw a rather heavy steel ball (26 kg) fit with a handle three times over a bar set each time to a different height. The athlete that completes all the throws and achieves the highest toss wins.
Sheaf toss
This competition is a bit odd, as the competitor has to hurl a burlap sack, filled with straw (weighing 9.1 kg), with a pitchfork over a bar, much like the weight over the bar event.
Maide-Leisg
A proof of strength, this ancient event is performed by two people sitting on the ground pushing against each other’s feet whilst holding a stick and pulling it. The first one who gets off the ground loses.
After this last event our journey through one of the more iconic symbols of Scotland comes to an end. Now you know about all the major events and most importantly you know the origins of these gatherings, although there is so much more to learn about Gaelic culture. I really recommend at least taking a look at one of the many Highland Games scattered about the globe to see for yourself what wonderful competitions these are and what kind of amazing people partake in these events.
Nicolò Cossu, 3G
コメント