Autumn 11 - The Clan Cameron Association Scotland.

The Clan Society Today
by Duncan Cameron
“Some people who know no better, laugh at clan associations and think that
they are sentimental, a waste of time; that they perpetuate a society best forgotten
which has no place in the modern world.” (Stewart J 1974, 251)
The clan society, unlike the clan itself, is a relatively recent phenomenon. No
longer are the clansmen living in a defined region, sharing the same surname
and looking to his chief and fellow clansmen for support and protection.
“… with the scattering of the clans, any 'clannit' person who still feels
the bond of kinship (real of fancied), or looks to a chief as head of a worldwide
family, is likely to find others similarly inclined in what the heralds
see as a ‘corporate clansman." (Morton in Lynch. 2007, 92) What is true
is “…that the spirit of the old clans still persists (and that it is) a great deal
more than mere sentiment.” (Stewart J 1974, 251).
For the clan society member today the clan society is the clan. Not only is
this implied through the benefits of membership, but also through statements
in website or other publication. Clans Chattan and Grant being examples
“The activities of the Clan are now carried on by the Clan Chattan
Association.” (Wikipedia). “The Clan Grant Society is the present day
representative of the clan (www.clangrant.org). In the past the clan society
may have been both founded by and the preserve of, the elite of the clan,
with the admirable exception of the Mackay Society in 1806, who numbered
vintners, an undertaker and a weaver in its first committee. (Morton 1977,
115). “Around 10% and 7% respectively of Perth and Dundee Highlanders at
the end of the 19 th century belonged to the managerial and professional
classes and these were prime movers in the Highland and Celtic societies
which became part of the social life of the town elite in Victorian times...
These organisations mainly attracted middle class migrants for „social
reasons‟ and were ignored by the many ordinary highlanders”. (Devine 1994,
245-6). The modern society has become a much more altruistic organisation
and adapted to the needs of the modern clansman.
The Gathering, of between 30,000 and 47,000, (Leask and Peterkin 2009, 1)
(Cheskin 2009) that took place on the 25 th and 26 th July 2009 at Holyrood
Park in Edinburgh, was the most important clan event of its kind since 1822,
with 124 clans and families and 85 chiefs having tents (Ross 2009, 1) and
8,000 marching from Holyroodhouse to Edinburgh Castle, some no doubt
sporting tartans from the Vestiarium Scoticum of the Sobiesky Stuarts and a
direct link to the events of 1822. (Kelly 2009, 5). These events were
organised through clan societies - in 2009 they are essentially the Clan and
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play a major, but unsung role in Scotland‟s cultural life. It is a delicious
irony that Burns “…was seized upon by some as an antidote to the „tartan
menace‟- and the voice of ordinary Scots”. (Lynch 1991, 357) (Harvie and
Walker, 355). Although this view of Burns is markedly in contrast to that of
Devine who suggests “…Burns role was therefore vital in placing Jacobitism
and so the highlands at the centre of the national consciousness which was
emerging in Scotland after the union.” (Devine 1994, 90).
The theory of „networking‟ suggests we are all connected by six degrees of
separation. (Watts and Strogatz 1998) With clan societies as the „hub‟ it is a
lot less difficult to be „connected.‟ The author has been linked through a clan
association to a third cousin whose ancestors left Scotland for Australia in
1832 and made a 25 point exact DNA match with a fellow member in New
Zealand, through the help of the USA branch. This is in stark contrast to the
comparatively recent past of Clan Hay. “…we have about 25 members in …
the USA. These figures are disappointing, but it is difficult to know how to
advertise the society in North America without going there and that costs
money. But potentially there is a vast reserve of members there.” (Clan Hay
Magazine 1956, 6).
“Such are the altered circumstances of the times, that we meet - not in secret,
like the clans of olden time…but under the full blaze of gas in a sumptuous
hall in the heart of a populous city; and the cross of fire that summoned us to
this trysting place has become the advertisement sheet and the penny
post.” (Munro 1977, 116). One can only wonder at what the speaker would
have made of the benefits from computer technology such as internet websites,
email, pictures, a newsletter by Adobe, genealogies on the net or CD
and DNA profiling? (Basu 2007, 21).
Some such as Morton are perhaps sceptical of the future “Advanced technology
has made the world a smaller place, with easier and faster travel and
communication. It is tempting to let clanship become absorbed in the tourist
industry and the remedy lies with those most in touch with current thought
and understanding of the past.” (Morton in Lynch 2007, 93). (Sempill in
Brown 2009). This is counterbalanced by the army of volunteers who make
the modern clan society work, give so much to Scottish culture and aren‟t
content to stand still, but wish to see the modern clan and society survive into
the future. There is a dichotomy between the contemporary Scot, who sees
little reason to join a clan society, or if curious can seek information on the
net and those from the diaspora “for whom the clan has all the meaning in
the world.”(Ross 2009, 4) (Brown 2009). Devine suggested both groups need
to liberate themselves from „victim history‟ (Scotland on Sunday 2009, 16)
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