Clans and Kinship - Cinnidhean agus Dàimh

Throughout the Highlands and Islands the traditionally strong ties of family relationships and the attachment of these to particular areas has led to one of the few words in the English language which is directly drawn from Gaelic (clan= clan= Gaelic for children). The difficulty of the terrain and the centuries of internecine warfare between tribal units led, in the absence of a strong central authority, to a dependence upon ties of blood authority through birth and marriage.

The Gaelic chieftains could be succeeded by any male relations within the close family unit, which created a degree of egalitarianism but also led to many chiefs going to an early grave by the hand of their immediate successor. With the downfall of the Lord of the Isles, the clan system became more firmly established within Northern Scotland, only reaching a fatal and decisive disembowelment during the aftermath of the battle of Culloden in 1746 and the systematic oppression of the jacobite supporters by the new regime.

Despite the facts that there are many people of Scots descent living abroad, victims of centuries of forced and voluntary emigrations, many of the local surnames found throughout the Outer Hebrides still correspond closely with their traditional clan territories. There are Macneils in Barra, Macdonalds in the Uists, Macleods in Harris and in Lewis, Macaulays are in the West and Morrisons in the Ness area, many of whom could with accuracy trace their familys line through several centuries of habitation in those areas. Even less ambitious genealogy is commonly referred to and has social as well as historical significance, there are few events of local interest, which can pass without somebody somewhere attempting to identify the participants by discovering their kin.

For more about genealogy in the Hebrides, see www.RootsHebrides.com.