Project 2: Draft 2
If you attend the Highland Games of Sarasota, you will most likely hear the Flower of Scotland played loud and proud throughout the entire day, with drums and bagpipes. The Highland Games is only one of the many Scottish social events that is sponsored by the four major Scottish societies of Sarasota. Sarasota was founded by the Scots back in [date] with [person] settling by in the southwestern region of Florida. Sarasota boasts the first golf course in North America. Sarasota has a strong attraction for the Scots ever since the [name] became the first settler in [date]. Many other ethic groups followed suit and settled in Sarasota.The St. Andrew Society of Sarasota was originally founded in 1979, and it is a society that celebrates Scottish heritage. They have numerous social events, such as the Highland Games, the Tartan Ball, Burns Supper, and the new year’s eve Hogmanay celebration. The organization was originally founded to offer financial assistance to Scottish citizens immigrating to the United States and Canada in the early 1900’s. Currently the focus of the St. Andrew society is to celebrate Scottish heritage in Sarasota, and give back to the community.
St. Andrew society’s origin is from the historical figure St. Andrew of Scotland. He played a vital role in the rise of Scotland’s power in the 1300’s. He was one of Jesus’ disciples, and according to Britannica, he was believed to be the first disciple of Jesus. After he was crucified in Patras, Greece, they honored his sacrifice by creating the Saltire design on the flag. According to the author Michael Turnbull:
“…King Angus looked into the rising sun and saw the Saltire Cross in its blinding light. This filled him and his men with great confidence and they were victorious. From that time St. Andrew and his Saltire Cross were adopted as the national symbols for the emerging Scotland.”
Despite being the patron saint of Scotland, St. Andrew never actually set foot in Scotland, according to Scotland.org.
There is not just the St. Andrew Society of Sarasota. There are St. Andrew Society chapters in different locations around the world. My parents and grandparents are members of the St. Andrew Society of Sarasota, but my great grandparents were members in the St. Andrew Society chapter of Detroit.
The most notable Scottish event run by the St. Andrew Society is the Highland Games of Sarasota. The Highland Games is a big festival that imitates the traditional highland games in Scotland. They have unusual traditional events, such as log throwing and rock slinging. British food is sold at the festival, and a Scottish rock band performs every year at the games. At the festival, there is quite a mix of people. There are those who wish they were Scottish and don kilts along with formal Scottish attire, and there are also current Scottish citizens that attend. At the games, it is also common to see people casually carrying axes, knives, and swords. They sell ancient Scottish weapon replicas and kilts at the festival. An example of a classic Scottish weapon would be the Damascus Dirk. It is a sword, but it is not designed to cut or stab. Instead, it has a blunt edge that is used to strike an enemy.
The Highland Games are basically a badass Scottish version of track and field on steroids. The Highland Games originated from when Scotland was separated into clans during the 1700s. Originally, this was not an event that was held for entertainment. Instead, its purpose was “...So that the kings of Scotland and clan chiefs could identify their best men (British Heritage). “ According to Britannica encyclopedia, “The games originated in impromptu competitions at clan assemblies summoned by the chiefs for hunting, military exercises, and the conduct of clan business generally.”However, there are other less intense events. For example, there are dancing competitions. “...Other events, have always been an integral part of the games, such as hill running, dancing, wrestling, bagpipe music, and sometimes Gaelic poetry recitals (Brewster).”One of the most notable events, tossing the caber, is still alive today in the highland games. A caber is basically a log. Participants get a score based on how high they can toss the caber. Many of the highland games events follow a similar pattern. It seems that the majority of them involve throwing unusual objects into the air. For example, there is an event where a bale of hay is thrown over a tall bar. However, the athletes are not supposed to simply pick it up with their hands and toss it over. Instead, they have to use a pitchfork to stab the oddly shaped lump of hay and attempt to haul it over the bar. Some Olympic events were derived from competitions at the Highland Games. Tug of war, hammer throw, and shot put all came from the HIghland Games (Visit Scotland). Today, the most well known highland games is “The Braemar Gathering.” The Queen typically comes to this one every year. “The Braemar Gathering, held in September, is the biggest and most prestigious Highland Games event and enjoys the annual attendance of the Royal Family (Scotland). “
All of the highland games events have not strayed far from tradition. Yet, there is one remarkable difference today. Females are allowed to participate in all the events that used to be exclusively for males. The reasoning behind this, besides history’s blatant sexism towards women in ancient times, was that the highland games used to be a method employed by kings to weed out the weakest soldiers in the military. That’s why the events were extremely taxing on the body. They were built to mentally and physically wear down the individuals that participated in them. Besides the physically rigorous competitions, there were musical ones as well. Musicians from different clans would see who could play better music, while sword dancers competed with each other as well. No matter which event someone participates in, it is necessary for them to wear a kilt. “Competitors in tossing the weight and tossing the caber must wear the kilt (Britannica).”
For the Sarasota Highland Games, members of different clans will compete against each other. People can identify which clan someone belongs to by looking at their kilt’s pattern. At the Sarasota Highland Games, it is strongly recommended that people wear attire that shows their clan pride. According to the Sarasota Highland Games website:
“Each clan has its own tartan pattern, usually dating back to the 19th century, and members may usually wear kilts, plaids, sashes, ties, scarves, or other items of clothing made of the appropriate tartan as a badge of membership and as a uniform when appropriate. Clans generally identify with geographical areas controlled by the Chiefs, usually with an ancestral castle and clan gatherings form a regular part of the social scene.”
The clans compete against each other in track and field style events, known as Scottish Heavy Athletics. The different events at the Sarasota Highland Games are the Open Stone Throw, Heavy Weight for Distance Throw, Light Weight for Distance Throw, Scottish Hammer Throw, Caber Toss, Sheaf Toss, Weight for Height, and The Braemar Stone Throw. The Hammer Throw is similar to discus in track and field. There are some stricter rules used in the Highland Games for this event.
“In the Scottish event, a round metal ball (weighing 16 or 22 lb. for men or 12 and 16 lb. for women) is attached to the end of a shaft about 4 feet in length and made out of wood, bamboo, rattan, or plastic. With the feet in a fixed position, the hammer is whirled about one’s head and thrown for distance over the shoulder. Hammer throwers sometimes employ specially designed footwear with flat blades to dig into the turf to maintain their balance and resist the centrifugal forces of the implement as it is whirled about the head. This substantially increases the distance attainable in the throw (Scottish Heavy Athletics).“
Almost all the events for track and field involve hurling a stone. This is why the Caber Toss and the Sheaf Toss differ, thus are some of the more entertaining events to watch. It takes much more strength and coordination to participate in these two events. “The Sheaf Toss uses a hay fork to toss a 16 to 20 pound sheaf (burlap bag full of twine) for height (What Are Heavy Events?).” The history of how some of the events were introduced is unknown. For the Sheaf Toss,
“...An unusual aspect of this event is that any competitor may use any other competitor’s fork. The highest toss wins. It can be easily believed that this event comes from farmer tradition of launching sheafs of grain into the loft of a barn. An amusing myth states the origin of this event was from medieval castle sieges where the knights would use a hay fork loaded with animal droppings and bedding material which was lite on fire and thrown over the castle wall to set buildings on fire.”
For the Highland Games, they do the Braemar Stone Throw. Shot put originated from this event, and there are two different ways to employ a Braemar stone throw. In order to conduct a Braemar stone throw, there are a few specific rules that are necessary to follow:
“The ‘Braemar Stone’ uses a 20-26 lb. stone for men (13-18 lb. for women) and does not allow any run up to the toeboard or ‘trig’ to deliver the stone, i.e, it is a standing put. In the “Open Stone” using a 15-22 lb. stone for men, the thrower is allowed to use any throwing style so long as the stone is put with one hand with the stone resting cradled in the neck until the moment of release. Most athletes in the open stone event use either the ‘glide’ or ‘spin’ techniques (Scottish Heavy Athletics).”
Friendly competition is vital to the success of the Sarasota Highland Games. However, physical fitness and clan pride are just some of the aspects taken seriously at the Highland Games. Each year there is a shortbread baking contest, and anyone who attends the Games can enter in it. Shortbread is a Scottish dessert that has been made since the 12th century (Sarasota Highland Games). According to the official website of the Sarasota Highland Games, Mary Queen of Scots altered the recipe in the 16th century, naming them Petit Gatelles. This traditional dessert was not a treat enjoyed year round. It was expensive to bake, so it was usually made solely for the holidays (Sarasota Highland Games).