2010 Saline Celtic Festival: Saturday, July 17
Participating Clans at this year's festival:
Scottish American Society of Michigan
Michigan Clan Donald Society
Clan MacDougall
Clan Campbell
American Clan Gregor Society
Clan Macpherson
Michigan Masons
Clan MacLachlan
Cornish Connections of Lower Michigan
About Clans
The term "clan" (from the Gaelic clann: children, offspring) is generally accepted as meaning "family." In theory, all members of a clan descended from one common ancestor. In reality, a clan was a tribal society with the family unit as its basis and membership could result from marriage, adoption, land acquisition, having a needed specialized skill, etc.... All clan members were required to support the clan and in turn, the members fell under the protection of the clan. A "sept" is a surname of a smaller family division associated with the clan that may or may not be necessarily connected by blood or name. Clans were territorial, ruling over their territories and defending against any threats to their sovereignty. Alliances and feuds were common among the clans.
Although the term "clan" (clann) is not exclusively a Scottish term, Scotland readily comes to mind when it is used. The individual histories of the present day Scottish clans go back several hundred years, but the origin of the Scottish clan system has not been satisfactory determined. It has been speculated that some form of the clan system may have either been in existence in Scotland with the Picts (Scotland's aboriginals) or brought over with the Scots, an Irish tribe, sometime in the fifth century. Generally speaking, the origins are lost in the mists of time.
A "tartan", associated primarily with Scotland and its clans, is a pattern of vertical and horizontal colored lines crisscrossing each other at perpendicular (right) angles. Each tartan is a unique pattern with a specific selection of colors and varying line widths. This tartan is traditionally woven into cloth of wool. In the present day, a clan may have one or more registered tartans. Ideally, the wearing of a clan tartan should be worn showing an affiliation to that clan.
By the way, another form of clan identification is the use of plants. In early Scotland, long before the tartan came into use as a form of clan identification, a sprig of a designated plant would be worn on the person. The men would normally stick the sprig in their bonnet.
As the results of the actions of King James VI of Scotland (a.k.a. King James I of England), the Highland Clearances, etc., a good many Scots ended up in North America. Is there a Scotsman in your past?