Northern
European Tribal Structure & Hierarchy
In this lesson we will deal only with the hierarchical
structure but not so much on the duties or specifics of these
occupations, as that is discussed after next years lessons. This
lesson will talk about the structure of the tribe itself, loosely
based on the ancient structure of the Northern European Tribal system
& its laws. The chain of command principle is a very ancient
concept, but its application to the management of organizations was
only systematized in the twentieth century. And who put it together
you ask? A French man “Fayol” and a German 'Weber”. Weber
also studied the problems inherent in large organizations, as
organizations grew from family structures to much larger entities
and this we will need to have in place for the future.
In
order to understand the tribal structure of our modern day tribe, we
need to understand the words used to describe the ancient Northern
European tribal structure and the groups within it, as well as the
peoples views, and the laws governing them in these ancient times.
We also need to study what worked & what didn't work then or what
won't work today so we do not repeat mistakes & eliminate ones
that could be. Lets begin;
Chain
of command -
A
problem associated with the chain of command occurs when a
subordinate bypasses his 'superior' in either the giving of
information that is not his place to give or the requesting of a
decision from a 'superior'. This act undermines the authority &
position of the 'superior' who is bypassed. If this practice is
allowed to continue in bureaucratically-organized company, morale of
the managers will decline, so you can imagine how a tribe would
crumble. The urgency & frequency of these situations may, of
course, mitigate the impact & inappropriateness of such contacts.
Please remember that when the terms 'Superior & subordinate' are
used, they are not referring to better than or lesser than, nor does
it mean one is more intelligent, or more important, just chain of
command.
Race
– neither
Celts nor the Norse had an issue with race. It was culture that they
made together & so shall we. In fact we know many Norse married
Eskimo, Irish & so on. Their is absolutely no such thing as a
pure race, nor did judge sexual preference. We will never go there
for either. Once chosen, we accept everyone for who they are &
try to never judge but ask directly & help by discussing help if
concerned. There must be 3 balanced & successful persons
(emotionally & financially stable) to every one unbalanced ratio
so we give this person the tools to heal & they can empower
themselves. Unfortunately, this must be until we get started for no
structure can stand without a stable foundation. Learn the Lesson
from Merlin as a boy - red & white dragons. We all have negative
traits that might annoy another, but we choose to look for the things
we love about the person instead & encourage, accept, touch,
love, & hug this person into growing. We want to always to make
everyone feel they are needed & have a safe place to fall in our
tribe & hearts.
Birth
or Adoption
- The
rules of kinship by which a clan was formed were the same rules by
which status was determined; & this status, determined what a
man's rights & obligations would be. It included largely, the
date & place of contract & the disposing or degeneration of
property. The clan system created & arranged all of these rights
& liabilities for every member of the clan at his birth, instead
of the individual at age. A chief or a flaith occasionally wished to
confer on a stranger the dignity & advantages of obtaining the
sanction of the clan assemblies, thus the stranger was adopted in the
presence of the assembled clan by public proclamation upon permission
from the head.
Crimes
– usually
paid by determining the honour price of what was lost.
Laws & Ethics
- can
be found in their written laws – such as Medical, Honour
price, Laziness, Romantic or Political partnerships.
In
the year 438 A.D. a collection of the pagan laws was made at the
request of St. Patrick. King Laegaire (pronounced Laery), of Ireland,
appointed a committee of 9 learned men, including himself &
Patrick, to revise them. It took 3 years to produce the new code,
from which everything that clashed with the Christian doctrine had
been carefully excluded but remember that Celtic Christianity was not
the same as the kind coming from Rome at this time. This completed
work was called the Senchus Mór. The
original book left has been long lost but copies were left with
commentaries & explanations appended. The original text was
written in a large hand with wide spaces between the lines,
commentaries on the text, in a smaller hand & glosses or
explanations on words & phrases in spaces between the lines of
the text, but often on the margins. Fun Trivia - Rome's
pagan priests were also judges & custodians of law but their
Priests greatly hampered their justice system & efficiency
because in 451 B.C.E, when the Rulers decided to put Roman laws into
written form, they called upon the priests to produce the laws &
found they really no substantive laws to produce because they had
completely lost what it had been their business & their pretence
to guard, but technology had taken over & it was this they
switched to guard, their own technical inventions, as the years
passed. Hence the Romans had to draw up their 12 Tables using laymen
common-sense & consulting neighbouring nations as to the very
rudiments of law.
Kings
& Lords;
A
local
king and his chosen nobility ruled a piece of land. These persons
were sometimes called Lords, who were subject to a more powerful king
who ruled a group of areas, who was in theory, subject to one of the
five provincial kings. These lesser Lords is where we got the later
term landlords. It was this struggle for living space that caused
fighting & a shifting in power, among the most powerful
contenders, as was the Celtic way throughout Europe. Kinship
with the clan was the first qualification for the kingship, as for
every minor office. A king was the officer of the clan, & the
type of its manhood (prowess, virility), not its despot. There was
no such concept as that of primogeniture, the rights of the first
born, to maintain the hereditary title of the position of nobility or
office. There were families that had a number of members elected to
such office, by they still had to be elected. In
Historical Gaul some of the states were ruled by senates, with no
individual holding the office of head of the state. In Ireland, there
was always one man, not an assembly, at the head of the state, called
a Tanist, after their Kingship tradition died. Their system
consisted of electing a Tanist while the holder of the office was
still living. Either King or Tanist, peace was already made this way
just in case of the demise of this crown. Ireland has on a few
occasions been ruled by two monarchs jointly; and for a few years
after the death of Malachy the Second, in the eleventh century, it
was ruled by two judges who were not kings. But these were
exceptional occurrences, & beyond them kingly rule was quite
uniform. The word Cing
occurs in the Gaelic manuscripts as the equivalent of Rig;
but Rig
(pronounced Reeh)
is the term generally employed. It is cognate with the Latin Reg-s
= Rex.
Rex is the star in the place of the heart in the constellation Leo,
where this title came from. This title in ancient times did not hold
the same meaning as we view the King today. Primarily, & above
all things, the rig was the head & representative of his clan.
This King (Queen) was not for his subjects to serve but rather he was
a servant to his or her subjects. He or she DID NOT rule their
subjects.
Elderly,
Weak & Poor -
It
is quite certain, according to the law books, that the clan,
protected the rights of the poor & weak in their own area, unlike
today. When the law did restrict mens natural right, the restriction
applied most to the strong & wealthy & when it arranged
people's affairs for them, the service was obviously most useful to
those who were feeble. In this way it effectually prevented violent
antagonism of classes which is the danger & the disgrace of our
modern monetary & economic system.
Land
– The
areas were assigned to a particular Sept or fine, who helped pay for
its share of taxes. The idea was there was no private property, thus
this system eliminated for the most part - greed, pride &
disloyalty. In fact these traits were not among the majority as it
would cause a breakup of this system. Everyone shared anyway so there
was no want. All tribal land was owned by the tribe in general. It
could never be owned entirely by any individual. Natural boundaries
set up borders for the land division - mountains, rivers, or by
arbitrary boundaries first determined by the fortunes of war or
otherwise. In
Ireland, the land mass or country was divided into about 150
miniature kingdoms. The sections
were appropriated by each King & his civil service group for the
work that they perform for the benefit of the general (common)
population. The large sections of land were set aside for the public
good, usually pastoral/ grazing areas, fertile growing sections, &
some for the elderly, disabled, & poor.
The
fertile Land held by these farmers was subjected to taxes to help
support the less able members of the tribe. However, if a man died,
& had outstanding taxes, surviving relatives didn't have to
assume his debts. Celtic laws stated that "every dead man kills
his own liabilities." This was because of the Celtic view of the
afterlife. They believed when a person died, he or she would pay in
the next life. Many times debts were not paid, with the expectation
that they would be collected on the other side. Cinel
(pronounced Kinnel)
was then the word used to denote a Sept in farming – Cinel Aodh =
apparently means 'Hugh's People from the Aughties' or 'Hugh's
kind/kin'.
The
designated person who resolved disputes over their areas land
matters, was called a Flaith in Ireland. He/She was not the head of
the fine & the way it is run, nor was he part of the Priesthood.
His duties was the distribution of property or goods to & from
the Farmers or Crafters. The quality of the land was distributed by
rank, location & what it was being used for. The quality chosen
generally ranged in a set order beginning with the king's best, from
land with the best cultivation to the common waste. The land held in
common, was not all bad; some of it was cultivated & some
meadowed. Land holders may be divided into 3 general classes – 1)
the king & the professional men, & the flaiths; 2) the
Céiles, or ordinary; third, the non-free people, some of whom held
land under contracts.
To
be exact here is how land was divided;
Part
was allotted to the King/Queen. This part, called the Cumhal
Senorba, was placed under the control of the Royal house and they
looked after the maintenance of the poor, old, & incapable
members of the clan there.
Part
to the flaiths and other public officers like Chieftains
Part
to the Céiles (freemen = farmers), for their respective homesteads,
And
part called the Fearan Fine, or tribe's quarter, was retained as the
common land of the whole clan, which every member of the clan was
free and equally entitled, sub
modo,
to use for crafting etc. None of this last was held as private
property, but instead held for one year and a day, at the end of
which it would become common again.
There
was also a portion of land which occupied an intermediate position
between the private land & the common land and was assigned to a
nobility holder, & on the death of a holder, all the land of
this class held by his Sept was divided anew. Free clansmen, who
held land (as one may say) by birthright, who were the muscle of the
community, paid fixed tributes for the maintenance of the state, and
formed its army in time of war.
Occupational
Classes - Celtic society was set
up with 5 basic classes. However, a person could rise from the lowest
class to the largest class, or move in the other direction. The good
that was done in service to the entire tribe was the basis for the
advancement in Celtic society. Since everyone was expected to serve
in the military, there was not a lot of status advancement in serving
bravely.
The
lowest class was what was called the
""non-freemen." Lawbreakers who lost their civil
rights, tribal distributions, & were prohibited from working in
the various professions. Celts held that lawbreakers should be made
to repay their debt to society, physical determent was not
considered an option. Rather, the non-freemen was expected to work
off their debt, & make contributions to the welfare of the
entire tribe. Non-freemen also consisted of deserters from battle,
hostages, & prisoners of war. Contrary to Roman custom, Celts
did not believe in the keeping of slaves. They had a strong belief
that a person couldn't own anything of the earth. Rather, they held
people for ransom, even for years at a time.
The
second grade of Celtic society was the itinerant
tribesman. These people
hired themselves out as herders, or field workers. They also filled
the rosters of the military. However, since they didn't work their
own land, they had little political influence. The next part was
the tribesman that worked his own land. These were the basis of
the Celtic tribe. This subsection of Celtic society was the group
that paid the taxes, elected officials to their assemblies, and
provided the largest part of the military when needed. The
craftsmen, the people that tanned leather, made swords, gold and
silver smithed, as well as the blacksmiths, were also a part of this
section.
The
group above the tribesmen was that of the
elected officials,
Chieftains and nobles. These were the group that carried out the
administrative duties of the tribes. They maintained the social
fabric of the tribe. This group collected taxes, maintained roads
and bridges, the public mills and fishing equipment; the tribal
hospital, orphanage, and other aspects of the public good; to
organize the army, and keep it supplied. They also made certain that
the farmers were well supplied. Keeping with the communal setting,
if one farmer had a surplus, he could cover for another that had a
shortage. For this, the elected officials were provided land during
their lifetime or service time as payment. Roman writers mistook
this elected class for nobility.
The
Druids
-
Their superior learning enabled them to become many things more than
just a priests as the Christian Priest is. Their magic consisted
mainly in their superior knowledge in times of simplicity or
technical ignorance of science. Magic was science. Equal to the
druids in status were the
Bards
& Vates
(Ovates in Irish). The bards were the minstrels, storytellers, &
oral tradition teachers. This was mostly because Celtic traditions
were oral, & thus they were required the learning of the many
tales and stories. They had to be word perfect, meaning they
couldn't leave out words or phrases, because the group would let
them know immediately. The bards were given a high status in Celtic
life even through to the time of Christianity. The ransom price for
a bard was almost equal to that of a chieftain.
Warriors
- Another
layer of Celtic society were the Chieftains & their famous
warrior bands. The Chiefs were elected by the tribe in general. I've
found the word 'headdress' used when speaking of the Chieftain -
Ceann- bheart, Penswig (Welsh). Someone translated Ceann-Fhionn as
'white-headed', when I translated it I also got “one-discovered”
or “one
found”,
without the 'h' it is or “one-blonde” - no white. The Celtic
chiefs were more like administrators, having to answer to the will
of the people. Chiefs could be male or female, although the election
of a woman was rare. No
Celtic group employed a standing military as we would understand it,
organization was according to clan grouping & social class. The
Celtiberian term Uiros
Uiramos
most
likely
denoted the war leader, while their immediate companions were known
in Gaulish as *ambaxtoi
("those
who accompany"). The Gaulish term was picked up into Latin, and
is where we get the occupations “ambassador”.
Cavalry
- According to Pausanias, the Celtic Calvalry was huge & it was
organized in a system called Trimarchisia
(*tri-
*marko- "three horse") divided in teams of three, only two
of which would be mounted at one time. Chariots
- In even earlier times, the Celts employed the chariot & were
experts at manuevering these in tight turns, dismounting &
mounting. End of the 3rd century BC, Rome did not use chariots &
Caesar found they were still a major component of warfare among the
Britons & Caledonians. If he is to be believed, he spotted a
Celtic army moving with cavalry & an elite force fighting from
chariots. He described the warriors throwing javelins from the
chariot before jumping off to fight on foot & then returning to
their chariot driver in order to retreat or redeploy. Cavalry proper
is described as used for minor war. Gauls told Caesar
that
his people had formerly used chariots too, but had abandoned them.
The most prolific Norse legacy is the creation of the gall-òglaich
(Norse/Scottish
mixed tribes) or gall-óglaigh
(Norse/Irish
mixed), the mercenaries from the Hebrides. They fought & trained
combining both Celtic & Norse techniques, & were highly
valued; they were hired by everyone in Britain at different times
through out iron age history, though each area had their own names
for these bands. The
Croeb Ruz
(Red Branch) was famous elite warrior caste who defended & ruled
Ulster. A warrior on horseback found within the ruins of Emain Macha
indicates, Red Branch warriors
fought naked in the ancient Albann Pict tradition. Fiann
are another elite band. The Irish, hired these elite groups, more
than anyone else, but this might be they were just written about
more through their mytholgiew. Ulladd
(means slaughterers)- elite Pict warriors. Gaelic horsemen, called
hobelars,
had concepts copied by surrounding nations.
Important:
Why because they are the majority. In ancient days, although each
class was quite distinct, but they were not utterly exclusive to
others. It was possible for persons to rise or sink, (as the case
might be) from one class to another. Keep in mind that the persons
with the lower occupations, are the true rulers of the Tribe. Why
they are the arms & legs of the body or whole. The majority
rule. Also if a lower position wishers to invoke honour price from a
richer person, no person is exempt.
We
discussed what the main terms used were, now lets define terms
describing families, or groups within groups of a tribe.
The Clan System Terms
I think the their tribal & law
system is the master-key to connect more with ancient Celtic lands,
now so mysterious, & will remove many stumbling-blocks, if not
all. Possibly the untranslated books, & lost portions of books,
will furnish this key & give us glimpses of more of their lives
for without them we can only guess. At least a learned scholar can
make an educated one from the obscure passages in the existing
remains, but even those are the subjects of doubt & liable to
misinterpretation.
Some of the laws seem strangely
familiar, almost matching with our own social & domestic economy,
providing even for the legal enforcement but other portions in the
books are not clear at all. And on certain subjects I have found no
information at all. I do know that the mythology stories, do not
begin at the beginning, but start on an assumed basis of knowledge
which we no longer possess.
Almost
every people in history has passed through a tribal structure &
its stages, but the tribal system in Northern Europe, was perfected &
strengthened itself, & attained a highly artistic degree of
development such as it probably never reached on any continent, with
rights, duty, property, & law.
The
Break down - The following information I got from “The Brehon Laws”
translated by Laurence Ginnell, 1894
Tribe
or Clan
– The word 'Clan'
comes from the Celtic word 'Clann', an irish word meaning 'family'
evolved from the very earliest Celtic tribal system. The original
clans of Northern Europe were basically huge 'extended families',
tied together by being descendant from a common ancestor or by
adoption. Tuath,
Cinel,
& Clann,
were words used interchangeably to denote what we now call
indifferently a clan or tribe. A tribe resembled the Gens
of ancient Rome in that all the members of it claimed descent from a
remote fine
& a common ancestor as head of that fine.
See
fine below.
Thus
the tribe entire were therefore kinsfolk & were entitled to
various rights dependent on the degree of relationship & other
facts.
Kinship
was the web & bond of society throughout the whole tribe.
Theoretically it was a true kinship of blood, but in practice it, to
some extent was also one of absorption or adoption. Strangers
settling in the district, conducting themselves well, and
intermarrying with the clan, were after a few generations
indistinguishable from it. In the course of time the name Tuath
came to be applied to the district occupied by a clan, & Cinel
(pronounced Kinnel)
was then the word used to denote the clan itself. When a tribe was
completely formed it was an organic & legal entity (corporation),
part social, part political, & proprietor of business to survive
& its starting fine reigned supreme everywhere within its
territory but the Clan/tribe entire was the all-important thing. When
one tries to select any point within the functioning whole of the
tribe, any individual member from any Brigyn casts his vote based on
his interrelations to all other parts and the sense of its needs. A
sense of a community acting as one suffused the life of every
participating member. A member knew that his act contributed to the
ongoing life & he also knew that his act as well as all acts by
other members were modified, defined, & organized by the acts of
others.
Septs
- Each clan was composed of a number of Septs. Septs are families
who had less direct ties to the main Fine's Clan Chief but were still
connected with the clan as a whole. Each Sept was composed of a
number of fines.
Women, children, & servants (not slaves), did not enter into this
computation for some reason. All the members had certain distinct &
well recognized rights, & when they were considered an adult
after their coming of full age, were “sui
juris”
(mutually liable to and for each other – which is my idea of
seconds). There may have been a rite performed for this but this is
not known. The Sept
was one of the divisions of the clan assigned a specific part of the
territory, and it was over this district a flaith
was supposed to preside. Couldn't find the number of Fines allowed to
be in a Sept.
The right of the Sept
to undisturbed possession of its assigned portion of the territory
was greater than that of the fine. It answered only to that of the
clan, & was very rarely interfered with.
Fines
- A
Sept was composed of a number of fines.
Fine
(pronounced Finna) was also sometimes used
instead of clan, & this was not strictly incorrect since every
clan originated from a small fine, the Mother Fine; Fine
in
Irish translates to tribe,
but the word properly meant one of a number of
sub-organisms of which the clan entire consisted. The fines, worked
exactly like a miniature clans, the original, the real social &
legal unit. It was considerably more comprehensive than our word
family, even when
compared with the Roman familia. Lesser
Flaiths, who remained in the smaller fines, the immediate exercise of
some of their rights was vested in the flaith-fine,
who should act for them & in whose name they would act. "No
person under protection is qualified to sue."
Old
members cease to belong to it when the sufficient amount of
members was exceeded by new male member born or adopted. Upon this
event happening, the old moved in rotation, thrust out to the Sept,
or some perhaps began to form new fines. The freemen of
these fines had rights & were as fully secured by the law under a
flaith. Some fines, instead of placing themselves under the
protection of a flaith, had the right to place a flaith of their own
choosing & of their own kindred over them to represent them and
act for them as occasion required. These Flaiths protected their
rights. Each
individual had an "honour price" reflecting his worth in
the fine. When
a fine was complete it consisted of "seventeen men"
who were always classified in the following manner:
1. The Geilfine
consisted of the flaith-fine
& his 4 sons (5 total) or nearest male relatives, most of whose
rights were vested in him, who on his death were entitled to the
largest share of his property, & would succeed to the largest
portion of his responsibilities. The Flaith-fine
(also called Ceann-fine - English =
one-family),
or paterfamilias, was the head & most important member of this
group, as he was its guardian & protector, & was the only
member in full possession of free exercise over all rights of
citizenship. No one could join without permission from this leader.
On
the date of a new male member coming of age, or according to a more
probable theory, on his becoming a man & owner of property, the
eldest member of that group was crushed out to the second group or to
create a second group. I
found in other Indo-European tribal groups this leader was called the
Gen. Genos or gevos means son or daughter of the Gen. Geil means Gen
in Gaelic dictionary, referring to breeze as feminine form. The
definition for Geill is “meaning or sense”.
2. The Deirbhfine
consisted of the 4 male members next in degree of relationship to the
flaith-fine,
whom received a smaller share of flaith-fine
property & responsibilities devolved. If the eldest member was
pushed out of the Geilfine, the eldest member of the second group was
crushed out to the third. Apparently Deirbhile
is an uncommon surname & female 1st name & according to a
gaelic dictionary Deirbh means “a churn” (a churn family).
The Iarfine
(pronounced eer finna) consisted of the 4 males whose degree of
relationship was still farther removed, & still less property &
responsibility devolved. If eldest member of the Deirbhfine
was pushed into this group the eldest
member of this one was crushed out to the 4th. Iar means post in
the quick translator which would be 'Post-family', but it has
several meanings in the gaelic dictionary – 1) iar = (prep)
after second. 2) + iar (s. m.) a
bird 3) iar (s.) a
blast from the West. Iar-thuath = from the
north-west, iar-dheas = from the south-west. With an educated
guess, we can see that it definitely means after the 2nd
& it would seem that the directions come into play as to where
each fine lived on the land compared to the centre which to me is
more proof that the Celts acknowledged the directions.
The Innfine
consisted of 4 males the furthest removed from the flaith-fine,
upon whom the smallest portion of his property & responsibility
devolved. If the eldest member of the fourth was pushed out by the
eldest member coming in from the Iarfine, he was crushed out of any
fine altogether, and
became an ordinary member of the Sept, or clan, with no special
rights or responsibilities in connection with his former flaith-fine
but would
come to the luxurious land to be cared for as the law clearly stated
in the other section that the Kings land had a section for the
elderly. I would imagine that this fine
was very respected as they would contain the most elders except for
the mother but the mother fine would always has fresh faces.
In the law books it says - "It is then family relations cease."
As
to the meaning of Inn there again are many in the Gaelic dictionary
– 1) + Inn (ir. id) = a wave 2) the other says it can only be
used with a verb – and in that sense it would mean “us or we”.
Looking at the words listed with this as its prefix it seems to
relate to using tools such as sewing, a machine for dress, attire,
but also mentions a tool for furniture or musical instruments, &
also with maid or cleaning dung. We see that each member of the
groups were cast off once their virility left them, but the groups
themselves remained complete all the time, & never exceeding 4
males each (not including boys). If looking with a modern mind, you
see a sad disrespect of the elders, but we must see that even though
they suffered a loss of rights, in its place gained in freedom of
action & freedom from liabilities. The fiaith-fine
ceased to represent them, or be responsible for them, & they not
hooked to debts of fine.
Yup, A whole fine was liable to compensate for crimes committed by
any one of them, if the culprit member failed to do so. It also
appears the person forfeited his right, with all the advantages
attached to it, by crime.
Now
I haven't listed all the other fines
mentioned, as there are a number of combinations. It states something
about the seventeen men, & even something about 13 men.
Presumably it was then that they became more distant & considered
no longer close kin & the rights of inheritance and the dangers
of liability also ceased. Unfortunately, it is not clearly known what
the number of women was in the fine.
The clan system was disorganized by the 13th century.
The
individual person -
had left little to do but to fill the position assigned him &
conform to the system. The flaith-fine was the voted in by the
people &
this was the most important job of
the common people, from what I can see. Even his duties &
liabilities were so clearly laid down as part of the system itself
that he does not seem to have been left any time to use his own
discretion. This insignificance of the individual compared to the
tribe as a unit, seems to us modern day minds as calculated to stifle
the best qualities of man & to prevent all progress. It would
also seem that the whole system is one of disintegration of
individual thought & thus might have been the problem that would
lead ultimately to the tribal system's destruction, which it will for
those with Egotistical minds. But the wise will see it only
different from our system, which there instead existed a spiritual
bond, purer & more potent if wisely utilized. I personally see
that the finest qualities of our race would be exhibited under a clan
system. Having regard to the number of its inhabitants at the time,
Ireland produced more distinguished men under the clan system than it
has since it was abolished. This is a fact which no fancy theories
can displace. It proves that, restricted though the clan system
appears to us, it in fact afforded sufficient margin for a person to
distinguish himself. A large measure of individual capacity is hard
alone, but attained together.
The Northern tribes were some of the
bravest & most skilful warriors, the most zealous &
successful missionaries, poets, musicians, & literary men &
they came in astonishing numbers of much power, taste, & skill in
a Clan system. Even artists, whose works have scarcely ever been
surpassed, grew up & flourished under the clan system. All this
could not have been the absence of individuality, it really was a
true civilization, just different from our own. Our modern notions
are therefore an unreliable standard by which to judge this system.
We must walk in its footsteps first as it must be judged by results,
not assumption or prejudice.
Those of us who are of Celtic descent, whether we
live in Glasgow, Australia, or Canada, are proud of our heritage. We
as Maers Khohias are proud to inherit & might be proud to produce
a modern day working tribe, once we go by trial and error what works
today and what does not.
*Fun
Trivia* & Option for our tribe -
Modern day - Today, a clan is a legally recognized group in Scotland,
and it has a 'corporate identity' by law (the same way a business or
company has). It's
a 'noble incorporation' because Clan Chiefs are considered noblemen
of Scotland and this leads to a clan being officially referred to as
'the Honourable Clan of (fill
in the clan name!)….'Under
Scottish law, a clan is recognized as the chief’s heritable
property - he legally owns it & is responsible for its
administration & development. If you have Scottish ancestors,
you may want to learn more about the clans of Scotland, and to find
out whether or not you belong to one..... unfortunately it's not
always easy to get to the truth of the matter! Due to the fact that
Scottish clans have been around for thousands of years, and to the
complicated and interwoven nature of the Scottish clan system, it can
be difficult to figure it all out on your own. I have found a site
which may help tremendously in my travels –
http://www.scottish-at-heart.com/scottish-surnames.html.
Even though traditional Scottish surnames are associated with
certain clans, just having the name does not guarantee membership.
Go here to find out –
http://www.tartanweb.com//clanmaster/clanlight.php.
Those
that are real serious and want to make a tree go here –
http://www.scotsfamily.com
Did
you know? Arthurian Traditions – There is still to this day a huge
Merlin Tradition in France.
by Brahva Cwmevos
(Laurie Lee Mills)
