The Art of Alistair Ferrie

Stronachlachar	Fasquadare	Tryst with a Travelling Family at Inverarnan, Lochlomondside click for a closer look Alistair meets the 'Tinks' The Drover's Inn - May 2004 Click here to listen to some music about the Travelling People.
Ardlui	Blawearie Bothy
Ere twines the path	Na Bealach Nam Bo

The Travelling People: a rapidly diminishing part of Scottish life

Alistair reports that the Travelling People, also known as Tinkers or Tinks, are "itinerant workers of the land...own no property and are devoid of material desire. They believe everything they need is provided by God's good grace and yet, have no religious convictions nor affiliations. There is an unwritten practice when Travellers pass by, the men will offer to work for a day or two -- no task, however laborious, is refused - whilst the women and children attend to less strenuous tasks. Terms of payment? Old clothes, footwear, useful items such as pots & pans etc. Although a few pounds would be accepted, their preference is barter...a day or two's work in return for items of practical use."

Dr. Richard McGregor, of the Clan Gregor Society, has made a genealogical study of the Travelling People (who often included MacGregors). He found that for the most part, they received a lot of bad press that seemed to originated in Victorian times - the late 1800s. Since they had no permanent homes they were considered uncivilized and were often treated as outcasts.

Just a century before, they had been well valued by communities for their skill in mending, making, and crafting. They were also a valued source of news and information to the outlying folk, such as the Highlanders, who were sometimes out of touch with current events. It has been said that the Travelling People may have originated as an "ancient class of wandering poets, joined by those who were pushed off the land during different times of social and economic upheaval." Travelling People are also present in Ireland and the USA. As well as being primarily Gaelic-speaking, they have their own language, beliefs, and social customs which have been made stronger over time due to their exclusion from the mainstream "settled" society. Their music and stories, passed down from generation to generation, have preserved centuries of history in a true bardic way.

Travelling People and Gypsies are often lumped together because of the nature of their nomadic lifestyle. However, Gypsies have no connection to the Travelling People. In modern times Gypsies tend to be Funfair and showground people who's seasonal movement is governed by events like Highland Games, town fairs, etc., where they work in entertainment or catering.

The Travelling People, on the other hand, always take to the road when the yellow is on the Broom - heralding Spring. They follow an agricultural calendar that begins with picking daffodils, then raspberries and strawberries mid year, and ending with potatoes and root vegetables in the Autumn. They are accomplished poachers, believing they have the right to live off the land. In the past, when Lairds, Water Bailiffs, Ghillies, and Gamekeepers attended gatherings en masse, they would often invite the Travelling People. At least the country Gentry would know where the poachers were that night!

Alistair shares, "...a wee boyhood story about a Traveller who passed by our door. He asked if the Lady of the House was present then handed me some pearl buttons with the instruction, "away and ask yer Mither tae sew a shirt on tae thae buttons for me Laddie."

Suggested reading:

Softcover - 224 pages Published 9/2001 ISBN: 1841581356	Yellow on the Broom and Red Rowans and Wild Honey by Betsy Whyte Webmaster's Note: My dear friend Alistair says he "fore'gethered" around Betsy's campfire at Blairgowrie on many occasions. The Travelling People: More than just unique descriptions of a largely vanished way of life by a master storyteller and the story of a people who have suffered much hardship and intolerance, these stories are also thought-provoking accounts of human beings by someone of great generosity and warmth, even in the harshest of circumstances.	Softcover - 196 pages Published 9/2000 ISBN: 1841580708
Buy it for $13.95		Buy it for $10.47
Buy it for £7.08		Buy it for £6.99

Links to more information:

• Am Baile - The Gaelic Village
• Songs of the Travelling People
• Advisory Committee on Scotland's Travelling People
• Irish Travelling People

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Updated 18 January, 2009