Traditional Celtic Crafts
 
There are thirty six crafts in the Celtic tradition. Each craft has its
own mysteries and knowledge that is only passed onto apprentices.
Apprenticeships in Celtic society started at an early age (about seven)
and took many years to complete. The apprentice would normally go and
live as part of his master's household for that period. Many crafts
were
hereditary crafts, as we have seen with the Lordship of the Isles, and
were kept within certain families over many generations. Each craft has
the highest status of ollamh (master craftsman). In former times there
was a head craftsman of each trade in every district, who presided over
all others of his craft in that area. Before a tradesman could set up a
practise, he was required to have his work assessed by a council of
chiefs and ollamhs.

You may be wondering why we put so much emphasis on keeping alive the
traditional crafts of our ancestors, when so much can be made in a much
simpler and cheaper way in our mechanised world of today. The end
product is important, yes, but of no more importance than the means by
which the product was made. Quite simply, our traditional crafts
connect
us with our natural surroundings, through the materials we use - native
woods, local stone, wool from local sheep and so on. Our crafts also
connect us with our culture, as so many have songs of customs and the
way of life of the Gael woven into them, like the 'waulking songs' sung
by women in the Hebrides as they waulk the cloth. Our crafts give each
individual a personal sense of worth within his or her own family, at
the same time fulfilling their function for the greater whole. There is
great satisfaction in being responsible for the making of something
from
start to finish, each product unique, each product brought to life by
the craftsman.

Most of these traditional crafts that lasted intact for centuries are
now rapidly disappearing from rural areas, a process which began
several
decades ago. In losing them, people have lost much of their direct
knowledge of the world around them, they have lost direct contact with
the land, and they have also sacrificed their cultural identity and
sense of community.

SPINNING
The spinning wheel was not invented until the late 15th century. Before
this all spinning was carried out using a distaff and spindle. The
distaff, or 'cuigeal', was held in the left hand while the spindle was
held in the right hand. Both wool and flax were spun  by the Celts. The
craft of spinning was always carried out by women, and young women had
to spin sufficient quantities of yarn to become eligible to marry.
 
Celtic women tended to be excellent spinners and weavers, and Irish
linen is still world famous. Men looked after the gathering fleeces;
all
other processes were carried out by women only - carding, dyeing,
weaving (although this was taken over later by men). Spinning and
weaving, like all the ancient crafts, have their deeper, hidden
meanings, their Mysteries. Spinning and weaving are particularly
associated with the Ancient Goddess of the loom, who weaves the web of
Fate. Fairies are reputed to be good spinners, too!

DYEING
Wild plants and berries provided our ancestors with a rich variety of
bright colours for their cloth. Most dyes require the use of a
'mordant'
to fix the colour permanently into the wool. The most common mordants
are alum, cream of tartar, ferrous sulphate (iron), tin and bichromate
of potash. Formerly, crude native alum could be obtained from wood ash,
sheep manure, oak galls, urine and sediments of bogpools.

The dyestuff is immersed in cold water and brought to the boil until
the
colour is released (this can take a few hours for certain barks of
trees). The liquid is left to cool, the wool is put in and brought back
to the boil, then simmered. Finally the wool is squeezed out and dried.
The oldest plant used in dyeing is lichen. A few recipes:

Black -  bogpool sediments, yellow flag, elder bark.
Brown - crottle (lichen); dulse (a form of seaweed), peat soot, water
lily, onion skins Blue - blackberries (use alum and salt), sloes,
bilberries. Red  - Madder Yellow - heather (ling), bracken, dock,
autumn
crocus Yellow / green - Elder leaves plus alum.

WEAVING
The techniques of weaving have changed little since earliest times.
Thread was woven into cloth on a handloom. The larger looms had two
beams: 'garmain' - the larger beam, and 'lu- garmain' - the smaller
beam. The larger beam was likened to a warrior's spear. The weaving
rods
were called 'claidim' (swords); these were long laths used during the
process of weaving and were almost as long as the beam itself. The warp
was called DLUTH and the weft was called INNECH.

The earliest looms had only one beam, propped up above the ground, with
the warp threads strung independently and weighed down with stones.
Later a loom with a horizontal frame and a reed to separate the threads
was developed. This led in time to the hand thrown shuttle, passed
across the web between two sets of warp threads, alternatively raised
and lowered.

The fly shuttle was not invented until 1733. In Celtic society
different
castes or professional ranks were only entitled to wear a certain
number
of colours. For example farmers could wear two colours; kings could
wear
six colours. In general the Celts loved to dress and adorn themselves
in
bright, well made clothes, which they took great pride in.

BASKET MAKING
Wickerwork in all its forms is one of the oldest crafts. Willow and
osier are the most common materials used, and they grow easily in all
areas. Many different kinds of baskets are made in Ireland for example:
the 'cliabh' or creel, for gathering turf; these are used in pairs, one
basket on each side of a pony; the 'skib', for harvesting potatoes; the
'ciseog' for straining and serving vegetables; the lusset (losaid), a
rectangular basket with wooden sides, also for vegetables. In Cork and
Kerry the 'sciathog' is used, similar but U-shaped, deepest in the
centre. In Co. Mayo the 'tiachog' is used for holding eggs.

An interesting feature of the larger Irish baskets is that the rim is
constructed first, finishing with the base last. Although most people
once had the ability to make baskets for their own needs, nevertheless
basket making was a specialised craft in its own right. There were many
itinerant basket makers, also. They jealously guarded their craft and
would not let anyone see them start or finish a basket.

WORKERS IN METAL
In Celtic society the Smith held a very high status. His apparently
magical ability to work with the elements of fire and water to mould
and
shape metal made him seem semi- divine. Even today we still associate
one of the main artefacts of the Smith, the horseshoe, with the
bringing
of Good Luck. The Gaelic God of the Forge is Gobhniu, who is referred
to
in many legends. The Irish word for a BLACKSMITH is 'goba'. Every
village had its own Blacksmith, who provided a service for all classes
of people - kings, warriors, farmers. Iron was used not only to make
weapons, but also agricultural implements, cooking utensils, axles and
lynch pins and many other uses.

The forge ('cerdcha') was an important meeting place for the community,
where storytelling and exchanges of news were carried on. The Forge
fire
was fanned by leather bellows, called 'builgg', which were worked by
the
bare feet.

The anvil ('inneoin') was placed on a block which stood in the centre
of
the forge. The Smith held the red-hot iron in a 'tennchair' (tongs)
then
struck it with a heavy 'ord' (sledge) on the anvil. It was then plunged
into a vat of cold water for 'tempering' the metal. The furnaces were
made of specially prepared clay and had to be reconstructed quite
often,
using a mould.

GOLD AND SILVERSMITHS: Gold and silver artefacts have been made by the
Celts since earliest times, with great skill and artistic refinement.
Gold was used for collars, torcs, bracelets, goblets. From the 10th and
11th century silver was more commonly used - the Ardagh Chalice and the
Brooch of Tara are two of the finest examples.

A worker in bronze, gold or silver was called a 'cerd'. Silver was hand
raised using indented tree trunks, then hammered into shape. A silver
casting method which goes back 5,000 years is the 'lost wax' method. A
model of wax is surrounded by a heat proof material, then heated in the
oven to melt the wax, which is replaced by molten metal poured into the
mould.

BRONZE:  Bronze, made from copper and tin, was the most common metallic
alloy used (and long before iron was discovered). Brass, an alloy of
copper and zinc, was also used. The Irish called copper 'uma'. There
were two chief types of Bronze: red bronze, called 'derg-uma' and white
bronze, called 'finn-uma' or 'findruine'. White bronze was more
expensive, and used mainly for ornamental art. Red bronze was used for
cauldrons and weapons.

By the Dalriada Celtic Heritage Trust