The misty forests and craggy bluffs of Ireland and Wales have long been linked to the Celtic legacy of that region in our minds. But evidence suggests that the Celts traveled beyond these northern islands, all the way down to the sunny shores of northwest Spain.
The region of Galicia in Spain is the seventh Celtic Nation and perhaps the least well-known. The other six are Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Cornwall, the Isle of Mann and Brittany in France. More than a millennium ago, a Celtic tribe known as the Gallaeci settled in an area north of the Douro River. The region became the modern-day Galicia, a wind and sea-swept place of green wooded valleys, and gray stone cities in northwest Spain. It’s beautiful capital city, Santiago de Compostela is the final destination on the Way of Saint James, the famous pilgrim route.
Here in Galicia you will find the same mysterious menhirs – or standing stones - that dot the Irish countryside. This region has many of its own Celtic traditions — from ancient “pallozas” (stone huts with thatched roofs believed to be Celtic in origin) to summer solstice ritual bonfires, their own unique bagpipes, and – yes – even kilts.
Now the kilt, of course, has been an essential part of the Scottish national dress since the 18th century, re-introduced in the rest of the Celtic nations as part of the Celtic revival of the 20th century.
Now in Galicia, male skirts were worn up until the 18th century. But in much earlier times, dated from the 3rd century BC, archaeologists have found several statues of Galician kings wearing a primitive kilt, which clearly shows a rough tartan pattern consisting of crisscrossed horizontal and vertical bands.
And the bagpipes? Well, the Galician bagpipes, called gaitas in Spanish, differ somewhat from their better-known Scottish cousin by being smaller and higher pitched. The name gaitas is believed to derive from the language of the ancient Gothic rulers of Spain, with gait meaning ‘goat’ and referring to the goatskin which was traditionally used to manufacture the bagpipes’ bag.
The Galician musician Carlos Núñez is considered one of the best bagpipers, of any tradition, in the world. Núñez famously collaborated with internationally renowned Irish band The Chieftains with such success that he has sometimes called ‘the seventh Chieftain’. And perhaps more than any other recording artist, Núñez was responsible for bringing the Celtic musical traditions of this Iberian Peninsula back into the international spotlight.
So - if you happen to be wandering through the streets of a little Spanish village on holiday and you hear the skirl of the bagpipes in the distance, chances are - it won’t be a homesick Scotsman, it’s far more likely to be a Galician gaitero.
For the Celtic Cultural Alliance, this is Kate Scuffle.
