WHO SAYS TARTAN IS JUST FOR SCOTS?
©2005 Matthew A. C. Newsome, FSA Scot, GTS
published in The Scottish Banner, January 2006
Just
say the word “Scotland” and the image that first springs to mind is that
of a kilted piper. And when one imagines a kilt, one imagines tartan.
Tartan and Scotland are so intertwined in most people’s view that many
suppose tartan cloth to be exclusive to that country. Nothing, however,
could be further from the truth.
Before we go any further, let’s put a few assumptions to rest. Many
erroneously believe tartan and the kilt to be one and the same. Tartan,
in fact, refers to the patterned cloth. The kilt is the garment usually
made from the cloth. Kilts can be made from solid colored cloth as well
as tartan, and solid colored kilts have been worn in Scotland since at
least the early seventeenth century. Tartan can be worn or displayed in
many ways besides the kilt. The two are not the same. And while the kilt
is a garment that originated and developed in Scotland, tartan can be
found all over the world.
Any
place where the people have the ability to weave cloth is likely to have
some kind of tartan. Once the skills are acquired to produce solid color
cloth, the next logical step to make it more decorative is to add
stripes. If you weave stripes into the warp and weft of the cloth, you
have a tartan.
One
shouldn’t be surprised, then, to read of 3000 year-old mummies being
discovered in the desert of Taklamakan, China, wearing tartan. This cloth
can be found photographed in The Mummies of Urumchi, by Elizabeth
Wayland Barber. In that same work, Barber documents tartan found in
excavations in Hallstatt, in upper Austria, some of which date to 1200
BC.
Barber writes, “Like the Scottish tartans… the Hallstatt plaids contain a
rhythmic mixture of wide and very narrow stripes… The overall similarities
between Hallstatt plaid twills and recent Scottish ones, right down to the
typical weight of the cloth, strongly indicate continuity of tradition.
The chief difference is that the Hallstatt plaids contain no more than two
colors… whereas the Scottish tartans are generally multicolored.”
Tartan has been found on mummies in Kazakhstan from 2000 BC. A museum in
Stravenger, Norway, has a reproduction of a tartan said to have been worn
in that country in the fifth century AD.
Some see the existence of these ancient tartans as evidence of
pre-historic, kilted Scottish globe-trotters! But nothing could be
further from the truth. One Austrian-based company has marketed tartans
found in archaeological digs with the baseless claim that Austria was the
original home of the kilt! Such silliness aside, though the Scottish kilt
is the recognized icon of tartan, it is not tartan’s only application.
Most cultures have produced some form of tartan cloth. But the kilt is
uniquely Scottish.
With that in mind, it is interesting to take note of some of the
unexpected places that tartan has been found.
I
have seen fourteenth century Spanish paintings depicting men and women
wearing cotehardies made of tartan cloth. One, by the Master of Estamariu,
depicts the martyrdom of St. Vincent. One of the saint’s torturers is a
man whose cotehardie is half solid red, and half red, green and blue
tartan.
Leaving Europe altogether, one can even find tartan clothing depicted in
nineteenth century Japanese art. In the illustration (shown here) of
courtesan Shitsuka of Tamaya, painted by Jippensha Ikku between 1802-1822,
tartan cloth can clearly be seen.
The
Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan, in the Himalayas, is famous for its tradition
of fine hand woven textiles, many of which are of a tartan pattern. One
was even included in the book Tartan: The Highland Textile, by
Tartan Scholar James D. Scarlett.
The
latest unexpected place I have discovered tartans being used is Africa.
The warriors of the Masai people, called Moran, are frequently outfitted
with bright red tartan. The color red, in that society, is associated with
men who have come of age. While some Moran wear solid red clothing, many
opt for brightly colored red tartans. I have seen many different tartan
patterns photographed among the Masai, most of them in bright red and blue
designs.
Tartan truly is an ancient art form, which can be found the world over.
For an example of a modern-day non-Scottish application of tartan, just
look at the flannel shirts hanging in the closet of nearly every man in
western society. Despite this fact, only in Scotland has tartan taken on
such a particular cultural significance. Named tartans were, up until
modern times, the unique provenance of Scotland. And even many of the
named tartans now being created for Ireland, Wales, the United States,
Canada, Australia and beyond are created by Scots and those of Scottish
heritage.
Tartan will always be associated with Scotland, and rightly so. But we
should not be surprised to find tartan in use by other cultures. If we
were to find a 2000 year-old piece of tartan cloth buried in the Arizona
desert, it would be but one more piece of historical tartan. It certainly
wouldn’t indicate prehistoric Scottish adventurers made it to the New
World!
That being said, if you want to wear the kilt and are of Austrian,
Chinese, Japanese, or even African heritage, we’ve got a tartan for you!
Image caption:
Upper left: A fourteenth century Spanish
tartan cotehardie. Upper right: A traditional Bhutanese folk
costume. Lower left: A Masai warrior in red tartan. Lower right: a
nineteenth century Japanese courtesan.
