30/06/2014
Tha litir bheag na seachdain aig Ruaraidh MacIllEathain. This week's short letter for learners is introduced by Ruaraidh MacLean.
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An Litir Bheag 477
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An Litir Bheag 477
Nuair a bha mi ann an Alba Nuaidh o chionn ghoirid, thachair mi ri Oighrig NicFhraing. Thug i lethbhreac dhomh dhen leabhar aice Às a’ Bhrà ighe. Mo bheannachd oirre.
Tha an leabhar mu dheidhinn bà rd ann an Alba Nuaidh anns an naoidheamh linn deug. B’ esan Ailean Dòmhnallach no Ailean an Rids. Tha e a’ dearbhadh beartas na Gà idhlig ann an Alba Nuaidh.
Rugadh Ailean ann am Brà igh Loch Abar ann an seachd ceud deug, naochad s a ceithir (1794). Bhuineadh e do Dhòmhnallaich Bhoth Fhionndain. Fhuair e sgoil mhath ann an Gà idhlig is Beurla – anns an taigh-chèilidh, a cheart cho math ris an sgoil.
Bha cùisean a’ fàs doirbh do Dhòmhnallaich Bhoth Fhionndain aig toiseach an naoidheamh linn deug. Ann an ochd ceud deug ’s sia-deug (1816), sheòl an teaghlach a Phictou ann an Alba Nuaidh. Chùm iad a dol gu ruige Mà bu ann an Eilean Cheap Bhreatainn, far an d’ fhuair iad fearann air druim no ‘rids’. ’S ann an uair sin a fhuair iad am far-ainm Rids.
Ann am Mà bu bha iad am measg Ghà idheal Caitligeach. Bha mòran aca à Loch Abar. Bha a’ choimhearsnachd gu math Gà idhealach. Tha Gà idhlig air a bruidhinn ann am Mà bu chun an latha an-diugh.
Tha Oighrig a’ dèanamh coimeas eadar bà rdachd Ailein agus sgrìobhaidhean aig a’ Bhà rd MacIlleathain. Bha esan, ge-tà , a’ fuireach air tìr-mòr na h-Alba Nuaidhe ann an suidheachadh aonaranach. Anns ‘A’ Choille Ghruamach’, sgrìobh e:
Mun dèan mi à iteach, ’s mun tog mi bà rr ann
’S a’ choille ghà bhaidh chur às a bonn
Le neart mo ghà irdean, gum bi mi sà raicht’
Is treis air fà ilinn mu ’m fàs a’ chlann.
Tha a’ bhà rdachd aig Ailean an Rids a’ sealltainn beachd eadar-dhealaichte. Bha e a’ moladh na h-Alba Nuaidhe:
Nis o ’n thà inig thu thar sà ile
Chum an à ite ghrinn,
Cha bhi fà ilinn ort ri d’ latha
’S gach aon nì fàs dhuinn fhìn:
Ìý
Gheibh thu mil air bhà rr nan lusan,
Siùcar agus tì,
’S fheà rr dhut siud na ’n tìr a dh’fhà g thu
Aig a’ ghrà isg na frìth.
Ìý
Bheir sinn sùil a bharrachd air Ailean an Rids an-ath-sheachdain.The Little Letter 477
When I was in Nova Scotia recently, I met Effie Rankin. She gave me a copy of her book Às a’ Bhrà ighe. My compliments to her.
ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý The book is about a poet in Nova Scotia in the nineteenth century. He was Allan MacDonald or Allan the Ridge. He shows the wealth of Gaelic in Nova Scotia.
ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Allan was born in Lochaber in 1794. He belonged to the MacDonalds of Bohuntin. He received a good education in Gaelic and English – in the ceilidh-house as much as at school.
ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Matters were getting difficult for the MacDonalds of Bohuntin at the start of the nineteenth century. In 1816, the family sailed to Pictou in Nova Scotia. They continued on to Mabou on Cape Breton Island, where they got land on a ridge. That was when they got the nickname Ridge.
ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý In Mabou they were among Catholic Gaels. Many of them were from Lochaber. The community was very Gaelic. The Gaelic language is spoken in Mabou to this day.
ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Effie compares Allan’s poetry to the writings of the Maclean bard. He, however, was living on the Nova Scotian mainland in a lonely situation. In ‘The Gloomy Forest’ he wrote:
Before I cultivate the land, before I raise a crop
And uproot the forest
With the strength of my arms, that I’ll be wearied
And exhausted before the children are grown up.
ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Allan the Ridge’s poetry demonstrates an alternative viewpoint. He was praising Nova Scotia:
Now that you have come overseas To the fine place,
You will lack for nothing all your days As all things fare well for us:
You’ll get honey on the plant-tops
Sugar and tea,
Better for you than the land you left
To the rabble as a deer-forest.
ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý We’ll take a further look at Allan the Ridge next week .Broadcast
- Mon 30 Jun 2014 19:00´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio nan Gà idheal
All the letters
Tha gach Litir Bheag an seo / All the Little Letters are here.
Podcast: An Litir Bheag
The Little Letter for Gaelic Learners
An Litir Bheag air LearnGaelic
An Litir Bheag is also on LearnGaelic (with PDFs)
Podcast
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An Litir Bheag
Litirichean do luchd-ionnsachaidh ura. Letters in Gaelic for beginners.