Arèiteach(Scottish Gaelic pronunciation:[rˠeːhdʲəx]) was abetrothalceremony in the olderGaelicculture of theScottish highlands.[1]It is also attested in Gaelic-speakingCanada.[2]
Etymology
editTheScottish Gaelicwordrèiteach,which was writtenréiteachuntil the spelling reform, means "agreement", "settlement" or "reconciliation" generally, and "wedding arrangement" in particular.Rèiteachalso has the meanings "level place" and "disentangling", and the original sense may have to do with the idea of clearing away obstacles.[3](Réiteachis also theIrishword for "agreement" or "solution", but the Irish dictionaries make no mention of the ceremony.)
Traditions
editThe custom was still in practice in the first part of the 20th century, and involved the groom's party visiting the bride's house with an offer.[4]
Sometimes the rèiteach was divided into two parts,an rèiteach beag(the small rèiteach) ora' chiad rèiteach(the first rèiteach), which was more private and simple, andan rèiteach mòr(the big rèiteach), at which the details and practical issues were worked out.[3][5]At therèiteach mòr,the whole community would be present, and the bride and groom would reenact for them the commitment made at therèiteach beag.[6]
In one tradition the suitor would ask his prospective father-in-law for some gift, perhaps a boat or a cow, which was understood as a code for the daughter.[7]An informant fromHarrisremembers:
He got up and said that he had heard that Jim [her father] had a ewe lamb that was inclinded to stray, and that he would be glad to take the ewe lamb off his hands and put it into a safer place, and that we wouldn't need to worry about the ewe lamb then because it would be in its own fold as it were. Jim replied 'Yes', he was quite happy to let him have the ewe lamb because he knew it was going into good hands.[4]
In another tradition, at therèiteach mòr,the groom would be presented with a series of "false brides", whom he would have to reject politely until the real bride was offered.[6]
Literature and popular culture
editThe custom has become known in the English-speaking world through the novel and filmsWhisky Galore.In both the 1949 film and the 2016 remake, the rèiteach is depicted as a ritual in which bride and groom drink whisky from aquaichin the presence of the whole community, after which there is drinking and dancing. The importance of whisky for the ceremony is a key element in the plot. In the original novel,Compton Mackenziewrites:
"Suppose the boat comes but the whisky doesn't, Father James?" Duncan asked. "Whatrèiteachcan anybody be having? It's against nature to have arèiteachwith tea and ginger-ale and lemonade. Even if there was plenty beer it would still be against nature. "
"The fairies will bring up the whisky, Duncan", Father James assured him solemnly.[8]
In 1922 the Gaelic playwrightIain N. MacLeòidproduced a play entitledRéiteach Móraig(Morag's rèiteach), a companion to his playPòsadh Móraig(Morag's wedding).
The ScottishCeltic rockgroupRunrighave a song entitled "A reiteach" in their 2008 live albumYear of the Flood.
References
edit- ^N. Martin, 'The Gaelic rèiteach: symbolism and practice',Scottish Studies34 (2000), 77–158
- ^Peter Ward,Courtship, Love, and Marriage in Nineteenth-Century English Canada.Google books
- ^ab"Am Faclair Beag - Scottish Gaelic Dictionary".
- ^abMargaret Bennett,Scottish Customs: From the Cradle to the Grave.Google Books
- ^Referenced in chapter 14 of Iain Crichton Smith, "The Last summer".Google Books
- ^abAlexander Fenton (ed),An Introduction to Scottish Ethnology.Google Books
- ^Donald John Gillies,The Truth About St Kilda: An Islander’s MemoirGoogle Books
- ^Compton Mackenzie,Whisky Galore,1947, p.43.