Traditional Crafts

An Introduction
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 afew 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. Afew 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,
threads strung independently and weighed down with stones. Later a
horizontal frame and a reed to separate the threads was developed.
time to the hand thrown shuttle, passed across the web between two
threads, alternatively raised and lowered.

with
loom
This
sets

the warp
with a
led in
of warp

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.
Copyright: Dalriada Celtic Heritage Trust