I read in disbelief when Catherine Brown, the food write, revealed her discovery that haggis, a very unique Scottish dish, in fact, appeared first in an English cookbook 171 years before Robert Burns even mentioned it.

I was still in shocked when Allan Brown in his article “History Behind Scottish Myths”, on Sunday, August 9th, listed other Scottish symbols, which turn out are originated from somewhere else.

The kilt, to take the most commonly bruited example, was originally Irish and Danish and then a sort of kitsch fancy-dress popularised by Sir Walter Scott; Hogmanay is a French word; whisky has its roots, should you care to investigate them, in Italy and China. By now, the alternative histories of tartan (invented by the central European Hallstatt tribe), bagpipes (known to the Hittites) and Bonnie Prince Charlie (light-loafered drunk from Bologna) are as well known as the official varieties.

He noted that for every Scottish claim of ownership and provenance, there seems to be a counter-claim. What seem to be givens are attacked first by correction then by revisionism.

The desperation to claim other countries’ inventions as Scottish, according to Michael Fry, the author and historian, has something to do with Scotland small country syndrome its need to assert a separate identity (from English, of course).

But what we see today, when a man dressed in kilt and tartan, he will be immediately recognised as a Scot. Whisky is called Scottish national drink and noone really knows or cares that whisky was invented in Italy or China. When we say haggis, we immediately associate the dish with Burn’s night and Scotland. It doesn’t really matter if it’s originally English. It has been claimed as Scottish for hundred of years.

However Scottish did invent and discover many things. In a 2003 episode of his quiz show QI, Stephen Fry remarked with amazement on the things Scotland did discover or invent but for which it rarely claimed credit. The list included adhesive stamps, the Australian national anthem, the decimal point, the Encyclopædia Britannica, hypnosis, the United States Navy, insulin, the hypodermic syringe and Bovril and the Bank of England.

Now what Malaysia has been doing for the past few years, claiming many iconic symbol as theirs, I suspect, not only because they suffer from ’small country syndrome’. They probably learn from Scotland, that hundred of years from know, those who keep claiming these symbols, at the end, will be recognised as the owner. Soon we will forget that tempe, angklung, reog Ponorogo, and recently Pendet dance, are all originally Indonesian. Soon the history will rewrite itself and people will call them Malaysian, not Indonesian.

It’s the worst scenario.

There is a big difference between Scottish and Malaysian claims on symbolic icons, though. Scotland might not discovered haggis, but they have been spending 350  years perfecting the dish. And it is not just being a symbol, it’s there everyday all year round for every Scot who eats it on regular basis, not only on Burns night. And the ‘original’ creator of the dish – the English – turned up their noses and decided they didn’t like haggis since 350 years a go.

With Malaysia, they just suddenly claim batik as theirs while Indonesia never decides that the country is too posh to have it. On the contrary, now everybody wears batik almost everyday. Malaysia also does little to support their claim. For example, how many people in Malaysia can actually perform a Pendet dance? How many of them who can actually play or make angklung? Do they have a famous dish from tempe like Indonesian’s tempe penyet? Don’t think so.

So there’s hope.

Rather than keep shouting to the world that Malaysia is a thief, why don’t we keep creating beautiful dances, music, and arts. Action speaks louder than words.

I was surprised that I haven’t mentioned about the biggest event in Scotland yet. Homecoming Scotland 2009 is a series of events designed to attract people of  Scottish ancestry to visit Scotland. The campaign, organised by EventScotland and VisitScotland on behalf of the Scottish Government, and part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, claims that “for every single Scot in their native land, there are thought to be at least five more overseas who can claim Scottish ancestry.” It celebrates the 250th anniversary Robert Burns’ birth and also four other Scotland’s great contributions to the world: golf, whisky, great minds and innovations and Scotland’s rich culture and heritage.

Robert Burns, as I briefly mentioned in my old post here, was Scottish’ most favourite poet. Are you familiar with the song “Auld Lang Syne you keep singing at every year-end party?” Well, congratulations, you have been singing a Scottish folk song, and yes, it is written by the famous Robert Burns.

Golf, dare I say, is a sport where one spends most of his or her time walking around a beautiful course and occasionally hitting a ball into a tiny hole. With 550 golf courses spread across the country, plus being the origin of the game, no wonder why Scotland is called as the home of golf. St Andrews, 50 miles south of Aberdeen, is the world’s oldest golf course.

Whisky is Scotland’s national drink. Scotch whisky is whisky made in Scotland. In the United States, it is often referred to as “Scotch”.  Scotch whisky is divided into five distinct categories: Single Malt, Blended Malt, Single Grain, Blended Grain, and Blended Scotch Whisky. Although the “Whisky Month” festival was held in last May, there are many more whisky events held throughout the entire year.

Penicillin, insulin and antiseptic surgery were all developed in Scotland. The ATM machine was invented here. Most recently, in 1996, Dolly the sheep, the world’s first cloned mammal, was created here. Those are just a few example of Scotland’s great innovations. I should also mention my favourite architect, Charles Renee MacKintosh, who, among other things, is famous for his chair designs.

This weekend there will be a big event called The Gathering, held in Holyrood Park, Edinburgh from 25 to 26 July. There will be highland games and Scottish festivals, but the clans gathering will be the primary focus on this event. As the website states, there are over 500 clan and family associations registered around the world, and this weekend would probably be the perfect time for people to trace their ancestry. Click here to see the clans of Scotland map.

Homecoming Scotland 2009 was officially launched in 16 June 2008 by Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond and just in case you are interested in participating or to feel the grand scale of this promotion, see below series of events held throughout the year (courtesy of Wikipedia):

• Celtic Connections
• Burns Night
• Jack Vettriano loans painting to Kirkcaldy Museum, Fife for Homecoming 2009
• Aye Write!
• Glasgow International Comedy Festival
• Etape Caledonia
• Edinburgh International Science Festival
• Cape Wrath Challenge
• Heineken Cup Final
• Edinburgh Sevens
• Return to the Ridings
• Royal Highland Show
• Homecoming Live
• Edinburgh International Film Festival
• World Fly Fishing Championships
• Open Championship, Turnberry
• Inverness Highland Games
• Wickerman Festival
• Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival
• Johnnie Walker Championship, Gleneagles
• Edinburgh International Festival
• Edinburgh Military Tattoo
• World Pipe Band Championships
• Piping Live! – Glasgow International Piping Festival
• Cowal Gathering
• Doors Open Days
• Wigtown Book Festival
• Loch Ness Marathon
• Royal National Mod
• Scots Trad Music Awards

Looking at the list of events which has been starting since last year, I couldn’t help but feeling envy. What has our government done on the campaign of Visit Indonesia 2009?

Haggis, a traditional Scottish dish, is – according to Wikipedia – made of the following ingredients: sheep’s heart, liver and lungs, minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally boiled in the animal’s stomach for about three hours. Today the dish is prepared in a casing rather than an actual stomach. MacSween sells cooked haggis, and we only need to remove it from the outer plastic bag, wrap in foil and re-heat it.

Traditionally served with neeps and tatties (cooked turnips and potatoes), haggis is always present on Burns Supper, when Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns, is commemorated. In Jakarta, you can find it in St. Andrews Ball. I can’t remember seeing it in Highland Gathering, but check the chief’s tent, probably they have it. Or try to make it using BBC recipe. We had our haggis at Marriott Dalmahoy last weekend for breakfast (!) and it was superb.

Black pudding is a sausage made by cooking blood (usually from pig) with a filler until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled (again, borrowed from Wikipedia). And just like its name, its colour is totally black. The Stornoway black pudding is regarded as one of the top gourmet puddings in Britain.

Black pudding is traditionally served as a part of full English/Scottish/Irish breakfast with baked beans, mushroom, bacon, eggs, (normal) sausage, breads, hash browns, and tomato. Not all necessarily must be in your plate though. It also can be served deep friend in a batter with fries as an alternative of fish & chips.

White pudding is very similar to black pudding, but without blood in it. The sausage is made of pork meat and fat, suet, bread and oatmeal. Earlier versions (pre-1990) often had brain matter (sheep) added as a binding agent, according to Wikipedia. And just like black pudding, white pudding is served in a fish & chips shops or as a part of full breakfast. However white pudding is more light brown rather than white, as you can see it on the far left, next to tomatoes, on the plate in the picture.

If you cringe thinking how could Scots eat it, remember that Indonesians and Asians eat practically everything, from head to feet, from eyeballs to… balls.

Picture of black pudding is borrowed from here. Picture of white pudding is borrowed from here.

I went to my first céilidh (pronounced kay-lee) in Aberdeen last December at The Marcliffe Hotel (which, to me personally, was a disaster, since I wore a long ball gown that sweeps the floor, very glamorous for waltz but not suitable for Scottish dance which involves lots of bounces and skips and takes so much energy, so instead of focusing on the dance, I was busy trying to keep my gown off of floors so no one incidentally stepped on it), and there is another one coming at the Hilton Treetops Hotel in February. Ms. Young from Outpost Aberdeen sent out an email informing this upcoming event, as quoted:

A céilidh (gaelic word) was traditionally a gathering organized in someone’s home during the dark winter nights in the Highlands and Islands. Within every community would be a storyteller and musicians, and they would perform impromptu at one of these gatherings. If space permitted there would also be dancing, but this was not quite so common. The 20th century saw the rise of the ‘village hall’ and there was a shift from private homes to this communal facility. Greater space enabled more dancing and today the word ‘ceilidh’ has come to me an evening of Scottish country dancing.

What do we do beside dancing (and drinking whisky?). Eating, of course. I have mentioned about haggis (see picture on the left) on my Burns Supper post, and there is another Scottish dish called stovies, a simple dish which consists of potatoes, onions and beef (usually left over from the Sunday roast). They are cooked together until the potatoes break down, so that they resemble mashed potatoes. Stovies are eaten with oatcakes and beetroot and served with a glass of milk. Stuart and I made stovies once, and since it’s very easy, I’m sure everyone can do that too. Check the recipe here, here, or here.

Now, if I decide to go for this céilidh, I must find suitable gown this time! Hmm… another reason for shopping?

Haggis picture is borrowed from Freefoto.

We’re back in Aberdeen after 6-week holiday in Indonesia and Vietnam. The prospect of going back to cold, gray, wet weather wasn’t really appealing; especially when we were transiting in Amsterdam and seeing outside the window of Schiphol Airport. But surprise, surprise, last weekend wasn’t actually that bad. The sun was shining, the sky was clear and blue, except there were no birds were chirping (they must have migrated to warmer lands), and there are no leaves left on trees. And it’s very cold.

clipped from en.wikipedia.org

A Burns supper is a celebration of the life and poetry of the poet Robert Burns, author of many Scots poems including “Auld Lang Syne,” which is generally sung as a folk song at Hogmanay and other New Year celebrations around the world. The suppers are normally held on or near the poet’s birthday, January 25, sometimes known as Burns night, although they may in principle be held at any time of the year.

Burns suppers are most common in Scotland, but they occur wherever there are Burns clubs, Scottish Societies, expatriate Scots, or lovers of Burns’ poetry.

The first suppers were held in Ayrshire at the end of the 18th century by his friends on the anniversary of his death, July 21, In Memoriam and, although the date has changed to 25 January since then, they have been a regular occurrence ever since.

Mr. mck’s grandmother is going to Burns Supper in Sauchen this coming Saturday and invites us to come along. To give me more ideas, mr.mck’s father showed me the menu example, which is written in Doric, and translated it for me. I forgot the whole thing after 30 seconds, except that every course ends with… what else, whisky!

The tradition has been part of Scottish culture for about 200 years (do you notice the sample menu is taken from 1920?). The basic format of the evening has remained unchanged since 1796, and it always has haggis, Scotch whisky, poem readings, and musicians performing Robert Burns songs.

Interesting. Now, how can I wear my skimpy ball gown without suffering from frostbites?