"The bagpipe is the only musical instrument
deemed a weapon of war because it inspired its troops to battle
and instilled terror into the enemy. The skirl of the pipes
stirs men's and women's souls and its power and influence
in battle as in life, is measurable". The effects of
the pipes on friend or foe are legendary crossing all cultural,
geographic, economic and historical barriers. An examination
of the origins and development of the pipes, their use among
the ancient Celts and in modern warfare and life reveal their
true and enduring significance.
 The
origins and history of the pipes is interesting as the world
has known the pipes in one form or another for more than 5000
years. Bagpipes were invented when people found they could
make music by blowing into a hollow reed and eventually the
idea of harnessing a bag for a reservoir of air evolved. References
to pipes are made in the Pharonic literature of Ancient Egypt,
the Ancient Holy Land Scriptures. During the days of the Roman
Empire there are numerous references to the pipes being played
and in fact it is widely believed that Nero himself played
the pipes and that Rome fell to the sound of the pipes, not
the fiddle as previously thought. It is quite probable that
the Romans brought the pipes to Scotland during their invasions.
The Ancient Celts called it the Great War Pipe of the North.
The use of the bagpipe among the Ancient Celtic people was
common. In fact, men and women were initially called to war
by the harp or a bard, (Brosnachadh-Incitement to Battle)
but only the first few rows of troops could hear the stirring
sound so eventually it became tradition to send a piper into
battle first. The Celts are recorded as being in the area
of the Alps during the early centuries of the last millennium
before the birth of Christ. Some of the common factors
in Celtic society included a shared language, social structure
and the telling of history through bards or poets, music and
song. This music included the use of the pipes.
At its height, in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C.E. the
Celtic Empire reached from the steppes of Russia to the north
of Ireland. Pushed back by Roman invasion and eventually doomed
at the hand of Julius Caesar, the Celtic Empire survived into
medieval times only in Britain and then only in Ireland. Because
the empire had been so far reaching the connection so many
people feel to the Celts and their heritage is widespread.
But in the northern areas of both Scotland and Ireland the
Celtic ways evolved into a clan system with each chief overseeing
his peoples and lands. Chiefs and Clans fought against each
other piping themselves into battle by the sound of the great
Highland War Pipes, eventually silenced in 1746 when the English
passed a decree making the playing of the pipes punishable
by death. Despite this edict, the playing of pipes continued
until today.
 The
great Highland War pipes survived and became a symbol of Scottish
Highland way of life simply because the Highlanders continued
to use them when other countries did not. "Over
the last two hundred years and more the Highland regiments
of the British Army have played a vital part in keeping alive
clan feeling and the Highland tradition, reflecting a sense
of special spirit." The Highlanders' use of the great
bagpipe seems to have developed in its current form in the
16th century. The clans were growing and required
more sound than a harp could make. The MacCrimmon's, the hereditary
pipers of the Isle of Skye are credited with evolving "big
Music" or Piobaireachd music, the classical music of
the bagpipes. The MacCrimmons are the hereditary pipers of
the Macleods for 13 generations.
There is a museum on the Isle of Skye created by Irene and
Hugh MacCrimmon who currently live in Guelph, Ontario. The
museum also reflects Highland life. Dunvegan, Skye remains
today the place of renowned piping all over the world. Legend
claims that the fairy Queen assured the first MacCrimmon that
he would play the finest music in the world. And he did! The
playing of the air is followed by a number of variations according
to strict rules of composition and the music is very elaborate
and stylized. The themes mainly consist of Laments, Gatherings
and Salutes. This was the form of piping played to the 19th
century. Although for relaxation, pipers might play a lighter
composition and it was considered derogatory to play for dancing.
Every chief and royal house had its pipers. The music of the
pipes underwent great change in the 19th century
with competitions and reels, strathspeys, tunes, slow marches
and drum sections of battalions being replaced by pipes.
In the early 1700's the English and Scottish were fighting
over control of land and people. It was an age-old battle
with many complications. In the Highlands of Scotland there
were many separate clans each with a chief each thinking they
had a right to the crown. They fought among themselves and
for nearly 1000 years against the English. In 1746 all the
fighting came to an end. In the Battle of Culloden the Highland
clans met the gunfire of the English and were wiped out on
Drummoisse Moore. The Highland way of life was destroyed and
the Act of Proscription was put in place. This act forbade
the wearing of Tartan, the speaking of Gaelic, and the playing
of the bagpipes. It was at this time the pipes were declared
a weapon of war and pipers were actually drawn, quartered
and hung for playing the pipes. The English swept through
the Highlands like ants at a picnic destroying pipes and burning
the piper's huts. Many people were thrown in jails and many
were sold as slaves. If a person were caught playing the pipes
or breaking any aspect of the Act of Proscription, it meant
lashes with the cat of nine tails and then imprisonment or
worse, death.
 It
wasn't until the English began to raise regiments and put
them in kilts and encouraged the playing of the pipes that
this changed. Proscription was in place for 50 years. Thus
it can be said that playing the pipes is about survival, tenacity
and rising up against injustice. A music that reaches the
soul and lingers in the mind long after the drones are put
to rest. By the 1800's numerous Highland regiments had been
raised in the British Isles and in North America and pipes
were playing an important part of both America and Canadian
history. The pipes were there at the capture of Quebec, Ticonderoga
and the siege of the Alamo. There are actually references
to Davie Crockett being heartened by the piping of John MacGregor.
The pipes were in Nepal, the Boer War, both World Wars with
the Germans referring to the pipers as "Laddies from
Hell".
In W.W.I. the pipers went up over the top of the trenches
piping their men into war across no-man's land, land mines,
barbed wire and enemy fire. Pipers couldn't play and carry
a weapon so they were sitting ducks in modern warfare and
many died in both world wars. Over 1000 pipers died in W.W.I.
The last surviving piper from W.W.I is Harry Lunan. He describes
his piping experiences in the war as an honour. " You
were scared, but you just had to do it, they were depending
on you." Despite poisonous gas, guns, barbed wire, land
mines and the general horror of war, pipers piped their men
into battle as they had done three thousand years earlier.
The effect was the same. It encouraged the men and left the
enemy in shock that someone would be brave enough to play
the pipes in the middle of trench warfare. The same thing
happened in W.W. II . More recently, pipers also played a
role in the Gulf War and Desert Storm operations. The effect
was the same. It takes a great deal of know how and concentration
to pipe under such circumstances and the piper had to be well
seasoned.
It is said to take 7 years to make a piper, thereby creating
a passion that lasts a lifetime. Although it would be nice
if all pipers could take lessons from the hereditary MacCrimmons
of Skye, it simply isn't possible. Excellent pipe instructors
are available in Canada and it isn't difficult to find a good
teacher. For example, Fergus has its own MacDonald School
of Scottish Arts with Calum MacDonald as pipe instructor.
Pipe lessons are a great place to start developing a link
to the past that binds us steadfastly in the present and paves
the way for culture to be passed on to future generations.
The bagpipe is deemed a weapon of war because it inspired
its troops to battle and instilled terror into the enemy.
The skirl of the pipes stirs souls. The effects of the pipes
are legendary crossing all cultural, geographic, economic
and historical barriers. From the origins and development
of the pipes, their use among the ancient Celts and in modern
warfare and life reveal their true and enduring significance
which continues to be passed down from generation to generation
in current times.
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