Dùthchas Beò: Revitalising Reciprocity With The Gaelic Landscape

Tha CHARTS air a dhòigh Dùthchas Beò a thabhann an ceathramh uair!

(English below)

An do ghabh sibh iongantas riamh air tùsanachd ann an iar-thuath na Roinn Eòrpa?  Ciamar a bhiodh deas-ghnàth Gàidhealach air a chur air dòigh? A’ bheil feum againn air a leithid san latha an-diugh?

Bidh Dùthchas Beò ag amas air comhradh air na cuspairean seo uile ré an fheasgair, ag ath-thabhann a’ chruinneachaidh a bh’ againn le SCCAN ann an 2023, le ABCAN ann an 2024 agas le Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu ann an 2025.

Bidh an tachartas a’ dol air adhart an uair seo mu àm na Samhna.  ’S e cothrom a tha seo beachd a ghabhail air a’ bhuanachd a fhuair sinn ré an t-samhraidh agas air a’ chuid nach eil sinn air son toirt a-staigh don gheamhradh.

Bidh an tachartas seo air a chur air dòigh le Oifigear Cultair Ghàilig Àdhamh Ó Broin, seanchaidh ’s iomairtiche a tha air còrr ’s fichead bliana a chur seachad ag ath-bheòthachadh Cànan nam Féinn ann an cridhe Arra-Ghàidheal ’s ga ghiùlan gu dùthchasach, a’ togail a chuid chloinne nan luchd-labhairt Gàilig Arra-Ghàidheal mar chiad chànan.

Ré na deich blianaichean a dh’fhalbh, tha Àdhamh air deas-ghnàth a chur air dòigh le na dusanan de dh’aoighean à gach àite air an t-saoghal thùsanach: Mabhraich na Sealainn Nuaidhe, Càineanaich (Mohawk) nan Sia Nàiseanan san Òntair, Caraidich (Karajá) na Mór-choille Amasain, gun a bhith ag ainmeanachadh ach cuid bheag!  Tha an t-eòlas seo air a chuideachadh le bhith ag ath-nuachadh a chàirdeas ris an talamh Ghàidhealach fhad ’s a bha e a’ togail cainnt cridhe Arra-Ghàidheal bho na daoine mu dheireadh aig an robh i.

Nam bu mhath leat ionnsachadh mu dheidhinn mar a bhitheas an càirdeas eadar Gàilig agas an tìr ag oibreachadh na shiudheachadh fhéin, nach tig sibh a dh’Arra-Ghàidheal mun t-Samhainn air son dol a chéilidh air àiteachan seunta, ar cuid a thoirt seachad don talamh, uisge a tharainn à tobar agas deas-ghnàth neo-thuinnte a leantainn.

Théid seo a leantainn le cothrom comhraidh le biadh an déidh an tachartais ann an Taigh-òsta Dheòrsa taobh Inbhir Aora.

Bidh fàilte chridheil romhaibh!

Booking is required. 

Register for free

CHARTS is delighted to offer Dùthchas Beò for the fourth year running!

Have you ever wondered about living indigeneity in the north-west fringes of Europe? What might Gaelic ceremonial practice look like? Whether land-based ritual has a practical application in today's world?

‘Dùthchas Beò, Revitalising Reciprocity With The Gaelic Landscape’ will address these very topics over the course of an afternoon, reprising March 2023’s Spring Equinox gathering in partnership with Scottish Communities Climate Action Network (SCCAN), May 2024’s event supported by The Argyll and Bute Climate Action Network (ABCAN) and May 2025’s collaboration with the Glasgow School of Art.

This year our event will not fall at Bealltainn, but at Samhainn. This is an opportunity to reflect on the blessings summer has brought and leave behind anything we do not wish to take into winter with us.

Your interactive session will be led by CHARTS Gaelic Culture Officer Àdhamh Ó Broin, a tradition-bearer and activist who has spent the best part of two decades reclaiming and revitalising the native language and lore of Central Argyll and embodying its value system, bringing his children up as first-language Argyll Gaelic speakers.

Over the last decade, Àdhamh has had the privilege of stepping into ceremony with dozens of guests from around the indigenous world: the Māori of New Zealand, the Mohawk of Six Nations Ontario, and the Karajá of Brazil's Amazon Rainforest, to name but a few! These experiences have assisted and inspired the process of re-establishing a working, reciprocal relationship with the land whose dialect Àdhamh has diligently retrieved from extinction through long hours spent with the last of the area's native Gaelic-speaking elders.

If you would like to learn about how the symbiosis of Gaelic language and landscape operates in its natural context, please join us in Argyll around Samhainn to visit some sacred spots, make offerings to the land, draw water from a natural spring and explore simple ritual practice.

This will be followed by a chance to break bread and share thoughts after the event at the George Hotel in Inveraray.

Bidh fàilte chridheil romhaibh!

(A hearty welcome awaits)

Booking is required. 

Register for free

What you will need

Due to the location of this event, transport by car is required. We encourage car-sharing where possible.

Dùthchas Beò will take place outside in late autumn, so please come prepared for changeable weather. We recommend wearing warm, waterproof clothing and sturdy, waterproof footwear.

Please bring a towel and a change of socks, as some activities may be done barefoot to foster connection with nature.

We invite you to bring something to offer to the land. This should be perishable food or drink and, importantly, something that you would otherwise have enjoyed yourself, as this will be offered during the day.

Finally, please bring a receptacle for gathering spring water.

Key information

The event will run for approximately 5 hours at Kilmory Oib in Knapdale; you may wish to bring lunch. Àdhamh will fast until the end of the event for spiritual connection, but this is not required unless you prefer to do so.

This event is free, and booking is required as spaces are limited to 12 people.

Photos and videos may be taken during this event. Please let us know if you do not wish to be photographed. Images may be used online and for reporting.

Please direct any enquiries to Àdhamh Ó Broin at gaelic@chartsargyllandisles.org

This work is part of an ongoing partnership with The School of Innovation and Technology at Glasgow School of Art as part of (Re)Designing Landscape Stewardship, which is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and Future Observatory. The project is led by Dr Michael Pierre Johnson and Zoë Prosser, Research Fellows at The School of Innovation and Technology at Glasgow School of Art. CHARTS is supported by Argyll and Bute Council and Creative Scotland.