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Types of Travellers' tent and their construction and occupat...

Date 04 June 1980
Track ID 37989
Part 1

Track Information

Original Track ID

SA1980.47

Original Tape ID

SA1980.047

Summary

Types of Travellers' tent and their construction and occupation.

Duncan Williamson describes various types of Travellers' tents and shelters. A mixed family would hang up a sheet to provide privacy for men and women. The tent Duncan was reared in had small bow tents serving as bedrooms, round a central area large enough for up to twenty people to sit. There was a fire on stones and a smoke hole in the roof. The children slept with the parents up to the age of about five.

He prefers the low-built gelly tent from Skye, with a chimney. He talks about the importance of choosing the right location to withstand gales and rain. The same locations are used by different families, each recognisable to the people who come next by the way they have left things: it is expected that people will leave the site clean. He describes the method of construction. If the saplings are well chosen and prepared each pair will be level, and there will be no unevenness for the wind to catch. A tent for one night can be built in an hour, but if it is to last it will be built with care. Snow is the worst problem, but the construction is designed to shed it. A father will let his grown sons cut sticks under his supervision so that they learn. He praises the relaxed atmosphere and flexibility of a tent in comparison with a caravan.

Recording Location

County - Argyllshire

Parish - Glassary

Village/Place - Lochgilphead

Language

English

Genre

Information

Collection

SoSS

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Good