Fraser - "Gie Her a Haggis" (2)

In this reading I learned about the multiple meanings of the prominent symbol of Scottishness -the Haggis-. Before this reading I believed haggis was the gut of sheep cooked inside its stomach that the Scottish people ate. The Oxford English Dictionary defines haggis as "[a] dish consisting of the heart, lungs and liver of a sheep [or] calf, minced with suet and oatmeal, seasoned with salt, pepper onions, etc., and boiled like a large sausage in the maw of an animal.''

I then learned in this reading that there was a completely different story behind haggis, and it was that of the legend, witch portrays haggis as a living creature and how it has been used in the context of Scottish popular culture and tourism.

We have always considered haggis as a dish that originated in Scotland, but actually it is highly unlikely the dish did originate from Scotland because there is nothing specifically Scottish about it.

Haggis does carry a negative association to this day, regarded as "an ugly food that after all was just cheap peasant fare in its day" [Handerson online sources]

Haggis gradually became a "festival food" that was always used for the anniversary of Burns birth (January 25, 1759). The anniversary is held in hundreds of locations all over the world. Burns effectively transformed haggis from a ''peasant food'' to a "National Dish". Haggis is even served as a "luxury item" in upscale restaurants.

Mike Mowbray say's that it is common for Scottish individuals to embellish the gruesome nature of the contents when describing haggis to foreigners or to anyone who has never tasted it before. The reading also talks about another expressive cultural tradition surrounding the ingredients of haggis. It consists of a legend, which portrays haggis as a living creature, which is hunted on the hillsides of Scotland in order to supply the culinary centerpiece at Burn’s Supper throughout the land. Found in the contexts of both popular and folk culture in Scotland.

Visitors to Scotland often ask what haggis is. They are then told the legend of haggis. The legend states that a Haggis’s right leg is shorter than its left leg, which forces them to run around the sides of the hill clockwise. When Haggis is in season the hunters climb to the top of the hillside jumping out in front of the Haggis spooking them, which makes them turn around and tip over because of there uneven legs. This makes them tumble to the bottom of the hill where the hunters then collect them. The legend has generated it's own food, which has nothing to do with the culinary haggis i.e.: "Haggis Whoppies" (chocolate covered raisin’s) "Haggis Belly Buttons" (Jelly sweets) etc.

There are many stories that are told about haggis depending on who you talk to. For example, there are books aimed at tourists to confuse them about haggis, and there are also children books that like to play on the legend of Haggis.

The reading also talks about the "Cajun Crawfish" and the "Maine Lobster" which like haggis is used in the tourism industry in these regions. These food dishes all strike similarities because they were all poverty foods before becoming such well-known food traditions.

The Scottish use haggis just like they use the loch ness monster in the way that you can find hundreds of haggis souvenirs in many souvenir shops, i.e. tea towels, magnets, postcards you can even buy a "haggis egg".

The haggis legend is also used in Scottish oral tradition. The story is told to many, but only the most naïve truly believe in the haggis creature. They are normally told to "outsiders" particularly tourists and other visitors to Scotland. The reading says Americans are "always particular favorites" [Marshall 2000, Personal Correspondence].

The tourists my not believe all the stories they are told but they enjoy the idea all the same. After reading this article I have a new view on the haggis tradition, and I now know it is so much more than a simple food that everyone believes it to be. Haggis is a Scottish tradition that I hope will be around for many years to come.