Faiths That Have Created Their Own Tartans
The creation of tartans that represent different faiths are a sign of the positive relationships between Scotland and diverse cultures.
Jews and Scots have both gained from their encounters of the past two centuries. There remains a tolerance and respect based on shared traditions. In 2008 a Scottish rabbi created the world's first official Jewish tartan. Mendel Jacobs, worked with the Scottish Tartans Authority and religious scholars to design a tartan that would reflect Scotland's Jewish history.
He said: "The Jewish people have been an integral part of Scottish culture for more than 300 years, with the first Jew recorded in Edinburgh in 1691. Talking about the colours in the tartan, he added
"The blue and white represent the colours of the Scottish and Israeli flags, with the central gold line representing the gold from the Biblical Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant and the many ceremonial vessels.he added the silver colour weave is a representation of the silver on the Scroll of Law with the red representing kiddush wine.
The cloth has been produced by Lochcarron of Scotland tartan, who have seen a global demand for the design from the estimated 15 million Jews around the world. At the time of the last census Scotland had a significant Jewish population of 6400.
Other religions have also marked their close relationship with Scotland.
According to the Independent newspaper, Buddhism is the fastest-growing religion in Scotland A Samye Ling Buddest tartan was designed for the Buddhist Centre and Monastery of the same name, situated in Eskdalemuir, South West Scotland.
The tartan colours represent the five elements in the Tibetan spectrum - Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Space.
Abbot Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche, designed a simple, dignified red check tartan to line the robes of his monks and nuns He says "we are fortunate to be established as part of the Scottish community and wanted a tartan for our Sangha to show how much appreciation we have for the people, culture and tradition of Scotland".
The Clergy tartan is unique in representing an occupation rather than a country. Established as a tartan for clerics since 1850, the Clergy tartan does not represent any particular sect or denomination. The Clergy tartan can be worn by ministers from the Church of Scotland, Scottish Episcopal Church Church of England as well as clergy from other faiths.
Sikhs settled in Scotland. Today Sikhs represent around 0.13% of the population 6,572.
The Singh tartan was the first officially registered Tartan of the Scottish Asian community - it was commissioned by Lord Iqbal Singh a Sikh Laird in Scotland, to be his family tartan. The plaid, incorporates the Singh family colour of blue, yellow for peace, green to represent the landed gentry and red as a tribute to the creators wife.
Scottish Tartans Society. Keith Lumsden, a society researcher said: Many with Indian ancestory have adopted Scottish tartan. The Gurkhas wore tartan as did many other Indian regiments."
Although there isn't an Islamic tartan, the Scottish Islamic Foundation are planning a tartan week in the Middle East to encourage greater ties between the Muslim world and Scotland.
About the Author
Anna Murray is Head of Marketing at The Scotland Kilt Company - a family run business based in Edinburgh. For more information about different tartans including measuring yourself for a kilt contact: http://www.thescotlandkiltcompany.co.uk/ email info@thescotlandkiltcompany.co.uk Or call 0131 225 3555
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