People dance as music plays in the ampitheatre during Tyler ScotFest. (Raquel Villatoro/Tyler Morning Telegraph) 

At South Springs Baptist Church, kilts, clans and food showcased the various different aspects of Scottish culture during the Ninth Annual Tyler ScotFest on Saturday.

Tents representing various clans were present at the festival. Throughout the day, attendees approached Valerie Wymore, of Clan Donnachaidh, to ask questions.

Each clan has a list of last names of who belong to the clan. Clans were formed as a way to keep people protected, Wymore said.

“Back in the day, the clans were not necessarily all blood related,” Wymore said. “If you were part of a family and you were in the same area, you pledged your loyalty to a certain clan or a chief, then you could be part of the clan.”

Although Wymore knew all her life she had Scottish heritage, she did not know what clan she belonged to. After moving to Texas, she went to the North Texas Scottish Festival where she was able to discover her clan.

“It was nice to have a sense of family, even though we’re not blood related,” Wymore said.

Through attending festivals, she has made friends with other representatives of clans and helped others find their clans.

At Tyler ScotFest people listened to Paul Watson play the bagpipes, attendees watched athletes compete in the Highland Games and tried Scottish eggs and meat pies. Athletes competed in various games during the Highland games including: weight over bar, Dinnie stones, hammer throw and Caber toss.

In the morning, there was Scottish sheep herding. In the afternoon swords clashed as the Fellowship of Christian Swordship battled it out.

Sarah Adams, a blacksmith at Shadowhawk Blades, demonstrated to kids how to use blacksmith tools during the festival.

“I really love working with little kids and letting them hammer and discover,” Adams said. “It’s fun to see them learn and the way they get so excited about making something.”

Adams has been a blacksmith for 20 years and has been part of the festival since the beginning. She has noticed more vendors and music as the festival has grown.

Blacksmithing almost died out in the United States in the 1960s until there was a revival. Within the past decades, there has been a resurgence of people wanting to try it as a hobby, Adams said.

The owner of Shadowhawk Blades, Charles, started out learning blacksmithing because he wanted to make a sword and thought, how hard can it be. He has been a blacksmith for 40 years, said Adams.

Blacksmith has been done by both genders historically. Tasks did not become gendered in the way they are today until the Renaissance through Victorian eras, Adams said.

“When you look back in [the] medieval period and before, or when you look at some of the cultures such as India, you’ll find a lot of women were doing this,” Adams said. “It’s not something that just boys can do. Anybody can do it.”

In addition to people wearing kilts, people wore tartans. Tartans are a specific set of colors and are registered with Scotland. Texas has a registered tartan called the bluebonnet tartan. Anybody can wear a tartan, even if they are not from that specific clan, said Scott Leslie, of Clan Leslie.

Leslie, a former history teacher, remembers hearing stories from his grandfather, whose father was from Tennessee. He was able to trace back distant cousins in Tennessee back to two brothers who came to Texas after the Civil War. Their families were on different sides of the war.

“That war was a war that divided families,” Leslie said. “Tennessee families were among the worst to be divided. My version of Leslies were militant. They knew that they were right. If you ever meet a Leslie who says they’re wrong, then they’ve abandoned their heritage.”

Clan Leslie goes back to 1067 A.D. when Bartholomew came with Princess Margaret to Scotland. After arriving, Princess Margaret married the King of Scots and Bartholomew married the king’s sister. Bartholomew was given the task to ensure the queen was safe. While the queen was riding a horse, the horse started going downhill. Bartholomew yelled, “grip fast.”

Their clan motto is “grip fast.” Their family crest has three lines for the three buckles he added to ensure the saddle was secure.

Zack Bigelow, wearing a tartan representing Clan Leslie, came from Dallas to see the Tyler ScotFest. Bigelow attends many Scottish festivals because he married into Clan Leslie. He enjoyed seeing the Highland Games and listening to the music. He hopes the festival continues to grow.

“I hope they’re able to grow this one,” Bigelow said. “That’d be nice to come out next year and see even more vendors, more competitors, more bands.”