Born in a Bow Tent: An Ambiguous Symbol of Scottish Traveller Identity

This paper explores homes - and the culture that goes with them - that have been and are no longer. For centuries, until the 1950s, Scottish Travellers lived a (semi-)nomadic existence, following seasonal and itinerant work, in simple portable canvas structures, the bow tent. As a succession of forces - economic, governmental, and social - came into play from the 50s onwards, this mobility has been mostly eliminated. Nevertheless, narratives of these dwellings and the life they symbolize continue to shape Traveller identity, both positively and negatively, as many try to celebrate their heritage while others deny it in order to avoid prejudice, and some do both. I explore three main responses to this tension: Distancing (denial), Acknowledgement (nostalgia), and Engagement (active performance of lifestyle or culture). Common to these is the bow tent narrative and the accompanying material performance of identity (e.g., 'settled' houses and their internal decor), which are used to support essentially opposite positions. The bow tent narrative supports a nostalgic view of an idealized past, in which Travellers were free from the strictures, and beyond the control of, settled authority. Likewise, the tent can also be symbolic of the lack of a 'home', in the prosaic sense of a fixed abode. In the end, dwellings in Traveller culture, be it a traditional bow tent, a caravan, or a suburban home, symbolize a world departed, one both sorely missed and proudly forgotten, a testament to the complexity of identity, community, and the human condition of a group on the margins.