Islands in the Sun
Created | Updated Jul 11, 2003
'Sooth', my dear devoted followers, is 'South' in Orcadian dialect. Sooth, however, has more connotations than that basic syllable. Sooth, for an Orcadian, is almost anywhere other than Orkney - generally it means mainland Britain, but I have heard it applied to Europe, and even to the US of A. Why have I brought this up? Well, today's 'Islands in the Sun' topic is an Orcadian's attitude to the outside world.
Without wishing to make a sweeping statement, an Orcadian will always be an Orcadian. By this I mean that when a resident of Orkney is asked their nationality, they will automatically reply 'Orcadian'. In fact, 'Scottish' is rarely mentioned - Orkney is strangely detached from its home country, and 'British' is more likely to be mentioned. Even more likely is 'European'.
There is a reason for this. Orkney, even with its close proximity to mainland Scotland, used to belong to the country of Norway - we only became official Scots when Orkney was given to Scotland as part of a dowry, so I believe.
Orkney still retains close links with Norway, despite being seemingly discarded. Every Christmas a tree will be sent over to the main town of Kirkwall - from Orkney's twinned town in Norway. Exchange students often come over too.
Orcadian dialect and literature also has a Scandinavian twang. One famous piece worthy of note here is the Orkneyingasaga, the Viking 'history' of Orkney, containing legends, family trees and a few facts concerning Orkney's viking earls. As for dialect, you only need to listen to a true Orcadian speaking to hear the Northern European twang.
So that deals with one link to Europe - there are others.
Orkney is the most pro-Europe region of Britain - Orkney inevitably votes in favour of Europe - whether it be a referendum on the Euro or a change in EU Agricultural Policy. Why?
Well, Orkney is indebted to the new 'European community' - we have had far more good out of the EU than many other regions of Britain. Urban areas tend to vote anti-Europe - they are richer areas and so little EU money is spent on them, whereas Orkney, a generally poor area, has EU money literally poured in.
This sounds overly cynical, but, of course, everything comes down to money. However, there are more human links between Orkney and 'Doon Sooth' - between Orkney and the outside world.
Emmigration from Orkney was at its peak in late 19th and early 20th century. Orcadians were leaving the nest and seeking their fortune - becoming citizens of the world. One popular destination was Canada - many Stromness (the second-largest town in Orkney) men were recruited for the Hudson Bay Company and set sail across the Atlantic. Many came back to their sweethearts back home, or just to return to an easier way of life, but some stayed on with new Canadian
wives, and an Orcadian dynasty formed across the great green ocean.
Another popular area to emmigrate to was the newly-claimed land of Australia, and the attraction of such wonders as the 'Ten Pound Pom' scheme attracted some Orcadians' enterprising spirit, and so Australia too was colonised by our folk.
But whether it was to America they fled, or to Russia or Zaire - across the Pacific or Atlantic - to deserts or to forests, Orcadians still feel an urge to come home. Such evidence can be found in occasions like the 'Canadian Homecoming' - a vast pilgrimage of 'Orcadian Canadians' back home (on holiday). Type in Orkney on a genealogy site, and you will discover just how many people want to find out who their island ancestors were.
A few years back now, an Orcadian wrote a book about the great exodus across the oceans. Sales were massive and, of course, the amount of fanmail generated was vast - the descendants of ex-Orcadians wanting to find out more about their ancient home. These letters came from worldwide - many from Australia and Canada, but more from the most varied areas. He auctioned off the stamps from these letters for the 1999 Children in Need - I jumped at the chance. Now here comes the important point - I still haven't finished sorting them.
