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Some of the Appin Stewarts emigrated east to Atholl in Highland Perthshire where there were already dozens of Stewart lairds. Many of the survivors of the Glencoe Massacre found sanctuary with them. Their land in Argyll was shoehorned in amongst the Campbells with whom they fought bitterly to maintain their interests. This is the Stewarts of Appin, who descend from a son of the 4th Steward who died fighting for William Wallace against the English in 1297. Several divisions of the family obtained land in the Highlands – the Earls of Moray with their great castle at Doune, the Marquesses of Bute who still own most of that island and have a spectacular seat at Mount Stuart – although only one branch is usually regarded as a full-blown Highland clan. Some would say the Queen, others the main-line descendants of the royal Stuarts, currently a Bavarian aristocrat still others the Earl of Galloway who was the next male in line when James V sired Mary Queen of Scots as his heir. Such a cornucopia of great men and women, many of whom had and have great estates, makes selecting a chief of the name, which can be spelt in at least 35 different ways, rather delicate. No other family in Europe has achieved such eminence in so many countries. They have produced three cardinals, two British prime ministers and have held 14 Scottish earldoms. The family have held and often still hold 10 dukedoms in England, four in Scotland, six in France, 10 in Spain and one in Italy. Their origins stretch far back into the very roots of European history and it is fitting that the family gave the first kings to a united Great Britain.
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Prince Charles.īefore they came to Britain 1,000 ago, members of the family were noble Bretons, hereditary Stewards of Dol who were descended from the Counts of Dol and Dinan, a branch of the ancient dark-age ruling dynasty of Brittany. This means naming has a history-keeping function too, as names have meaning and relate to conditions or events surrounding a person’s time of birth.įor example a girl called Nomalinge Myalo (meaning ‘effort’) said her parents desperately wanted a baby girl after having four boys.Īfter numerous attempts her parents finally succeeded when she was born, and hence gave her that name.The historic House of Stewart takes its name from the medieval office of hereditary Great Steward of Scotland, a title which is still held by their descendant in the female line, H.R.H. Naming is a deliberate record of experiences, indicating values, attitudes, beliefs and ideas of communities of a certain period of social development. This is always based on some motivation from the name giver. It’s not unusual for parents not to name a newborn, as grandparents are known to have great influence in naming a child. A child is regarded as not only belonging to his or her immediate family but also to the extended family and eventually to the community. When a child is born, a ceremony called imbeleko is held to introduce the child to the ancestors as well as the community. The choice of name for a child is very important in isiXhosa culture, especially in very traditional homes. When a woman marries she may take her husband’s surname, but she always keeps her own clan name.Ī man and a woman who have the same clan name may not marry, as they are considered to be related. Mentioning the clan name of someone you wish to thank is considered the highest form of respect, and it is thought to be polite to enquire after someone’s clan name when you meet them. They serve as a link between a person and their identity within the amaXhosa nation as a whole. Clan names also commemorate ancestors and keep their memory alive. They have more to do with cultural identification. He considers it important to know your isiduko as it “keeps of the people who prepared the way for you,” he said. Grocott’s Mail citizen journalist and poet Thembani Onceya boasts a long line of his clan names and in introducing himself would say 'Ndzabe uMalatsi uGasa Kwisizukulwana sika Nkosiyamntu, kumhlaba wakwa Tuku’. Surnames are passed down from the father’s side of the family while the clan name system is commemorative in nature, with names being shared across a certain clan within the culture. Xhosa clan names, called isiduko (singular), iziduko (plural), are family names which are of more importance than one’s surname.Ī clan name is not necessarily a surname and serves a different purpose to that of a surname. Knowing one’s past is the key to understanding your present, so it is said, and in isiXhosa culture clan names are the crux of understanding oneself.