John C. Messenger 1959-1964: Na Taifeadaí – The Recordings

Deirtear go mbíonn dhá insint ar gach scéal agus dhá insint dhéag ar gach amhrán; cruthaíonn an togra seo fírinne an ráitis sin chuile lá. Pléann blag na míosa seo scéal amháin ar a bhfuil dhá insint éagsúil, muna bhfuil an tríú insint tagtha chun solais ó shin.

Idir 1959 agus 1964, chaith na scoláirí Meiriceánacha John Cowan Messenger agus a bhean Betty Messenger tréimhsí in Inis Oírr ar mhaithe lena gcuid taighde antraipeolaíochta. Mar a rinne go leor de na hantraipeolaithe eile a bhí ag saothrú in Éirinn an t-am céanna – ina measc Hugh Brody, Robin Fox, Alexander J. Humphreys, agus Nancy Scheper-Hughes – dhírigh John agus Betty ar chuile ghné de shaol an oileáin, ó bheatha go bás an duine, tithe, éadaí, bia, obair, ceardaíocht, siamsaíocht, suirí, caidreamh collaí, cúrsaí creidimh, meabhairghalar, srl. I 1969, d’fhoilsigh John leabhar a bhí bunaithe ar a saothar ansiúd, Inis Beag Isle of Ireland, leabhar ina bhfuil cur síos an-leathan ar shaol an oileáin ach go bhfuil ainmneacha na ndaoine agus logainmneacha na háite faoi cheilt. Iarracht ar phríobháideachas an phobail a chosaint a bhí sa cheilt seo, is cinnte, ach bhí cúis eile léi freisin. Tuigeadh dóibh go mba pobal tuathánach a bhí in Inis Oírr agus cheadaigh an tuiscint sin – a bhí coitianta i measc antraipeolaithe na linne – dóibh an t-oileán a shamhlú mar mhicreacosma d’Éireann. Dar leo, Beag-Éireann a bhí in Inis Beag. Ba chuid de chruthú na samhla sin í an cheilt. Bhí ceilt den tsaghas seo coitianta go deimhin, faiseanta fiú, i measc antraipeolaithe na linne, tráth gur chreid roinnt scoláirí gur bhronn cur chuige fuarchúiseach mar é údarás ar an léann. Ba bheag an chosaint a bhí sa cheilt seo, áfach, d’oileán agus do phobal chomh beag le hInis Oírr. Mar a dhéanann gach leabhar, tharraing sí caint. Bhí daoine ann nár aontaigh lena raibh le léamh inti. Sílim go mb’fhiú a admháil anseo gur chuir Árainneach eile fainic orm blianta ó shin, nuair nach raibh mé ach díreach tosnaithe ar mo thaighde ar cheol agus amhráin ar thrí Oileán Árann, gan ainm Messenger a lua in Inis Oírr ar eagla go gcuirfeadh a leithéid de chaint mo shaothar-sa léinn i mbaol.

Indiana University, Archives of Traditional Music: 

John C. Messenger Ireland recordings, 

Galway, Donegal, Mayo and Clare Counties, 1959-64.

Accession number: 71-194-F.

Pé deacracht a bheadh ag daoine áirithe lena saothair, an leabhar ach go háirithe, d’fhág John agus Betty Messenger ábhar an-spéisiúil ina ndiaidh. Is iad a ghlac na grianghrafanna iomadúla atá crochta i dteach ósta Tigh Ned, mar shampla, grianghrafanna a léiríonn mar a briseadh an Plassy, an long atá ar chladaigh thoir an oileáin ó 1960 anuas. Maireann ábhar scannánaíochta ón lá sin freisin, chomh maith le líon mór taifeadaí fuaime a tógadh, ní amháin in Inis Oírr, ach in Inis Meáin, Dúlainn, Toraigh, agus An Pháirc, Co. Mhaigh Eo. Díobh seo, soláthraím thíos ceann díobh: Murchadha an Phosta Ó Donnchadha as Inis Oírr ag rá Bean a' Leanna ar 28 Iúil 1962.

Tabharfaidh an t-ábhar seo – idir grianghrafanna, scannáin, taifeadaí agus scríbhinní – deis do ghlúin úr a breithiúnas féin a thabhairt ar shaol an oileáin san am sin. Gabhaim mo bhuíochas leo seo a leanas a chur an taifead thuas ar fáil dom agus a thug dom a gcaoinchead é a roinnt libh anseo: Marilyn Graf i gCartlanna an Cheoil Thraidisiúnta, Ollscoil Indiana, Bloomington; Robbie Hannan in Ard-Mhúsaem Tuaiscirt Éireann; agus Betty Messenger, atá beo bríomhar go fóill i gColumbus, Ohio.

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There are two sides to every story, but in Ireland, we add to that saying “there are twelve ways to sing a song.” It’s an acknowledgment of the power of each performance to generate discussion, and even disputes, a tip of the hat to confirm the centrality of song in Irish cultural life. Working on this project frequently calls the saying to mind.

Between 1959 and 1964, the American anthropologists John Cowan Messenger and his wife Betty Messenger spent several long periods of time in Inis Oírr. Like many other contemporary anthropologists working in Ireland – including Hugh Brody, Robin Fox, Alexander J. Humphreys, and Nancy Scheper-Hughes – they focused on all aspects of island life from the cradle to the grave, dwellings, clothes, foodways, work, craftsmanship, pastimes, courting, sexual mores, religion, mental illness etc. In 1969, John published a book entitled Inis Beag Isle of Ireland, which gives a correspondingly broad sweep of island life, but which also conceals identities of people and place. Pseudonyms have the potential to protect the innocent, certainly, but the Messengers had other reasons for adopting them. They imagined that the community in Inis Oírr represented a ‘peasant’ culture (in the non-derogatory sense – a typically agrarian, rural, largely non-cosmopolitan and homogenous culture), one that could be interpreted as a microcosm of the greater island of Ireland. Renaming Inis Oírr and its people was a necessary element of their characterization. For the purposes of contemporary anthropology, it also lent a degree of objectivity and, therefore, authority to that practice. Ultimately, the protection that pseudonyms offered to such a small and close-knit community was inadequate. The book caused such controversy that, over thirty years later, just as I was starting out on my research into the musical traditions of Aran, a fellow islander cautioned me to avoid mentioning the name of Messenger in Inis Oírr in case it would jeopardize my own scholarly efforts.

Whatever difficulty some people might have with their enterprise, the book in particular, John and Betty Messenger left us a fascinating body of work including manuscript materials, film, photographs, and recordings, one of which is being published for the very first time, right here: Murchadha an Phosta Ó Donnchadha of Inis Oírr singing Bean a' Leanna on 28 July 1962.

This collection of material will give a new generation the opportunity to draw its own conclusions about life in Inis Oírr in the early 1960s. The recording has been made available here through the kind offices of the following: Marilyn Graf at the Archives of Traditional Music, Indiana University, Bloomington; Robbie Hannan at the National Museum of Northern Ireland; and Betty Messenger, who resides in Columbus, Ohio.