Tarskavaig
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Tarskavaig (''Tarsgabhaig'' in
Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...
) is a crofting village on the west coast of
Sleat Sleat ( ) is a peninsula and civil parish on the island of Skye in the Highland council area of Scotland, known as "the garden of Skye". It is the home of the clan '' MacDonald of Sleat''. The name comes from the Scottish Gaelic , which in tur ...
on the
Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some of ...
in
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. It sits in a glen which meets Tarskavaig Bay and lies opposite the Isles of
Eigg Eigg ( ; ) is one of the Small Isles in the Scotland, Scottish Inner Hebrides. It lies to the south of the island of Isle of Skye, Skye and to the north of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Eigg is long from north to south, and east to west. With ...
,
Rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...
and Canna. It is often said that Tarskavaig has the best view of the
Cuillin The Cuillin () is a range of mostly jagged rocky mountains on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. The main Cuillin ridge is also called the Black Cuillin to distinguish it from the Red Cuillin ('), which lie to the east of Glen Sligachan.R. Anderson & ...
in Skye and is home to the oldest sheep in the world. Tarskavaig is a traditional crofting village, with a high number of
Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...
speakers, several families with children, and active crofters. It has an SSSI related to the Tarskavaig Moine Thrust, which is located at Achnacloich. The crofting township of Achnacloich or Achadh na Cloiche (Scottish Gaelic: "Stonefield") is located on the outskirts of Tarskavaig by the Gillean Burn watercourse.


History

The small coastal crofting community of Tarskavaig is located within Lord MacDonald's old estate, on the Sleat peninsula of Skye. The first Norwegian settlers arrived on Skye around 875 AD and with inter-marriage a
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
-Norwegian population was quickly established. The name of the village reflects the long and mixed history of the village, being an
Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
name, ''þorskavágr'' (or ''þorskavík''), modern Norwegian ''Torskavåg'' (alternatively ''Torskavik''), which translates as "Cod Bay" in English. This connection between the
Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9â ...
and the
Gaels The Gaels ( ; ; ; ) are an Insular Celts, Insular Celtic ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. They are associated with the Goidelic languages, Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising ...
can be seen by the inclusion of ''tarsk'' as a loan word in Gaelic, from ''torsk'' in Norwegian. The recent discovery of a very significant Viking boatyard at Rubha an Dùnain, located only from this crofting/fishing community, indicates the possibility of a Viking maritime link between the two sites. Up until the 16th century, the area around Tarskavaig was subject to feuds between the MacLeod and MacDonald clans. However, it was not until the 17th century (Charter of 1617) that the MacDonalds finally established control of the area and the clan chief settled at Armadale. Tarskavaig first appeared on Lord MacDonald's estate rental records in 1718, but it was not until 1766 that the small farming community appeared on a map. The sale of black cattle, as in other parts of Skye at the time, provided the main source of income to pay the rent. The village of Tarskavaig was developed in 1811 to allow Lord MacDonald to exploit the resources of the sea and the under-utilized, poorer-quality land along the coast. The village was laid out to 31 small crofts, but they were not big enough to support a family from the land alone, so the tenants were forced to earn money from kelping and fishing in order to pay the rent. The economy of Tarskavaig was dependent on five key activities: the breeding of black cattle for sale, growing potatoes, fishing, kelping, and the rearing of sheep for wool. Tragically, during the course of the 19th century, these vital sources of employment and subsistence successively failed, or declined, leaving the economy of the village in ruins. It was only by finding ever more 'work in the south' that crofting families were able to survive. The 'Year of Destitution' in 1837 was the turning point in the history of Tarskavaig, as the land could no longer support the rising population. After reaching a peak of 250 in 1837, the number of inhabitants declined steadily. The Potato Blight of 1846 (a year after Ireland) was another massive blow to the community, as over 80% of the diet was being provided by the potato, and crofting there entered a period of decline. Gaelic was very much the natural tongue of the home, work, and church in Sleat during the 19th century, and it remained overwhelmingly Gaelic speaking until the end of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Gaelic speakers in the parish of Sleat: 1891, 89.3%; 1901, 89.7%. However, Gaelic was even more widely spoken in Tarskavaig: 1891, 97.6%; 1901, 95.2%. In 1901, around 19% of the population of Tarskavaig could only speak Gaelic. By the time of the 2001 census, 54% of the population of Tarskavaig spoke Gaelic, compared to an average of 31% for Skye. Regardless of all the improvements in land ownership brought about by the Crofters Holdings (Scotland) Act 1886, traditional crofting continued its decline into the 20th century. Increasingly, the crofters had to derive substantial income from employment outside the village in order to keep the crofts functioning. However, following formation of the Clan Donald Lands Trust in 1971 and creation of the successful
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig Sabhal Mòr Ostaig (; ) is a public higher education college situated in the Sleat peninsula in the south of the Isle of Skye, Scotland with an associate campus at Bowmore on the island of Islay. Sabhal Mòr is an independent Academic Part ...
(Gaelic college) at Kilmore in 1974, there has been a major recovery in the population of the area in recent years. In 2022, a woman was injured by a stabbing at a property in Tarskavaig during the Skye and Lochalsh attacks.


Nearby settlements

Achnacloich, Tokavaig and Ord are all situated on or near the minor road that serves Tarskavaig.


Places of interest

Original School - the
Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge The Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge, or the SSPCK, was a group established in Scotland to promote the better understanding of the principles of the reformed Christian religion, principally through the established Church of S ...
(SSPCK) set up the first school at Tarskavaig in 1815 because of the distance to the parish school at Kilmore. Croft 11 was used for the school, and can still be seen today in the middle of the village with its rusty red tin roof. Free Church – the abandoned Free Church and Schoolhouse, which sits just outside the village, was paid for and built by the villagers of Tarskavaig around 1860. The old church sits on a small bay just outside the village. Tarskavaig Community Hall – was built on the hill overlooking the village on the site of the old Church of Scotland. Old Post Office and Shop – closed in 1975, but the building can still be seen on croft 14, next to the road. Tarskavaig Point – best sea views, old Free Church, Bull Croft. Last School - A new school with accommodation for 80 pupils was built in 1876, but it was located over the hill and closer to Tocavaig. The renovated schoolhouse sits in Gauscavaig bay, with a view of the remains of
Dunscaith Castle Dunscaith Castle also known as Dun Scaich, Dun Sgathaich Castle and Tokavaig, is a ruined castle on the coast of the Isle of Skye, in the north-west of Scotland. It is located in the Parish of Sleat, in the Highland council area, and in the ...
, which was the principal seat of the MacDonald Clan in the 15th century. The Tarskavaig Moine Thrust SSSI is located in the adjacent crofting township of Achnacloich.


References

#First Statistical Account of Sleat, 1791–99. #An Economical History of the Hebrides and Highlands of Scotland, John Walker, 1808. #Second Statistical Account of Sleat, 1840. #Census Returns Tarskavaig, 1841–1901. #Sir John McNeill's report on the 'Western Highlands and Islands" to the Board of Supervision for the Poor (Scotland), House of Commons, 1851. #Napier Commission Report, 1884. #'Gàidhlig (Scottish Gaelic) Local Studies – Vol 12, Skye', Kurt C Duwe, 2006. Gaelic speaking statistics. #Clan Donald Library Records and Research.


External links

{{Skye Populated places in the Isle of Skye