Imparting
& Inheriting
Highland Bagpiping
in New Zealand.
Daniel Milosavljevic – University of Otago
Singing Maol Donn
overview
• Singing = method of aural transmission
• Presentation about transmission
• Factors that govern transmission
• Varied contexts for performance
• Highland bagpiping beyond instrument
Performance
transmission
• What informs performance?
• Cultural practices imparted & inherited
• ‘Knowledge’ = understanding of performance
• Deliberate & passive transmission
• Transmission in context…
Pedagogy
Practice
Performance
Playing Maol Donn
Participant Role
Performer
Pupil
Tutor
Participation
Enthusiast
Judge
Supporter
Official
audience
interpreting
• Performance = both aural & visual symbols
• Allows for varied perceptions of imparting
• Also allows for widely varied inheriting
• Competitions are arena for transmission
• Judge accepts or denies any performance
Competitor list
trophies
hierarchies
• Role of participation
• Role of elite
• Role of Scotland
• Role of the past
• Participation link between past & present
What of local tradition?
NZ HB
• Localised transmission evident
• Yet decried by elite as ‘inauthentic’
• Conformity to Scottish standards demanded
• Imparting & inheriting knowledge bound
• Transmission reflects HB in NZ in general