The French Atlantic island of Ouessant has created a
distinctive Celtic tartan and registered it with the overseers of
the traditional motif in Scotland, local enthusiasts revealed
Monday.
A tartan is a chequered pattern invented in Scotland to
distinguish between highland clans when worn as a kilt or sash. Its
use has begun to spread to other Celtic communities in northwest
Europe and the Americas.
"A few of us wear kilts on Ouessant, to cock a snook at
outsiders as a joke. So, after a trip to Scotland, we thought 'Why
not design a tartan in our island's colours?'," Serge Cariou said
in Brest, on mainland Brittany.
Ouessant, known as Enez Eusa in Breton, lies around 30
kilometres (20 miles) off the Breton peninsula, making it the most
westerly inhabited territory in France, and shares Brittany's
Celtic culture and traditions.
According to Cariou, the new Ouessant tartan will include black
and white stripes in reference to the Breton flag and blue and
green elements in honour of the robes of ancient Celtic druids and
bards.
"Those are the colours of the Eussaf clan, an ancient family
that gave its name to Ouessant," he added, noting that "Eusa" as it
will be known is the eleventh Breton tartan to be registered.
"This tartan is not a gimmick, it's an act of cultural identity
to assert that we have roots," declared Jean-Yves Cozan, Ouessant
regional councillor.
"Just as a rootless Japanese puts his kimono on when he gets
home, I'll put my kilt on when I get back to Ouessant," he said,
brandishing a Eusa kilt cut for the occasion by a Scottish
tailor.
The Eusa design has been entered on the Scottish Register of
Tartans as number 10,236, 10 years after a loosening of the rules
as to who can declare a tartan led to an explosion of non-Scottish
and non-clan motifs.