EDINBURGH, Scotland — There were kilts, caber-tossing and a touch of controversy as more than 40,000 Scots from around the world descended on Edinburgh on Saturday for an event billed as the largest gathering of the clans in 200 years.
Members of the Scottish Diaspora from the United States to New Zealand assembled for The Gathering 2009, part of a year of celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the birth of Scottish poet Robert Burns.
Prince Charles formally opened the two-day event, which includes a traditional Highland Games, whiskey tasting and a parade of 8,000 clansmen along Edinburgh’s Royal Mile from The Queen’s official residence in Scotland, the Palace of Holyrood House, to Edinburgh Castle.
But one academic said organizers had made little effort to invite people of Scottish descent from the Caribbean, a region with links to Scotland since the days of slavery. Geoff Palmer, of Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University, said the gathering gives “too narrow a definition” of Scottishness, and should include those who don’t belong to a specific clan. Organizers say there are about 500 clans registered around the world.
