Celtic Music in The United States - Celtic Identity Through Music in America

Celtic Identity Through Music in America

Dynamic identities contribute to Benedict Anderson’s notions of nationalism and nationality. The Celtic identities constructed in America contribute to the dynamic being of American nationalism that we are founded upon. Freedom, a foundational principle of American society, was encouraged by the Celtic influence in Appalachia through their contribution to Union forces during the Civil War. The Union was a more democratizing entity and more willing to accept pluralism in American society compared to their Confederate counterparts who were more bent on maintaining a separatist identity

According to Benedict Anderson, “nationality” was formed from the accumulation of cultural artifacts that were able to be transplanted to an array of environments and societies and merge with a wide variety of political and ideological frameworks. This imagined nationality as Benedict calls it, is a constantly shifting and dynamic entity. “It is imagined because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow members, yet in the mind of each lives the image of their communion.” (Anderson, 6). Celtic identity is one such imagined community. The diaspora of Celts from other areas of the world to America is representative of the imagined community.

The cultural diaspora from the United Kingdom, specifically Scotland, Ireland and England, landed primarily in the Appalachian region of the United States. Thousands of immigrants sailed and maintained and improved on agricultural pursuits to better improve their lives. The British brought with them cultural elements such as music, dress, and ideology. Among these Brits were those defined as Celts, or people who resided in or spoke the languages of Ireland, Wales, Scotland, or Brittany. The Celtic identity is complex: A large portion of this Celticness rested on musical practices, both spoken word and instrumental, that constructs the distinct identity. Layered regional and national identities were assembled over time in the Celtic-speaking world, centered on practices of both modern and historic Celtic instruments.

American Bluegrass and Folk music styles have roots in Appalachian cultures linked to Scottish, Irish, and English peoples, or Celts. Layers of American identity were constructed by the influence of a new musical style. Culture was formed and community was created. Regional identity flourished. This concept of nation building in America is particularly true for the Scots and stems in part from the vast territory that led to development of family autonomy, or Clans, in Scotland and influenced the role of the individual. New layers of identity were created by the influx of Celts to America.

Identity is composed of characteristics and values that contribute to individuals and communities. Identities combine to form a distinct sense of nationalism.

Michael Dietler asserts that Celtic identity, which rose within Celtic speaking regions such as Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Brittany, is itself an “imagined community” possessing its own nationalist ideals constructed from regional and individual cultural identities. The sense of nationalism that Celts possess is what Dietler refers to as Celticism, “self-conscious attempts to construct ethnicized forms of collective memory and communal identity that are territorially bounded and imbedded in overt political projects and ideologies.” (Dietler 239). He continues to define Celtitude as the feeling felt by those who draw ethnic ties to Celtic life. They feel a sense of ethno-nostalgia for Scottish or Irish heritage. Celticity is centered on a global spiritual connection to the idea of Celtic identity. This is composed of people who wish to identify as something other than white.

Dietler’s theories on identity suggest that music and cultural identities have overlapped. Celtic styles merge with other styles and move toward a role as “World Music”: many can relate to world music and Celtic styles create solidarity among those who wish to identify as Celtic.