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Dè a’ Ghàidhlig a tha air propaganda? Bidh sinn a’ cleachdadh an fhacail eadar-nàiseanta – propaganda! Tha e a’ tighinn bhon Laidinn propagare – a tha co-cheangailte ris a’ Bheurla propagate. Tha propaganda a’ ciallachadh ‘for that which is to be propagated’.Ìý

Nochd am facal anns an t-seachdamh linn deug anns an Eaglais Chaitligich. Mu dheireadh an ochdamh linn deug, bha e air a chur gu feum ann an co-cheangal ri gnothaichean saoghalta. Mu mheadhan an naoidheamh linn deug, nochd e ann am poilitigs.

Carson a tha mi a’ smaoineachadh air propaganda? Tha, a chionn ʼs gun robh mi ag innse dhuibh mu Chath Chromdhail. Mar a mhìnich mi, chaill na Seumasaich gu dubh ann.

Ach chan ann mar sin a tha e anns an òran The Haughs of Cromdale. Chaidh a sgrìobhadh o chionn fhada ann an Albais. Faisg air toiseach an òrain tha seo:

I met a man in tartan trews, Spiered at him whit wis the news, Quo' he, ‘The Hieland army rues, That e'er we cam tae Cromdale.’ 

Anns an dàrna rann, tha an t-òran a-mach air ‘The English horse’. Ge-tà, bha saighdearan Albannach ann am feachd an riaghaltais. Tha an t-òran cuideachd ag ràdh gun do sheas na fineachan ri armailt an riaghaltais. Ach, gu fìrinneach, theich iad le ʼm beatha.

An uair sin, tha an t-òran a’ dol gu tur ceàrr. Tha e a’ toirt a-steach Montròs, seann cheannard airm. Bha esan air a bhith marbh airson ceathrad bliadhna! Anns an òran, thathar ag ràdh gun do sheas na fineachan ri Crombail aig Cromdhail is gun do chuir iad ruaig air an nàmhaid. 

O’ twenty-thousand Cromwell's men, A thousand fled tae Aiberdeen, The rest of them lie on the plain, There on the Haughs of Cromdale.

Cha robh Oliver Crombail an sàs anns a’ chath. Cha robh ach dà mhìle saighdear aig armailt an riaghaltais. Tha an t-òranaiche a’ cuimhneachadh seann chogadh còrr is ginealach roimhe. Tha e a’ cur gleans air an sgeul. À call, thàinig buaidh! Bha an t-òran soirbheachail oir tha gu leòr a’ creidsinn gun do bhuannaich na Seumasaich aig Cath Chromdhail. Abair deagh eisimpleir de phropaganda!

What is the Gaelic for propaganda? We use the international word – propaganda! It comes from the Latin propagare – which is connected to the English propagate. Propaganda means ‘for that which is to be propagated’.

The word appeared in the seventeenth century in the Catholic Church. Around the end of the eighteenth century, it was used in connection with secular matters. Around the middle of the nineteenth century, it appeared in politics.

Why am I thinking about propaganda? It’s because I was telling you about the Battle of Cromdale. As I explained, the Jacobites lost badly.

But that’s not how it is in the song The Haughs of Cromdale. It was written a long time ago in Scots. Near the start of the song, there is this:

I met a man in tartan trews, Spiered at him whit wis the news, Quo' he, ‘The Hieland army rues, That e'er we cam tae Cromdale.’ 

In the second verse, the song mentions ‘The English horse’. However, there were Scottish soldiers in the government force. The song also says that the clans stood up to the government army. But, in truth, they fled for their lives.

Then the song goes completely wrong. It brings in Montrose, an old military leader. He had been dead for forty years! In the song, it is said that clans stood up to Cromwell at Cromdale and that they put their enemy to flight:

O’ twenty-thousand Cromwell's men, A thousand fled tae Aiberdeen, The rest of them lie on the plain, There on the Haughs of Cromdale.

Oliver Cromwell was not involved in the battle. The government army had only two thousand soldiers. The songster remembers an old war more than a generation before. It polishes the story. From loss came victory! The song was successful because many believe that the Jacobites won the Battle of Cromdale. What a great example of propaganda!