When celebrating in times of peace, one of the Highlanders' favorite
pastimes was the tainchel. This "great hunt" often included several clans
that would venture out into the mountains and begin driving the red deer
and other animals into a gradually tightening circle. Soon the animals were driven off the mountains and through the passes where the waiting armed huntsmen would make the kills.
After such a successful hunt, a great feast and celebration would follow.
The rival clansmen would relax by testing each other's prowess at various sports — such as running, jumping, wrestling or primitive forms of weight putting with stones — and enjoy piping and dancing to demonstrate their agility. These relaxations were, in effect, the forerunners of the modern Highland games.
Come see Rampant Lion Games the weekend of September 18, 2010
at the Oklahoma Scottish Festival