The Sword Dance (Gillie Challum)


The Sword Dance is mentioned in documents going back to the reign of Malcolm III, King of Scots in the eleventh century. Known in Gaelic as "Canmore", "Great Head", he allegedly danced over his bloody claymore, (the ancient two-handed sword of Scotland), crossed with the sword of his defeated enemy .
After this the Sword dance was traditionaly danced by Scottish Warriors on the eve of battle, to touch the swords was considered a bad omen for the impending battle, and the soldier would expect to be wounded, if he kicked the sword he would expect to be killed, if many dancers touched their swords the clan would then believe they would lose the battle. Following this tradition today; in a competition if a dancer touches a sword they will at least loses marks. However, if the dancer kicks  the sword, they are instantly disqualified.


Heather(no742) doing the 'Sword Dance' in the Finals of the 2015 World Championships at Dunoon in Cowal; she didn't kick her swords!