Page 19 - Ninnau Jan-Feb 2021

In partnership with Cymdeithas Madog:

The Welsh Tattoo Handbook: An Interview with the Authors

Whether you are interested in Wales while I lived in the U.K.
the history and culture behind as a child. The idea to learn
the Welsh language, or you just Welsh first entered my head in
want to “think before you ink,” grad school. I started with some
The Welsh Tattoo Handbook by CDs and exercise books, but
Robert Davis and Meagan didn’t make much progress.
Davis is a new book from When I moved to Arizona for
Bradan Press that ensures you’ll work, I connected with the
be well informed before you Welsh League of Arizona, and
inscribe. the weeknight Welsh course
Starting with a brief history of that John Good was teaching.
Wales and the Welsh language, That was when I really started
this book goes on to describe to learn Welsh. John then turned
some of the many potential me on to Cymdeithas Madog
sources of inspiration for a and Cwrs Cymraeg, and friends
Welsh tattoo or inscription, from Cymdeithas Madog led us
from historical and mythologi- to Nant Gwrtheyrn, which was a
cal figures, to popular symbols life-changing experience that
such as the draig goch or daf- I’ve written about in Ninnau.
fodil, to poems, songs, and Meagan: On December 31, of emails!
proverbs. There is also a rather 2012, the night Rob proposed to What are a few of your
entertaining chapter on “bad me, he invited me to join him favorite motifs and why? Are
Welsh tattoos” that perhaps on his journey of learning there any phrases or motifs
don’t quite mean what the bear- Welsh at Cwrs Cymraeg 2013 that you particularly connect
er thought they did! The in Chicago. That summer, I with from a personal stand-
remainder of the book contains attended my first Cwrs, and I’ve point?
a glossary of useful words and been learning ever since. I was
phrases, as well as further trans- excited to dive headfirst into Rob: My favorite ideas for
lation resources. Rob’s heritage and hopefully Welsh tattoos are the proverbs,
Rob and Meagan are longtime learn enough to pass the lan- diarhebion, in the glossary.
friends of Cymdeithas Madog, guage on to our future children. There are tons of good ones, but
the Welsh Studies Institute in Now, I’m happy to report, we’re we had to winnow it down to
North America, Inc., and we reading and singing in Welsh to just the ones that really felt like
here at Cymdeithas Madog are our two-year-old daughter, they had strong potential as tat- Rob and Meagan Davis at the 2017 National Eisteddfod in
grateful for their ongoing sup- Kira! toos. I have probably two Bodedern, Ynys Mon.
port of both our organization favorite proverbs. One is “Dim What is your favorite “bad Do you hope that readers of
and the Welsh language—so it Can you describe the kind of glaw Mai, dim mêl Medi”, Welsh tattoo”? the book will go on to learn
seemed only natural to collabo- research you needed to do in which means “No May rain, no Welsh?
rate on an interview that pre- order to write this book? Were September honey.” It’s similar Meagan: That would have to
sents a bit of the “story behind there any especially interesting to “April showers bring May be “Cymru am ddim.” It’s just Rob: Absolutely! I mean,
the story.” We hope you enjoy discoveries you made, or flowers,” but I find it really too funny imagining a sign I’m happy just to help people
it! encounters you had in gather- helps me accept the idea that, advertising “Wales—Free of use good Welsh and not bad
ing information? you know, the rewards of hard Charge!” Obviously, if you Welsh, but we intended the
What inspired you to write times don’t have to come quick- want a tattoo expressing your book to be an easy introduction
this book? Meagan: Of course, we con- ly. There’s a long time between desire for Welsh independence, to the language, hoping that
sulted professionals and native May and September! That the translation you’re looking people’s desire to connect with
Meagan: Our publisher, Welsh speakers to ensure our thought has been important to for is “Cymru Rydd,” or “A their heritage might also move
Bradan Press, has released a translations in the glossary were me during the pandemic. Free Wales.” some of them to go further. I
series of Tattoo Handbooks for accurate. We also had fun My other favorite proverb is Rob: The cringey example think the desire to learn Welsh
the Celtic languages, including researching interesting quotes, “Hen bechod a wna gywilydd from the book that always is very much like the desire for
Irish and Scottish Gaelic. They mythological and historical fig- newydd,” which we use in the makes me laugh is “Fyw. a Welsh tattoo. They’re both
were interested in adding a ures, and cultural information glossary as a Welsh spin on Chwerthin. Cariad.” They were about heritage, and both clear
Welsh handbook to the series, that readers might want to use “What goes around comes going for “Live. Laugh. Love,” expressions of hiraeth. And it’s
and contacted a friend and fel- in tattoos or crafts. I particularly around.” I think the Welsh ver- but it just strikes me as “Alive. not all about becoming fluent.
low Cymdeithas Madog board enjoyed researching Welsh sion is so much better: “An old Laughing. Girlfriend.” I feel Fluency is a complicated sub-
member, Antone Minard, about mythological figures. My per- sin makes a new shame.” You bad for that person. ject anyway, and having studied
ideas for potential authors. sonal favorite is Ceridwen, who know your mam-gu is pointing Welsh for over 15 years myself,
Antone mentioned that we ate a man for stealing a potion her finger at you when she tells What is the number one I know how unattainable any
might be good candidates. We she made and birthed the poet you that! Going beyond the piece of advice you would give standard of proficiency can
submitted a proposal, and Taliesin. proverbs, there were a few glos- to someone looking into a seem to the learner. I think any
Bradan Press accepted it! When Rob: There were three kinds sary entries where the transla- Welsh tattoo? goal a person has for learning
we agreed to submit a proposal, of research involved. The exist- tion task involved a bit more Welsh is a worthwhile goal.
we hoped the book could help ing books in the series gave us freedom, things that really Meagan: Check out the glos- Meagan: The Welsh govern-
both tattoo-seekers and crafters examples of what the glossary called for some artistry. sary in our book, and see if ment has set the goal of one
and be a fun and interesting should be like, so the core task Glossary entry #373 is a quote what you’d like your tattoo to million Welsh speakers by the
introduction to the Welsh lan- was simply to build out that set from Tennessee Williams: “A say is there. If it is, please use it year 2050. We hope those one
guage itself. of 400+ expressions and transla- prayer for the wild at heart, kept exactly as written! If you think million Welsh speakers, or even
Rob: I would never have tions, most of which were in cages.” I translated that as there’s something you’d like to more, will exist. We dedicated
thought to do anything like this straightforward. The second “Gweddi dros galonnau gwyllti- change about it, be sure to con- the book to them, and we’d like
book if the opportunity hadn’t kind of research was all about on dan glo,” which I’m rather tact a Welsh speaker or transla- to think we can make a small
simply fallen into our laps, but the front half of the book; we proud of. I think it’s lovely tor to be sure the change is contribution to helping reach
once the opportunity presented had limited space in which to Welsh. made correctly. Welsh is a liv- the goal. Hopefully the book
itself, sheer enthusiasm inspired present a capsule history of Meagan: I adore the Welsh ing language, and its speakers will inspire some Welsh enthu-
me to think we should do it. We Wales and Welsh. It was impor- dragon, because, let’s be honest, are so helpful, it would be a siasts and those with Welsh her-
owe Cymdeithas Madog a huge tant to us to do justice to the Wales has the coolest flag of shame not to use them as a itage to dig deeper into the lan-
debt of gratitude for this project, language’s history of oppression any country! I’m also a big fan resource! guage and culture, and to join
not only for the connection that and to the importance of poets of the leek, because it’s deli- Rob: The most important the wonderful, warm communi-
gave us the chance to submit a and poetry. We knew that peo- cious. A few of my favorite thing is this: Get qualified help. ty that exists in Wales and
proposal for the book in the first ple might have no idea about phrases from the Glossary are One easy way to do that is to North America.
place, but also for the education the Treachery of the Blue “Segurdod yw clod y cledd,” or use our book. Everything in the
and resources and network of Books, or Capel Celyn, or the “A sword’s praise is its idle- glossary has been thoroughly Is there any other informa-
lovely people that made it possi- RAF bombing school and the ness,” and “Teg yw edrych tuag vetted. In the book we also pro- tion you’d like to share with
ble for us to write it. Antone, fire in Llŷn. They might not adref,” or “Fair it is to look vide information about contact- readers of this piece?
Angharad Devonald, Cris Dafis, know about Welsh poets or the towards home.” The former is a ing professional Welsh transla-
Deian and Annette Evans— Eisteddfod. So we needed the beautiful image of peaceful tors if you need something spe- Both: Rob blogs at thought-
they’ve all been so important to book to provide a kind of leadership. The latter describes cial. Please don’t get a Welsh sofrob.com, not only about
us, and we met all of them “speed date” between the reader the very Welsh feeling of dictionary and start looking Welsh but about lots of other
through Cymdeithas Madog. and the Welsh language, to help hiraeth, which seems perfect for things up word for word, and things, too. Meagan shares her
them connect with the heritage. someone learning more about please don’t place your trust in photography, poetry, and
What originally drew you to The third kind of research was the language and their heritage a translation website. Celtic lan- thoughts about the many dimen-
learning about the Welsh lan- for the hard stuff, the challeng- while searching for an appropri- guages are funny animals, and sions of creative feminism at
guage and culture? ing translations and literary ate tattoo. Both are also gor- Welsh is no exception. It is so ceridwensonnet.com.
Welsh and so on. We leaned geous examples of cynghanedd, easy to get burned. Please, let
Rob: I didn’t grow up with a hard on the expertise of our the Welsh system of poetic us help you.
strong awareness of my family Welsh-language editors, Antone vowel harmony that we also
heritage, but I knew I had Minard and Angharad introduce in the book.
Welsh ancestry, and visited Devonald. We exchanged a lot

Section Y Drych January-February 2021 NINNAU Page 19