One of the Crossroads frequent visitors is a man from the Albany, New York area who goes by the name of “Gobae.” He is both an ASL enthusiast who has been studying the language for several years (and is now contemplating becoming an interpreter), and also a Celtic re-enactor with a strong interest in the culture and history of the ancient Celts.
Recently he and Ocean had an interesting conversation regarding that dual interest in two cultures, which resulted in the following interview:
I guess I’ll start by asking the obvious question – what does “Gobae” mean and how did you pick this name for yourself?
Gobae is ancient Gaelic for “blacksmith”. Among other things, I am a blacksmith and it’s also the basis for the ‘persona’ I use while re-enacting.
I have seen some of your work on your website, and you do make beautiful things! In addition, I believe your wife Sarah is a metalsmith who makes some beautiful pieces of jewelry as well…
I understand you have a Celtic re-enactment group. What exactly is this group all about?
Our group, Ancient Celtic Clans, allows personas of any of the Celtic peoples from 600 BC to 1400 AD. We actively recreate the lives of the ancient Celts through the study and participation in their poetry, religion, crafts, combat, and events.
How did you become interested in the Celtic culture in the first place? What is it about the Celts that appeals to you?
I was raised in a Fundamentalist Christian home, but around the age of 16 or 17 I realized that the histories and beliefs I was being taught originally belonged to the Jewish culture, which was fine and good…but I felt something was missing. Additionally, in school we learned about early civilizations such as Greek, Roman, and Egyptian.
However, my own heritage is Scottish and Welsh; so what was MY ancestors’ history? This prompted my interest to study more about the peoples of the ancient British Isles, which led me to the Celts.
Interesting. I too have Celtic blood running through my veins, on both sides of the family. There seems to be something about being a Celt that just calls out to you…
Absolutely! There’s a lot about the Celts that I had never been taught, and it was time to find out more about them.
Not only do you have a strong interest in the Celtic culture, you also are very interested in the Deaf culture as well. Can you explain how you became interested in the Deaf culture and your involvement in the Deaf Community?
My interest in ASL and Deaf culture was really spurred through contact – it seemed no matter where I was working, I was running into Deaf people! Now, I don’t live in an area with a large Deaf population, so I took this as a “sign” (pardon the pun), and enrolled in ASL classes at a local college, where I took all the classes they offered.
Then I met a Deaf teenager who lived in the neighborhood, and he spent a lot of time with me and my family. I enjoyed having him around and he enjoyed being active and learning about blacksmithing. Sadly, he died a couple of years ago…but I have tried to stay active in the Deaf community since then – I work in a school with a Deaf mainstream program, and I have also provided “interpreting” services for a local Deaf Pagan at Pagan events (I’m not a certified interpreter, but she understands this and we work well together to meet her communication needs).
Do you have a lot of Deaf people who show up at your events? Do they seem to show an interest in learning about Celtic culture?
Unfortunately, no. I’ve not had any Deaf individuals show up at an event where I was doing a demo…which I would love to see change, because I have a lot of information and really cool stuff that I could show them!
Re-creation of a 5th century mobile Irish “cerdcha” – ancient Gaelic for a smithy
I don’t know how many Deaf people would be actually interested in learning about the Celts, but I know that many in the Deaf community do have an interest in the outdoors – we have Deaf Timberfests, Deaf Camper groups, etc. And certainly there are Deaf individuals who are interested in history. I would encourage you to check out such groups, and of course I also encourage our Deaf readers to get in touch… it seems this is something that could be a great opportunity for a joint venture – an opportunity for Deaf individuals to learn something about how ancient civilizations lived and camped, and for you to be able to interact with the Deaf Community.
I have gone to the Deaf Club in our area, and the people were fantastic – they were polite and enthusiastic about making sure I was included. However, it seems that their attendance has steadily declined, and I’m not sure if they still meet. If our area had events like Deaf Campers or Deaf Timberfests, I would DEFINITELY be there! And certainly, I am willing to consider doing special demonstrations for Deaf groups.
Celtic re-enactors demonstrating the use of the “cerdcha” – One is working the bellows to keep the fire hot, while the other shapes the metal on a small anvil
Another thought is that it seems your group would be great for Deaf youth – a truly visual and interactive way of showing them a bit of ancient history. Perhaps you could consider working with Schools for the Deaf or educational programs that serve Deaf students, to set up demonstrations.
It is interesting that you mention that – last Fall some of us participated in a “Live Like a Celt Day” held in Connecticut by The Celtic Learning Project. We had many children there, who learned about various aspects of Celtic life – their society structure and their basic beliefs; their important and/or sacred animals and plants; what they ate and how they cooked it; and how they used metal for such things as tools, weapons, and jewelry. I think the kids really enjoyed it.
Sounds like that was a great time! Thanks so much for telling me a bit more about yourself and your group… and I wish you the best of luck with your continued studies in ASL and Deaf Culture. I hope some day maybe I can join you for one of your events, and perhaps other Deaf individuals would be interested as well!
Thank you… and please do feel free to come visit us – you and others would certainly be welcomed!
For more information, check out Gobae’s website at
www.oakandacorn.com or www.celticclans.oakandacorn.com
or email him at
smiths@oakandacorn.com
Gobae and Ocean plan to continue their discussion of the Celts,
so stay tuned for future posts about this ancient culture!
This sculpture shows the sign for "connect"...and that is what Deaf Pagan Crossroads is all about - making connections. Connections between Deafhood and Paganism, connections between the Deaf Community and the Hearing Community, connections between myself as the writer and you as the reader. I hope you will take the time to read my various posts, some of which are listed below. Welcome to the Crossroads, and I hope you make some connections here!
Interesting stuff. I am a bit suspicious of the term “Celtic” though. It was originally coined by the Greeks, and then the Romans came along and said “Right you ‘orrible lot – everybody to the left of the Rhine is a Celt, everybody to the right of it is a German. Also, some recent research suggests that the inhabitants of England always spoke a variant of a Germanic language, even when they were “Celts” and before the Anglo-Saxons allegedly invaded; article here: http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=7817
I love re-enactment though, it’s fun.
Good comments, Yvonne. I will have to check out that article.
I think you’ve hit upon an issue that is a major problem for anyone interested in studying about the Celts – so much of the historical data available about them is open to interpretation, which does allow for diverse opinions about these peoples.
Because so much of what we know about the Celts actually comes from outside sources (such as the Greeks and the Romans, or from Christian monks), there’s a lot of biases and personal agendas involved, which can affect our perceptions.
But nevertheless, they were a fascinating culture, well worth studying… even if you do have to take some of what is said with a grain of salt.
Great information Ocean…
You manage one way or another come across some amazing people…. I am curious; has he participated in any arts and crafts fairs and if so where has he gone? ..
Human
Yes, I’ve seen that article before. It’s a good one to help open peoples’ eyes to the fact that things are a bit more complicated than they seem at first.
The issue with the term “Celt” is that at one point it was solely a linguistic term; which was not a bad thing. But then people started noticing that the “linguistic Celts” shared various cultural traits too (now the term “Celt” meant two things). The big issue was that in some places there was cultural evidence for Celtic influence and so it was assumed/believed that therefore they also spoke a Celtic language.
What people are beginning to realize today, is that language and culture do not always follow each other hand in hand. For instance the Belgae may not have spoken a Celtic language, but LaTene artifacts and Caesar’s account of how they interacted culturally with other known Gaulic Celts, seem to indicate they were, at least, *culturally* Celtic.
What I hope to see more of is this same idea being applied to the new DNA analysis to map migrations. Just because modern English DNA contains a lot of markers for (I’m pulling someplace at random) the Russian Steppes doesn’t mean the people who migrated managed to keep anything of their original culture or language by the time they got to England. Likewise, Roman culture was spread into Gaul and Britain, and yet their genetic markers don’t represent that. DNA history and culture don’t necessarily go hand in hand either.
Really neat stuff.
My wife and I enjoy camping, and I like the picture of the pot hanging over the fire from the iron hooks.
Is that something you make? Is it for sale? If so, how would I be able to order one for myself?
I would like to try cooking outside with that, I think other Deaf would be impressed to see it!
I have to agree with Kevin – that Celtic Tripod for Outdoor Cooking is a really kewl thing, and as a person who enjoys camping and outdoor cooking, I would like to get that myself one of these days!
And by the way… for those of you getting ready to start barbecuing for the summer, Gobae makes a really neat set of kebab holders for cooking kebabs on the grill…you can see them here:
http://oakandacorn.com/ironsales/firecook.html
human – We used to participate in craft fairs but we’ve learned that too many are not in same genre that we are. For instance black/silversmithing just doesn’t go real well with plastic flower arrangements, knit toilet paper covers, or painted plywood lawn ornaments.
Additionally, we really seem to be able to connect with the public when we’re in a location where we can do a demonstration too (not many craft fairs like the coal smoke 🙂 ). It really seems to get people to understand why our prices are “so high” when they see us working glowing metal and see the time and energy it takes to make even “simple” objects totally by hand.
Currently, we have about 5 main venues we sell and demonstrate at. Rensselaer County Fair, (Schaghticoke, NY), Albany County Fair (Altamont, NY), Celebration of Celts, AppleFest, and the Civil War Living History Weekend (German Flatts, NY).
Kevin – Yes, you can order by sending an email to smiths@oakandacorn.com and we’ll work out the specifics that way. Since each piece is made by hand, 1 at a time we don’t have a shopping cart for online sales.
i want one of those out door cooking pots i love to barbaque but with one of those pots you could more easily cook a fine stew or some oatmeal for breakfast. i would love to watch them work on metal making the swords and such, and i loved the necklace the spiral thing was cool. they aught to do that at a ren faire some times, they could show how celtic people lived and make a buck besides bb birch
I have a strong affinity for Brigid, the patron of Blacksmiths, and have done some of that in the past. If my dreams are realized, I will have the space to do so once again one day soon, and am looking forward to it. Thanks for a very interesting and informative interview!
Ocean,
It would be awesome seeing you doing some demo in deaf festivals!
Hey, have you thought about doing videoconferencing to schools for the deaf? We have videoconferencing sessions where we view a presenter wearing costumes, showing visuals and artifacts/replicas coming from a museum. If you know a facility using videoconferencing system then it will be a smooth sailing for you to connect schools for the deaf. Think about it! 🙂
Barb – I see that your message is directed at Ocean, but did you really mean me?
Anyway, your suggestions are fantastic! The Austine School for the Deaf in VT is not too far away, but with video conferencing it really wouldn’t matter where it was. I could even videotape a basic presentation ahead of time (so the action shots would be clear) and then field questions after via videophone.
I would love to go to a Deaf Camper, Deaf Timberfest, or other deaf festivals and I think it would be neat and would be great if Celts demonstration can be held at these deaf festivals. It’s a great way to learn about language and culture! 🙂
I would love to get more info about the Deaf Camper, Deaf Timberfest, or other deaf festivals.
There are a number of Deaf Events that take place around the country. One way to find out more about them is to do a Google Search – some of these events do have their own websites where you can learn more.
To the best of my knowledge, there are three Deaf Timberfests in the country, and there may be others that I don’t know about. There’s one in Oregon that took place last year, and I’m not sure when they plan to do the next one. There’s one in South Dakota that I think is taking place later this summer. Then there’s one in Maryland, and I believe they won’t be doing their next one until 2008.
Different states have their own Deaf Camping groups – I know that the Illinois Deaf Campers will be getting together in late June somewhere in Central Illinois, a friend of mine belongs to the Minnesota Deaf Campers and they do quite a bit of camping over the summer months, and I’m sure other states have their own groups as well.
The best thing to do is get involved with your own Deaf Community, and that way you can learn more about Deaf events, etc. happening in your own area. Find out if your state has a Deaf email list that you can subscribe to, and this is another good way to get information about Deaf events – Illinois has a Deaf Illinois News egroup that sends out mailings on a daily basis about things happening around the state. Other states have similar lists.
I agree – I would like to see demonstrations like Gobae’s at different Deaf events…it could be interesting and educational. There are people out there – both Deaf and Hearing w/ signing skills who have knowledge on different topics, etc. that we in the Deaf Community could take advantage of if we would reach out and show more of an interest.
It’s fantastic that i’ve heard this article on google , keep up the good work mate …I’ve just subscribed to your feeds. Cheers Up!