The Scotish Sporran
What Is A Sporran?
A sporran is an essential accessory for a man wearing a kilt. It can be thought of as the male equivalent of a "purse" or - in more modern terminology - a small "bum bag". This is needed because the traditional kilt has no pockets. Since it hangs just below the belt buckle the sporran also had (and perhaps still has) the extra advantage of protecting the male genital area from both inadvertent exposure and from attack.The origin of the sporran is lost in history, however the earliest ones were likely to have been simple animal skins. Today they are usually made of leather or fur. Leather sporrans are more practical for day to day wear, those made of fur are more popular for dress or semi-dress purposes and these are the ones tourists will usually see worn by a street bagpiper.
Sporrans carry a variety of decorations, very often some form of Celtic pattern. Many of them - particularly the dress variety - have a metal trim at the top and/or tassles. These tend to be more ornate for more formal dress sporrans. You can also buy a variety of specialist attachments such as chainss, hangers, kilt belts etc.
Full Mask
For those who really want to raw, historical feel of a traditional Scotish highlander you can also buy what is known as a full mask sporran. These are made from the fur of a single animal - complete with head. Such full mask sporrans are most popular with members of historical re-enactment and roleplay societies and are almost never seen in the streets of a modern Scottish city.Licence to Sporran?
In 2007 a BBC news report suggested that sporran wearers might be forced to buy a licence due to EU legislation on protected species. The situation regarding this legislation is unclear and some people disagree with the BBC interpretation. Here are a couple of relevant links: BBC News: Sporran wearers may need
licence
Scottish Sporrans – The Licence – The
Truth
