Tossing a caber has deep roots in Scotland and Modesto

I will not yield

To kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet,

And to be baited with the rabble's curse.

-- Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 8

Young Malcolm would go on to become King Malcolm III of Scotland (1058-1093) and a tradition established then would find its way from 11th century Scotland to become an annual event in Modesto.

When Malcolm III needed his messages delivered in his kingdom a fast runner was a necessity, but where to find one? Malcolm's solution was to hold competitions to find a runner fast and strong enough to carry his letters. From that idea, other Scottish nobles would conduct contests and displays of strength. What were first performed from need eventually became the Highland Games.

A modern version of those games will be conducted at Tuolumne River Park on Saturday.

The Scottish Games first appeared in the United States in the middle of the 19th century. San Francisco's first games were in 1865 with the valley's first version in 1876 in Sacramento. Modesto didn't come around until 1981, when it was organized by the St. Andrew's Society of Modesto (which had been established only the year before).

The games consist of athletic events such as "putting the stone," the Scottish hammer, "weight for height" and the most well-known Scottish game, "the caber toss." This looks like an attempt to heave a telephone pole, but like all of these games, it has a long tradition.

Before entering a chieftain's castle, a visiting clansman displayed his strength by tossing the chieftain's "stone of strength." That tradition has come to us as "putting the stone," during which a 26-pound stone is thrown. The Scottish hammer weighs 16 pounds (light) or 22 pounds (heavy) and is tossed for distance. The unusually named "weight for height" is somewhat like pole vaulting, but instead of jumping over the high bar, the contestants take a 56-pound ball and try to toss it over. Like pole vaulting, the effort fails if the ball dislodges the bar. Each time a height is cleared the bar is raised.

The caber toss is the most well-known of the Scottish Games. The caber ranges in height from 15 to 19 feet and weighs 90 to 135 pounds. The competitor lifts the caber from the ground and rests it against the shoulder, while holding the tapered end in his hands. Once balanced, the contestant runs and then heaves the caber forward. The goal is to get the caber to go end over end, with the tapered end landing in a vertical position and falling straight forward, ensuring a high score. Points are lost if the caber falls to the right or left or doesn't go end over end. Each competitor gets three tosses.

With the games come highland dancing, music, including bagpipe and Celtic bands, vendors with Scottish goods and typical Scottish food. The Avenue of the Clans provides information on Scottish ancestry.

McAndrews is a docent and board member of the Great Valley Museum. E-mail him at columns@modbee.com.