Biography

Christina Shaw was the daughter of William MacDonald [11430] from Ardhasaig, Harris. William came from Strond, in the southern end of Harris, and his wife, Mòr (Morag), was from Miavag, on the east side of the island. Both were good singers. They had six children, four daughters and two sons. Christina was the youngest and was born on St Andrew's Day, 1906. She lived in her family home in Miavag until she married Murdo Shaw. They lived in Bunavoneddar for twenty-four years before moving to Tarbert. Christina and her sister, the singer Peggy Morrison [6977], were especially knowledgeable about history, songs, and spiritual poems.

Speaking on BBC Radio nan Gàidheal on 08/08/1989, Christina talked about her heritage:

"My father and mother sang. But my mother couldn't compose poems or rhymes, although my father could, and so could my grandfather, and my father's brothers. We grew up surrounded by music and song, in the village, at waulkings, at weddings and inside the houses. I waulked the cloth before I left school, at the waulking board with women who were older than me. Later I was a spinner, and I made cloth, weaving it, and waulking as every other girl in the village at that time. There was no other work then."

Christina was asked how she remembered so many songs and poems:

"I remember them because I love them. And they are here now, in my memory, in my heart, and in my mind, because of the respect we had for them, because we, as you say in English, put our "heart and soul" into our singing, and poetry and songs. Our heritage was in us and the village was full of music and it was our main pastime. How could we forget them."

She explained how easy it was for her to learn new songs:

"If I heard it twice at a wedding, however many quatrains it contained, I would remember every word. My sister and many others would remember it too."

Christina liked the spiritual poems of John Morrison (Iain Gobha na Hearadh) [11084] and sang two of his poems and Dùisg Anam Dùisg among the poems on the album A Chuideachd Mo Ghaoil by her friend Mòrag MacLeod [483] from Scalpay and published by Acair in 1980.

Christina died on the 26th of November 1996. More Information about Christina and her sister Peggy is in the journal of the School of Scottish Studies, Tocher, Number 41.