Breton identity
Meet the Bretons
In search of the Breton identity
For very busy people…
…some « clichés »
 A breton pancake
 A drink of cider
 A cake « kouign amann »
And you can leave with…
 The breton flag Gwen ha du
 A Breton pancake receipe
 Jewellery (triskell)
To understand rural
Brittany better
It is necessary to discover what strengthens Breton identity today
through a language and an open-minded culture…
- Ties with other Celtic peoples, by reading, by seeing exhibitions or –
even better – by taking part in a festival ...
- The Breton language is officially recognized in the community and
learnt in schools.
- In nearby Brocéliande Forest, you will feel the mystery of Arthurian
legends.
- The arts (sculpture, painting, literature, embroidery, pottery ...) which
expresses the Breton identity and creativity today ...
- Depending on the length of your stay, we suggest you experience the
atmosphere of the Breton festivals (fest-noz, fest-dei, etc ...).
By different ways
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Language,
Myths and legends
Traditions, lifestyles ...
Breton history
Music and dances, costumes
Symbols and signs of belonging
The special place held by religion
Way 1 : symbols
 With symbols
• In shops: jewellery
and postcards
The Breton FLAG
BZH : BREIZH
(Brittany)
GWENN HA DU
(black and white):
The breton flag
The rectangle containing
ermines: Former coat of
arms of the Dukes of
Brittany.
 5 black bars: 5 former
regions or bishoprics of
Haute-Bretagne: Dol,
Nantes, Rennes, St Brieuc,
St Malo.
 4 white stripes: 4 former
regions or dioceses of
Lower Brittany Cornwall,
Leon, Tregor and Vannes.
The ermine
A symbol you can see everywhere:
« Death rather than being stained. »
On the coats of arms, in the shops, on the flags...
And on buildings an example like in “rue
Thiers”, Vannes: the entrance of the hotel
Limur
A breton anthem
 The Bro gozh ma Zadoù (Old Land
of My Fathers), song in the Breton
language, is often considered as
"the anthem of Brittany“.
 It’s also the Welsh anthem.
Ni, Breizhiz a galon, karomp hor gwir vro!
Brudet eo an Arvor dre ar bed tro-dro.
Dispont 'kreiz ar brezel, hon tadoù ken mat,
A skuilhas eviti o gwad.
Refrain
O Breizh, ma bro, me 'gar ma bro.
Tra ma vo mor 'vel mur 'n he zro,
Ra vezo digabestr ma bro!
Breizh, douar ar sent kozh, douar ar varzhed,
N'eus bro all a garan kement 'barzh ar bed.
Pep menez, pep traoñienn d'am c'halon zo ker,
Eno 'kousk meur a Vreizhad taer!
You can hear the Breton anthem sung
with great feeling by a choir or a singer
of the region, it represents the strength
of the Breton identity….
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x91r6
8_bro-gozh-ma-zadou-hymnebreton_music
We Bretons in our heart, we love our real country
The Arvor is renowned worldwide.
Without fear in the heart of the war, our ancestors so good
Shed their blood for it. Refrain
Brittany O, my country, I love my country.
As the sea is like a wall that surrounds
My country is free!
Britain, the land of old saints, land of bards
There is no other country in the world that I love so much.
Every mountain, every valley is dear to my heart
There sleep more heroic Breton!
Way 2 : History
 The history of a region that
has been independant for
centuries…
Historical places
 The ramparts and gates of the old
Vannes
 The Constable’s Tower
Traces of the Parliament of Brittany and of the
Ermine Castle.
Anne of Brittany and her visit to Vannes in
1505 (Historical celebrations in July 2014)
Brittany
Regions in France in 2014
The 9 former dioceses of
Brittany
Historical Brittany includes one
county of “Loire Region”.
Way 3: The language
 This language was banned in schools
of the Republic at the time of
construction of the Nation’s unity
(XIXth century)…
 Language that seeks to live and to find
its place: A “charter for regional or
minority languages” had to be signed
in France.
Militancy
 A public Office of the Breton language (Ofis
ar Brezhoneg in Breton), is responsible for
promoting Breton in all areas of social and
public life.
 It has to provide and disseminate Breton
vocabulary adapted to contemporary life.
 It created the Charter "Ya ar brezhoneg"
(Yes in Breton) to promote the use of
Breton in organizations, businesses and
municipalities in historic Brittany.
http://www.ofis-bzh.org/upload/ouvrage/
fichier/301fichier.pdf
To learn the Breton language
 Diwan Schools
(translation: to grow, to
germinate)

and Dihun (= wake up) :
 Diwan highschool of Vannes..
Rue Jean Marie Allanic, 56000 Vannes
Téléphone :02 97 62 60 81
 Primary school Diwan Vannes
3 Impasse de Bohalgo, 56000 Vannes
2
Way 4:
Gastronomy
 To be combined with another way
Main dishes
 Mainly seafood:
Fish from the Gulf and open sea ...
Shellfish: oysters, lobsters, mussels,
scallops, clams ...
 Buckwheat pancakes with local
products.
Kig ha farz
Le Kig ha farz
potée bretonne
La
A traditional dish sometimes found on
the menu in some Breton restaurants or
eaten in special occasions.
Traditional desserts: « Far
breton » and « Kouign Amann »
A Breton speciality : with a lot of salt butter...
You can find
 Restaurants and “crêperies” ...
 Shops with “Produit en Bretagne »
- Different biscuits ... (The Trinitaine, the
“Traou mad” Pont Aven, Saint Michel and
many others ...)
- Canned food (Belle ILOISE,
Quiberonnaise)
- Pastries
- Local sweets: “niniches” from Quiberon
....
Way 5:
Music and dance
You have to attend one of the many Breton festivals : a Breton wedding
as in bygone days, dance competitions .... Two Internet sites will tell
you where to find fest noz and fest dei if you feel like dancing : festnoz.net et tamm-kreiz.com
You just have to choose your place.
Discover the traditional
instruments
 A couple of musicians
 Biniou koz
(traditional Breton bagpipes)
 Bombarde
(Breton clarinet)
Music and dance
Fest noz - Fest dei –
Roue Waroch at Plescop
Brittany, a land of festivals
and interceltic meetings
So you can visit….
 Lorient Inter-Celtic Festival: for 10 days a
year in July-August, meetings of Galicia,
Asturias, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, the Isle
of Man ...
 Music festival, Breton dances and music of
the world: “fêtes de Cornouailles” in
Quimper ...
 An example of musical encounters: Taraf de
Haidouks et de Carancebès (Romania)…
Erik Marchand (Brittany)
A breton association
 Meet a Breton association,
for example:
 Petra Neue in Plescop,
 Celtic Circle of Vannes,
 Tal Ar Mor in Ploeren etc…
 There, you will find the militants of
Breton culture and you will be able to
understand what they want to achieve.
Way 6 : Myths and legends.
Welcome to a land of history and
legends
 Read ‘Légendes de la mort” of Anatole Le
Braz and tales of Brittany goblins, korrigans
...
 Take part in a storytelling festival (Baden in
July)…
 Discover the Arthurian Myth: Knights of the
Round Table in Broceliand Forest.
A walk in Broceliand
Forest
 At the Fountain of Barenton, the meeting
place of Merlin and Viviane, and that of
the fight between Owain and the Black
Knight…
To the « Val sans retour »
 Guided and narrated tour (Paimpont)
 The Fairy Mirror
 The Golden Tree
 Merlin’s chair
To Comper Castle
 Discover the Arthurian center and
participate in games about a legendary
theme around the Castle, an original and
lively way to enter the world of chivalric
legends.
 Participate in storytelling under the oaks, a
conference, an educational workshop ...
To the Tréhorenteuc church
or « Chapel of the Holy
Graal »
Way 7
: Religion
In traditional Brittany, there is an important place for
religion, Druidism and especially Catholicism.
 Sainte-Anne
d’Auray
Breton “pardon”
dedicated to Sainte
Anne, revered in
Brittany.
The Brittany’s founder saints
and the « Tro Breiz »
Churches - Cathedrals
Chapels - sanctuaries
 Towns’ names beginning in « plou et plo »…: Ploeskop
(Plescop, Ploeren…)
 Crosses and parish enclosures, mostly found in the counties of
Finistère and Côtes d'Armor…
See the chapel Notre
Dame du Loch in Saint
Avé which presents some
of these characteristics:
enclosure, fountain and
porch...
And to conclude…
If you want to
discover more about the Breton identity
 You can read for example … Mona Ozouf,
Francis Favereau, JM Le Boulanger, Ronan Le
Coadic, Morvan Lebesque, PJ Elias...
 You can see exhibitions at the Cultural Institute
of Brittany in Vannes
« Bretons don’t only belong to their
city or village, they are Bretons, they
are French, they are European, they
are global citizens.”
This is a time of plural identities
Presentation of Etre breton
JM Le Boulanger
Editions Palantine