Haggis are real. They are real creatures that have roamed the Highlands of Scotland, almost forever. They are not to be mistaken for the haggis puddings that are bought in shops, but the story of how they share the same name is an interesting one.

Back in the early 9th century when the Vikings landed in Scotland, they brought with them what was basically a boil-in-the-bag food parcel, containing scraps of meat and grains, wrapped in muslin. Of course, these supplies didn’t last forever, so they had to hunt for more food. The Vikings, being pretty proficient hunters, set traps and snares for rabbits as well as hunting for deer and stealing the odd sheep. In the traps, they not only caught rabbits, but odd-looking little creatures they had never seen before – real Haggis. Unsure of them, they took the chance, cooked, and ate them, just as they would with rabbits. Unfortunately, the Vikings took a strong liking to them, so they were ferociously hunted. Now, in their food parcels were scraps of meat from the wee creatures they captured. The Scottish people of that time adopted the Vikings idea of keeping scraps of meat and grains in a food parcel as a ready-to-cook meal. However, they discovered they could use the stomach of the sheep instead of wrapping the ingredients in precious cloth - they wasted nothing in those days, and it continued in this way for hundreds of years.

It wasn’t until the 12th century, when the French came to Scotland that the Haggis actually got named. One evening a Scotsman was getting his dinner ready, when a Frenchman saw him boil a stuffed sheep’s stomach, and asked him what is was. The conversation may have gone something like this:

Frenchman: ‘What iz thiz u ‘ave cooking?’
Scotsman: ‘Och, it’s just ma dinner, man.’
Frenchman: ‘But wat iz in et?’
Scotsman: ‘Och, it’s just bits o’ meat and stuff.’
Frenchman: ‘Bits ov Meat? You mean like Hachis?’
Scotsman: ‘Eh? Haggis? Aye, ah suppose so.’

The French word ‘Hachis’ means minced meat, and it was meat from the wee creatures that was in the sheep’s stomach the Scotsman was boiling, so from then on the wee creatures were called Haggis, as were the food parcels.

By the mid 13th century the real Haggis were very near extinction, but they got wise to their imminent demise, and went into hiding. They also became very cunning and clever. This evolutionary change was necessary for it was the only way they could survive, and they were never seen again. Everyone believed they were extinct, and moved on to hunt other game.

Time passed and the wee creatures were forgotten about, but not the food parcles - the Haggis puddings that you now buy from the shops; the Haggis that the famous bard, Robbie Burns, wrote about: ‘To A Haggis - Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o' the Puddin-race! …’

During all this time, the real living Haggis had been recovering from their near extinction and were busy repopulating the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, but still they are never seen. However, a group of them are about to discover that they have become a bit of a legend.

Over the years, as the tourist industry has grown in Scotland, and with Haggis puddings being a traditional meal, the curious tourists have been asking, ‘What is a Haggis?’ Us Scots being who we are, we like to make up stories. The most common one is it’s a creature that runs about the hills of Scotland, etc… The interesting thing about this is that even the people who are telling these stories know they are making them up. Even wee songs and poems are made up to confuse and bamboozle the tourists: ‘How many legs has a Haggis? How high can it fly?...’  The most ironic thing about all this is that there is such a thing as a real Haggis, but the people of Scotland believe they don’t exist; instead they make stories up saying they do. If they only knew the truth!

So now, real Haggis has become a bit of a Scottish myth, and some tourists believe the stories about Haggis roaming the hills. They also believe stories about Haggis Hunting Season starting on Robbie Burn’s Birthday in January. The worst thing of all is, some individuals have tried to cash in on this myth exployting the curious tourists by organising bogus Haggis Hunts…