Scottish pipe bands in Winnipeg : a study of ethnic voluntary associations

Abstract

Pipe bands, with their bagpipes and kilts, may be viewed as summarizing symbols for all that is Scottish. In most places the British empire has touched, pipe bands remain. Through a series of historical events, pipe bands, a recent invention, have become uniform in structure. As voluntary non-profit groups, pipe bands fall under the rubric of voluntary associations. Using a comparison base of two Winnipeg pipe bands this thesis intends to examine voluntary association theory. It shall also documents pipe bands as an expression of an ethnic sub-culture, and considers the origins and possible functions of these groups.