Caban Merched
Y mae'r adran hon yn le i ddadleuon, perfformiadau a rhannu syniadau cysylltiedig â Merched Chwarel. Rydym yn archwilio:
'Pwy ydym ni, y Chwarel Merched o'r gorffennol, y presennol a'r dyfodol? Sut mae ein hestheteg, hunaniaeth a chysylltiad â lle, diwylliant ac iaith yn cael eu cyfryngu gan y chwareli?'
O fewn pob adran y mae yna ddolennau i wahanol fentrau cysylltiedig, yn ogystal â chyfleoedd i ychwanegu barn.
This section is a space for debate, performance and communal sharing of ideas relating to Merched Chwarel. We are exploring:
‘Who are we, the Merched Chwarel of the past, present and future?
How are our aesthetics, identity and connection to place, culture and language mediated by the quarries?’
Within each topic, there are links to related initiatives, as well as opportunities to add your views.
Merched Chwarel:
Be'dy eich barn chi? What is your opinion?
Sut ydach chi’n cysylltu â'r syniad o Merched Chwarel (os o gwbl)? Bu’m yn gofyn i bobl leol, mewnfudwyr ac ymwelwyr fel rhan o'n hymchwil gwreiddiol, a gallwch weld eu hatebion yn y linc isod. Os oes gennych 10 munud i sbario er mwyn rhannu eich barn am chwareli, byddem wrth ein bodd clywed! Cliciwch y botwm isod.
How do you relate to the idea of Merched Chwarel (if at all)? We asked locals, incomers and visitors as part of our research, and you can view their answers here.If you have 10 minutes you could spare to share your opinion about quarries, we'd love to hear from you! Please click the button below.
Pa un gair, teimlad, llun neu sain fasai'n crynhoi sut dach chi'n teimlo am y chwareli?
What one word, feeling, image or sound would represent how you feel about the quarries?
"Awe" "Amazing"
"Balchder" "Bluegrey" "Brittle"
"Cold" "Clink & jangle" "Dark"
"Explosion of a mountain" "Etifeddiaeth"
"Fascinating" "Familiar" "Fascination"
"Ghosts" “Hiraeth” "Iconic" "Imminence" "Incongruous" " Inspiring "
"Miniog (sharp angles, objects, memories, feelings, emotions)"
"Poignant" "Positive" "Presence" "Prey" "Rhyfeddod"
"Treftadaeth" "Trawiadol"
"The clink and jangle of Johnny Dawes and his climbing partner walking through the access tunnel to Twll Mawr in Stone Monkey"
"The deliberate action of breaking slates, dropping them one by one... on top of the others, creating a mountain..."
"Image: my slate drawings and fences (Crawiau)"
"Swn torri’r llechi/prydferthwch patrymau"
"I love the slate tips as a monument to generations past or generations to come"
“Bu bob un o ddynion y teulu a oedd yn hyn na mi wedi gweithio yn y chwarel; ac mae gennyf feddwl o’r etifeddiaeth, ac fel y mae’r llech yn cael ei gofio ar strydoedd y dref. Ni ellei anghofio!”
If you are a facebook user, see here for a group which gives a glimpse into people’s love of quarries and mines.
A oedd unrhyw ferched o gwbl yn gweithio yn y chwareli?
Did any women at all work in the quarries?
Yn ôl Merfyn Jones, Chwarelwyr Gogledd Cymru 1874 - 1922 "nid oes llawer i wybod am wraig a merch y chwarelwr. Roedd chwareli llechi yn ddiwydiant gwrywaidd, a cyn belled ag y gwyddwn, nid oedd merched yn gweithio mewn chwareli llechi mewn unrhyw fodd, yn enwedig ar ôl cyfnod cynnar chyfalafiaeth a datblygu'r diwydiant."
A yw hyn yn wir? Os felly, paham yw mor wahanol i chwareli mewn ardaloedd eraill o Brydain, gan gynnwys llechi ? ...
According to Merfyn Jones' "the North Wales Quarrymen 1874 - 1922"...
"Little is known about the quarryman's wife and daughter ... Slate quarrying was a male industry and as far as is known no woman worked in a slate quarry in any capacity, certainly not after the early period of capitalisation and development of the industry..."
Is this true? If so, why is it so different to quarrying, and mining - including of slate - in other areas of Britain?....
Walking women?
What does it mean for us to be women in the landscape, in a monumental and (largely/in most places wholey) man-made landscape? How does women’s ‘social’ walking practice differ from that of the classic ‘walker’ (male – from Caspar David Friedrich's image of the 'Wanderer' to the Situationalists to Richard Long), unfettered or separate from the world?
Read Lindsey’ thoughts here… and a response by renowned ‘deep mapper’, Ian Biggs, here.
You may also like to read our personal walking histories - and think of writing your own.
Following our ‘Canu Chwarel - Singing Slate’ escapades in the quarries early in 2019, we hope to return to walking during the summer… look at our events page for details
Possible future topics
Rhinweddau llechi
Rydym yn gobeithio dechrau trafodaethau ynglŷn â deunydd llechi: lliwiau, pwysau, daeareg, seicoleg, ayyb
The qualities of slate
We hope to start some discussions around the materiality of slate: colours, weight, geology, psychology etc
"A yw gwragedd yn ddewis neu reidrwydd?"
Enghraifft dadl yng nghaban Mlaenau Ffestiniog yw hon… Un arall oedd "Faint bwysicaf yw dyn na defaid?". Rydym hoff o hiwmor a her y pynciau hyn, a hefyd ceisio dyfalu sut fasa ddadlau gyfoes o'r fath yn datblygu?
"Are wives a choice or a necessity?"
This was one topic in a Caban debate in Blaenau Ffestiniog.... Another was "How much more important is a man than a sheep?". We like the humour and challenge of these topics, and wonder what a contemporary debate on these issues would be like?