A video in which a TikTok user attempts to explain the meaning and context of the word "hiraeth" has been widely shared after it contained statements and theories which some have described as "absurd". The user, @andylynnevans, posted a video on the social media platform which presented her take on the word and took it in some unexpected directions.
As many of us know, hiraeth has no direct English translation and its meaning is a blend of longing, nostalgia and homesickness. According to Collins dictionary, the word means a “nostalgic longing for a place which can never be revisited”. Over the years, it has become a popularised term and used in various commercial ways, such as on candles, as well as for American actress Rooney Mara’s clothing line, Hiraeth Collective.
But for this TikTok user, the term had a deeper meaning for Welsh people or those with a Welsh connection. In the video, she said: “Let’s talk about ‘hiraeth’ or as you may have heard it on an audio making its rounds on TikTok - ‘heer-ayath’ - a deep homesickness for a home you can’t return to or never was essentially."
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She goes on: "And it’s often paired with a video of somebody getting ‘hiraeth’ tattooed on their body or pensively musing about homesickness while reading a book, thinking about naming their children ‘hiraeth’ - any manner of things. However, ‘hiraeth’ in y Gymraeg is ‘hir’ and ‘aeth’, which is ‘here’ and ‘gone’ or ‘went’ [note: this is not an accurate translation]
"And it is in a sense expressing the grief for a home you can’t return to, but it is to be used by Cymry outside of Cymru because that home we can’t return to is Cymru, because Cymru has been a colony of England for centuries.
"‘Hiraeth’ is trying to capture the impossible wait for a Cymru that could never exist because of colonisation. A Cymru where children were beaten at school for speaking Cymraeg in the practice of the Welsh Not. Or a Cymry who couldn’t hold office because they spoke Cymraeg. For a Cymro who had died in unsafe labour conditions per the crown. And for the continually stripping resources from Cymru and unfair, unequal representation in parliament.
"This word simply can’t be conveyed by somebody who doesn’t have ties to those cultures and to the experience of colonisation from England. It is a semi closed word meant to be used in a very specific context.
"And I know as white Americans we can feel kind of culturalist because whiteness is a sham. But you have words in English or in any other language that you speak to convey these feelings. And I would recommend exploring what you are trying to convey and you have answers to culture to connect to”.
However, a few people pointed out that they felt differently about the word and the topics she brought up in the video. One Twitter user pointed out that Wales was not a colony and argued that such attitudes treated Wales and the Welsh language as “some dead long gone thing”. Another user pointed out that 'hir' in the word meant 'long' and not 'here'.
Another Twitter user described the video clip as “condescending and silly”, while another said that referring to Wales in such a manner was “absurd”. Another user humorously suggested that someone needed to tell her that she could return to Wales now as there are "no tolls on the Severn Bridge".
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