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History and Ideals of Gaelic Traditionalism v 1.6
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Festivals Part 5 - Lughnasadh by Iain MacAnTsaoir Lughnasadh: This festival is called Lughnasadh in Eire and Lunasdal in Alba. The date of this festival is July 31st. We can trace Lugh back to the Pretani (Brythonic Celts). Amongst these cousins his name is spelled Llew. He is the son of Arianrhod and Gwydion. While Arianrhod gave birth to him, Llew was taken away by his father, who was also his uncle, and raised by him. However, by the old traditions there are certain things that can only be given by the mother. One of these is the name and Arianrhod refused to do so when Gwydion brought him to her. She said, "Why do you prolong my shame? He shall have no name until I give it to him. " The next day Llew was practicing when Arianrhod remarked, "The fair one has a skillful hand. " Which is the meaning of his name, "skillful hand ", amongst the Pretani. She was absolutely livid at having been tricked so she swore that He would have no weapons lest they came from her hand, as this is the next thing to come from the mother. Gwydion proceeded to determine how to circumvent this problem and after having done so presented Llew as a champion in need of weapons. It was only after she had presented them that she realized who he was. She then swore Llew would have no wife, for this was the last blessing to come from the mother. However, by the work of Math, Gwydion created a woman made of the blossoms of oak, broom and meadowsweet. She was named Blodeuwydd which means "flower face ". But that's a whole story unto itself and we'll leave it for our Pretani cousins to take those up. Llew came to the Gaelic peoples just prior to the Second Battle of Maige Tuired (moy tura). We know Him as Lugh. In the lore it is told how He came to the Tuatha de Danaan, who were being led by the Dagda. He presented Himself to be a help in the coming fight against the Fomore. He was asked several times what His skill was. Each time He told them a skill and each time He was told that one of the Tuatha de Danaan already possessed that skill. Finally He broke the stalemate by asking who amongst the Tuatha had all of the skills, as did He. None did, and so He was not only admitted into the company of the Tuatha but also given the title Il Danach which showed that He possessed all of the skills. When the mighty battle finally roared and Tuatha de Danaan warrior met Fomore warrior on the field of honor, Lugh had been kept far away from the scene. Finally, He, going against the wishes of the Dagda, went out to the scene of battle Himself. The battle had gone hard for the Tuatha even though the weapons of Goiban repaired themselves and the healing of Dianecht brought back those who had fallen. Lugh certainly saved that day. For He put out the evil eye of Balor before it could do more damage. Yet even with the help of Lugh, the Tuatha suffered losses with the death of Nuada and others. Lugh became permanent in the company of the Tuatha. Lugh, the God of Light, was eventually wounded Himself on the day that is named after him, Lughnasadh. His death, however, comes in the three days preceding the Samhain, when He dies at the hand of his Tanist who is the Lord of Mis-rule. As there tends to be so much confusion about this topic, let me embellish a bit. At Lughnasadh, the God of Light is not killed. By studying the lore we discover that it is the force of growth that is taken from Him. One way this maiming took place was for the king to be tied by his hair to an Oak tree with one foot on the cauldron (representing the west) and his other on the back of a Horse or in some cases a Sow (Both these animals are representative of the southern quarter and are animal iconography for the Goddess of Sovereignty). The Horse or Sow was then sent from under Him causing Him to be maimed in such a way to destroy His fertility but not His life. His life was not taken until the three days before Samhain when his Tanist, the aformentioned Lord of Misrule, began His reign. What appears to be an act of betrayal by the Goddess of Sovereignty is infact an act of love. Through the seed of his Tanist, whom He himself sired, He is reborn and grows to become in turn the slayer of His rival at the time of Beltaine, so the wheel turns. Amongst those who produce trendy "Celtic" writings, there is a propensity to deny that the Sacral Kingship was a part of general Celtic culture. Yet scholarship has proven this to be the case, and it was also true amongst the Gaelic Celts. A great deal of the lore shows this to whomever looks at it without pre-concieved notions. Inside the lore which has the God of Light, being maimed by having the Horse or Sow come out from under Him, we see these elements. In Bronze and early Iron Age times, it was the tradition that the Sacral King (the predecessor of the High Kings) was elected to serve for a specified time which varyied from a year and a day, to five and even seven or nine years depending on location. In the Bronze Age and before, the Sacral King was very much sacrificed. In the later Bronze Age, the sacrifice of the kings was replaced by the Kings being exiled. The King embodied the fertility of the land, which he had come to be through his marriage to the Goddess of Sovereignty. This fertility, at times had to be stopped to allow ripening to take place. This theme is encoded within all the Celtic legends. In later times these practises were discontinued and the feast of Lughnasadh was instituted, as is said by Lugh himself, in honour of his foster mother, Tailltiu. In some locations the institution of the "scapegoat" or "Fool" was fully used to keep a much diminished reflection of the former practices. Within the festival of Lughnasadh are myriad echoes of these much earlier times. Lughnasadh is said to have been named after Lugh. However, this harvest festival, which was usually dedicated to Lugh, was very often dedicated to his foster mother Tailltu. There is quite a bit of evidence that Lugh stepped into the shoes once worn by Trograinn, the son of Griann, in the areas where They were venerated. The date of the celebration is approximately August 1st. In those areas where Trograinn was venerated, the festival was called Bron Trograinn (the Rage of Trograinn). Lughnasadh seems to have superceded that festival however. This is the time when the warriors returned from the fields of battle to begin harvesting the crops. At this time fairs were held. Traditionally, this was also the time when marriages were contracted. There were many games and races. A great number of records still exist which show that this date held importance across all of the Gaelic lands. One of these, the 12th century manuscript of The Book of Leinster tells of a fair, an aenach, held at Carmun in Leinster (probably south of Kildare). This fair was held once every three years; it began on 1st August and ended on the 6th. Another example is the Curragh of the Liffey which is the most celebrated race course in Ireland. However, from the ancient lore we see the God of Light Lugh Himself, instituted the great fair of Tailltenn (now called Teltown) in honour of his foster mother Tailltiu (pronounced Telsha). The lore relates how Tailltiu's heart broke under the strain of clearing the plain that carries her name. Lugh then ordained that the fair, with feasting and games should be held there annually for all time as a memorial to Her. Tailltiu was in fact a Goddess of the Land who founded the kingship of Ireland under the Fir Bolgs, in the time before the coming of either the Tuatha de Danaan or the Milesians (Gaels). It is said that the Fir Bolgs landed in Ireland at Lughnasadh, hence this festival seems to have a great deal of association with the older races of that land. The site of Tailltenn was also an ancient sacred burial place for the men of Ulster, which is traditionally the stronghold of the Fir Bolg warriors. The Fir Bolg peoples were closely associated with agriculture. Lughnasadh was an important land festival within the communities of the "common folk." Throughout Gaelic lands Lughnasadh is to this day known as "the festival of first fruits." It does in a very real way honor Taillitu, who as a Goddess of the Land (and sovereignty), is the Earth Mother of local terrain. When considering the agricultural perhaps we can best establish the idea of the intent of this festival time by exploring the Gaelic language itself. By doing this study, we find that the name Lugh, transliterates to "the least." As the People were still by and large living on the stores of the previous years harvest, this was the time when the stores were at the least. It was a time of looking forward to the harvest time just starting. It must also be pointed out directly, to avoid confusion, that this festival either in veneration of Tailltiu or Lugh, has no connection to any concept of Corn Kings or harvest festivals, such as referenced to in Frazer's, The Golden Bough. Tailltenn was the scene of the final battle between the Tuatha De Danaans and the Milesians. The Gaels here defeated the Tuatha de Danaan, and it is here that they buried their three kings. After this the Gaels divided Ireland between the Sons of Mil. It seems that a common element was the prevalence of horses at the fairs associated with Lughnasadh. Of course the White Stead is a common companion of Lugh in the lore. Even in the Ulster Cycle, the foot race between Macha and the chariots of MacNessa speak of this. The emphasis on horse races and horsemanship seem to drive home the point. This is very significant, for the horse is the embodiment of the Goddess of Sovereignty. In this, Her task seems to be to deliver spirits to Tir na Nog (OtherWorld). A telling custom related to this belief which was once widely practised in the coastal lands of the Gaidhealtachd (Gaelic lands) was for people to drive their horses down to the beach and into the sea on Lughnasadh. The Fair of Tailltenn, became a major annual event held on the Ist of August, which was attended by people of all classes in Gaelic Celt. It had all the usual attractions of a great festival, but was particularly renowned for its excellent games and its "marriage market." Lughnasadh was the season of handfastings, or trial marriages that lasted a year and a day. After that time the couple had to return to the same place at the fair the following year to make their contract a permanent one. They also had the right to declare themselves divorced by walking in opposite directions away from each other. Trial marriages of a year and a day lasted up until recent centuries in many Gaelic areas. During this time young people would often simply "pair up " with a "brother " or "sister " for the duration of the fair, after which they went their separate ways. As a matter of fact, even into the 18th century the ribald flavor of the Teltown Fair (Teltown being the Anglicised version of Tailltenn) was held to be quite scandalous. In some places one whole day was dedicated to horse and chariot races. In addition to the games, there were recitations of poems, genealogies and romantic tales. Music was provided by cruits (harps), timpans, trumpets, horns and cuisig or piob (pipes). Feats of horsemanship were performed. There were also jugglers and clowns. It seems that there were usually three distinct market places; one for food and clothes, one for livestock and another for luxury goods. If it rained during this festival, it was believed that Lugh himself was present. Like the other fire festivals, this one too was once celebrated with great bonfires in every district. These saw the people gather on the sacred hills, and visiting the sacred wells.These fires lasted well into the nineteenth century in many areas. In many places the elderly women would go to the cattle and tie red or blue threads onto their tails, while repeating incantations. This they did for the milk to retain its goodness, a ball of cow's hair or ronag was put into the milk pail on this day. Curds and cheese were specially prepared from that day's milk. In many places, after the rise to dominance of Christianity, the pagan bannock became the Moilean Moire, dedicated to Mary. In this way the ancient customs were carried on under a thin veneer of Christianity as La Feill Moire, The Feast day of Mary. This festival falls on August 15th, very close to the ancient date of Lughnasadh before the Gregorian calendar changes. We can see many similarities between Mary as mother of Jesus (the Sun King) and one of the ancestral Goddesses of the Land, Tailltiu, foster mother of the God of Sun Light Lugh. La Feill Moire has retained much of its pagan roots. It is not very difficult to back-engineer this verse to regain a wholly pre-Christian expression. I shall, however, leave that for the reader. In this rite the father of the household breaks the bannock, giving a piece to his wife and his children in order of age, then the whole family walks sunwise round the fire singing the rune (incantation) of Mother Mary:
'Iolach Mhoire Mhathair': Sources: prepared by Iain MacAnTsaoir |
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