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A Tale of Great Love (a reconstructed Gaelic creation myth) v1.0 by Iain Mac an tSaoir Prelude: Religion has distinct purposes. Amongst the primary purposes religions tell us how the world came into being and how we got here (where we came from), what is our relationship with the world around us (why am I here), what is the ultimate end of the world and we as individuals within it and how to get there (where are we going). It can be shown that there is an intimate relationship between these three basic questions. From these relationships religion derives it's final primary purpose, the establishment of ethical values. One thing common to religions, as a response to the first question, "from whence did the world and we come from", is the development of "creation myths." All religions have them, that is, all religions that have not had that important thread in their tapestry removed have them. While the original creation myth of the Classical Age Gaels has not yet been found, we can rather be sure that at one time this story existed. Celtic cultures are an Indo-European culture, and obviously the other IE cultures had creation myths that were themselves reflexes of an earlier proto-IE mythos. Thus, we can be relatively certain that such a story did in fact exist at one time. There are inferences still to be found in extant written and oral lore that give us indications of what it's components probably were. As Gaelic culture is a Celtic culture, we can see other items reflected in the reflexes of other Celtic cultures, who themselves have been shorn of the whole story as well. There are some who are of a Classical mindset who would state that the Classical Age religiosity of the Gael has not been adversely effected by the loss of the creation myth. This is arguable, but such an argument is not the purpose of this treatment. At least to myself, the establishment of a carefully reconstructed and culturally pertinent creation is myth is important. This, if for no other reason than to try to gain a deeper understanding of how the minds of the ancestors worked. Though, for those who seek to be sincere in their pursuits of traditional religions, such a task as this also has high merit for it was an inherent part of that religion. Yet, to engage such a task is fraught with problems. The exact myth we are trying to recreate has not yet been found transcribed anywhere or we would not be doing this. We thus must attempt to forbid modern sensibilities, politics, theological movements, and agendas into the mix. We in fact can only go by what solid literary evidence we have (ancient texts such as the Lebar Gebala Erenn, Meterical Dindsenchus, Irish Myth Motif Index, etc, as well as still extant oral lore), what solid archeological evidence we have, and the items inferred in those two sources, to recreate what we hope is at least a close facsimile of the original. This is no doubt a work that will hopefully expand, and even become more accurate as time goes on and more work is done both with Old Irish as well as the translation of as yet untranslated ancient texts. Thanks to Dawn for her digging up quotes and challenging me to support various ideas herein. While great care is being given to this work, and I hope you read it with an open mind, as well as a skeptical mind (this is after all a hypothetical work dealing with metaphorical material)."As with all things reconstructive, it is an interpretation of the data. It is one interpretation of many possible, based on the same data. This reconstruction is not meant to insert anachronism of any sort into the cultural tradition." The Reconstructed Creation Tale: I. Long long ago, back before the coming together of the worlds, there was nothing but the Void (1). Over the eons of eternity past, the Void longed in it's slumber. The longing within the Void caused It to ponder the emptiness of the chaos about, and even more did the Void long deeply for companionship solitude of oneness(2). So intense was the longing that eventually the Void dropped from slumber into a deep sleep, and while there, the Void received a vision. In this vision it was relayed how all the things that should be, could be, and the beauty of it brought joy to the very heart of the Void (3). Alive with a joy radiating from a newly blazing heartfire (4), the great Void awoke with a wondrous war cry (5). "ABU" was the roar, as the Void stretched out in nine waves (6) against the dark chaos around. II. So great was the love that the Great Void felt for what had been seen that the Void divided, and from within there emerged two children (7), Danu and Donn (8)(9). Stepping out from nothingness into somethingness, Danu and Donn looked about. Then turning back to the center from where they emerged, they espied each other in the mirror of the shining Void. Instantly the sacred flame of the center ignited in their own hearts as well and they became locked in a loving embrace from which they could not be moved. (10) III. In time their embrace brought forth children. Amongst the children were three sons, Briain, Iuchar, and Iucharba, who were giants amongst the children. None of these children could not find room for their lives as they were bound between their interlocked parents. One of the children, Briain, looked about him and declared that the end of he and his siblings would surely come soon, if Danu and Donn were not parted. Hard it was for he and these two other brothers who were with him, as they contemplated their idea. But as they saw no other chance of survival, they did speak amongst themselves concerning what they felt they should do. In the end a mothers love for her son, and he for her won out, and Briain decided to take it upon himself to slay his father. IV. Thus he did with an abandon born of desperation. So great was his fury that he did not stop with one cut. Yea, he did cut his father thrice three times, so all that was left was in nine parts (11). Taken aback at what She had seen, Danu stood motionless, for the horror of what She had witnessed. In a flash the horror gave way to dread, and then to sorrow. The sorrow started Danu to crying, and the tears swelled in a flood. So great was the flood that it immediately swept away Briain, Iuchar, and Iucharba, who became known as the Three Landless Princes, and the rest of the first children. Hence did Danu become known as the "Waters of Heaven" .(12) Out and away these did ride the tide of tears to where those tears accumulated as the seas. There, to this day the siblings live, as the Fomorraig of the Sea. (13)(14) V. Not only were the Fomorraig washed away, but so to were the parts of Donn. These each came to rest, one part in each wave that had echoed out when the Void first awoke. The Crown of Donn became the skies; his brain the clouds; His face the sun; his mind the moon; his breath the wind; His blood mixed with the tears of Danu and became the seas, His flesh the soil; and his bones the stones. Of His seed two remained, one red and one white, and these fell into the soils that was the flesh of Donn.(14A) VI. Danu looked down from afar and saw the seeds, and did recognize her beloved within one of them; the red acorn seed of the Oak tree. Again she cried Her tears, sorrow for the distance between them, joy that he would again be, and mostly adoration for him who She loves. Thus there again started from the sullen heavens, a trickle of water. First one drop, then another and another, Her essence rained down in torrents upon the dead world. The divine Waters from Heaven flooded downwards and soaked into the parched soils, the seeds and soils moistened in the rains of Her love, and life began to spring forth from the seeds, and then all across the Land. The first life on the earth being the Nemedians, the people of the soils and sands and divers places, kindred of the next children of the Divine Waters, but also different from Them. There they lived on a plain in the Northern parts of the World, that plain being called the Plain of Adoration. The people who lived were called Nemed for sacred was the place of their being. From this one People, two Peoples eventually emerged, the Fir Bolg of the lands, and the Tuatha De Dannan of the skies who did bring culture and laws, but this is much later and the great deeds of their own are told of them. VII. In the soil fertilized by the tears of Danu, the red acorn also took root, and grew into a marvelous tree which was called Bile Magh Adhair. The Divine Waters from Heaven, nurtured and cherished the greater tree which became the sacred Oak tree(15), and it became a king amongst the peoples, and amongst them He became known as Eochaidh. The other seed became his brother, who himself became a priest, for noble was his heritage, though imperfect was he in the gnarled Yew. (16)17) VIII. Recognizing His beloved, now His Mother, afar off, the Oak seed did stretch upward, striving to again be with Her. Up he pushed himself so that He could caress Her face with his limbs, and dry Her tears with his leaves. Perfect in the arts was Eochaidh, a fitting craftsman, a fearless and cunning warrior, and a master in the hidden arts (18). Nurtured by the Waters of Heaven, the Oak did grow many berries, which then fell and grew into wondrous shining beings. These include Oengus Mac Og, the Rowan which is a delight to the Tuath De Dannan, and the Bride Herself who is the Fire in the Heart of Women. Yet in all of this perfection he saw his people around him slip into lethargy, into stagnation, into a condition of living rot because there was no death in those days. Thus the world around them was used to excess, and so it withered from depletion. And so to did the People wither and become sickly, yet never to die. IX. Donn, seeing the lingering desolation about him, counseled with his brother the priest about what could be done. Finn had no answer but prepared a journey for Himself, an Imrama across the waves to see what the other lands there were, and if some answer for their trials might be found there. Across the waves Finn then traveled, but no where did He see a newness, in life the world was dead. Thus upon his return, he proclaimed that there should be a time of death, so that there could be renewal; that the ancient magic would again be worked and that Donn would die, His body renewing the world, with His spirit going to the Sea to there build a new land for those who would come during their resting time. X. Donn would have none of it, as he would not see his brother become stained by fingal, kin-killing, and he would not be even more separated as he was from his Beloved. Finn pressed the matter, supported by the Peoples. In a great rush the two did combat there on the Plain. Great was the battle, and the feats were beyond compare. Eventually though, as two bulls plowing the whole day, exhaustion overcame them. First to feel the pangs was Finn, who in the moment of weakness, found Himself impaled on the blades of Donn. Thus did Finn go off to scout beyond the nine waves. Seeing His brother dead at His feet, Donn was overcome with anger and pain, and for the mighty victory, joy and pride. So much pain and pride did the mighty warrior Donn feel that His heart burst apart, even so did His whole being. Donn then fell from the Plain into the seas, and the parts of His body did again go to renew the world, while His Spirit went to build His house in the Sea. (19) XI. At the death of Donn the three mighty roots of the Oak did delve deep and grow in strength and girth, a dun each. Thus was the third realm created, and so did the spirit of Donn go to be there, to dwell in his house Tech Duinn, where all Gaels go at their death. Yet in all three realms was Donn, as the wondrous World Tree, which amongst the Gael is called the Bile. This is the Oak whose red acorns are yet a delight to the Tuatha De Dannan, and whose parts have yielded sustenance and protection to mortals (20). Even to this day, great is the love between the White Cow of Heaven and the Dark Bull of the Otherworld; and by their love do they continue the cosmos. XII. The brother of Donn, Finn who did go and see into the abyss, and who did battle with his brother for the renewal of the cosmos, never did leave the service of His King. Because He did first explore those unknown places, He knows the pathways, thus does Finn guard the portals to that Other land, and with His Finnians and hounds collect the souls of the newly dead in a Great Hunt. Thus do humans to this day find the Yew tree in graveyards, and burry black dogs in graveyards as well. These that the hound Bran who delivers death and his master Finn find the beloved departed before they tarry long. When the souls are found, those who are worthy are announced by the howls of Finns hounds, and are guided with honors as they are safely delivered to the doors of Tech Duinn. There they become charges of Donn, compatriots of the Daoine, and Donn shall again deliver these His children to the gates of world of mortals in their time as children of the Land.(21) Those that receive not the howl remain doomed to roam as the Slough. But the tales of the Fhianna are yet other stories. Notes: 1.Void present in Gaelic as well as Hindic texts. 2. Chaos equated with longing for beauty. 3. Order and creativity associated with beauty : love and joy. 4. Pan-Celtic motif of flame in the midst of the waters. Note theological pretexts throughout, a Mother and Father with little description, the death of the father who is reborn as the son who again becomes the consort of the Mother. On the whole there is little evidence that the Gaelic, or any other Celtic culture for that matter, recognized an all powerful "Supreme Being.' Hence Danu primarily, but also Donn in the first appearance are dealt with in such a way as to be abstract. The case seems solid for Danu as the Mother of the Gods, especially considering that the gods of the Upper Realm, the Tuatha De Danann are her children. That she was also known by other names is also rather certain. As especially likely candidate for a cognate is Boann, another river Goddess whose name can be translated to "Heavenly Cow" which brings up many corollaries including the multiple teats from which moisture and milk flow to the land through a good kings justice, which in the Gaelic is referred to in old law tracts as Fi/r Flathemon. The Three Gods of Danu, as Giants who became the Three Landless Princes, are preuming that they are cognate with the Three Son's of Tuireann, who killed Cian mate of Ethlinn, the father of Lugh. Interestingly, as a side note, according to the Meterical Dindsenchus Boann (Heavenly Cow) is the sister of Etain a land goddess. Furthermore, Damnu (Waters of the Deep) is the sister of Danu. Hence, by connecting these two threads, we can see a set of three sisters, perhaps as carried on in Celtic and ex-Celtic areas by the three Mary's of Christianity. These of course being Mary Mother of God adorned in white and light blue; the Mary adorned in red and green; and the Black Madonna, Mary of the Seas. Regarding the Mother of the Gods, about the closest we can come to an a priori statement that the people worshipped this Sky Goddess/Moisture Bringer/Great River/Mother of the Gods is a statement by Herodotus in "The Histories". Here Herodotus writes about the Continental Celts, "they venerate the mother of the gods whose image is the boar." It seems probable that when Christian redactors recorded the ancient lore, that they did not omit her at all, as an absence of lore about her might suggest. Instead they treated her as they treated the rest of the Gods by canonizing the most of them into saints, or replacing the older name with one specifically from Christian lore. Thus, while Lugh was replaced by St. Michael, Danu/Boann became Mary, Mother of God, as well as Our Lady of the Menhirs, Stones and Springs. Because she is portrayed in abstract (Waters of Heaven/Great River/etc), where she is entreated at all in old lore, both written and oral, thus does she remain in abstract here for people to come to terms with themselves on a personal basis. In fact, the whole of the first verse is written in abstract enough a fashion as to allow interpretation within most al scientific theories, including chaos theory. What is stated clearly within is that it is through Her essence, expressed as waters, or tears, that life is imbued. The theological summation begins in verse IX with the standard IE Conflict of Functions, with the twins (King and Priest) battling the triple headed monster (the twins battling monsters are a common IE motif) of lethargy , stagnation, and rot - overcome by fighting each other (self) and overcoming. Pertinent to IE studies is the male god being a sacrifice with the cosmos being first created and then renewed, through the sacrifice and subsequent dismemberment. 5. goire 6. Nine waves motif established. Thus there is parity between this recreation and what is found in Indic culture (see Dr. Myles Dillons comparisons of Celtic cultures to Indic culture), as well as the nine s found in other IE reflexes. 7. The first virgence, does this make the Void feminine rather than neutral, since the Void birthed? No, as both the conceptive principles were found within the void. Hence, the void is a place possessing everything, but only in a state of potential. 8. Sacred twins motif. 9. Creation occurs when the primal chaos divides [Primal Myths, Creating the World; Barbara C. Sproul ] 10. Maiden looking into the mirror; and twins locked in embrace motif. 11. The Dhuile [ Nines - The Nine Waves Of Creation 1.0 http://www.clannada.org/docs/nines2.html] 13. Children responsible for slaying sent into the deeps motif. 14A. Gaelic Fomorraig associated with the seas. 14B. An earth father god, rather than an earth mother god -- but since "Danu" is a sky and water goddess (Divine Water from Heaven) it makes sense that the earth god is male. It's inverted from the more commonly associated earth mother -- sky father pairing found elsewhere. If one accepts the Bile/Donn association some other people have made, then Lincoln's explanation becomes amazingly clear -- the father god becomes a god of death to whose home we go after our own death. Hence, when the dead are physically placed in the grave they are going to that land. This does not detract from the local Goddesses of Sovereignty. In fact, it retains a consistency in logic as the feminine is the physical object, and the masculine but an essence that overlays the object. This would explain the various masculine motifs that are masculine which overlay the Goddess of Sovereignty (green man, etc). This idea seems to be pan-Celtic, as even to this day at Baath, local lore holds that the waters are viewed as feminine while the heat in the water is seen as masculine. 15. Tree correlations to deity has been by far the most nerve wracking part of this exercise thus far. Mostly this stems from the fact that in oral lore there is no internal consistency to be found across the bodies of materials, such as is found in lore that has benefited form the effects of being recorded in written form (such as Indic, Greek, Roman and even Norse). The rest of the problems has stemmed from completely bogus materials that exist regarding the Yew. For instance, one author of some notariety on the subject writes in an a priori fashion that the Gaelic stems Io, and Eo, are Old Irish cognates for Yew. This of course set off a chase in the wrong direction, which was only laid to rest after an exhaustive diagnosis of Old Irish in the DIL and other sources. Lastly, an over reliance by myself on comparative studies caused for me to over rely too heavily on other IE reflexes. Hence in an earlier version the Rowan tree is presented as the Bile because it is a name for the European Mountain Ash (from Germanic Yggsdrasil). That within Gaelic folklore and custom the Rowan is held to be particularly sacred to the Tuatha De Danann only seemed to cement the relationship of the Rowan to Donn. To get a better handle on this I have dispensed with previous notions. It seemed better to start from scratch if I was going to initiate the standardization within a written form. Thus I looked to pan-Celtic sources, as well as Gaelic sources for a world tree candidate that was associated with kings. From the pan-Celtic one tree alone stood as the king of trees, that being the Oak. From the Gaelic materials, and there are several lists of trees and their qualities, there were two, the Oak and the Woodbine. Between them the Oak seemed to have the longest history, as I could not ascertain if the Woodbine came to the fore after the English deforested Ireland for the purpose of ship building, or if it had always shared that status with the Oak. Hence remembering that it was common for various regions to have a different tree to serve as the regional Bile, I elected to standardize with the tree that has the most overall representation as king of the trees, the Oak. Finn was associated with the Yew for several reasons. They range from lore, to custom, and even appearance. From the lore we see Finn, in one manifestation or another peering out from Celtic cultures other than the Gaelic, as well as the Gaelic. He is known in the lore by Find, Fintan, Fingan, Finn, Fionn, Finnbennach, Findbharra, and as will be shown below, Amhairghin. As a pan-Celtic deity he is the archetypal seer and poet. The toxicology and psychotropic properties of Yew spores may very well give some insight into possible activities of the cult of Find. His Otherworld associations are beyond question. That he is a guardian of the pathways to Otherworld is also beyond question. If there is a shamanic character within Gaelic lore, then that character is Finn. One tale, from Donegal even deposits he and his Grandmother directly in a Yew tree, as they hide from Cumhal MacArt (Irish Folk Tales, The Birth of Finn MacCumhail, edited by Henry Glassie). In some literary items from Ireland, the longevity of Finn is attested to as he saw the whole history of Ireland, as trees go, only the Yew could fit this as Yews lived several thousands of years. There are also extremely important customs that relate Finn to the Yew as well. In times past, people planted Yew trees in grave yards as attested to by the frequency of Yew in the older grounds. Likewise, a custom that has up until recently been held to be vital was making a black dog the first burial in a new cemetery. The black hound, as is attested to in the lore, is one of Finn's hounds, Bran to be specific. Lastly, as the priestly figure is the imperfect of the two twin, the gnarled and twisted Yew seemed to better bring out the physiological descriptions. Within this recreation, Oengus has been correlated with the Rowan tree. The importance of the Rowan in lore and custom has survived till this day in Gaelic countries. The magical, protective, life giving and healing properties of the Rowan are well attested. Likewise, the red berries of the rowan are found in the lore to be a delight to the Tuatha De Danann. In fact, of the trees used in this standardization, the red acorn, and the red berries of the Yew and Rowan link them not just to each other, but also as having Otherworld associations. The Rowan specifically though also lives on a yearly cycle like the Oak (unlike the ageless Yew), and compared to the Oak (and the Yew) the Rowan is smooth and more youthful in appearance. Thus, setting the youthful Rowan (Oengus) as the hero which saves Bride in the Spring, against the fitful spring pursuits of the Hawthorn King (and the Cailleach), seems fitting in a Gaelic yearly battle of the trees. 16. king and priest motif - conflict between functions; and imperfection in one twin motif. 17. Within the lore Donn is alternately connected with Finn, and with Amerigin. To come to some resolution on how to work with this piece of lore we need to study the various connection: A. Donn Mac M/iled, the eldest son of M/il Esp/aine and Seang, is portrayed as a character in the Lebor Gab/ala (Book of Invasions), but not always identified as Donn, god of the dead; his brothers are Amairgin and Colphta. B. Donn is thus one of a set of brothers, most clearly related to Amairgen with who he stands in relation of king to priest. Moreover, he is the first king of myth, having won the realm of Ireland upon his first landing. First king, he is also first to die, and upon his death he established the realm of the dead to which all his descendents venture when their time comes. In all this, he is strikingly similar to the Indian Yama and Caesar's Dis Pater. C. There is also another Donn who merits our attention: Donn C/ulange, "the dark bull of Cooley," the prize so eagerly sought in the T/ain. The conclusion of this epic tale is duel between Donn and his rival, F/innbennach A/i, the "White horned bull of A/i," in which Donn literally tears his opponent limb from limb, creating the Irish landscape from the fragments of his body. D. Mil Espain literally means "1000 of Spain" perhaps metaphorical language for 1000 from Otherworld {under the Kingship of the Gaelic Dispater, Donn.}. Thus we get two relationships: Hence we can look for a relationship between Amhairighin and Finn. Some evidence supports that Amhairghin is actually another name for Find/Finn/Fionn/Findbhara: Amhairghin Glu/ngheal - Mythical poet, Son of Mil, brother of Donn. Writer of a poem wherein he claims to be: the wind, sea, bull, hawk, dewdrop, flower, boar, salmon, lake and hill, the point of a spear, and ' a god who fashions inspiration in the head.' Thus he connected with the tradition metamorphic power of the seer-poet , such as with Find. (Myth, Legend and Romance, Dr. Daithi OhOgan, pgs. 23 & 24) Amhairghin Mac E/igit Salaigh - Mythical professional poet in the Ulster Cycle. Foster father and tutor to CuChullain, with his wife Fionnchaomh. Interestingly, according to a 9th century text, this Amhairghin did slay a three headed monster, by the name of 'elle/n' which had emerged from the cave of Cruachan. This story is directly related to the story of the seer-port Find slaying a three headed monster, by the name of 'Aille/an' which had emerged from the cave of Cruachan. (Myth, Legend and Romance, Dr. Daithi OhOgain, pg. 24) 18. Eochaid is thought to be congruent with Dagda (Myth, Legend and Romance; Dr. Daithi OhOgain), who according to the Lebar Gebala Erenn brought draoicht to the Ireland. 19. Tain Bo Cuillgne 20. Regarding the Bile, some modernists have errantly equated "Bile" and "Belenous" and "Bel" all together, largely because of the similarity in the words.. However, the DIL clearly shows that "bile" -- the word for sacred tree and "bel" have different roots in Gaelic. 21. Donn is of course one of the Milesians who is killed while invading Ireland because he slights Eriu. His home lies on the south-west coast of Ireland and is where the dead go before going on to the Otherworld. Interestingly, according to the Lebar Gebala Erenn, Donn was a King of the Milesians, who came with them to Ireland. Now I have also seen it postulated that in the early lore, 'Spain' was a euphemism for OtherWorld (a land beyond the ninth wave, etc). If this is the case then we can see the Milesians being taken to the world by their Dispater figure. That by itself reminds me of something Caesar wrote about Celtic peoples, towit: "they believe they are descended from Dispater." Charles Squire equates Bile as " a God of Hades" a sort of "Celtic Dis Pater" in Celtic Myth and Legends. Furthermore, Green equates Donn with the Roman "Dis Pater" (god of the dead) in the Dictionary of Celtic Myths and Legends. She also states that Donn and the Dagda are probably the same god. The Dagda appears as a death god in the story of Da Dagda's Hostel. So, if the equation of Bile and Donn is a mistake, it's not a particularly recent one. The hounds of Hell are a pan-IE motif, with the black dog (Gaelic: Bran delivering death) and the white hound (Gaelic: Scheolaing [shkeolan]). Typical to IE cultures, it is the dogs who judge the worthiness of the souls of the dead.
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