And so finally, I can lay another series of articles to rest...(I think).
I've kind of gone about this arse backwards really, because this last article is all the usual introductory waffle that I think would be helpful to know when looking at the tales and so on, and probably should have come first, while the first bunch of articles I did should have come afterwards.
There are two reasons for not having done this, though: I think that those first articles are probably more interesting to the majority of readers who aren't so interested in wading through my waffle, and in a way if you've read those articles and then go on to this one, it might have a bit more context to it. Secondly, I had a hard time writing this - the other articles came about because I had to take a break from this one, but I wanted (felt I had to, in a way) do something.
Getting hold of some sources was a problem (of my own making, to be fair). Finding a source I initially thought was quite helpful, and then found out that it was written by a Celtic shameon-type who makes a living selling lies and sidelining in the occasional 'academic' article, which turned out to be quite shoddy when I found out and looked up some of the references...So that meant I had to have a rethink a little, and things have had a while to ferment. I have one person in particular to thank for setting me straight on both counts, and they know who they are, in case they want to remain nameless.
It's not an easy kind of thing to write either, because the gods aren't an easy thing to talk about in the sense of reducing them into paragraphs. In a way, it's also difficult to write about this kind of subject because it's something that focuses on a historical perspective, with my usual habit of referencing pretty much every sentence just in case somebody wonders where that came from...Reconstructionists get accused of being too stuffy and academic; too caught up in books and what people with degrees say, and I do talk a lot about both on here, and synthesise a lot of what I find into the articles I write. Sometimes, maybe that accusation is fair enough.
For some reason, though, I'm suddenly aware just how soulless all of this may seem, in a way, coming across as advocating a path of Citing Your Sources With Your Gods.
Oh Lug of lofty deeds,
Golden are the fields,
Heavy hang the fruits,
Ripeness of fame!
We feast on this colcannon and chicken in your honour at this sacred time of Lughnasa, and give to you of our feast and these bilberries because that's what Maire MacNeill says is traditional in The Festival of Lughnasa, first published in 1962 by Oxford University Press...
(Then you get a divine bitchslap - D-, must try harder - for not giving specific page numbers).
Yeeeeah...No.
Kicking about the internet, as I do, it seems that this is what a lot of people think of as Celtic Reconstructionism. I've seen CR described as too 'backward looking' (on a druid forum, no less); too caught up in books; something that's just made up by Americans so they can play Celtic; CR's not about practising a path, it's more about arguing about every minute detail to prove the size of one's metaphorical penis...With References.
I try to avoid these things, although I guess I can't avoid being American (I'm just not, I'm on the wrong side of the Pond, for one thing). CR may have its origins there, but it's spread far and wide now (Germany, Portugal, France, Brazil, Australia, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland...). I wouldn't say it's simply and only an American movement by any means, but these days it is a fractured one. But that's by the by.
I have to say, though, I'm unashamedly backward-looking, in a sense. Yes, I see reconstructionism as something that's here and now, but for me, part of the point of reconstructionism is trying to understand how people saw the gods in the times when they were worshipped, and so yes, I look back because that seems be a logical thing to do if that's what you're aiming for.
Books are not the be all and end all of reconstructionism, but it does require looking at the sources we have to hand to figure things out. And to do that, we have to look at sources that are often flawed, for one reason or another, so it means we have to be analytical. They don't answer every question we might have, necessarily, but they're a good start. So that involves getting involved, and that makes people opinionated, I guess, and there are quibbles over details. A lot of the times, this quibbling is pointless, but sometimes it's necessary. And yes, sometimes that can spill over into willy waggling on various email lists, but personally, I have no interest in the size of anyone's metaphorical penis...
So when I write, the beginning's pretty much where I tend to start when I can, and if I put it out there and somebody finds it helpful, then I'm glad. History is not the be all and end all, it's the beginning of understanding for me. Where else should I look? But looking is nothing without doing. Even though not many reconstructionists talk publicly about what they do, for various reasons, that doesn't mean that people aren't out there actually living their path. Sometimes, beneath all the books, the quibbling, the perceptions of this and that (rightly or wrongly), that gets lost.
In this case, then, in living and trying to find understanding, and trying to write about something that can only be understood very personally, in many ways, I find myself having written something from my own views as well as from the references I carefully copy out into a notebook before I start writing. In the end, the article is probably more opinionated than the more folkloric articles I've done in the past because this sort of thing has to be personal, I think. Writing always is. But sometimes moreso. And this makes me worry that I might not have articulated myself as well as I should have on some points. But oh well...
I'm also aware that some of it covers similar grounds to Alexei's article Danu and Bile: Primordial Parents, so I've tried to avoid looking at that as a source and do my own legwork. And so then I ended up banging on for so long that I couldn't fit the article onto one page (I tried, and kinda borked the website for a bit the other night). Kinda like how I've blethered on here, too. Soooooo...
The Gods - Part One
The Gods - Part Two
Sunday, 6 March 2011
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
De Gabāil in t-Sīda in-so Sīs
On one of my last visits to the library I got a photocopy of Vernam Hull's translation of De Gabáil in t-Sída. Seeing as it's now out of copyright, and I haven't seen the translation online anywhere else with the Irish along with it, I thought I might as well copy it up (not like I'm going anywhere anytime soon, at the moment...).
Anyway, the English is first, followed by the Irish, for reference. There are two versions of the tale, of different dates and linguistic styles but basically the same content. Hull's translation is from the older version from the Book of Leinster, which is probably ninth century in composition, and while he gives both of the Irish versions in the article, he only gives one translation so I've only given the relevant one (from the Book of Leinster):
Here follows the Seizure of the Fairy Hill
There was a famous king over the Túatha Dé in Ireland. His name (was) Dagán. Great, then, was his power, even though it belonged to the Mac Míled after the conquest of the country, for the Túatha Dé destroyed the corn and the milk round about the Mac Míled until they made the friendship of the Dagda. Afterwards, he saved their corn and milk.
Now when he was king at first, his might was vast, and it was he who apportioned out the fairy mounds to the men of the Túatha Dé, namely Lug Mac Ethnend in Síd Rodrubán, (and) Ogma in Síd Aircelltraí, but for the Dagda himself Síd Leithet Lachtmaige, Oí Asíd, Cnocc Báine, (and) Brú Ruair. As, however, they say, he had Síd In Broga from the beginning.
Then Mac Oac came to the Dagda in order to petition for land after it had been distributed to each one. He was, moreover, a fosterling to Midir of Brí Léith and to Nindid, the seer.
"I have none for thee," said the Dagda. "I have completed the division."
"Therefore let be granted to me," said the Mac Ooc, "even a day and a night in thy own dwelling."
That then was given to him.
"Go now to thy following." said the Dagda, "since thou hast consumed thy (allotted) time."
"It is clear," said he, "that night and day are (the length of) the whole world, and it is that which has been given to me."
Thereupon the Dagda went out, and the Mac Ooc remained in his Síd.
Wonderful, moreover, (is) that land. Three trees with fruit are there always, and a pig eternally alive, and a roasted swine, and a vessel with marvellous liquor, and never do they all decrease.
De Gabāil in t-Sīda in-so Sīs
Boí rí amra for Tūathaib Dea i n-Hēre. Dagān a ainm. Ba mór, di·diu, a chumachta, ced la Maccu Mīled iar n-gabāil in tíre, ar collset Tūatha Dea ith 7 blicht im Maccu Mīled con·digensat) chairddes in Dagdai. Do·essart saide, īarum, ith 7 blicht dóib.
Ba mór, di·diu, a chumachtasom in tan ba rí i tossucch 7 ba hé fodail inna side do feraib Dea .i. Lug Mac Ethnend i Ssíd Rodrubán; Ogma i Ssíd Airceltrai. Don Dagdu fessin, immurgu, Síth Leithet Lachtmaige, Oí Asíd, Cnocc Báine, Brú Ruair. Síd in Broga, da·no, ba laiss i tossuch, amal as·berat.
Do·lluid, di·diu, in Mac Oac cosin Dagda do chungid feraind o fo·rodail do chách. Ba dalta saide, di·diu, do Midir Breg Léith 7 do Nindid fáith.
"Ní-mthá duit," ol in Dagda, "Tarnaic fodail lemm."
"Etar dam, di·diu," ol in Mac Ooc, "cid laa co n-aidchi it trib féin." Do·breth do-som ōn, īarum.
"Collá dot dāim, trā," ol in Dagda, "ūaire do·romailt do ré."
"Is menand," olse, "is laa 7 adaig in bith uile, 7 iss ed ōn do·ratad dam-sa." Luid, do·no, Dagān ass, īarum, 7 anaid in Mac Óoc ina Síd.
Amra, da·no, a tír hī-sin. A·taat tri chrand co torud and do grés, 7 mucc bithbēo for chossaib, 7 mucc fonaithe, 7 lestar co llind sainemail, 7 ni·erchran and sin uile do grés."
From: Vernam Hull, 'De Gabāil in t-Sīda,' in Zeitschrift für Celtische Philologie Volume 19, 1933, pp53-58. See also: Paddy Brown's translation.
Anyway, the English is first, followed by the Irish, for reference. There are two versions of the tale, of different dates and linguistic styles but basically the same content. Hull's translation is from the older version from the Book of Leinster, which is probably ninth century in composition, and while he gives both of the Irish versions in the article, he only gives one translation so I've only given the relevant one (from the Book of Leinster):
Here follows the Seizure of the Fairy Hill
There was a famous king over the Túatha Dé in Ireland. His name (was) Dagán. Great, then, was his power, even though it belonged to the Mac Míled after the conquest of the country, for the Túatha Dé destroyed the corn and the milk round about the Mac Míled until they made the friendship of the Dagda. Afterwards, he saved their corn and milk.
Now when he was king at first, his might was vast, and it was he who apportioned out the fairy mounds to the men of the Túatha Dé, namely Lug Mac Ethnend in Síd Rodrubán, (and) Ogma in Síd Aircelltraí, but for the Dagda himself Síd Leithet Lachtmaige, Oí Asíd, Cnocc Báine, (and) Brú Ruair. As, however, they say, he had Síd In Broga from the beginning.
Then Mac Oac came to the Dagda in order to petition for land after it had been distributed to each one. He was, moreover, a fosterling to Midir of Brí Léith and to Nindid, the seer.
"I have none for thee," said the Dagda. "I have completed the division."
"Therefore let be granted to me," said the Mac Ooc, "even a day and a night in thy own dwelling."
That then was given to him.
"Go now to thy following." said the Dagda, "since thou hast consumed thy (allotted) time."
"It is clear," said he, "that night and day are (the length of) the whole world, and it is that which has been given to me."
Thereupon the Dagda went out, and the Mac Ooc remained in his Síd.
Wonderful, moreover, (is) that land. Three trees with fruit are there always, and a pig eternally alive, and a roasted swine, and a vessel with marvellous liquor, and never do they all decrease.
De Gabāil in t-Sīda in-so Sīs
Boí rí amra for Tūathaib Dea i n-Hēre. Dagān a ainm. Ba mór, di·diu, a chumachta, ced la Maccu Mīled iar n-gabāil in tíre, ar collset Tūatha Dea ith 7 blicht im Maccu Mīled con·digensat) chairddes in Dagdai. Do·essart saide, īarum, ith 7 blicht dóib.
Ba mór, di·diu, a chumachtasom in tan ba rí i tossucch 7 ba hé fodail inna side do feraib Dea .i. Lug Mac Ethnend i Ssíd Rodrubán; Ogma i Ssíd Airceltrai. Don Dagdu fessin, immurgu, Síth Leithet Lachtmaige, Oí Asíd, Cnocc Báine, Brú Ruair. Síd in Broga, da·no, ba laiss i tossuch, amal as·berat.
Do·lluid, di·diu, in Mac Oac cosin Dagda do chungid feraind o fo·rodail do chách. Ba dalta saide, di·diu, do Midir Breg Léith 7 do Nindid fáith.
"Ní-mthá duit," ol in Dagda, "Tarnaic fodail lemm."
"Etar dam, di·diu," ol in Mac Ooc, "cid laa co n-aidchi it trib féin." Do·breth do-som ōn, īarum.
"Collá dot dāim, trā," ol in Dagda, "ūaire do·romailt do ré."
"Is menand," olse, "is laa 7 adaig in bith uile, 7 iss ed ōn do·ratad dam-sa." Luid, do·no, Dagān ass, īarum, 7 anaid in Mac Óoc ina Síd.
Amra, da·no, a tír hī-sin. A·taat tri chrand co torud and do grés, 7 mucc bithbēo for chossaib, 7 mucc fonaithe, 7 lestar co llind sainemail, 7 ni·erchran and sin uile do grés."
From: Vernam Hull, 'De Gabāil in t-Sīda,' in Zeitschrift für Celtische Philologie Volume 19, 1933, pp53-58. See also: Paddy Brown's translation.
Friday, 25 February 2011
Holy shades of matriarchy, Batman!
This documentary was posted on one of the boards I lurk on, from the Irish language channel TG4 about Brighid:
Part One - pre-Christian Brighid
Part Two - into Christianity and the modern era
It's in Irish, but there are subtitles, and some of the interviewees you might be familiar with already - Seán Ó Duinn, Muireann Ní Bhrolcháin, and Nuala Ní Dhomnaill. It's beautifully done, but there's a heavy emphasis on Brigid as The Mother Goddess, maiden-mother-crone-Trinity-before-there-was-the-Trinity, and all goddesses being one etc...not the sorts of things I agree with, but otherwise I enjoyed it. Nuala Ní Dhomnaill does some wonderful songs, and in part two you get to see some Imbolg traditions being performed.
Also, if you're struggling with pronunciations for festivals and such, it's quite handy...
It worked for me, here in Scotland, but I can't say for sure if it will be viewable across the Pond as well - worth a watch, though, if you can. Each part is just under half an hour long.
Part One - pre-Christian Brighid
Part Two - into Christianity and the modern era
It's in Irish, but there are subtitles, and some of the interviewees you might be familiar with already - Seán Ó Duinn, Muireann Ní Bhrolcháin, and Nuala Ní Dhomnaill. It's beautifully done, but there's a heavy emphasis on Brigid as The Mother Goddess, maiden-mother-crone-Trinity-before-there-was-the-Trinity, and all goddesses being one etc...not the sorts of things I agree with, but otherwise I enjoyed it. Nuala Ní Dhomnaill does some wonderful songs, and in part two you get to see some Imbolg traditions being performed.
Also, if you're struggling with pronunciations for festivals and such, it's quite handy...
It worked for me, here in Scotland, but I can't say for sure if it will be viewable across the Pond as well - worth a watch, though, if you can. Each part is just under half an hour long.
Thursday, 24 February 2011
The things a reconstructionist does when held in captivity...
Things haven't been going quite according to plan lately...
On my last trip to the library I picked up a few articles, one of which was John Carey's The Name 'Tuatha Dé Danann.' This was in an effort to tackle the whole issue of where Danu (technically, *Danu) fits in to the whole scheme of the gods, as well as the Tuatha Dé Danann themselves; I've seen plenty of other writers talking about Carey's arguments from the article, so I wanted to look at it myself. So while I was making a hurried library run, I photocopied it, got home, and found that of all the five pages of the article, I'd got the first page, and then the final page twice. Not the middle two pages.
Arse.
So on Saturday I decided I needed to go back to the library to get some more bits and pieces anyway, return some books, and get the rest of Carey's article. In the end I didn't go, because there was quibbling about whether or not we were going over to the in-laws the next day, and I could go to the library then if that was the case, and eventually it was too late to be worth the train journey into Glasgow. I was also desperately looking for a book I needed to take back, which I still can't find, and have a horrid feeling that I might have accidentally thrown it into the recycling bin with a bunch of random bits of paper that were sat on the kitchen sideboard...
As it happened, it was a good thing I didn't go, because that afternoon my back completely gave out and I haven't been anywhere since. I can just about walk now, though. Being semi-crippled and slightly tripping on the lovely drugs the doctor's given me (that are supposed to help but aren't), I've had plenty of time on my hands, and plenty of reason to look for distractions. I've been working my way through a book I saw recommended on the Nemeton list, and I've had a stab at another article which is now published on the website:
The Gods in Scotland
When I started it, I was intending to tack it on to the end of the Gods of Landscape and Lore article, because really it's along the same lines. It quickly became apparent that my usual blethering and awesome map-making skills were going to make the article too long to be able to do that, so a completely new article it is.
It's not one of my prouder efforts, I don't think (maybe it's the drug haze...). I can't help but feel it raises more questions than it answers, but I've exhausted all possible avenues of research that I have to hand just now, and it is what it is (as it were). I'm hoping that eventually I'll find some pointers to help flesh things out a bit (any suggestions welcome), but as it stands at the moment, what you see is all I've got. I think once I get onto the issue of tackling the Good Folk and where they fit in to the scheme of things, I might have more to go on.
For now, I'm hoping that now I've got this one out of the way, I can get round my writer's block for the article I was originally working on...It's given me a more solid idea about the issue of how the gods fit into the landscape but aren't (necessarily) strictly tied to it, though. I'm wary of over-emphasising that at the moment, so hopefully that's something I'll be able to articulate in the next one, and balance things out a little in that respect. Possibly after my back gets better, because the drugs aren't working and I'm hoping for something a little more effective when I see the doctor later today...
On my last trip to the library I picked up a few articles, one of which was John Carey's The Name 'Tuatha Dé Danann.' This was in an effort to tackle the whole issue of where Danu (technically, *Danu) fits in to the whole scheme of the gods, as well as the Tuatha Dé Danann themselves; I've seen plenty of other writers talking about Carey's arguments from the article, so I wanted to look at it myself. So while I was making a hurried library run, I photocopied it, got home, and found that of all the five pages of the article, I'd got the first page, and then the final page twice. Not the middle two pages.
Arse.
So on Saturday I decided I needed to go back to the library to get some more bits and pieces anyway, return some books, and get the rest of Carey's article. In the end I didn't go, because there was quibbling about whether or not we were going over to the in-laws the next day, and I could go to the library then if that was the case, and eventually it was too late to be worth the train journey into Glasgow. I was also desperately looking for a book I needed to take back, which I still can't find, and have a horrid feeling that I might have accidentally thrown it into the recycling bin with a bunch of random bits of paper that were sat on the kitchen sideboard...
As it happened, it was a good thing I didn't go, because that afternoon my back completely gave out and I haven't been anywhere since. I can just about walk now, though. Being semi-crippled and slightly tripping on the lovely drugs the doctor's given me (that are supposed to help but aren't), I've had plenty of time on my hands, and plenty of reason to look for distractions. I've been working my way through a book I saw recommended on the Nemeton list, and I've had a stab at another article which is now published on the website:
The Gods in Scotland
When I started it, I was intending to tack it on to the end of the Gods of Landscape and Lore article, because really it's along the same lines. It quickly became apparent that my usual blethering and awesome map-making skills were going to make the article too long to be able to do that, so a completely new article it is.
It's not one of my prouder efforts, I don't think (maybe it's the drug haze...). I can't help but feel it raises more questions than it answers, but I've exhausted all possible avenues of research that I have to hand just now, and it is what it is (as it were). I'm hoping that eventually I'll find some pointers to help flesh things out a bit (any suggestions welcome), but as it stands at the moment, what you see is all I've got. I think once I get onto the issue of tackling the Good Folk and where they fit in to the scheme of things, I might have more to go on.
For now, I'm hoping that now I've got this one out of the way, I can get round my writer's block for the article I was originally working on...It's given me a more solid idea about the issue of how the gods fit into the landscape but aren't (necessarily) strictly tied to it, though. I'm wary of over-emphasising that at the moment, so hopefully that's something I'll be able to articulate in the next one, and balance things out a little in that respect. Possibly after my back gets better, because the drugs aren't working and I'm hoping for something a little more effective when I see the doctor later today...
Saturday, 19 February 2011
'Hillfort Glow Experiment'
A little outside my area, unfortunately, otherwise I'd jump at the chance:
Hopefully there'll be a follow up or two, the implications will be very interesting if they succeed.
HILLFORT history will come to life on the night of the March full moon when flares and torchlight will shine from 10 ancient sites.
Volunteers will be enlisted to take part in the historic experiment between Cheshire and North Wales at dusk on March 19.
Organisers hope to discover whether glowing fires could have been seen and used as a communication system between the Iron Age hillforts of the Sandstone Ridge, the Clwydian Range, Mynydd-y-Gaer Corwen, Halkyn Mountain and Wirral.
Hopefully there'll be a follow up or two, the implications will be very interesting if they succeed.
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