Celtic River Goddesses

Guinevere, The Lady Of The Lake, Morrigna, Morganna...

Celtic River Goddesses

The Daoine Sidhe, Tuatha de Danu, 

Y Tylwydd Teg,

The Good People, the Faery. All are different names for the same peoples. These people's  are I contend the Mesolithic and Neolithic peoples transformed into myth and folk tales. The Megalithic Henges, Barrows, Hills and passage graves built by the megalith cultures of the Mesolithic, Neolithic , Chalcolithic, and early Bronze age.

The Leabhor Gebala Erenn, the book of invasions, chronicles the coming of three distinct peoples to Ireland. The Firbolg ( people of the bag) and the Tuatha de Danu. ( the people of the Goddess Danu) The Daoine Sidhe, people of the Sidhe, have been preserved in myth and legend.

The first group, the Firbolg, according to the book of invasions, came from the region of Thrace, the modern day Balkans. Migrating along the Danube river, into the heart of Europe, then into the British Isles.

This tale mirrors what we know from archeology, following the route of the Indo-European farmers as they moved into Europe from Anatolia.

The second group, which came after the Firbolg, the Tuatha de Danu, began their journey also, in the Balkans, then along the Mediterranean coast, along the Atlantic fringe into the British Isles.

The first group, the Firbolg, the people of the bag, called this, because according to myth, when they were enslaved in Thrace, they were forced to carry bags to carry bags of earth.

Interesting, that is the very method archeologists believe was used in constructing Mounds like Silbury Hill in Britain. Which, coincidentally are the oldest megalithic remnants.

When the Tuatha de Danu arrived, by boat in Ireland, the two peoples fought for control. The Tuatha de Danu, having superior technology, weapons and "magic" defeated the Firbolg.

The tale claims that the Tuatha de Danu, came from the north, from the four magic cities/islands of Danu, where they learned the arts and magic of the Gods.

The ring of Brognar, in the Orknies, is believed to have been the major site for the late neolithic peoples of the British Isles.  Apparently, the setting up of stones, astronomically aligned, began in the North and spread down into Britain and in Ireland. The sites in the Orknies fit nicely into the myth of the Aos Sidhe.

It was the Celtic peoples, that after having migrated into the region and defeating the Neolithic peoples, that named them, the Daoine Sidhe. The people of the Sidhe.

I would contend that the book of invasions, preserves account of the clash between, first, the hunter gatherer peoples of the Mesolithic, with the Farmers of the Neolithic revolution, then the Bell Beaker, and the Celts.

It is possible that the Bell Beaker people that moved in towards the end of the Neolithic and the beginning of the Chalcolithic are what the story of the coming of the Tuatha de Danu is remembering.

According to Dr. Barry Cunliffe, it was the merging of these peoples that developed into the Celtic culture along the Atlantic fringe.

The basic points of the myth closely mirrors what archeology has unveiled about the migration and interaction of the late Mesolithic, the Neolithic revolution, and the coming of the Bell Beaker culture.

 This brings us into the Bronze age. During the Bronze age this mix evolved into the Hallstatt culture phase of Celtic civilization. At some point during this phase people from the Russian steppes began moving into Europe bringing horses with them.

This admixture then developed into the La Tene period of Celtic civilization. It was during the La Tene phase that the Celts reached the zenith of their power and influence.

With that background laid out, I would like to point to some other examples of Myth mirroring what we have learned from archeology.

To date, the oldest known example of metal working found in Europe, is at Varna, in Bulgaria. Dating to the Fifth millennium Bce. Examples of gold and copper work, placing the Chalcolithic era in the Fifth millennium BCE.

I find it interesting that, the oldest examples of metal working, agriculture and possibly writing, are found in the Balkans, exactly where the book of invasions points as the place of origin for the Firbolg and the Tuatha de Danu. An origin in the region of the Balkans for the Tuatha de Danu is a very interesting possibility.

The people of the Goddess Danu. Danu, like many of the Celtic Goddesses was closely associated with rivers.

Among the Brythonic peoples, she was known as Don. Looking at any map of the Balkans, as well as around the Black Sea, it is clearly revealed that there are at least four  rivers that empty into the Black Sea bearing names that root in Danu, or Don.  

The Danube, which flows from it's source in the Black forest of Germany, through the Balkans. The Dneister, The Dneiper and the Don are the other three rivers of note. Four of the six main rivers that originate in  central Europe and the Russian steppes have the same basic name root. Danu and Don. Danu and Don, both river Goddesses of the Celts.

Welsh myths, call Don, the queen of the Y twlwyth Teg. In Glamorgan, the Good Folk, are called Ben Dydd Y Mamau. Blessed of the mother. An interesting side note; In the American South, Appalachia, Mamaw is a common term for Grandmother to this day.

The Yamnaya Culture began on the Russian steppes, Where the river Don flows and empties into the sea of Azov. The Yamnaya are believed to have moved into Europe becoming the Bell Beaker culture.

The Danube flows through the heart of the region of  Old Europe and the Varna people. Coincidence? What does all of this background stretching into the Stone Age have to do with Celtic river Goddesses?

It connects them to the same region that myth  indicates they came from. It shows that these Goddesses were highly significant to the ancestors of the Celts as well as the Celts themselves.

The attributes of these river Goddesses according to myth and tradition include, Agriculture, War, Fate,  and Sovereignty.

First, War. Why war? Because when the Anatolian farmers moved into Europe ( A Proto-IndoEuropean  migration from their homeland in South Eastern Anatolia.) the transition from the Mesolithic hunter gatherer peoples to farmers was rapid and violent.

Examples of mass graves of the era showing evidence of violent death have been found. Dna evidence indicates that the males of the Mesolithic peoples were very rapidly replaced, clearly indicating violence. The first European wars?

 Consider that the Agricultural people led a sedentary existence. They stayed primarily in one area for several generations cutting down the forest, creating walls to keep their crops safe from animals.

That activity would seriously interrupt the nomadic life of the hunter gatherers. This created conflict between the two groups.

Because the farmers had greater food resources available and could support higher populations, the farmers won the conflict.

Thus, an Agricultural Mother Goddess has become associated with war and violence. A second association comes from the river aspect. Rivers form natural boundaries between peoples.

River fords are places of interaction for these people. Natural gathering points, natural entry points into the lands of other clans or tribes.

This made river fords natural sites for conflict and battles. Consider the importance of river fords in the Tain.

The demigod Cuchullain fought many important battles at river fords. We also have the example of the Morrigu, transformed into an eel, attacking CuChullain during a battle in one river ford.

The importance of river boundaries, and the many battles occurring at the river fords brings another association of the Celtic river Goddesses with war and conflict. Associations that reach back into the late stone age.

Another example is the old Gaulish Goddess, Agrona. A  war Goddess. the word Agro, means violence, it is still evident in our language today. Aggravate. Aggression. there is also the word Agronomy : The science of soil management and crop production. Which again brings agriculture into association with war.

The Fate aspect.

It was believed that the Goddess controls or selects who dies in battle. She chooses the slain. This brings about the idea of her commanding the fate of warriors.

Sovereignty.

We have Examples of the Goddess granting sovereignty to kings. In Irish myths, she is sometimes a hag, that the prospective  king must have sex with, she then transforms into a beautiful woman that blesses and gives the right to be king. Sometimes she is an intoxicating Queen , ie, Maeve. ( Maeve: intoxicating, mead) Another example is the British story of the Lady of the lake, that gives king Arthur the sword of kings, the sign of his right to reign. Interestingly, the Celts would warp and damage weapons. Spears, axes, knives, swords were ritually sacrificed and offered  up to rivers, lakes, or sacred wells.

Where did the Lady of the Lake get Caliburn? It was an offering given to her sacred waters by an ancestral King or hero.

It is from this rich heritage that the imagery of the Arthurian myths is drawn. Mythic symbolisms that have been a part of the culture since the stone age. It is why the Arthurian myth has endured and still has influence over us today.

A further example can be found in William Shakespeare, His famous Scottish play that should not be named about Macbeth.

The three crones, the witches, which reflect the sovereignty and fate aspects found in the Morrigna.

The influence of Ulster, in the Kingdom of the Isles, Dalriata introduced the Morrigna to Alba.

AERON Areonowy

(Cornish, Anglo-Celtic, Welsh) Also spelled Aerfen, or Aeron. A Goddess of fate who presided over the outcome of war between several Celtic clans. She had a shrine at Glyndyfrdwy on the banks of the River Dee, where legend says that three human sacrifices had to be made every three years to ensure success in future battles.

A Goddess of fate who presided over the outcome of a series of wars fought between rival clans. 

She is often equated with the Three Fates of Greco-Roman mythology. 

Rivers of england with Aeron as name

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Aire River

Arun.

3 Avon ( Avon from Aerfen)

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Wales

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Afon Aran

Aeron

Dee, (a shrine to Aeron there)

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Scotland

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Avon

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Brittany

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Aven

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France

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Aveyron

Eyre/Leyre

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Aeron the forgotten Goddess

Bibliography:

Celtic from the west: Alternative perspectives  from archeology genetics language and literature. Edited by Barry Cunliffe.

Britain begins by Barry Cunliffe

Exploring Celtic Origins: New Ways Forward in Archaeology, Linguistics, and Genetics Paperback – Illustrated, November 23, 2020

by Barry Cunliffe (Editor), John T Koch (Editor)

The Neolithic of Europe : Papers in honour of Alasdair Whittle.

Published in the United Kingdom in 2017 byOXBOW BOOKSThe Old Music Hall, 106–108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JEand in the United States byOXBOW BOOKS1950 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083© Oxbow Books and the individual authors 2017Hardcover Edition: ISBN 978-1-78570-654-7Digital Edition: ISBN 978-1-78570-655-4 (Edition Celtic Myth and Religion: A Study of Traditional Belief, with Newly Translated Prayers, Poems and Songs 1st Edition by Sharon Paice Macleod

Celtic Cosmology and the Otherworld: Mythic Origins, Sovereignty and Liminality    By Sharon Paice Macleod

The Lebor Geabhala Eren The book of invasions.

http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/ctexts/leborgabala.html

The Tain bo cualgne http://adminstaff.vassar.edu/sttaylor/Cooley/

The Mabinogihtm https://sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/mab/index.htm

Le Morte de Arthur https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/mart/indeBritain

Geoffrey of Monmouth's Histories of the Kings of Britain https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/gem/index.htm