Heroes of the dawn/The Ancient Gods
THE ANCIENT GODS
Many thousands of years ago long, long before the time of Fionn mac Cumall and Iris heroes, of whom the following stories are written—there lived in Ireland a wise and beautiful race of people, who were called the Tuatlia de Danann. So wise was this race that the people who lived in after ages called them gods, and these were the gods whom Fionn and his warriors loved and invoked in time of need; and because some of their names occur very frequently in the stories I will tell you a little about a few of them.
Just as we of these later ages have fathers and mothers, so the gods had a father and mother, and the name of the father was Dagda, and that of the mother Dana. The gods were able to do all kinds of wonderful things; they could make themselves visible or invisible at will, and they could change into any form they chose. It is said of the Dagda that he had an enchanted harp, in which the music was spell-bound, and he alone could call it forth. When he played, summer would break in bud and blossom all over the land; or winter with its snows and frosts would come; or sleep or laughter or tears would fall on all who heard the music.
The Tuatha de Danann had some very fierce enemies, called the Fomorians, and once, when they were fighting together, the Fomorians captured the Dagda's harp, and carried it away to hang in their feasting-hall. But the Dagda, with some companions, went in pursuit of it, and when they reached the hall the Dagda called to his harp, saying: "O holder of summer and winter, of sleep and joy and sorrow, come to me." Immediately the harp rushed down from the wall and hurried to its master, killing those of the Fomorians who were in its way. Then the Dagda touched the magic wires, and the first music that he played made the Fomorians sorrowful; the women and children, and even the great warriors, wept and lamented as though all they held dearest had gone from them. Then he played the second strain, and they all ceased their weeping and laughed for joy. He played again, and this time a deep sleep fell upon all who heard the music, and the Dagda and his companions left the hall and went back in safety to their own people.
It is from Dana, the great mother of the gods, that the Tuatha de Danann derived their name, which means "children of the goddess Dana." She is very often called the Mor Riga, or "Great Queen," too, and whenever her people went into battle she watched over them. Once there was a great battle fought between the Fomorians and the Tuatha de Danann, and when the Fomorians were conquered the Mor Riga changed herself into a grey-necked crow, and proclaimed the victory to all the people of Ireland, and to the high mountains and rivers and headlands, singing:
Peace up to Heaven,
Heaven down to earth;
Earth under Heaven,
Strength in every one.
Sometimes, too, when great heroes were dying Dana would appear to them in the form of a grey-necked crow.
The Dagda had a beautiful son called Angus Oge, or Angus the young. Wherever he went a multitude of white birds flew with him, and the sweet singing of these birds brought love into the hearts of all who heard them. Angus is supposed to have made his home at Newgrange, near the Boyne—the underground temple which was formerly called Brugh na Boinne. The old stories say that three trees grew there which were always heavy with fruit, and whoever rested at Brugh na Boinne and ate of this fruit would be deathless.
One of the most powerful of the gods is Manannan mac Lir, who is lord of the sea. In ancient times, when ships were in danger of being wrecked, the sailors would call on Manannan, and he would appear and guide them to a place of safety. Manannan's home was on a wonderful island far out in the western sea, but sailors, passing to and fro in their ships, were unaware that this island
WHEREVER HE WENT A NUMBER OF WHITE BIRDS FLEW WITH HIM
existed, for Manannan cast an enchanted mist over it which rendered it invisible. Sometimes Manannan would entice great kings and heroes to his isle, where death and sorrow were unknown, but after a time spent there, which seemed to the visitors no more than a day or two, they would return to their own people, only to find that their visit to the faery island of youth had extended over months, and sometimes years.
Two very magical things Manannan possessed: one was a boat called the Ocean-Sweeper, and whoever used that boat needed neither oar nor sail—they simply wished to be at the place they were bound for, and the Ocean-Sweeper glided swiftly over the sea, and were the waves high as mountains it was not hindered in its progress. The other was a milk-white horse, Enbarr of the Flowing Mane, which could travel over the sea-waves as quickly as it could on land, and never get wet; it could fly through the air, too, more swiftly than the strong wind blows in March. Sometimes, when one or other of the heroes had any great deeds to perform, Manannan would lend his Ocean-Sweeper and his white horse to them, so that they should not fail.
But the great champion of the gods was Lugh Lam-Fada, or Lugh of the Long Hand. When the Tuatha de Danann were oppressed by their enemies the Fomorians, Lugh came riding from the Land of the Ever-Young on the white horse of Manannan, with a light like sunrise round his head, and armed with a fiery sling. He urged the Tuatha de Danann to fight, saying he would lead them against their enemies. So, when they had made all their preparations, Lugh led them out; and Balor, the giant Fomorian king, whose eye of evil either killed or turned to stone whoever it looked upon, led out his people, and the opposing armies fought a great battle on the plain of Moytura. In the midst of the fight the battle-fury came on Lugh, and he rushed out before all his people and with his sling of fire threw a magic ball of light into Balor's eye of death, so that the giant Fomorian died and his people were utterly routed. Then the Mor Riga sang her song of victory, as I have told you before, and peace came to the people of Ireland.
Lugh was also called the Ildana, that is, the man of many arts, because he knew and could do anything. He could write a poem, or play the harp, or build a house, or fight a battle, equally well, he had so much learning.
The last of the gods that I shall tell you about now was Fintann, who was also called the Salmon of Knowledge. Sometimes he would change himself into a salmon, and go to a sacred well where nine mysterious hazel-trees grew, which were called the hazel-trees of wisdom. They produced their blossoms and leaves and nuts at the same time, and as the nuts dropped from the trees to the surface of the water Fintann would eat them, and so he gained wisdom of all that had been or would be. The legends say it is this Salmon of Knowledge that Fionn mac Cumall touched with his thumb one day, when he was a boy, and so gained his knowledge of the past and the future.
At the time that Fionn and his heroes lived, the gods made themselves visible very often; perhaps that was because the people living then believed so thoroughly in them. Perhaps the reason they do not show themselves so frequently now is because most of us believe in other things, and do not think very much about these ancient gods of our country.