"The Gauls all claim to be descended from Dis Pater, claiming that this is the tradition preserved by the Druids."
____ Julius Caesar, The Conquest of Gaul
On his Gaulish campaign, Julius Caesar studied the nature of the people he intended to conquer, learning that they believed themselves to be descended to conquer, learning that they believed themselves to be descended from Dis Pater, or the Father God of the Underworld. Caesar noted that it is on account of this fact that they celebrated all their festivals and holy days from the eve of the previous day , when darkness falls, rather than from the morning of the day itself. The primacy given to the night over the day by the Celts is a respectful remembrance of their beginnings and of their divine ancestor.
One Irish figure who fills the role of Dis Pater is Cu Roi (KOO roy) with his otherworldly revolving tower in the West of Ireland. He wields a long-handled beheading axe and oversees the awarding of the champion's portion at Brieriu's Feast by coming in the guise of a dark giant, to offer the contenders a sportive game: he will kneel for them to behead him in return for being beheaded themselves! Only Cuchulainn (Koo-HULL'en) is brave enough to take up his challenge: he kneels willingly, is spared by Cu Roi, and so is proved the worthiest champion.
Cu Roi's partner is Blathnad (BLAN'id), the Goddess of Flowers. Theirs is a partnership that reminds us of the relationship between the Greek Goddess of Returning Spring, Persephone and Plutos, the Underworld God of the Dead. Life and death are a partnership like day and night: after growth, decay; after death, new growth. The message of Dis Pater to all his descendants is, "All of you shall come to me, to my house when you die." The secret of his consort is that we too shall grow again, emerging from the darkness of night.
"Meditate upon the cycles of life and death, night and day."
[From: The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Matthews]
No comments:
Post a Comment