Sermon
From Ancient Ireland: Lessons For Today?
by Anne Blackburn
Very early Ireland was a land where
myth and history blended together in such a way that it was
often impossible to tell one from the other.
History claims that Ireland was first settled by nomadic fishermen from
Scotland about 7,000 BCE. Small groups of hunter-gatherers and primitive
farmers followed - all thousands of years before St. Patrick arrived in
432 CE. Then came the Vikings who began raiding coastal Ireland about
800 CE, and, finally, the troublesome English who first showed up in 1170.
To honor the natural systems upon which they realized their survival
depended, thousands of years ago the earliest peoples began constructing
remarkable stone and earth monuments. At ceremonial sites perfectly aligned
with the position of the sun at dawn or sunset on the winter and summer
solstices or on the spring and fall equinoxes, rituals were carried out
to give thanks for the fertility of the land and to seek favor for continued
good harvests. The night heavens were studied just as closely and revered
just as much. For the positions of the moon and the constellations helped
mark each season of each year, and the yearly lunar cycles helped mark
the passage of time over time. These mound-like monuments mimicked natural
shapes in the landscape. Going into any one of them was - and still is
- a deeply spiritual experience, as one enters the ultimate womb - the
earth - the mother of all terrestrial life.
Myth adds to this fascinating story of the settling of Ireland. It says
some who came there during the very early millennia did not arrive by
boat but rose from under the sea and that others came out of
the sky. There are tales of one early High King who always slept outdoors
on a high hill so that "no visitor from the heavens would ever arrive
unwelcomed."
Many of these early peoples were said to have had magical powers including
the ability to "shape-shift" - to change from human form to
bird or fish or deer when danger approached. Or, from a wild, ugly old
hag to a beautiful young maiden -- given the "right motivation,"
of course -- such as when a handsome young prince was brave enough to
kiss or even sleep with the hag.
The Tuatha de Danaan were the most intriguing of the people with special
powers. Arriving about 2000 years before the birth of Jesus, the Tuatha
were a divine race of deities and sorcerers who brought gifts from the
gods with them. One was a great stone that cried out when touched by the
man who was to be the next rightful king of Ireland. [Wouldn't that
have been a handy thing to have had around last November?] They also
brought a cauldron of plenty that could feed endless numbers of people
without ever running out, and a mysterious laser-like weapon so powerful
it could cut the tops off mountains.
Myth tells us that in 1699 BCE a major Celtic tribe called the Milesians
arrived from Spain. Tall, strong warriors, they were able to defeat the
TDD -- but only because the latter chose not to use their powerful laser-like
weapon. A peace was reached under which the Tuatha agreed to rule the
idyllic Otherworld - in the earth and under the sea -- and
the Celts would hold dominion above.
Thus by the fifth century CE when St. Patrick arrived, he encountered
an Ireland whose surface had been divided into five major Celtic tribal
kingdoms, with a High King ruling over all from Tara. But while the tribal
kings directed day to day civic and political matters -- thanks to the
fairy folk, the Tuatha, -- the land itself seemed to be alive -- full
of supernatural goddesses and gods presiding over the forces of nature
and influencing human lives with powers of good and evil. These spirits
were everywhere -- in fairy mounds, in the wind, in the trees, in rivers,
lakes and marshes, and in the waves of the sea. Cave openings and springs
where water from deep within the earth surged forth were held in special
awe - for these were the magical spots where the visible and invisible
worlds met. Individuals often placed offerings at such sites in an attempt
to appeal to these forces of the unseen world - to ask their help in healing
the sick, taming horses, finding lost goods, or curing a fairy-stricken
child. Legend tells us that when Oisin, the son of the famous Celtic warrior
Finn mac Cool, was born he was "held aloft to be presented to the
sky and laid on the ground to meet the earth. He was handed through the
smoke of a fire, and sweet cold water was touched to his lips" -
all to please and appease the spirits.
Within this religious framework of early Ireland, female spirits often
ranked above their male counterparts. These goddesses were regarded as
protectors -- guardians whose roles as deities of land, water, fertility,
healing and animals all arose directly from their close link with the
natural world. But their influence was not limited to 'female' concerns
like reproduction and domesticity: they were regarded as powerful divine
entities invoked equally by women and men. Only men who could complete
initiation tests set by the goddess could serve as king. And everyone
who had good sense showed great respect for the goddesses. Those who visited
their shrines with gifts, prayers and vows, and who accorded them proper
reverence, were perhaps granted their desire - a good harvest, a baby,
better sight, perhaps even victory over an enemy. Those who neglected
them or committed sacrilege could expect the reverse.
Great care was taken not to venture into the Otherworld - the magical
places under the earth and sea which were ruled by these spirits -- earth
mounds and caves and watery sites from which rising mists, alluring music
and beautiful feminine figures would tempt the unwary. Sometimes, heroes
given very dangerous missions were taken by the spirits into the Otherworld
to receive help. But those who tried to enter the Otherworld with mischief
in mind often never returned at all or came back only to die, as "one
year" in the Otherworld could equal three hundred years of human
time.
Druid priests, spiritual leaders of Celtic tribes, mediated between
the world of man and that of the spirits. Many Druids of Ireland learned
their craft in the Burren - a harsh three hundred square mile limestone
moon-scape along the West coast of Ireland which the brutal English invader
Oliver Cromwell would later describe as "having not water to drink,
nor soil to grow things, nor trees to hang men from." Here in this
bare, wind-swept, unforgiving landscape men and women would study
for as long as twenty years - learning magic, music, poetry, astrology,
prediction, healing, tribal history and the law. Those training to be
bards learned to hold a trance for nine hours so they could compose compelling
poetry and retell with perfect accuracy the great Celtic myths as well
as the genealogy and entire history of their tribe. Some Druids became
physicians and teachers. Others were trained in legal practice so they
could carry out the Brehon Laws under which the tribes lived.
These Celtic high priests taught that life did not end with death. They
believed that after physical death the person's spirit would go to Tir
Na Nog - the Land of the Forever Young. Tir Na Nog, an island far, far
out to sea, life was a place of happy wonders; an ageless paradise full
of beauty, music and sport. The Druids taught that after an indeterminate
period of time spent in this idyllic place, the immortal soul would pass
to another body. Death was merely seen as a natural interruption of a
very long existence.
WHEN ST PATRICK BROUGHT CHRISTIANITY TO IRELAND IN 432 CE....
One good thing that happened was that the "take over" was
quite peaceful.
And some important aspects of the early spiritual belief system were
retained - although at a price. For example, unable to prevent the Celts
from visiting healing wells and other sites they held sacred, the Christian
monks simply set up religious statues and Stations of the Cross at such
wells, and constructed churches next to them.
Perhaps the most outrageous of the pagan worship site "takeovers"
was the claiming of Croagh Patrick as the "sacred mountain of Ireland."
This move symbolized the way in which the patriarchy of Christianity intended
to displace the matriarchy of the earlier goddess-centered belief system.
For, for thousands of years before Patrick claimed it in the name of Christianity,
the mountain had been totally dedicated to the Goddess - a site held to
be so sacred that men weren't even allowed to climb the mountain. They
could only wait at the foot while the woman-only ceremonies took place
at the summit.
However, the literacy of the Christian monks had a tremendously positive
impact on Ireland, and, indeed, upon the whole Western world. For the
very first time the elaborate and enchanting Irish myths, which until
this time had been preserved solely through oral tradition, were written
down - albeit with some "sanitizing and christianizing" taking
place in the process.
It was also the Christian monks of Ireland who preserved much classical
literature and the Christian gospels destroyed all across Europe during
the Dark Ages. In small monasteries around the Irish countryside and on
offshore islands the monks labored tirelessly at their re-copying efforts,
incorporating into their work the elaborate decorated letters and pages
for which manuscripts like the Book of Kells have become known worldwide.
And as the Dark Ages ended many of the monks who returned to Europe to
re-introduce the teachings of the church were from Ireland.
BUT IMPORTANT BELIEFS DID DIMINISH OR WERE LOST OVER TIME AS
CHRISTIANITY STRENGTHENED
The Celtic reverence for the land and all living things weakened as
the Christian concept of "dominion over nature" was promoted.
The power of the Goddess (the very symbol of feminine energy in all
of life and nature) was much reduced. The goddesses who were transformed
into Christian saints, such as Bridget who had embodied all three aspects
of feminine wisdom: the maiden, the mother and the crone, became pale
versions of their pagan predecessors.
Women who had previously held positions of influence equal to those
of men in Celtic society were relegated to subservient roles. Only wealthy
women and those who joined - or were given to the church by their families
- learned to read and write and were allowed to pass their lives in study.
Trust in the naturalness of death and belief in reincarnation diminished;
as converts focused on the Christian concept of the hereafter. And dictums
from the church replaced the extraordinary Celtic zest for life and belief
in magic. [One of the leaders of our annual treks to Ireland believes
that this change has had much to do with the subsequent vulnerability
of Irish to alcoholism. She feels that as peoples' belief in the world
of the spirits was weakened, they turned to (liquid) spirits for comfort.]
Lost, as well were other really effective practices from Brehon Law
- the Celtic legal system which seems to have been designed not for the
best of all possible worlds, where everyone is kind and trustworthy, but
for the world as it actually is. Here are just a few that I think have
great relevance for us today:
The Brehon Laws of Compensation and Distress touched every aspect
of Celtic life. When any wrong-doing was committed down to the smallest
insult, the situation was brought before the Brehons and the guilty party
was required to pay an honour price. The point of compensation was
not to punish the wrongdoer, but to re-establish amity between himself
and the person he had wronged, or their family, so there would be no need
for the acts of revenge that had been a legacy of man's more savage past.
This system of compensation restored goodwill between people; it could
also be harsh when needed. In extremely serious cases of wrong-doing,
such as the killing of a tribe's Chief Bard, the death of the guilty party
could be required, or their banishment, which was almost as bad, because
survival on one's own outside the protection of the tribe was highly unlikely.
[It is fascinating to learn that an initiative called Restorative Justice
has emerged very recently in Ireland (and in numerous places around the
U.S.) The ultimate goal of Restorative Justice is:"not to punish
people but to reduce the incidence of socially harmful activity, promote
victim-offender reconciliation and help create safer communities".
I have not found out as yet whether the Irish proponents of this effort
realize that they are re-creating their ancient heritage, not inventing
something new.] But let's go back now to other amazing tenants of
Brehon Law:
No child was considered illegal. Any relationship that resulted in
the birth of a child was considered to be a marriage. To achieve this
quite remarkable goal, Brehon Law recognized ten "degrees" of
marriage. A First Degree marriage was, not unexpectedly, one between parties
with equal influence and property. The marriage required a contract and
lasted only so long as both parties agreed. But the rights of any children
born to the couple were secured. The marriage law gets especially fascinating
as one looks at some of the other types of human unions they considered
legal. A Sixth Degree marriage reflected that era in history - it applied
when a man forcibly abducted a woman - as when a chieftain seized his
defeated enemy's wife after a battle. But a marriage of the Seventh Degree
still has total relevance today. Referred to as "a soldier's marriage,"
it covered casual unions that often lasted no more than one night. A marriage
of Eighth Degree referred to when a man obtained use of a woman's body
through deception, such as seducing her with lies about his status or
his amount of property, or taking advantage of her intoxication. An act
of rape constituted a Ninth-Degree marriage, and a Tenth-Degree marriage
was a coupling of feebleminded persons. Children born under any
of these circumstances were protected under law. There were no "BoiDoi"
- no "children of the dust" like those our soldiers left behind
in Southeast Asia.
No child ever lived as an orphan. Through an extensive system of
fosterage the clan and tribe became extended family. All classes practiced
fosterage, including the taking in of orphans. Fosterers were required
by law to maintain and educate the child according to its rank in society.
Fosterage also played an important role in politics. It was used to develop
and reinforce personal relationships upon which both tribal and military
alliances depended. Members of the warrior aristocracy routinely exchanged
children, and foster parents often came to be regarded with more affection
that birth parents. [It made me one wonder whether our own determination
to address social injustices within this nation and to resolve differences
with other countries and interest groups might intensify if children of
our leaders were being raised by the leaders of other such groups.]
Women's rights, especially in contract marriages, were extremely
well protected. Just listen to these possible grounds for divorce:
- A woman whose husband failed to provide her with the food and clothing
she desired, insofar as he was able, was eligible for a divorce;
- Prolonged or perpetual absence was sufficient to allow for divorce,
so was loss of sanity;
- A woman whose husband gave her a charm or potion of some kind to induce
her to sleep with him when she did not wish to do so was entitled to
a divorce;
- As was (and please listen particularly closely to this) -- any
woman who was struck a blow that blemished her.
Men's rights were also protected.
- The husband had the right to take other women (but he had to have
his wife's permission to make another woman a contract wife - one who
could inherit.)
- The wife also had the same rights, but had to have the husband's permission
to take another contract husband; AND, her lovers had to be of
rank equal to that of her husband so that any children brought into
the family could be a source of pride.
Perhaps most astounding of all, the Brehon Laws really encouraged civility:
- Within a marriage, a divorce could be granted if one mate circulated
a false story about the other. And neither could criticize the other,
or make them a figure of fun in public. They could say what they wanted
in private, but in public they had to both support each other completely.
- Civil behavior was encouraged throughout the society through, of all
things, satire. People dreaded becoming the target of professional satirists
who would ridicule them in public. It may come as no surprise to
you that women were just as good satirists as men!
In summary, the Irish Celts had a belief system that honored
all living things; their laws of compensation restored social harmony
and removed the need for revenge. Their laws protected the rights of men
and women and all children. Their system of fosterage assured physical
care and education for all, and developed and strengthened political and
social ties. And personal behavior was encouraged that would contribute
to a more civil society. Wouldn't they have made spectacular Unitarian
Universalists? Maybe we need to do some revision of our church history.
But whatever you think of that idea, as we all work to integrate UU principles
into our lives and the world around us, I do hope we are smart enough,
and humble enough to be willing to look backwards to ideals like these
of the Celts as we continue to move toward a world of greater justice,
compassion, humanity, and, once again, reverence for all life.
AMEN
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