LITR 5734: Colonial & Postcolonial Literature 2008
 Student Research Post 1

Brouke M. Rose-Carpenter

“From Rags to Witches” – A Journey
through the Lost-and-Found Traditions of the Celts

            When the "Research Posting" assignment was presented, I immediately began contemplating “how could I make Ireland my concentrated topic?”  I’ve always been proud of being half Irish and half Native America, but I must admit my knowledge of Ireland is limited, so I found this to be a great opportunity to investigate and educate myself on the culture of my ancestors.  In my naivety, which seems to be my personal theme for this course, I have always wondered, why people would want to leave Ireland?  The images, topography, and culture seem so lush, why would they want to give it up?  I assumed it was due to colonization, since that seems to be the central reason thus far, which pushes me in the direction of the history of colonization through Ireland.  As I researched the history of Ireland I found more information than needed for this assignment, so I decided to narrow my scope to the Celtic Age.  It seems the richness of the Irish culture was born during this period, and I wanted to know what practices were still in effect.  What traditions did the Celts bring to Ireland? How many traditions are still in effect, and how many have been lost through the multiple colonization’s?  And for personal gain, I want to know if my family practices any of our ancestor’s traditions subconsciously?  As I went through numerous sources, and multiple theories a number of the Celtic characteristics ran true in all. 

The Celtic System was based on honor won in the battlefield.  Unlike the battlefield class system we are accustomed, the aristocracy would be the first to fight, and were on the front lines, while peasants stayed home and worked on the farms.  Being an agriculturally based society the farming community held as much importance, if not more, than the defensive.  Their communities were broken into tribes, which were led by kings in a society that was run on class and kinship.  The Celtic law also demanded children, elderly, and mentally handicapped be looked after.  The Celts were a culture that considered the welling being of their community, and looked after each other.  The Celtic system must have been successful.  The Celtic language “Gaelic”, was prominent all over Europe up until the 3rd century BC.  The Celtic people as a whole were a very diverse group. Their commonality was their language.  The first time the they were mentioned in literature was by the Greek historian, “Hecataeus of Miletus” in 517 BC.  He refers to the town, “Massilia” better known today as “Marseille” being near the “Keltois” or the Celts. The first Greek account occurs in 342 AD by Hieronymos, who refers to them as “Galli”.  Sadly the Celts primarily passed their traditions by word of mouth, and there are very few accounts of Celtic testimony about their world.  It wasn’t until the 7th century that their “word-of mouth” accounts were actually recorded, which leaves little to be known about their way of life, family structure, government, etc. One of the most commonly known facts is the Celtic (pre-Christianity) religion: Paganism or Polytheism. 

The Celts worshipped many Gods/Goddesses.  They presented sacrifices and had priests (Druids) carry out their ceremonies.  They gave their deities particular skills, and typically associated them with nature.  Another popular aspect of the Celtic belief system was the “Trinity”, which was carried into their conversion to Christianity, morphing from the representation of “Threefold” to the “Holy Trinity: The Father, Son and Holy ghost”.  Pagans are often depicted as “witches”, evil, and the anti-Christ to Christianity, but this is not true.  Much like the numerous religions pre-Christianity, and those Polytheistic religions still existing today, they purely had a different view and faith in religion.  They seem to put faith in the elements and nature, striving for peace, but willing to fight.  They were given the stigma of “evil” by Christians in order to pressure them to convert.  The Celts Christian conversion begins in the 5th century, but still the Celts made it their own form of Christianity by creating the denomination of “Celtic Christianity”, and even developing the “Celtic Cross”. 

Due to the limited amount of records, I was shocked and excited to discover that women had an equal opportunity to reach high status and power, which many did. According to the Vix Burial discoveries (http://www.unc.edu/celtic/catalogue/femdruids/Vix.html) one particular Celtic Queen, Cain Lanamna, had the right to divorce, and even won the rights to the possessions she had before the marriage.   Female equality had a huge affect on others, “According to Aristotle, the Celts were one of  the most ‘belligerent nations’ and were strongly influenced by their women” (Wikipedia).   There are instances recorded that the women even participated in warfare and in kingship.  Plutarch reports women acting as ambassadors to avoid war.  Not only did the women fight in battle, but it is suspected that they incited and lead their warriors as well.  Poseidonius described the Celts as being known for their primarily primitive behavior, having extreme ferocity, practicing cruel sacrifices, and the strength and courage of their women.  I find the strength of the Celtic women to be inspiring, but it also put some things in place for me.  The stories I have grown up hearing, and the female values that have been instilled, have always been progressive.  The women in my family have always seemed more than atypical, being strong, tough, rough, healing, and never accepting anything less than equality; even when suppressed, they seem to push for more opportunity. The fight in the Irish or Celts is strong in both women and men; they are strong as a culture, and do not seem to give up easily.

Even though many have attempted to wipe out the Celtic tradition, the strongest aspects have remained.  According to numerous sites, one in particular, www.fiftythings.com, “there are thousands of people of Celtic ancestry and others, who are trying to relearn the ancient wisdom and spirituality prevalent during the time of Saint Patrick in Ireland around 432 C.E.  Some are discovering Celtic spirituality through Irish history, myth, and poetry – others through the revival of Irish music and dance.  Pilgrimages to sacred sites and courses about Celtic mythology are now commonplace.”  A group calling themselves “Celtic Reconstructionist” has formed with the goal to restore and reconstruct rituals, festivals, conventions, and create courses all addressing the old Celtic traditions.  The descendants of Celtic ancestors have become more and more curious as to the disappearance of their families culture.  Not only are they reviving lost traditions, but they are going as far investigating the genetics behind Celtic ancestry.  Brian Sykes’s book, Blood of the Isles, is based researching the genetics of descendants of Celts, and analyzes the remains of pre-Roman inhabitants of the Isles.  This Celtic curiosity stretches in all directions, each asking the same type of question, “What happen to the Celts?” This question is easily transformed into the question I am raising about Celtic traditions, what is left and what have we lost?  So, what traditions still remain present?  According to http://www.celtic-anabaptist-ministries.com/celtic-tradition.html, a list of Celtic traditions is posted, and personally, I know many are still very active in my family: Valued family loyalty, spiritual equality of women and men, preference to rural life, close to nature and God’s creatures, believed that all life is sacramental and affirmed the presence of God in even the smallest of everyday tasks, love poetry, music, and art, optimistic view of man, passionate about peace and justice, stressed local spiritual unity rather than universal conformity, valued personal sanctity more than doctrinal orthodoxy, and included animals, crops, seasons, and elements in their understanding of God’s plan.   When I realized how many aspects of the Celtic tradition are still very much alive in my personal family traditions, I swelled up with pride. That yes, even though Celts have had to make compromises and changes along the way, they still held fast to the most important values of their people. 

The Celts are a tough, honorable, loving breed of people and I am proud to say that I am half Celtic, and hope to pass on the Celtic traditions that have been passed on to me, unintentionally or not, on to my future generations.  Perhaps the fact that we subconsciously pass on the Celtic traditions is a true testament to the Celts.  Whether Celt’s realize it or not, the Celtic traditions run so strongly in their bloodline that they pass on ancient traditions without even realizing.  As much as the Celts have been pushed in the direction of change they still held their roots firmly in place, only swaying to the changes that would be inevitable for their faith, people, and culture. 

Brief Classical Timeline of Ireland:

  • 2000BC-500BC: Bronze Age
  • 500BC-400AD : Celtic Iron Age
  • 400AD-800AD: Coming of Christianity
  • 800AD-970AD: Viking invasion
  • 970AD-1014AD: Brian Boru’s Age
  • 1014AD-1150AD: Complex
  • 1066AD-1691AD: English invasion
  • 1695AD-1850AD: Revolution and Great Famine

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