Daghda And The Coire Cíuín part three
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To recap, for this fourth part of a five part series ...
This is the third and connecting cycle part of a legend of the deeds of Daghda, often pronounced like Doyda. The story moves into the deeds of Brideog and Coire Chrann, the children of the Mör na Coire Cíuín.
To recap the first two parts, this is a lovely ancient story example of passage through three stages of what is called a Hero’s Journey.
Departure - the call for adventure. breaking from the mundane
Initiation - the meeting with the Goddess, Fae, Sidhe, your spirit mentor
Return - the courage and freedom to journal and live from your inspiration
Daghda had approached the well of the Cailleach to drink and bathe and return his stamina, so he could return as the god of harvest and abundance each autumn harvest time.
At the well he met the three hags, the Morrigna, and actually not bad looking.
Their names are Badb (Medb, Maeve), Macha and Nemain, (Fea, Fae).
They had invited Daghda back to stay with them, lay with them, love them, etc., within the hill.
Through the second part we met the Fulachtra where the fallen life of the year was transformed into the new life for Spring, at Midwinter.
Brideog, Bride, Brighid was born,
and we continue ...
As a ‘Hero’s Journey’ Daghda has arisen from Initiation, the meeting of the Goddess, and now enters the third part of Return ...
After the 15 days of ‘time standing still’, Daghda did depart from the hill, from the cave, from the Mor na Coire Cíuín, and entered into more deeds told by storytellers. This includes a battle he entered, and won because his dagger was now larger than any opposition.
For this ‘return story’, I will flow through the births of the son and daughter of Daghda and Mor na Coire Cíuín
Mentioned in the previous part, each spring we are blessed with the birth of Brideog, Bríd, Brighid.
Spring in Ireland,
... is the time of the cooling fertile fired water flowing, and the fire keeper glowing. Being as this is the time of Brideog, as I tell you this, it seems that I should tell a bit more about her.
.... but many other storytellers are doing just that now at this Brighid Day and Imbolc time.
So, I would like to complete the circle of this tale by telling about the much lesser told son of Daghda and Mor na Coire Ciuin.
Remember, in those ancient days, people were not given names, that were registered, and then we could be branded with them for life.
The names of ancient people were given to them by others according to what they did, where they lived and how they lived. Their names could change with circumstances and conditions.
When this son of Daghda matured, and ventured into the wildness of the outside air, outside the hill, outside the caves. There he stood by where his father Daghda had entered the hill. The place where Daghda had left his Cruitre harp before entering the caves of the hill above Keash to mate within the Mor na Coire Cíuín.
Daghda had taken his cauldron and club with him,
but not his harp.
I do not know why because by Midsummer he had made another one.
There was no harp there any more. Daghda’s harp had grown back into a tree that it’s wood had come from. But, as I have mentioned, at that time it was not called a harp. That is a modern word, from France probably. It was named after this tree.
This young, son of Daghda and the Cailleach cut a branch from this tree that had grown from Daghda’s cruitre harp
He made a bow from it,
Attached a sound box, of willow wood, to amplify,
And made strings from the guts of fallen hogs.
He discovered that the broken away water of The Mor na Coire Cíuín was everywhere around below him.
He discovered divinity and how to be a diviner from this source. And this divinity taught him to play music through the instrument he had created.
He discovered that his playing enchanted
He discovered the craft of
The Goiltrai, sounds and voice that caused people to weep.
He discovered the craft of
The Geantrai, sound and voice that encouraged people to laugh and dance
He discovered the craft of
The Suantrai, sound and voice that lulled people into their dreams, into their sleep!
Through his stringed and soundbox instrument he realised he was enchanting from the Coire, the soundbox through the Chrann, the wood, of his instrument
Together the instrument
was called the Coire Chrann
And the people called the son of Daghda and the Cailleach, ‘Coire Chrann’.
And Coire Chrann taught others to become diviners with music to share with others
Become Deravids
Express their visions, their inspirations
Through sacred wood, the Dera
And the wood he used to
Create the bow of his instrument
That held the willow coire, soundbox,
And the hog gut strings
Became known as the Coire Chrann too.
Today, we have shortened Coire Chrann to Coarran but the names of that instrument have changed through the ages to clarsach, which has its own lovely story, and today, the harp which seems to be French origin.
And storytelling tales about Daghda’s son
started calling him Coarran too.
And the tree that provided the Coire Chrann’s wood over the years has had its naming changed from Coarann to Rowan.
A tree that many ancient men, and still some today, burn twigs of to call upon the women spirit of the earth to be companions and guide them through times of trading and council.
And perhaps this is the origin of
‘Beside every successful man is a good woman’.
Today, the site of this story, the hill and the caves is called Céis Coarann,
Céis meaning the weaving.
Céis Coire Cíuín the weaving inside the mountain
Çéis Coarann, the weaving from the womb and water of the mountain through the wood.
This inspiration that accompanies us, guides us
And serves the wisdom stories we hear.
Such as the fairy lover, that I will share with you in a couple of days ...
Tomorrow, when many celebrate St. Brighid’s day, its the 5th feature of this series. The second part of Sheela na Heroes, to bond this cycle.
I invite you to tune in then ...
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