Starting off the Faerie Fridays series, I'd like to discuss a major part of my belief system when it comes to who the fae I personally work with are - the Tuatha De Danann! As there are literally thousands of faerie cultures across the globe, I feel like this is a very important distinction to make.
Later renamed to the Aes sidhe or Aos si, the Tuatha De Danann are among the first people of ancient Ireland, and are, historically, the Celtic people's version of the faeries. They worshiped and are named after the Goddess Danu or Anu, who is not entirely unlike the ancient earth mother deities represented by other very ancient people's tribal talismans. She is considered by most historians to be the Mother Goddess of the Irish people.
Many historical records of the local people describe the Tuatha De Danann as being incredibly wise, civilized, and in possession of many magickal artifacts, including a cauldron that produced endless food, and an enchanted sword. It is also written that many of the Tuatha De were able to work magick, themselves. Legends and stories about them are set centuries apart, giving the impression of extreme longevity (to the point of seeming immortality) among their lineage. The Goddesses Morrighan and Brighid, and the Summer King Lugh, among other commonly known ancient God-King deities, are considered to have been a living, breathing members of the Tuatha De Danann.
A proof of their nature is that the Tuatha De Danann do not seem to have destroyed any of their competitive tribes, simply removing them to other regions of the Isle, or allowing them to integrate into their society peaceably. The people who they dislodged to form their kingdom, for instance, were allowed to live on in their native region, known as Connaught, while the Tuatha De Danann took rule over the rest of the island of Ireland.
Historical annals date the Tuatha's reign from around 1900 B.C. to 1700 B.C. When they were defeated by the Milesians, it is said the Tuatha De Danann were not entirely destroyed, but instead took to living underground, within the hills and hollows of the wild. They became known as the Aes sidhe, and much later, would become known as the faeries and elves of European mythology. They are often associated in the legends of the Aesir (the principle Gods of the Norse pantheon) as well, and their legends often share some key characters, such as Hekate!
The Tuatha have also been referenced in pop culture in a wide number of ways - not just as faeries, either. Does the name Nuada ring a bell? Believe it or not, the fallen Elvish Prince in Hellboy II is, in my opinion, anyway, named after the very first King of the Tuatha De Danann, who led to their conquering Ireland in the first place!
The more I research the Tuatha and other ancient Gods of the Celts, the more confident I become in my personal belief that many the first Gods of men were, in fact, once mortal men or women themselves. But I digress...
The First Kings of the Tuatha De
During the defeat of the preceding peoples of Ireland, known as the Fir Bolg, the King Nuada lost an arm. Due to Celtic tradition, in which a King was also considered the primary warrior for the tribe, Nuada was deemed unable to rule the kingdom he had won for the people of Danu, however. A new King was selected, named Braes, who was a tribesman of the Fomorians, one of the four founding, united tribes that composed the entirety of the Tuatha De.
Braes was not a good King. Primarily, his seven year reign seems to have been afflicted with some sort of famine or food shortage, in addition to his lackluster leadership ability failing to maintain civil obedience among his people. If there was a magickal cauldron that produced endless food after all, Braes did not share the bounty it produced. Regardless, the lack of prosperity among the people was very likely blamed on ill-favor with spirit and deity (something many, many ancient Celtic Kings were committed to the local bogs for, as an offering to appease the Gods they'd angered).
In this instance, the Tuatha who did not admire Brae's lackluster leadership gathered forces under the former King Nuada, who is written to have obtained a magical arm of silver to replace the one he had lost. Braes was ousted from the realm, but later returned with an army of his own to attempt to win his kingdom back. After a long series of fights between the Fomorians and Tuatha De Danann, in which Nuada himself was lost, the ill-favored King Braes was no longer King of the Tuatha De Danann.
Made a hero through his deeds in the battle, Lugh, who would later become a complicated and intricate Celtic symbol of Summer and Divine Masculinity, was crowned King. His sons are said to rule Ireland for the next three generations, when the Tuatha De Danann are driven underground beneath the rule of King Daghda by the arrival of the fierce and powerful Milesians.
It is for one of the Tuatha De's gods, Eriu or Eire, that Ireland is named. It was not the Tuatha De, however, who so named it, but the Milesians, in homage to the once-great and magickal tribe they laid to rest in the annals of mythology to become the mystical Aes sidhe.
The Rise of the Faeries
Over time, the memory of the Tuatha De as a people vanished from the common memory of the Irish people, and was replaced instead with the myths and legends of the Aos sĆ or Sidhe. The mound people, as Aos sĆ translates to, are even rumored to have found passage to the Otherworld, a magickal realm of in which seasons came to pass, as in the real world, but life did not end.
Many people of Celtic origin do not directly mention the Sidhe by name, afraid of conjuring their attention from this Otherworld. They are instead referred to as the Fair Folk or just the Folk. Most of the Sidhe are said to be incredibly beautiful and enchanting, but some are also grotesque or frightening by human standards. Despite their allure, however, the Fair Folk are fierce and savage defenders of their wild homes, which is a large part of why they have acquired a good bit of fear surrounding their name.
It is commonly believed that there are multiple ruling kingdoms in the realms of the Aos si, and that, from time to time, these competitive kingdoms have battles. These battles occasionally spill over into our layer of reality, but can very often be the driving force behind a Sidhe's interest in humans. Numerous tales of Sidhe meddling in the affairs of Kings and humans alike dapple Celtic history (not including other European fairy tales of the time), usually revolving around the faerie's desire to gain power to assist their Otherworldly combat through some means. There are many who gravely fear the fae as a result of these legends.
Ancient people and modern people alike tell the story of changelings, or children swapped out for fae at birth. While most historical records suggest that these children may have, in fact, just been born with disfigurements or other obvious ailments, there are those who also believe that a baby is, from time to time, swapped out by one of the Aos si for their own. The reasons are debatable, but the most common seems to be that the Sidhe enjoy human servants and familiars. Individuals speculated to have been taken by the fae experience massively extended lifespans while living in the Otherworld, and so, when they are returned to the human realm (as most are), they are deposited in a time greatly advanced from their own. It is also a common note that these individuals seem to be driven mad - perhaps by the faerie knowledge they once knew, or just by the sheer shock of being transported hundreds of years ahead in time.
What do you believe about faeries? What are some things you'd like me to touch on throughout this series? Let me know in the comments below! I'd love to hear from you.
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