- Chapter Twenty-Three -
Lughnasa festival is commemorated in a long poem in the metrical Dindshenches,
'Stories about Important Places', which gives the fullest and most detailed account
of any of the ancient assemblies in the Celtic world. It illustrates the fact that,
although matters of law were of great importance at these pan-tribal gatherings,
many other events took place, especially competitive games and the horse-racing
that still remains an Irish passion. Another word for 6enach is jeis, 'feast', and feast-
ing and drinking as well as sacrifice and propitiation were important aspects of these
assemblies. The Carman gathering would seem to be typical of all the archaic festivals
(Best and O'Brien 1965, IV: 843ff.).
The ancient Celtic year was divided into two seasons, the cold season (Gaulish
giamon, Irish gaimred, Welsh gaeaj) and the warm season (Gaulish samon, Irish
samrad, Welsh haj). This division applied over the entire Celtic world; in antiquity
it is noted in the Coligny calendar, and in modern times Welsh still knows Calan
Gaeaf and Calan Mai. Each season was divided into two halves, and each of the
quarter-days and the preceding nights were marked by a major assembly. It is of
interest to note that these ancient days are still observed in some form in the British
Isles down to the present time. Over and above the great national assemblies at which
the individual tribes came together as one nation -Gaul, Ireland, the Island of Britain
- there were numerous smaller regional and local festivals held to mark the major
calendar feasts.
Samain
The Celtic New Year began on the eve of I November. It was the most dangerous
and the most portentous of all the calendar festivals. At this time the gods moved
freely in the world of mankind, and played cruel tricks on unsuspecting people. Men
too could enter the Otherworld, but this was a hazardous undertaking. Many
significant events took place at this time, according to tradition; for example, the
great battle of the gods of Ireland, Cath Maige Tuired, is essentially a Samain myth
(Gray 1982), the trinox Samoni, 'three nights of Samain', are noted in the Coligny
calendar.Oenach Temra
The Assembly of Tara, seat of the kings of Ireland, was the most prestigious of the
Irish oenaich. It was held at Samain. We learn in the story of the Battle of Crinna that
every king of Ireland (was in Tara) for the purpose of holding Tara's Feast; for
a fortnight before samain that is to say, on samain-day itself, and for a fortnight
after. And the reason for which they practised to gather themselves together at
every samain-tide was this: because at such season it was that mast and other
products were the best matured. Here too is the reason for which the Feast of
Tara was made at all: the body of law which all Ireland enacted then, during the
interval between that and their next convention at a year's end none might dare
to transgress; and he that perchance did so was outlawed from the men of
Ireland.