Boann {Goddess of the Week}

[Agaliha]

Well after a break of the G&Gs of the Week, I thought I'd start it up again.
I think I'm going out of order...oh well. :lol:
Feel free to comment, discuss and add any thing as well.
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"She of the white cattle".
Irish goddess goddess of bounty and fertility, whose totem is the sacred white cow. Also goddess of the River Boyne.
She is the wife of the water god Nechtan or of Elcmar, and consort of the Dagda, by whom she was the mother of the god Aengus.
To hide their union from Nechtan, Boann and the Dagda caused the sun to stand still for nine months, so that Aengus was conceived and born on the same day.
FROM: Boann (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0oGkkdSeDlFkg4BF6lXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE2ZDY3dmU3BGNvbG8DdwRsA1dTMQRwb3MDNQRzZWMDc3IEdnRpZANFMjYyX zcx/SIG=121obe5k1/EXP=1161480658/**http%3a//www.pantheon.org/articles/b/boann.html) (pantheon.org)
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There are a couple of variations on the myth of the goddess Boann, but one element tends to remain the same - she was the wife of Nechtan, a god of the water. Likewise, Boann was herself a water-goddess, and one of her myths concerns the water. According to legend, there was a sacred well (Sidhe Nechtan) that contained the source of knowledge. All were forbidden to approach this well, with the exception of the god Nechtan (as was noted, Boann's husband) and his servants. Boann ignored the warnings, and strode up to the sacred well, thus violating the sanctity of the area. For this act, she was punished, and the waters of the defiled well swelled and were transformed into a raging river, a river that pursued her. In some versions, she was drowned; while in others, she managed to outrun the currents. In either case, this water became the river that was known henceforth as the Boyne, and Boann thereafter became the presiding deity.

Another aspect of the myth of Boann is that she bore Oenghus. She and the leader of the Tuatha De Danaan, the Dagdha, engaged in an illicit affair that resulted in the birth of this god of love. However, since both Boann and the Dagdha wished to keep their rendezvous a secret, they used their divine powers to cause the nine month gestation period to last but a single day - or so it seemed, for the sun was frozen in the sky for those nine months, never setting and never rising. On this magical day, Oenghus emerged into the world.
FROM: Mythography | The Celtic Goddess Boann in Myth and Art (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0oGkkdSeDlFkg4BH6lXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE2MXM0M2NmBGNvbG8DdwRsA1dTMQRwb3MDNwRzZWMDc3IEdnRpZANFMjYyX zcx/SIG=11p7uo69c/EXP=1161480658/**http%3a//www.loggia.com/myth/boann.html) _____________________________________________________________

Boann/Boand
Irish: BOYN--"cow" or "divine cow"
Modern: "Boyne"

Personification of the River Boyne in Ireland, Boann or Boand is the wife of the Dagda1 and mother of Oengus mac ind-Og.
Legend says that the Dagda had a well of wisdom surrounded by nine hazel-nut trees; the nuts fell into the water and were the source of the wisdom. Only the Dagda and his three cup-bearers were allowed to draw water from the well. However, one day Boann was curious and drew the water for herself. The well overflowed, and pursued Boann to the sea. The water became a river, and the river was called the Boann, or Boyne. Some legends say that she was turned into a salmon and swam in the river, and that she is the same as the salmon of wisdom.

As the mother of Oengus, she is then identifiable with Modron/Rhiannon in Welsh mythology. Oengus is often identified with Mabon ap Modron, and as such is identifiable with Pryderi. As such, along with the significance of the Newgrange settlement and that she is the wife of the Dagda, she may be a sort of Irish version of the Grail bearer, or at least mother of the Grail hero.
Moreover, the story of the salmon reminds me of how Aphrodite/Venus and her son Eros/Cupid (with whom Oengus is often identified) changed into fish, and became the constellation Pisces. It is doubtful this is relevant, but associations are funny things. As a river deity, she is similar to (the hypothetical) Danu for the Danube and Sabrina for the Severn.
FROM: Boann (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0oGkkdSeDlFkg4BD6lXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE2cGlqMnE3BGNvbG8DdwRsA1dTMQRwb3MDMwRzZWMDc3IEdnRpZANFMjYyX zcx/SIG=11quftl2r/EXP=1161480658/**http%3a//www.maryjones.us/jce/boann.html)
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Boann was a member of the Tuatha Dé Danaan, a race that eventually lived in the Otherworld, though they could pass freely between this world and the Otherworld.
Their many stories will not be told here.
Perhaps later.
Boann was the Goddess of the River Bóinne (Boyne).
She was married to Nechtán.
She was also consort to Elcmar.
She was also consort to the Dagda, know as the Good God.
When the Dadga met Boann, he sent Elcmar on a day-long errand.
When Elcmar left on his errand, the Dadga came to Boann in her bed.
From that union was born Aengus Mac Óg, the Celtic God of Love.
Due to the Dagda's magic, Elcmar's single day lasted nine full months.
Thus Aengus Mac Óg was conceived and born on the same day.
Near the dwelling place of Boann was a secret well which was the source of all knowledge and inspiration.
Nine hazels grew over the well, and dropped their nuts into the fountain.
Five salmon which were in the fountain severed the nuts and sent their husks floating down five streams.
These are the five streams of the senses through which knowledge is obtained.
This is also the well in which the Salmon of Knowledge was spawned.
That salmon swallowed the hazelnut of wisdom, and it was Fionn Mac Cumhaill who eventually ate the flesh of the Salmon of Knowledge.
Another tale for another time.
Boann had been warned by Nechtán not to test the power of the well.
But she was a prideful woman, and so, tempting fate, she walked three times counter-clockwise around the well.
Three waves rose out of the well, one carrying away her thigh, one carrying away her hand, and the third carrying away her eye.
Shamed by her disfigurement, she turned seaward, the waters of the well roaring behind her, until she reached the sea.
Overcome by the force of the waves as she reached the sea, she drowned.
And thus was the River Bóinne born.
FROM: in pursuit of the soul (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0oGkjjfeTlFmmQAc3JXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE2ZDY3dmU3BGNvbG8DdwRsA1dTMQRwb3MDNQRzZWMDc3IEdnRpZANFMjYyX zcx/SIG=12ejdtbf0/EXP=1161481055/**http%3a//www.boann.net/_main/Index.cfm%3fpage=api/legend.cfm)
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Other Links to be added later.

[_Banbha_]

Wonderful Boann.....:D Great choice and links Agaliha!

From Celtic Tales...

The goddess Boann can give gifts of poetic inspiration and powerful spiritual insight. The essence of Boann is present in all rivers, and some consider the best place to pray to her a riverbank.

Boann is one of the most powerful and most chronicled goddesses of the Celtic tradition. It was Boann who first released the waters of poetry and the Salmon of Wisdom into the world. During this deed She was overwhelmed by the waters of the Otherworldly well, called Segais, injuring Her eye, Her hand, and Her foot. This deed released imbas into the world for the first time. Poets long for her kiss, and all poetry finds it's ultimate source in Boann.

The waters from the Well of Segais created the river Boyne in Ireland, on whose banks sit the mighty mounds of Brú na Boinne (Newgrange), Cnogba (Knowth), and Dubgad (Dowth) where some of the Gods were said to live. Boann Herself was said to have lived in the Brú na Boinne (after whom the mound is named) with her husbands Elcmar, and later the Dagda Himself.

Boann is the mother of Aenghus Mac Óg, or Aenghus "son of youth" who was born during the course of one day whom Aenghus's father, the Dagda, lengthened into nine months.

Boann can be a great ally for poetic composition and many other forms of artistic expression. Invoking or singing Boann's name while sitting next ot a river or stream can be a very powerful and inspiring experience. Clear the mind, open the soul, and listen to the music of Boann playing from the waters. You will always go away a new person.

Link (http://www.celtictale.com/our_gods/boann.htm)


Boand

Name: Eithne / Boand / Boann

Properties: Goddess of the River Boyne / Inspiration

Race: Tuatha Dé Danann

Father: Delbaeth

Sister: Befind

Husband: Nechtán Lord of the Well.

Consorts: Eochaid Ollathair (The Dagda), Elcmar 'Lord of Horses'

Son: Aongas Óg

Nephew: Fraech who loved Finnabair daughter of Medb

Dog: Dabilla

Associated Sites: Brugh Na Boinne (Newgrange) The Well of Segais River Boyne

Eithne or Boand as she came to be called by the Celts was a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann and was consort to Elcmar after she left her first husband Nechtán. They lived at Brugh Na Boinne now called Newgrange. Eithne had an affair with Eochaid Ollathair King of Uisnech, later known as the Dagda (Good God) and because of his magic she conceived and bore Aengus Mac Óg on the same day (which he had magically stretched into nine months).

Aengus was sent to be fostered by Midhir of Brí Léith. Eventually Aengus returned and again through trickery managed to acquire Brugh na Boinne as his home. Elcmar and his retinue had to move to Cleitech nearby. The legend of "The Wooing of Étaín" gives the details of these events.

Boand gets her name from her relationship to the River Boyne, whose waters she set free against the wishes of her husband Nechtán son of Labraid. "How the Boyne was born" tells this story. She could not withstand the power of the waters she released and was drowned as a result in one version of the tale, in another version she is wounded in her eye, her arm and her foot.....

Shee-Eire Fact Sheet: Boand (http://www.shee-eire.com/magic&mythology/Gods&Goddess/Celtic/Goddess/Boand/Factsheet1.htm)



Boann's name translates literally to "she of the white cattle." An earlier Irish form of her name is Bóu-vinda, meaning "illuminated cow." The first part of the name refers to a goddess in bovine form, or that of a cow. Cows are a sacred animal to the Celts. The second part of the name comes from the Celtic word "vind" which covers a range of meaning from the color white, to brightness, to wisdom. Thus Boann is the goddess represented as a sacred cow, who gives illumination or inspiration as associated with the wisdom of the Well of Segais.

Clannada na Gadelica (http://www.clannada.org/gods_boann.php)

Perhaps Boann had a continental counterpart in Damona:Damona
"Divine Cow"--damos: cow, ox?

Continental Celtic Pantheon

"Divine Cow" would make her similar to the Irish goddess Boann, whose name also means "Divine Cow". Damona was usually the consort of the god Borvo, usually identified with Apollo. However, at the temple at Alesia, her consort is Apollo Moritsages, and they are associated with a healing spring nearby. As "Borvo" means "to boil", they are likely the same god under different apellations. At any rate, she was associated not only with the cow, but, like Boann, with springs and water.

If she is identified with Boann, Apollo Moritsages may not be her consort but her son, as Oengus mac ind-Og was the son of Boann, and is often identified with Apollo. This would also make Damona similar to Matrona, goddess of the Marne River, and mother of the god Apollo Maponos.

She was mainly worshipped in Burgundy, France, and inscriptions attribute to her the ability of prophecy in dreams. Link (http://www.maryjones.us/jce/damona.html)

[Agaliha]

Thanks for the links Wylde!
:dancy:

:reading:

[Cassie]

Interesting! :)

[Meadhbh]

http://pohanstvi.net/fotky/boann.jpg
Nifty. Its from http://pohanstvi.net/inde.php?menu=fitzpatrick

[Agaliha]

Oh, pretty Meadhbh :)

[_Banbha_]

Boann has deep connections to the land itself in myth and I thought I would add some links associated with her and the Hazel trees, Salmon of Wisdom, Well of the Segais (http://www.danann.org/library/gael/segais.html) and Brugh na Boinne (New Grange and by extension Dowth and Knowth).

Mythical Ireland's New Grange Page (http://www.mythicalireland.com/ancientsites/newgrange/index.html) has lot's of basic information and links.
Search results for Boann (http://www.mythicalireland.com/cgi-sys/entropysearch.cgi?query=boann&user=mythical&basehref=http%3A%2F%2Fmythicalireland.com&template=default&x=50&y=4)
Metrical Dindshenchas (placename poems/stories): Volume Three, Boand I (http://www.mythicalireland.com/mythology/dindshenchas/boand.html)
Here's one about the river Sinann (http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T106500C/text053.html) from the same source of the Well of Segais (my niece is Sinann, so it holds some special meaning for me. :smile: ).


Interesting article on the mythical origins and some speculations on their meanings and the connections to Boand: "Newgrange: empowering the salmon of wisdom" (http://www.philipcoppens.com/newgrange.html)

TheCelticPlanet: New Grange (http://www.thecelticplanet.com/grange.htm)


Folklore on The Hazel Tree (http://www.druidry.org/obod/trees/hazel.html)

[_Banbha_]

I found a link that brings up an interesting similarity in Boand's river/inspiration creation myth and the Orphic mysteries.

I think you have to be very careful in addressing the simularities, taking into the account cultural differences and in recording these myths in a much later time. If there was a direct connection it was severed ages and ages ago. I'm just a little wary of the causual linking of disparate cultures in myths and interpreting them out of context. :) Still, it can be interesting and intriguing.

Orpheus and the Bougonia in Georgic 4: Cow Slaughter as a Source of Poetic Inspiration

The epyllion of Georgic 4 culminates in Aristaeus’ execution of a bougonia, the ritual pulverization of abovine carcass which miraculously results in the generation of bees. Aristaeus performs the bougonia atOrpheus’ behest as a funerary rite for Euridike. The juxtaposition of the Orpheus myth with the bougoniais usually considered to be a Vergilian invention. However, comparative evidence from both elsewhere inGreek myth and other genetically related mythological traditions suggests that this combination, far from innovative, is rather native to Orpheus’ mythological dossier.

The probable etymological equivalence of Orpheus and the Rbhus, the three divine craftsmen of the Indic pantheon, has long been acknowledged. In addition, Orpheus’ and the Rbhus’ mythological profiles demonstrate correspondences. One overlooked parallel is that both Orpheus and the Rbhus areassociated with a nexus of a dead bovine and a miraculous revival. While Orpheus demands that Aristaeus execute a bougonia, the Rbhus perform a series of miracles involving the revivification of a cow, one of them being the extraction of a new bovine out of an old hide. The bougonia, in which beesemerge from the carcass, also consists of the extraction of new life out of a dead bovine. This correspondence suggests that both Orpheus’ bougonia and the Rbhus’ bovine miracles have a commonsource in a ritual inherited from the Indo-European mythological tradition. Thus, in juxtaposing the Orpheus myth with the bougonia, Vergil retains an inherited collocation.

Orpheus’ original connection with the bougonia may also shed some light on the symbolism of this ritual. Just as Orpheus is a poet, the Rbhus are not only carpenters of material goods, but also crafters of poetry. Given that the cow is often a symbol for poetic inspiration in the densely layered polysemy of the Rig Veda, the new cow that the Rbhus generate from the dead one may allude to their poetic talent. Likewise, the generation of bees from the carcass in the bougonia may function as a symbol of poetic inspiration.

The mythological dossier of the Irish cow goddess Boand further points the bougonia’s poetic component. Boand is killed by a geyser of water. Her death results in the generation of numerous rivers,including the Boyne, named after the goddess responsible for its genesis. The production of rivers fromBoand’s slaughter demonstrates a sequence similar to the production of bees from the slaughtered bovine in the bougonia. The Boyne then becomes a source of inspiration for poets who come to its banks. Perhaps the bees produced by the bougonia also index the ritual’s poetic aspect. Bees and their honey are associated with poetry throughout Classical mythology. More to the point, while the bougonia involves a bovine and bees, cows and honey occur in conjunction in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes. Here Apollogives Hermes his herd of cattle and the so-called Bee-Maidens, a triad of prophetic sisters who feed onhoney, in exchange for the lyre and tutelage in the composition of lyric poetry. The dyad of cows andhoney in the hymn occurs in an overt context of poetic inspiration, further suggesting that the bees in thebougonia reflect the same semiotic tradition.

Most references to the bougonia focus on the practical outcome of its execution. By conservingthe bougonia’s traditional association with Orpheus, however, Vergil reminds his audience that the beesgenerated by the ritual also reflect its poetic symbolism

http://216.158.36.56/AnnualMeeting/07mtg/abstracts/mcdonald-j.pdf

Boand walked to the well and made a willing sacrifice. I do feel the one version with the husband denying her access is an add on from a more recent date. It sounds positively biblical. There are versions which say she sacrifices an eye, arm and leg or is injured in those places.

I think her 'death' appears to be a symbolic one (not that there wasn't sacrifice) in the context of Irish myth, because she continues to function in myths and no other mention is made of such permanent mutilaiton. But, then again, I believe she is of deity status and not a just water spirit. ;)