The other, from medieval Ireland, claims that the site of Saint Brigid's Church at Kildare incorporated a pre-Christian sanctuary where women tended a sacred flame. This popular Scottish Gaelic name can also be spelled Alasdair, and means defender of men.. Archaeological finds are almost entirely burials; in the Hallstatt culture area, which is the dispersion area of this cultural material, especially at Drrnberg near Hallein, this material can already be identified as Celtic in the Late Hallstatt phase (sixth century BC). On her back she bore a 30 foot long pole with an iron hook, with which she would grab opponent amongst her enemies by their braids. Ing was the God of fertility and peace. Nothing of Poseidonius' work survives directly; it is only transmitted as citations in other authors, such as Julius Caesar's (Commentarii de Bello Gallico). Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. As Overly Sarcastic Productionsexplains, his story and characterization gradually changed throughout the history of the ancient world. A consistent matriarchy, which was attributed to Celtic women by Romantic authors of the 18th and 19th centuries and by 20th century feminist authors, is not attested in reliable sources. They were an ambiguously gendered version of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. This ties in with a group of third-gender people in modern-day India, known as Hijras. The archaeological evidence includes images of female deities and inscriptions addressed to them. Among the works of Roman historians are the universal history of Pompeius Trogus (Philippic History) which only survives in the epitome[clarification needed] of Marcus Iunianus Iustinus. Issues of gender in Celtic religion and in early Christianity have been informed by the revival of interest in Celtic culture since the end of the nineteenth century. the historical perspective Angus: Meaning choice in Scottish Gaelic. Modern concepts, like lesbian or transgender, don't fit properly when applied to the ancient world, but neither do concepts like heterosexuality. Polyandry (the marriage of one woman to several men) was unusual, although some Celtologists conclude that it sometimes occurred from the Irish saga Longas mac nUislenn (The Exile of the Sons of Uislius). This rejection of cultural norms fits perfectly with the Cult of Dionysus in Ancient Greece, whose ethos was all about self-expression and rebelling against polite society. These are all clichs of the Greeks and Romans about barbarian peoples. In Hindu mythology though, mortals can be non-binary as well. She says before this "our act is not beneficial if this is finally the time when I conceive!" [4], Female burials are associated with specific grave goods, such as combs, mirrors, toiletries (nail cutters, tweezers, ear spoons[5]), spinning whorls (flywheel of a pindle, a tool for making yarn,[6]) pottery vessels, necklaces, earrings, hairpins, cloak pins, finger rings, bracelets and other jewellery. Translated from German translation by Josef Weisweiler: Frank Siegmund in the SWR-Interview from the series, Verlag der sterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ancient_Celtic_women&oldid=1144616343, Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from June 2019, Articles containing explicitly cited English-language text, Articles containing Transalpine Gaulish-language text, Articles containing Old Irish (to 900)-language text, Articles containing Old Welsh-language text, Articles containing Old High German (ca. The sexual identity of "Celtic" archaeological remains has traditionally been Therefore, its best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publications requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html. [80] Torcs (neck rings) are found in graves of important men and women up to about 350 BC, after that they are usually restricted to male graves. The druids were an elite religious caste functioning in western areas of Gaul, Britain, and Ireland, and their role overlapped with that of bards and poets in the post-Roman world. Among Celtic women degenerative damage to the joints and spinal column were particularly notable on account of the amount of heavy lifting they did. A number of mythological narratives are preserved as later written texts, but the time gap between them and a more ancient past means that themes in medieval texts cannot be assumed to reflect the survival of ancient religious practices. On the one hand, great female Celts are known from mythology and history; on the other hand, their real status in the male-dominated Celtic tribal society was socially and legally constrained. Large numbers of children are mentioned among the Celts by the ancient authors. Participation in religious life also seems to have been more varied. The veil worn over the cap was often so long that it could cover the entire body. Strabo [21] mentions a Celtic tribe, in which the "Men and women dance together, holding each other's hands", which was unusual among Mediterranean peoples. 27 Apr. Fedhelm from the Ulster cycle (seventh to eleventh centuries ce) studied in Alba, a reflection of the druid's long apprenticeship as mentioned in classical sources, and appears with the sole purpose of uttering prophesies. [26], The idea of a Celtic matriarchy first developed in the 18th and 19th centuries in connection with the romantic idea of the "Noble Savage". Instead, the gods were sacred entities who overlapped with each other. As World History Encyclopediaexplains, members of Ishtar's priesthood were often transgender and bisexual. As such an old legend, are a few different variants and translations of the story. [31], In later times, female cultic functionaries are known, like Celtic/Germanic seeress Veleda[32] who has been interpreted by some Celtologists as a druidess.[33]). "Gender and Religion: Gender and Celtic Religions However, it is possible to infer some ritual significance from the placement of burials, such as the woman interred within a ritual enclosure at Libenie in Bohemia (fourth century bce) or two distinctive female burials from Wetwang Slack in Yorkshire (third century bce)one buried with an elaborate chariot and the other with a sealed bronze box. The god Enki then creates Asushunamir to charm Ereshkigal with their good looks before stealing the water of life to resurrect Ishtar. Perhaps the best known legendary non-binary figure is Aphroditus, from Greek Myth. [45] Thus they received only a seventh of the weregild if a child was killed and the male relatives had a duty to seek vengeance for the deed. [28] Female rulers did not always receive general approval. She could not normally give away or pass on her property without their agreement. Australia, with hundreds of distinct groups of native peoples, is home to some of the world's oldest cultures. An annual rite of reroofing a temple occurred during daylight hours on a single day. The Mabinogion does have one story in which two young men guilty of rape are Female druids and seers are mentioned in Irish sources and druidic imagery clusters significantly around some of them. This is even more marked in women than in men and was quite normal for people of this time and area. Celtic women were originally not allowed to serve as legal witnesses and could not conclude contracts with[clarification needed] the assistance of a man.[where?] One story talks about how he was born male, dressed in women's clothes in adolescence, and later rejected any gender identity at all. Since ancient Greek writers first identified the Celts as keltoi, this group has provided a powerful symbol of otherness for the perception of women and their function in religious contexts in Celtic society. Unlike the Greeks and Romans, the Celts never had a single pantheon, although the Romans attempted to connect them up on the basis of their functions, through the Interpretatio Romana. [72], The women's tunic was longer than the men's; a leather or metal belt (sometimes a chain) was tied around the waist. Women probably played a role in both religious and healing activities here and at similar shrines. According to the Roman historian Tacitus (c. 55120 ce), black-robed, screaming women accompanied the druids during the Roman assault on their stronghold on Mona (Anglesey) in 60 ce. Inari is also notable for their strong association with foxes. The Sheela-na-Gig was a common grotesque sculpture which presented an exaggerated vulva. [43] In Wales, the wife was allowed to leave her husband if he committed adultery three times, if he was impotent, and if he had bad halitosis taking with her the property which she had brought into the marriage or acquired during it. Yet Celtic women were somewhat better placed in inheritance and marriage law than their Greek and Roman contemporaries. A striking occurrence of bnas brictom (Gaulish, meaning "women of magic") is inscribed on a lead curse tablet from Larzac in France (c. 90 ce). Other female figures from Celtic mythology include the weather witch Cailleach (Irish for 'nun,' 'witch,' 'the veiled' or 'old woman') of Scotland and Ireland, the Corrigan of Brittany who are beautiful seductresses, the Irish Banshee (woman of the Otherworld) who appears before important deaths, the Scottish warrior women Scthach, Uathach and Aoife. Athair: The Irish name for father. Whereas once scholars assumed similarity and continuity between ancient Celts and later cultures in Britain, Ireland, and Brittany, since the 1980s there has been less emphasis on folk migrations and on supposed connections between continental and insular Celts and more emphasis on the effects of literacy and the introduction of Roman culture and Christianity. [60][61] In the Irish saga of Conchobar mac Nessa, the king is said to have the right to the first night with any marriageable woman and the right to sleep with the wife of anyone who hosted him. It consisted of a back and sides that came together to create a circular. However, as a chapter in the book "Ancient Maya Women"explains, there's good reason to believe that Mayan society recognized a third gender, and the Maize God is seemingly a big part of this. Inga - Scandinavian name that has origins in Norse mythology which means "guarded by Ing." Irish literature features female figures with supernatural powers such as the Morrgan, Eriu, and Danu, who may be late reflexes of Celtic land or sovereignty goddesses. A Kami named Inari, the god of rice. The deity Hermaphroditus is where the word hermaphroditecomes from. Celtic names are used as unisex too, both for boys and girls. As Bustexplains, Aphroditus was a fertility god, with the appearance and silhouette of a woman but with phallic genitalia. The hair was often coloured red or blonde. Swinton's portrayal of the character is an androgynous Celtic woman, although more specific details of her origins remain a mystery. Astrid - Old Norse for "super strength." He describes the condition of women up till that point, with self-aware exaggeration, as cumalacht (enslavement), in order to highlight the importance of his own work. [87], Hair needles for fixing caps and hairdos in place are common grave finds from the late Hallstatt period. Encyclopedias almanacs transcripts and maps, Gender and Religion: Gender and Celtic Religions. Gender and Religion: Gender and Celtic Religions Her marriage was arranged by her male relatives, divorce and polygyny (the marriage of one man to several women) were controlled by specific rules. A page from the University of Liverpool's Department of Archaeology, Classics, and Egyptologydiscusses how Dionysus can be used to highlight the way both gender and sexuality could be fluid in the ancient world, challenging the idea that non-binary gender identities are a new invention. In The Canterbury Tale, The beard occupies a significant symbolic terrain across time and cultures, and can be metonymical of the male person or of maleness, although this a, Gender and Religion: Gender and Australian Indigenous Religions, Gender and Religion: Gender and Ancient Near Eastern Religions, Gender and Religion: Gender and Ancient Mediterranean Religions, Gender and Religion: Gender and African Religious Traditions, Gender and Religion: Gender and African American Religions, Gender and Religion: Gender and Chinese Religions, Gender and Religion: Gender and Christianity, Gender and Religion: Gender and Japanese Religions, Gender and Religion: Gender and Mesoamerican Religions, Gender and Religion: Gender and North American Indian Religious Traditions, Gender and Religion: Gender and Oceanic Religions, Gender and Religion: Gender and South American Religions, Gender and Religion: Gender and Zoroastrianism, Gender and Sexuality in School and the Workplace, Gender and Sexuality Issues in Medicine and Public Health. "[25], Recent research has cast doubt on the significance of these ancient authors' statements. The motif in Fon culture of two seeming opposites combining to work in harmony is a motif that is shared by the culture of many other peoples across the world. Written evidence is first transmitted by the Greeks: the historian and geographer Hecataeus of Miletus (Periegesis), the seafarer and explorer Pytheas of Massilia (On the Ocean) (both of these works survive only in fragments), the geographer and ethnologist Herodotus (Histories) and the polymath Poseidonius (On the Ocean and its Problems). Irish: is mhnibh do gabar rath n amhrath. Nevertheless, hagiographers endowed both male and female saints with pseudo-divine characteristics, and the complex cult of the Irish Saint Brigid of Kildare suggests that a pagan site was transferred to a holy woman, Brigid, who died in 524 ce. [63] In the saga Immram Curaig Male Din (The Sea Voyage of Male Din), the conception of the main character occurs when a random traveller sleeps with a nun of a cloister. The Celts were a collection of tribes with origins in central Europe that shared a similar language, religious beliefs, traditions and culture. But there was also a form of foster parentage in which no fee was charged, designed to tighten the links between two families. Harvard Divinity Schoolexplains that Hijras consider themselves distinctly neither male nor female, and there are millions of Hijras living in 21st-century India. Encyclopedia of Religion. An enumeration of the most important female figures of history (not exclusively Irish) is found in the account of the poet Gilla Mo-Dutu Caiside which is known as the Banshenchas (contains 1147 entries). Marion Zimmer Bradley depicted a matriarchal reinterpretation of the stories of King Arthur, Lancelot and the Holy Grail in The Mists of Avalon (1987), which were dominated by the female characters. [39], The mythic rulers of British Celtic legends and the historical queens Boudicca, Cartimandua and (perhaps) Onomarix can be seen only as individual examples in unusual situations, not as evidence of a matriarchy among the Celts. There is no overall scholarly study of gender in Celtic religion from the ancient to modern period; however, Philip Freeman's WarWomen and Druids: Eyewitness Reports and Early Accounts of the Ancient Celts (Austin, Tex., 2002) makes useful comments on the relevant classical references. Latin adultera, 'adultress') had much less power and was subordinate to the main wife. 750-1050)-language text, Vague or ambiguous geographic scope from March 2019, Articles containing Sanskrit-language text, Articles containing Cornish-language text, Articles with disputed statements from June 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Josef Weisweiler: "Die Stellung der Frau bei den Kelten und das Problem des "keltischen Mutterrechts". The Roman geographer Strabo quoted a description from the Greek writer Posidonius (secondfirst century bce) of an all-female cult among the Samnitae tribe. Encyclopedia.com. As a faculty paper from Linfield Universityexplains, sometimes older texts contain characters with clear fluid or ambiguously gendered characteristics but lack the words to properly describe them. The picture to emerge from this reassessment suggests that there was no centralized Celtic pantheon, although some deities had extensive spheres of influence. The Rainbow Serpent, however, is nearly ubiquitous. Celtic women were rulers and warriors and had the same sexual freedoms as men. The lives of Celtic women two thousand years ago can teach us a lot about equality today. Celtic women at the time were rulers and warriors and had the same sexual freedoms as men, according to an article on Care2.com. [55], Welsh women only received the right to inherit under king Henry II of England (11331189).[55]. The concubine (Irish: adaltrach, cf. In actual social life, however, a notable meaning cannot be found. Arjuna's story is far from the only reference to a third gender in Hindu scripture. ." Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. Their homeland was known as Gaul(Gallia). WebThe Gauls(Latin: Galli; Ancient Greek: , Galtai) were a group of Celticpeoples of mainland Europein the Iron Ageand the Roman period(roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). The main problem, however, is the fact that the term Celtic spans such an enormous area, from Ireland to Anatolia; there is no reason to expect that the position of women was the same over this whole area. The idea of a non-binary creator deity is a concept that recurs over and over in human culture. Webso ive long held the personal theory that druid might have been a spiritual third-gender role in ancient celtic society. He states that the position of the sexes relative to each other is "opposite to how it is with us. The Maize God was sometimes conflated with the Moon Goddess, becoming an ambiguously gendered figure, and sometimes considered a third gender. This article is arranged according to the following outline: Helga - Norse for "holy" or "sacred." The figure from Norse mythology didn't fit into binary gender either. [76], In everyday life, Celtic women wore wooden or leather sandals with small straps (Latin: gallica, 'Gallic shoe'). Celtic druidess[de]es, who prophesied to the Roman emperors Alexander Severus, Aurelian und Diocletian, enjoyed a high repute among the Romans. They have ring-shaped heads which could be richly decorated in some regions. Another story shows Arjuna transformed into a woman and taking part in a mystical dance that men aren't allowed to join. [59] Gerald of Wales describes how the Irish are "the most jealous people in the world", while the Welsh lacked this jealousy and among them guest-friendship-prostitution was common. [52], In general, monogamy was common. According to the Southeast Asia Queer Cultural Festival 2021, while Bathala is considered to be ambiguously gendered, a deity named Makapatag-Malaon was explicitly both male and female and the highest deity of the Waray people. Some are tricksters who change genders at will. Only when it became possible to determine the sex of human remains through osteological analysis was this approach revealed as overly simplistic.[11]. In anger, she placed a curse on Arjuna, transforming him into a member of the third gender. The female figures named in the local Irish sagas mostly derive from female figures of the historically unattested migrations period, which are recounted in the Lebor Gabla renn (Book of the Taking of Ireland). https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/gender-and-religion-gender-and-celtic-religions, "Gender and Religion: Gender and Celtic Religions More Celtic boy names. [90] Possibly the display of the vulva was meant to have an apotropaic power, as in the Irish legend in which the women of Ulster led by Mugain the wife of King Conchobar mac Nessa unveil their breasts and vulvae in order to prevent the destruction of Emain Macha by the raging C Chulainn.[91]. "[22] Ammianus Marcellinus,[23] in his description of the manners and customs of the Gauls, describes the furor heroicus[24] (heroic fury) of the Gallic women, as "large as men, with flashing eyes and teeth bared. Devotion to deities did not follow strict gender lines, and men and women alike left votives at shrines dedicated to both male and female deities. WebFrom the third century BCE on, "Galatai," and in Latin, "Galli," are vaguely equated in the sources with the Keltoi. Banagher: Meaning pointed hill or mountain in Irish. Tight-waisted skirts with bells in the shape of a crinoline are also depicted. However, as the book "Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan"notes, you're unlikely to ever see a depiction of Inai themself at one of their shrines. As Oxford Referencementions, this original god is named Nana Buluku, and they were the one who created the creator! Tanken Japanmentions that Inari is a shape-shifting spirit who is also paid respect by Japanese Buddhists. 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. (April 27, 2023). Third Gender: A Short History. From ancient Greece to modern Pakistan, the political and cultural emergence of a complex, controversial term. Social convention says there are two types of people: male and female. Their name, Asushunamir, literally translates as "whose appearance is radiant." The boldly patterned dresses seen on vases from Sopron in Pannonia were cut like a kind of knee-length maternity dress from stiff material with bells and fringes attached. Other Greek writers include Diodorus Siculus (Bibliotheke), who used older sources, Plutarch (Moralia), who took a position on the role of women, and Strabo (Geography), who expanded on the work of Polybius (Histories) through personal travels and research. The people of the pre-colonial Philippines evidently celebrated diversity in gender. Source material must, therefore, be clarified by archaeological evidence, which, however, can only answer certain kinds of questions. Supposed survival, despite external domination, is an essential feature of countercultural rebellion, and the image of a united Celtic world in which women were given a voice in religion is powerful whatever the discontinuity between modern religious developments and historical sources. Good surveys of modern Celtic paganism and Celtic spirituality are Ronald Hutton's The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles (Oxford, 1990) and Marion Bowman's "Contemporary Celtic Spirituality," in New Directions in Celtic Studies, edited by Amy Hale and Philip Payton, pp. They could dispose of this property freely, unlike in Old Irish law, in which the widow was under the control of her sons. AFP. One figure, in particular, is named Bathala. Two Roman historians, Tacitus (c. 55120 ce) and Dio Cassius (c. 155235 ce) described the revolt led by the famous British queen Boudicca in 60 ce. She is meant to have taken leadership when no men could be found due to a famine and to have led her tribe from the old homeland over the Danube and into southeastern Europe. Pronunciation is unique and tricky for Celtic names, but there are common names too like Erin. While they're largely ostracised and victimized by the modern world, non-binary people have been important members of Indian society for over two millennia. An overdress with a V-shaped cut which was fixed at the shoulders with fibulae was found in Noricum. In her right hand she holds a basket, in her left hand she holds a mirror up before her face. However, despite these limitations, it is possible to consider some of the gender issues as they related to religion among groups of Celts in the ancient world and in the early cultures of insular groups such as Ireland and Wales. . In north Pannonia at the same time, women wore a fur cap, with a spiked brim, a veil cap similar to the Norican one and in later times a turban-like head covering with a veil. Religion was an aspect of public life open to women in the ancient world, and other continental iconography depicts women, either as devotees or officials, worshipping at altars or in processions. These sites attest to the enormous interest in women's spirituality and to the importance of Celtic images in providing metaphors for this to be expressed. This institution of the 'inheriting-daughter' has a parallel in ancient Indian law, in which a father without sons could designate his daughter as a putrik (son-like daughter). One occurs in a medieval Welsh poem, "The Spoils of Annwn," which describes a supernatural journey to a land where nine women keep a fire burning under a cauldron. When it was revealed that the British actress would play The Ancient One in the MCU, the character's racial change, in particular, proved controversial. Chaumelires was the site of the sanctuary of Sequana, goddess of the source of the Seine, and an important healing center with an extensive dormitory and hospital complex for those seeking cures. It's important to be cautious when interpreting ancient cultures, as modern concepts like LGBTQ+ don't necessarily apply. Hermaphroditus was said to be the child of Hermes and Aphrodite, the gods of male and female sexuality. [68], Palaeopathological research based on bone samples and, in the best-case scenario, on mummified corpses indicates illnesses found among the ancient Celts. Thus modern authors refer to them as both "ladies" and "princesses". A similar fluidity can be seen in gender roles. Gender roles were assumed to be unalterable and, accordingly, grave goods were identified as "male" or "female" without ambiguity. While Mawu-Lisa is a creator god, there are also stories of an even older androgynous god who preceded them. [84] Unlike married women, unmarried women usually wore the hair untied and without a headcovering. As Artlandishexplains, the Rainbow Serpent is an immortal being and a creator deity, with countless associated names and stories. She thus continues the evolutionary theories of the 19th century. His legionnaires sang in the triumph that he had seduced a horde of Gallic women, calling him a "bald whoremonger". [54], Adultery by the wife, unlike adultery by the husband, could not be atoned for with a fine. The "Lady of Vix" was a young Celtic woman of exceptionally high standing, who suffered from pituitary adenoma and otitis media. As History on the Net mentions, nobles in Mayan culture had a near-priestly role in society, considered to be intermediaries between earthly people and the gods, tasked with a duty to both. Classical authors give information on religion and gender roles, but they often used Celtic behavior to comment on themselves.