Danu (deity)
Danu is a prominent earth-mother goddess in Celtic mythology, often regarded as the matron of fertility, wisdom, and the elemental forces of nature, particularly associated with water. Her name translates to "divine waters," signifying her connection to life and sustenance. Danu is thought to be the ancestral mother of the Tuatha Dé Danann, a mythical race of gods believed to have inhabited Ireland before human settlers, though interpretations of her relationship with them vary widely. She is sometimes referred to as Ana, Anu, or Dana in different contexts, and in Welsh mythology, she is known as Don.
The mythology surrounding Danu is complex and often inconsistent, shaped by oral traditions and later written accounts that emerged centuries after the original tales were composed. Danu is described as the wife of Bilé, the god of death, and as a mother to various deities, including the Dagda and Ogma, although the familial connections can differ in various stories. Despite her significance, the narratives about Danu are relatively scarce, and her worship was not as widespread as that of other deities. Place names throughout Europe, particularly rivers like the Danube, reflect her enduring legacy, highlighting her role in the cultural and spiritual landscape of the ancient Celts.
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Subject Terms
Danu (deity)
Symbols: Water
Culture: Celtic
Siblings: Domnu
Children: The Dagda, Dian Cécht, Nuada, Ogma, and possibly others
Danu was a Celtic earth-mother goddess who was said to have given birth to the gods that occupied Ireland before humans populated the island. Her name means "divine waters."
The mythology surrounding Danu is chaotic and often contradictory, made complicated by the identification with Danu of mother goddesses from other people groups. She was variously known as a goddess of fertility, of wisdom, and of the wind. She is associated with the Irish gods known as the Tuatha Dé Danann, which means "People of the Goddess Danu." However, depending on the source, she may either have been their mother or they may have just been an extension of the goddess’s power. Whatever they were, the Tuatha Dé Danann are thought to live on in the magical fairy folk that still populate Irish folklore.
Danu was also known as Ana, Anu, and Dana in Ireland and on the European continent, but she was called Don in Wales. Some sources say Danu was an alternate name for the war-goddess Morrigan, who was the wife of the Dagda. Danu was married to Bilé, the god of death.
In Mythology
The early Celts passed their tales down orally. Poets recited the stories, but the tales of the Celtic deities were not written down until the twelfth century, more than a thousand years after the Celts reached the British Isles. This contributed to the inconsistency of the tales, as well as to the lack of information about the deities and beliefs of these early people. What we know about them comes from archaeology, place names, mentions in Greek and Roman histories, and legends that lived on after the culture that originated the tales had been left behind. Thus, the information about these early deities is sketchy. Danu was powerful and the mother of gods. She was widely worshipped, but the stories are limited in number.
Irish tales tell of a series of different mythical people groups that ruled Ireland before the ancestors of the current inhabitants arrived. In one version of these tales, the Partholonians were replaced by the Race of Nemed. Next came the Fir Bolgs, and finally the race of gods known as the Tuatha Dé Danann arrived from Europe. In another version, the Fomorians came between the Fir Bolgs and the Tuatha Dé Danaan.
Bilé was the husband of Danu and father of the Dagda, but Danu also had a child named Ogma with the Dagda, though in some tales, Ogma and the Dagda were brothers, while in another tale, Ogma was a son of a Fomorian king. Danu may have had children with Dian Cécht, who was Danu’s son in some tales but not in others. The children of Danu and Dian Cécht include Goibhniu, Cian (Kian) and Sawan. In her Welsh identity of Don, Danu had an entirely different set of children, five sons who were said to be deities of light. Another tale identifies Danu as the water that helped the oak tree Bilé grow, with the first two acorns growing into the Dagda and Brigid.
One of Danu’s sons, Goibhniu was a master smith who, with fellow craftsmen, repaired the weapons of the Danaan warriors. In one tale, he kills the son of Brigid, who was in most tales the granddaughter of Danu.
Danu had a sister named Domnu. Domnu was the opposite of everything Danu represented. She was dark where Danu was light. Domnu was considered evil, where Danu was seen as good. The children of Domnu fought against the children of Danu. In some tales, Bres, the husband of Brigid, Danu’s granddaughter, joined forces with the children of Domnu to oppress the children of Danu.
When the Tuatha Dé Danann had grown numerous in their original home, Danu instructed them to spread out and settle other lands. However, before they departed, Brigid warned them about the children of Domnu, who would oppose them. Thus, the spreading of the Celts across Europe was considered a destiny pronounced by Danu.
It was believed that wisdom could best be obtained at the feet of Danu, which meant at the water’s edge. However, knowledge could also be gathered from Danu’s husband, Bilé, which means "sacred oak." Those who possessed the knowledge that these two offered were said to have oak (dru) knowledge (wid), and this gave the possessors of this sacred knowledge the title of Druid.
Origins and Cults
The Celts originated in the area around Salzburg, Austria, where they were salt miners and traders. The emergence of their culture has been dated to roughly 1250 bce. The fact that Austria’s most important river, the Danube, bears the name of the Celtic goddess shows that Danu was part of the culture long before the Celts migrated across Europe and into Ireland.
The Celts began to migrate by the seventh century bce, and by about 100 bce, they had spread eastward to Asia Minor, west to Spain, and north to England, Scotland, and Ireland. They brought with them their Druidic beliefs, but combined them with legends in the countries where they settled. However, Danu was clearly among the earliest of their deities. Place names scattered across Europe show the extent of knowledge of Danu across Celtic Europe. Rivers in particular, such as the Don and Dneipr, in addition to the Danube, reflect the "divine waters" of her name. However, though she was revered, based on what we know of Danu, from the myths left behind, her cult was never of great importance.
Bibliography
Aldhouse-Green, Miranda. The Celtic Myths: A Guide to the Ancient Gods and Legends. London: Thames, 2015. Print.
Ellis, Peter Berresford. Celtic Myths and Legends. New York: Carroll, 2002. Print.
McLeod, Sharon Paice. Celtic Myth and Religion: A Study of Traditional Belief, With Newly Translated Prayers, Poems, and Songs. Jefferson: McFarland, 2012. Print.
Rutherford, Ward. Celtic Mythology: The Nature and Influence of Celtic Myth, from Druidism to Arthurian Legend. San Francisco: Weiser, 2015. Print.
Sjoestedt, Marie-Louise. Celtic Gods and Heroes. Mineola: Dover, 2000. Print.
Squire, Charles. Celtic Myth and Legend. Mineola: Dover, 2003. Print.