Who We Are

Introduction: Who?

Edition 2.0

by Crommán mac Nessa

 naming this website and community "Garrán Builg™" Virtual Nemeton, something must be said about the choices of various names associated with this site and the group which maintains it. Many of the readers are probably pondering "Who is Bolg?" and "Who are the Ivernians?" and similar wonderings. As such, perhaps some introductions are in order.

Who indeed is Bolg, and why name a Nemeton after Him? Who are the Builg? Do they have anything to do with the Fir Bolg? Belgae? Why are they called both "Builg" and "Érainn"? Why are they also called "Iuerni" or "Ivernians"? Did they come to Ireland and Scotland from Galliâ Belgicâ, or were there other groups of Belgae and Bolgae outside that territory? Northern and Southern Ivernians? Who or what is/are the Cenéle Dáiri™ Ivernian Heathen Revivalist Túath? What exactly is "Ivernian Heathen Revivalism"?

Bolg and the Builg

Bolg is one of the Names and Titles given to the Ultimate Ancestral God of the people who were once known as the Builg. He has other Names and Titles, including, but not limited to: Dáire, Óengus, Ailill, Cend, Cromm, Érann, Sen, Dond, and Ded. "Builg" means "Bolgs" or "Bolg's." That is, it can be a nominative plural of "Bolg" or it can be a genitive singular of "Bolg." The people known as "Builg," then, were calling themselves either "the Bolgs" or "the ones of Bolg." It is possible that they at one time called themselves "Fir Builg," which means "Men of Bolg," and on whom the mythical "Fir Bolg" were based in the pseudo-history Lebor Gabála Érenn, or "Book of the Taking of Ireland." Various scholars have argued for a connection with the Belgae (also called "Bolgae"). These Builg have other names as well, including "Érainn" and "Iuerni." The name "Iuerni" is apparently an older form of "Érainn," found in Ptolemy's Geographia and discussed at length in Early Irish History and Mythology, by T.F. O'Rahilly. The two different names "Builg" and "Érainn" may simply reflect the preference of some to call their Chief God "Bolg," and the preference of others to call Him "Érann." Certainly various groups of the people generally known as "Builg" or "Érainn" took other Names and Titles of this God as the basis for their Tribal names, as for example, the Darini (named for Dáire), the Cland Dedad (named for Ded), and so on.

The current state of DNA studies suggests that these people now called "Builg" or "Érainn" or "Ivernians" were in Ireland and Scotland since before the arrival of the Indo-Europeans in Continental Europe, and those "Belgae" who lived in Galliâ Belgicâ seem to have been Indo-European; their language certainly was an Indo-European language. As such, though models of "invasion" and "migration" have been suggested in the past, the currently favoured model of the linguistic dispersal of Celtic is one of "influence" (see further "The Celts," in this site). However, there were certainly people calling themselves "Belgae" outside of Galliâ Belgicâ, and even outside of Galliâ, as can be noted on a map of the southwest of what is now England in the first century AD.

Northern and Southern Ivernians?

At any rate, those Tribal groups which are described as "Ivernian" held lands during the late Iron Age and early mediaeval period in both southwest Ireland and northeast Ireland, and scattered elsewhere around the island (as well as in western Scotland, southern Wales, and Cornwall). While there were certainly differences between those of the north and those of the south, there were also many similarities of culture that tie them more closely together than to the other cultural groups in Ireland, which is why the name "Ivernian" is given to all of them (though the Iuerni were, in the strictest sense, only one of these groups, living in what is now the area of County Cork). However, some of the Sacred Tradition varies between the northern Ivernians and the southern Ivernians, primarily in terms of Gods and Goddesses which are attested in the literature and folklore of the two regions. As such, it is advantageous to sort out which Gods and Goddesses are attested in which regions, amongst which Túatha, and see if a consistent and whole outlook can be achieved working with just those Gods and Goddesses from a particular cultural group in a particular region.

Cenéle Dáiri™ Túath, Dál Nemediand™ Society, Cland Nessa™ Society, and Ivernian Heathen Revivalism

Just such an ideal motivates the Cenéle Dáiri Túath ("Cenéle Dáiri" is an Old Irish name which means "Descendants of Dáire"). The Cenéle Dáiri Túath are an Ivernian Heathen Revivalist Túath, with a focus on the Sacred Tradition and culture of the northern Iuerni, namely the Uoluntii, Robogdii, Darini, Ulaid, Dál Riata, and Dàl Riada, and those cultures descended from them. As such, we look to the literature and folklore connected with the province of Ulster, and that connected with the Western Highlands and Islands of Scotland, and the Diaspora of those people scattered throughout the world. Several of our members have found some genealogical connection with Ness, Whom we regard as a Goddess of the Ulaid and Dál Riata/Dàl Riada. In the Iron Age, it seems to have been common practice for Túatha to claim "descent" from some God or Goddess, considering that to be their Patron or Matron in a sense. There are some who believe that all of the Gods and Goddesses of the Heathen Celts were in fact Deified Ancestors. Others believe that the Gods and Goddesses are Divinised Ancestors. The fact that some of these genealogies are "contrived" is known; several families might band together into a Túath and then claim common descent from some God or Goddess. Regardless of exactly how this situation came about, the fact remains that Túath names can have something to do with the ideal of some kind of "descent" from some Divine Ancestor. In modern times, we accept that some of our Ancestors may have been Deified, some may have become Divinised, and some may have been Divine Persons to Whom this or that Túath dedicated themselves and from Whom they sought inspiration and protection.

In naming our Túath "Cenéle Dáiri," and calling our Aes Dána "Cland Nessa," then, we follow an established precedent. We claim "descent" in some way from Dáire and Ness, whether that descent be of Body, or of Soul, or of Spirit, or some combination. Having stated this in such a manner, it should be apparent that demonstrating some genealogical connection is not a requirement for membership in the Cenéle Dáiri Túath; we are a cultural and religious group, not a "racial" group, nor do we condone racism in any form from any people. At the same time, mere genealogical connection alone is insufficient for membership in the Cenéle Dáiri Túath; we are a cultural and religious tribal group, meaning that we want members who will learn and live, and perpetuate, our culture and Sacred Tradition, and who will prove themselves to our satisfaction ethically, culturally, spiritually, and socially. The Elders (Neimid) of our Túath are the Dál Nemediand™ Elder Society.

"Ivernian Heathen Revivalism" is a type of "Celtic Heathen Revivalism" specifically concerned with the Revival of the Heathen Sacred Tradition of the Ivernian Culture and the Restoration of the Ivernian Cultural Tradition. There are other sorts of "Celtic Heathen Revivalists," as well, though most of us prefer Irish or Gaelic names to refer to ourselves, and so some of these groups might not like the terms "Celtic" or "Heathen" or "Revivalist." Among the names given to the movement are "Sinnsreachd," "Sinsearacht," and "an Rian Sinnsearach." We in the Cenéle Dáiri™ Túath use the term "an Rian Sinnsearach" to refer to our Sacred Tradition, and the term "Ath-Bheothachadh nam Ceilteach" to refer to the wider movement of "Celtic Heathen Revivalism," which is both cultural and religious.

See also "What is Celtic Heathen Revivalism?" in this site.
 
This page is © Copyright, 2006, 2007, 2008, by Crommán mac Nessa. All Rights Reserved.

Page created: 22 June 2006, updated 26 January 2007, added to new site 1 December 2008.