It has a long history of stories, creative fables, and magical myths that need to be researched because they tell us a lot about the beliefs of the pre-Christian Gaelic people. One of the most important gods in native Irish folklore is Dagda. It’s simple to see how Dagda’s story could be used to link European societies that are no longer around.
In old Celtic religion, a powerful god called Dagda (or An Dagda in Irish) was very important. The Tuatha Dé Danann, who were also called the “Tribe of the Goddess Danu,” saw him as a chief god. Gods called Dagda “The Great Father” and “The Mighty One among Great Knowledge” were kind and helpful. It was clear what his job was; he was the one who made the final choice about life and death. In early Irish legend, Dagda was like the Germanic god Woden in that he was a parent figure. The names of these two gods are related in many ways. Dagda was also linked to fertility and plenty. People thought he had two pigs, one that was always cooking and the other that was growing. In his yard, he had two fruit trees that bore berries all year.
The coire anisic, or “un-dry,” which is his huge pot and, like the cornucopia, gives us an endless supply of food, stood out. the lorg mór, which is a mace or big club with special healing powers that he carried with him. His third quality was that his huge harp, the Uaithne, controlled the weather and the result of battles. In Christianity, Dagda was often portrayed as clumsy, huge, and overweight, even though his name and other names all refer to him as a good god. It’s clear that he is a good god because his name comes from the Proto-Indo-European word dago-deiwos.
As his most common name, Dagdae Oll-Athair, means “good god, all father,” he is connected to the All-Father, the main male deity in Indo-European religions. In the same way that Odin was known by many names, so was Dagda. But his were a little more poetic and had less to do with death and damage. In Irish folklore, Dagda goes by many names, such as Riog Scribe, which means “the King of Speech,” Fer Benn Bruaich, which means “the man of peaks and coasts,” Labor Cerrce, which means “the noisy striker,” Brogaill Bromide, which means “the Large-lapped Farter,” and many more. He knew about 26 different names.
One of the many interesting things about the god is how he looks. He is also said to have a full, thick beard in addition to being very tall. The great and scary gods of Nordic and Slavic mythology are often shown as funny and awkward, while Dagda is often shown as awkward and funny. These stories come from a lot of different places. Some are Christian allusions, while others come from mythology that was around before Christianity. One thing that makes him stand out is his big, round gut. The mythical Fomorians, his enemies, laughed at his big gut, but he was able to trick them. His short robe showed off his huge penis, which hung down to the ground, and he was said to be barely dressed. The fact that Dagda is the fertility god is linked to the way he is described as sexual. The Cerne Abbas Giant is a huge chalk hill figure in Dorset that shows a big guy with his penis up and a big club. It may have been made by Dagda.
Both the Celtic god Sucellos and the Gallo-Roman god Sucellos lived at the same time and were worshiped by both groups. Through Sucellos, the Celts of mainland Europe are linked to the Celts of Ireland. “The good striker” is what the Proto-Indo-European root Kel means, which is where the name “su Kel” comes from. Sucellos was shown as a big man with a beard who carried a big serving bowl and a maul, which is another word for hammer. There are clear references to Dagda here. It seems that Sucellos had the most impact in the Rhone and Saone river valleys, where Roman and Celtic customs met. His real name might be Dagda, which sounds a lot like his own name.
The most convincing proof of Dagda’s power is the story of a battle in Magh Thread. Dagda was sent on a mission on Samhain that took him deep into the enemy camp where the Fomorians were living. Twenty measurements of fat, twenty measurements of milk, and twenty measurements of flour were used to make the food in his huge pot. They threw in everything they could find, from grease and lambs to goats and pigs. Then they told Dagda that he had to drink the mixture or be killed by pouring it into a huge hole in the ground. This is still done today as part of Samhain celebrations.
The story goes that Dagda ate the whole feast, scraping the bottom of the pit to make sure his enemies wouldn’t get the last laugh. After that, he slept with the daughter of the Fomorians’ head to get her to turn against her father and work for him. Dagda is a fertility and wealth god who is represented by being sneaky, sensual, and greedy. It’s possible that Christian criticism made the telling of this story even worse. A lot of Dagda stories are about having sex and eating.
All of these stories and their racy details can teach you about Ireland’s religions before Christianity and about the role of a ruler godlike Dagda. He is many things, like a fierce fighter, a sneaky trickster, a seducer, a provider, and the guardian of the cornucopia. People would gladly worship him as a god because he was seen as a god in their eyes.
In Europe, every male chieftain god may have come from the same ancestor. This includes Woden in Germany, Perun in Russia, Perkunas in the Baltics, Odin and Thor in the North, Orko in the Basque Country, Taranis and Sucellus in the Celts, and Zeus, Jupiter, and Mars in the Ancient Greeks. All of them are powerful hitters and fighters who are connected to the element of thunder. All of them are sneaky bad guys who can be kind, caring, or mean. We can find out more about our shared ancestry than we ever thought possible by digging deep into our past.
The story says that Dagda did not live forever. Balor, the harsh Fomorian leader, was finally killed by his wife Cethleann during the second attack of Moytira. Balor had been in charge for almost 70 years. This took place in Br na Bóinne, a place from mythology that is now linked to the passage tombs in the Boyne valley. The evocative mood of Celtic folklore is shown by the Dagda myth. It serves as a reminder that Ireland had a thriving society before Christianity came along. This can help us understand the historical ties that connect Europeans today.
