Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, the religion of the Iron Age Celts. Like other Iron Age Europeans, the early Celts maintained a polytheistic mythology and religious structure. Among Celts in close contact with Ancient Rome, s...
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The Tuath(a) Dé Danann (Irish pronunciation: [t̪ˠuəhə dʲeː d̪ˠan̪ˠən̪ˠ], usually translated as "people(s)/tribe(s) of the goddess Dana or Danu"), also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé ("tribe of the gods"), are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. They are thought to represent the main deities of pre-Christian Gaelic Ireland.
The Tuath Dé dwell in the Otherworld but interact with humans and the human world. Their traditional rivals are the Fomorians (Fomoire), who seem to represent the harmful or destructive powers of nature. Each member of the Tuath Dé has been associated with a particular feature of life or nature, but many appear to have more than one association. Many also have bynames, some representing different aspects of the deity and others being regional names or epithets.
Much of Irish mythology was recorded by Christian monks, who modified it to an extent. They often depicted the Tuath Dé as kings, queens and heroes of the distant past who had supernatural powers or who were later credited with them. Other times they were explained as fallen angels who were neither good nor evil. However, some medieval writers acknowledged that they were once gods. A poem in the Book of Leinster lists many of them, but ends "Although [the author] enumerates them, he does not worship them". The Dagda's name is explained as meaning "the good god"; Brigit is called "a goddess worshipped by poets"; while Goibniu, Credne and Luchta are referred to as Trí Dé Dána ("three gods of craftsmanship"), Characters such as Lugh, the Morrígan, Aengus and Manannán mac Lir appear in tales set centuries apart, showing all the signs of immortality. They also have parallels in the pantheons of other Celtic peoples: for example Nuada is cognate with the British god Nodens; Lugh is cognate with the pan-Celtic god Lugus; Brigit with Brigantia; Tuirenn with Taranis; Ogma with Ogmios; and the Badb with Catubodua. The Tuath Dé eventually became the Aos Sí or "fairies" of later folklore.
The Name
The Old Irish word tuath (plural tuatha) means "people, tribe, nation"; dé is the genitive case of día and, depending on context, can mean "god, gods, goddess" or more broadly "supernatural being, object of worship". In the earliest writings, the mythical race are referred to as the Tuath Dé (plural Tuatha Dé). However, Irish monks also began using the term Tuath Dé to refer to the Israelites, with the meaning "People of God". Apparently to avoid confusion with the Israelites, writers began to refer to the mythical race as the Tuath Dé Danann (plural Tuatha Dé Danann). The Old Irish pronunciation is [t̪uaθa d̪ʲeː d̪anan̪] and the Modern Irish pronunciation is [t̪ˠuə(hi) dʲeː d̪ˠan̪ˠən̪ˠ] in the West and North, and [t̪ˠuəhə dʲeː d̪ˠan̪ˠən̪ˠ] in the South. A rough English approximation is tooə(hə) day danən or tooə(hə) jay danən.
