|
 The Otherworld, known as orbis alia in Celtic mythology is
thought to be the realm of the dead, the home of the deities, or the
stronghold of other spirits and beings such as fairies and the Sídhe.
Tales
and folklore describe it as existing over the western sea, or at other
times underground (such as in the Sídhe mounds) or right alongside the
world of the living, but invisible to most humans.
 Glastonbury,
also known as the Isle of Avalon, was
the Otherworld home of one of the Celtic Underworld Gods, Afallach. For
the Celtic people, the Isle of Avalon was the location where one would
go when near to death.
Glastonbury
is marked as the Isle of Avalon by its numerous ancient names like the
'Isle of Glass.' The Isle of Glass relates to Caer Wydyr or the
name 'Fort of Glass,' which is another name for part of the Celtic
Otherworld. However, the most direct relations come from the old Celtic
legend about Glastonbury Tor.
The Tor, the hill that dominates the Glastonbury landscape, was thought
to be the entrance to Annwfn, the Celtic Otherworld, and the Palace of
Gwynn ap Nudd, Afallach's brother and the main Otherworld god.
Celtic legend also holds that the hill itself is hollow and that this in
turn has led to the legends that it was the entrance to the Otherworld.
Afallach was the son of Lludd Llaw Ereint
and was one of the Celtic gods of the Underworld. Afallach ruled Avalon
where he lived with his daughter, Modron, and her nine sisters. Avalon
was like the Celtic heaven, a peaceful island far away where apples grew
(for which it was named.) Afallach is known in the Arthurian legends as
King Evelake.
The Irish believed in an Otherworld, which they described sometimes as
underground, such as in the Sídhe mounds, and sometimes located on
islands in the Western Sea. The Otherworld was variously called Tír na
mBeo or "the Land of the Living", Mag Mell or "Delightful Plain", and Tír
na nÓg which means the "Land of the Young", among other names.
 It was believed to be a
country where there was no sickness, old age, or death, where happiness
lasted forever, and a hundred years was as one day.
It was probably
similar to the Elysium of the Greek mythology and both may have a shared
origin in ancient Proto-Indo-European religion. In Irish Immrama or "voyage" tales, a beautiful young woman often approaches the hero and
sings to him of this happy land. Sometimes she offers him an apple, or
the promise of her love in exchange for his assistance in battle. He
follows her, and they journey over the sea together and are seen no
more.
Their journey may take place in a boat of glass, in a chariot or
on horseback (usually upon a white horse, as in the case of the goddess Niamh of the Golden Hair). Sometimes the hero returns after what he
believes is a short time, only to find that all his companions are dead
and he has actually been away for hundreds of years.
 Sometimes the hero
sets out on a quest, and a magic mist descends upon him. He may find
himself before an unusual palace and enter to find a warrior or a
beautiful woman who makes him welcome.
The woman may be the goddess Fand,
the warrior may be Manannán mac Lir or Lugh, and after strange
adventures the hero may return successfully. However, even in cases
where the mortal manages to return to his own time and place, he is
forever changed by his contact with the Otherworld.
This conception of the Otherworld is also preserved in the Welsh story
of Branwen, daughter of Llyr, which ends with the survivors of the great
battle feasting in the presence of the severed head of Bran the Blessed,
having forgotten all their suffering and sorrow, and having become
unaware of the passage of time.
 In Irish lore, Donn, a god of the
dead, reigned over Tech Duinn or 'The House of Donn', which was seen as
existing on or under Bull Island, located off the Beare Peninsula in the
southwest of Ireland.
It was believed that the newly-dead journeyed to
Tech Duinn, either to remain there forever, or perhaps as a
starting-point on their journey to the Blessed Isles across the Western
Sea.
A Welsh corollary to Tech Duinn is Annwfn, ruled by the
Otherworld kings Arawn and Gwyn ap Nudd,
the Otherworld king under Glastonbury
Tor, Somerset.
Celtic folklore and mythology are full of
tales that tell of humans wandering into the Otherworld, and of
supernatural beings crossing over into the human realm. This is
considered most likely to happen at particular, liminal places, or on
special days of the year. For instance, on the Gaelic festival of
Samhain (November 1, seen by many as the Celtic New Year), it is
believed that the boundaries between the worlds become even more
permeable than usual, and mortals might cross over to the spirit world -
usually accidentally - and the inhabitants of the spirit world might
cross over into the mortal realm.
 The spring festival of Beltane on May 1st
is also seen as a time when the Otherworld is particularly close at
hand.
Traditionally, much folklore and folk practice is concerned with
preventing the intrusion of spirits into this world, or the loss of
humans to the Otherworlds, and many charms and taboos exist for
protection from these incidents.
Some of this is seen in fairy lore,
where humans fear the fairies might steal human babies and leave
Changelings in their places.
However other traditions think more kindly
of the fairies and other spirits, and encourage the leaving of offerings
for them, such as milk and baked goods, in order to form a treaty or
friendship with them.
The Otherworld has been described in Irish poetry and tales as being a
land of paradise, happiness, and summer. It is often described as a
series of islands where the various deities and ancestors live. Many
mythological heroes, such as Cúchulainn and Bran in The Voyage of Bran,
journeyed to Otherworld realms.
In the First Branch of the Welsh tales known as the The Mabinogion,
entitled Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed, the eponymous prince offends Arawn,
ruler of Annwn (the Welsh Other World), by baiting his hunting hounds on
a stag that Arawn's dogs had brought down. In recompense he exchanges
places with Arawn for a year and defeats Arawn's enemy Hafgan.
Meanwhile, Arawn rules Dyfed. During this year, Pwyll does not sleep
with Arawn's wife, earning himself gratitude from Arawn. On his return,
Pwyll becomes known by the title Pen Annwn, "Head (or Ruler) of Annwn."
The Irish tradition tells that the fairies are descendants of the Tuatha
Dé Danann, an ancient folk that were driven to the Underworld by a wave
of invaders, the Gaels, who came from Spain led by chieftain Míl Espáine.
The Tuatha had no other choice than to take refuge under the sídhe, a
Celtic word which denotes the hills where the long barrows lay and which
is used also to name a special kind of fairies in Ireland and in the
Scottish Highlands, the daoine sídhe. All through Ireland legends can be
heard about Knocks (from the Irish cnoc), hollow hills which are
inhabited by extended fairy communities ruled by a King or a Queen. The
best known sídhe sites in Ireland are: Knockma, where the throne of
Finvarra (King of the fairies of Connaught) is located, Knockany, ruled
by Ainé, Queen of Munster, and Newgrange in county Meath, a megalithic
building which is associated with the Angus Óg myth.
The sídhe can be found by humans in certain times in the year,
especially at Midsummer, when they are seen often dancing under the
moonlight.
 In Brittany and in Asturias similar myths are kept. In the Asturian
mythology there are many stories who describe human encounters with
xanas (fairies), which are dancing around one of them, the Xana Mega,
the Queen of Fairies.
The castro of Altamira is said to hide an enormous
underground realm which is ruled by a royal couple, and whose entrance
is found someplace on the hill.
According to the Celtic beliefs, beyond the ocean lay the Isles of
Paradise, lands inhabited by supernatural beings, where pain and
disgrace are absent. In the Irish tradition, the ninth wave divides the
land of the mortals from the Other World. Sterile women perform rituals
at La Lanzada beach (Galicia), where nine successive waves wash over
them and will help them become pregnant.
Many Graeco-Roman geographers tell about the Celtic belief in islands
consecrated to gods and heroes. Among them were Anglesey (Môn), located
on the Northern Welsh Coast, which was the sacred island of the druids
of Britain; the Scilly islands, where archaeological remains of
proto-historical temples have been found; and some of the Hebrides
Islands, which were, in the Gaelic tradition, home of ghosts and demons:
on one of them, Skye, the Irish hero Cúchulainn was educated by the war
goddess Scathach.
Byzantine scholar Procopius of Caesarea described the Otherworld beliefs
of the ancient Gauls.
He said it was thought that the Land of Dead lay
some place west of Great Britain.
The Continental Celtic myths told that
once the souls of the dead had left their bodies, they traveled to the
Northwestern coast of Gaul and took a boat in direction to Britannia.
When they had to cross the Channel, the souls went to the homes of the
fishermen, and knocked desperately at their doors. The fishermen went
then out of their houses and led the dead to their goal in ghostly
ships. |
