Where do we get our water? Our bodies are roughly 50% water, water is 80% of our life-blood, and fresh water is just a little less immediately important than air to sustain life. If water is so important to our lives, why have we neglected to regard water as essential?
If you think about it, the water you drink, make your food with, wash your dishes in, clean your clothes in and wash yourself with - almost every drop of that water comes from a local source. Where else would it come from? For most people, all of the water they use to live comes from the river, and the water-table of the river, that flows in the ground where you live. Even bottled water is usually no exception.
Without the river that flows where you live, life would be impossible. The local river sustains each one of us. Surely, it is not so strange to give thanks to the River that keeps us alive?
In some ways, the local River could be thought of as a great Mother Goddess, nursing us through out our lives. We drink from Her every day, many times a day, and in many ways. Even the food we eat and the trees we have around us are sustained by Her. The trees drink from Her with deep roots, and then transpire, sending moisture into the air to fall back down as rain. This allows moisture to move inland, over continents. The rain and snow that falls from the sky, also soon becomes part of a river.
We are all children of the local River. Which ever River we live next to, it would be easy and unprejudiced to call each group of us by the name of Children of that River. And, of course, it is perfectly true.
Quoting from a translation by Philip Vellacott of Hecabe, an ancient-Greek play by
Euripides, there are several choruses that illustrate this idea,
“My slavery was ordained,
Now pain and cruel compulsion
The judgment made on Mount Ida,
And not only here; but by the clear Eurotas [a river in Greece]
It seems that the Greeks, at least, identified groups of people as those who drank from the same river.
When I read this poem, the point struck me resoundingly. Identifying people as "those who drink from the same river" cuts across barriers of race, creed, color, status, and even city location, while still identifying the local people of a region
in a very real way. All who dwell in a place must drink from the fresh water of the river’s local water table, whether it is from the headwaters, from wells, or directly from the river Herself.
In a very real sense, the people living in any river valley do nurse from that river, sustained by the life giving
water. Any one of us would die without a drink from Her, in as soon as two days. She even bathes us, washes our clothes, and often grows our food for us. It seems to
be a very powerful and straightforward relationship.
If one considers all who drink from the same river to be the same people, then all of the people where I live might be called the People of Saint Ana, since that is the name of the river
that we drink from. She nurses
me daily, and sustains my life in almost every way. Shouldn’t I regard her as a Goddess?
Arianrhod is depicted nursing two children at the same time with both of
Her breasts in one statue that I have, which is a reproduction of an ancient
statue from Gaul. The picture at the top of this
page is a picture of that statue.
Arianrhod is a name that is cognate with Rhiannon. The
river Rhone and the river Rhine in Europe are both named after the Goddess
Rhiannon. Also, the river Danube was named for Goddess Danu, the river Seine for
Goddess Sequana, the river Shannon in Ireland for Goddess Sinann, the river Severn in Wales for
Goddess Sebrina, the river Clyde for Goddess Clutoida, the river Mertey for
Goddess Belisama, the river Briant for the Goddess Briant, the river Devon for
the Goddess Devona, the river Wharfe for the Goddess Verbeia, the river Marne
for the Goddess Matrona, etc. All these rivers, and many more, are named reverently by
the names of Goddesses.
Patricia Monaghan, in The New Book Of Goddesses and Heroines,
"Among the Celts, the earth goddess was thought to be
visible in the rivers that drained each land. Thus their earth-river
goddesses could best be defined as watershed deities. Sequana ruled the
Seine and its valleys; her special shrine was at the river's
source."
Such a change in perspective yields very different thoughts. Those residing near the river Rhone, and maintaining their lives there, might be called the People of Rhone, or even the People of Rhiannon. The people residing near the river Shannon might be called the People of Sinann, and the people near the river Severn might be called the People of
Sebrina. Long ago, the Celtic people of those areas rightly worshiped
those River Goddesses as life givers. If we called the Rivers that we nurse from by their Goddess names, those Goddesses
would be living, flowing sources of life and inspiration, slaking our thirst for
connectedness with nature. They would be our true Mother Goddesses, each one different but just as important in Her own valley,
recognized to be giving us life, and inspiring us to make our lives beautiful.
Even baptism is a very ancient custom, far predating Christian customs. It still practiced today by many different faiths, including the Hindu faith. There are practically constant pilgrimages to different areas of the Ganges, wherein people submerge themselves in the River Ganges to gain
renewal. The practice of baptism signifies a metaphorical transformation;
it marks a vow, a transition, a rebirth of the soul.
It is well known to archeologists, in places all over Europe people used to give offerings to the local body of
water. This must surely be the reason for the later European obsession to find
the source or headwaters of every river. The ancient-Europeans propitiated the
Water-source, with little wooden
Deity-icons, shields, armor, weapons, coins, and especially little gold rings, which used to be the common currency
for many in many parts of ancient-Europe. One of the greatest ancient treasures found from this practice is the
Gundestrup Grail (called the Gundestrup Cauldron in English), found in
Denmark, at the edge of a bog. Other ancient treasures are gold, silver and bronze
coins found in Amorica (an area in Western Europe) and elsewhere, thrown into water in
great numbers.
Even today, we still throw great numbers of coins into wells
and fountains to gain wishes.
Another related thought
Quite a few people now refer to awen as meaning
inspiration and the soul, many more now than before. But what is the awen? And where does inspiration come from?
Considering that awen is has been handed down in Celtic circles as a word meaning "the inspiration of Heaven", it is fascinating to note that the Scottish Gaelic word for river is pronounced “aven” or “awen”. The Welsh and Breton words are strongly cognate, afon and auon respectively.
The word for river in Manx Gaelic is awin.
The fascination increases if one recalls the exceedingly strong root connecting Celtic culture and Hindu culture, almost certainly going back before three thousand years.
At some point the cultures diverged from a similar root, at least three thousand years ago. The
Gaels, Gauls, Galicians and Galatians had strongly individualistic attitudes, were somewhat nomadic,
quick to fight, quicker to laugh and stubbornly proud; traits that can sometimes
still be seen
in Celtic-people today. The Hindus, faced with rising populations and crowded living space,
seemingly, became non-migratory and esoteric. But striking connections
remain in some ways, and they can be uncanny.
Here are the Scottish Gaelic,
Welsh Gaelic, Manx Gaelic, Breton, Gaulish, Irish and Latin words for
river. Also included is a Sanskrit word for water.
river
Scottish Gaelic amhainn (pronounced awen), abhainn (pronounced aven),
Irish abhann (gen. abhann, now aibhne), Old Irish abann, Welsh
Gaelic afon, Manx Gaelic, awin, Breton auon, Gallo-Brit. Abona; Latin amnis (*ab-nis). Root
abh; Sanskrit ambhas, water Continuing onward with the comparison, ancient-European attitudes toward rivers
were very reminiscent of the modern-Hindus attitude toward the river Ganges. Hindus consider the river Ganges to be the direct, physical manifestation
the River-Goddess Ganga. In India the Ganges embodies the water of
life. There is another Hindu River-Goddess, Sarasvati.
Sarasvati is described as the Goddess of eloquence, which pours forth like a
flowing river. To Hindus, she is the inventor of all sciences and
artistry, and is the matron of these occupations. In the New Book of
Goddesses and Heroines, by Patricia Monaghan, she writes, "
[Sarasvati] invented writing so that the songs she inspired could be recorded;
she created music so the elegance of her being could be praised. In her
identity as Vach, Goddess of speech, she caused all words to come into
being." Through archeology and anthropology, it is now known that the rivers in Europe
are also named after Goddesses. Quoting again from the eloquent words of
Patricia Monaghan, in The New Book Of Goddesses and Heroines, on
page 278, 282, 71, "In
Ireland, where the goddesses' myths, as well as their names were remembered,
Boann and Sinann and Banna were all said to have been curious girls who, seeking
immortal wisdom, traveled to [sacred wells, which have since been the origins
of], the Boyne, the Shannon, and the Bann. These wells, furious at having
been disturbed and unwilling to give forth their secrets, rose from their holes
and drowned the seekers. Thus, said Irish legend, were the great rivers of
the earth formed. The goddess of
Ireland's famous Shannon River was - like most other Celtic river goddesses -
originally a curious and heedless woman. Seeking knowledge from the sacred
well at the world's end, Sinann enraged the waters of wisdom with her
audacity. Connla's Well, as it was called, rose up in fury and drowned
her, but could not return to its cage and henceforth streamed down through
Ireland as a river. Among
the Celtic people, rivers were the residences - indeed, the tangible forms - of
powerful goddesses of inspiration and fertility. Such was the case in
Celtic Ireland, where the goddess of the mighty River Boyne was Boann ('she of
the white cows'). It was said that Boann was a curious woman who had heard of
the magical Well of Segais at the source of the Boyne. There nine magical
hazel trees grew and bore nuts of knowledge. The nuts dropped into the
well, where they were eaten by a little salmon - the wisest creature in the
world. Even goddesses were forbidden to approach the grove, but Boann,
undeterred, traveled to the well of Segais. Furious and defensive of its
treasure, the well rose from its depths and poured out in a mighty flood,
drowning the approaching Boann. But it could never return to its original
place deep in the earth, and henceforth had to carry its waters, which brought
spiritual and mental food to humans, down across the Irish hills." Though
the stories seem futile for the impetuous women, Boann, Sinann and
Banna are responsible for coaxing the wells to pour forth their waters of wisdom, despite the
guarded intentions of the sacred wellsprings. It seems inspiration
and
eloquence, to the ancient-Celts, might have
resided in the water of the local wellspring, the local cascading stream and
even the local
river. If memory serves correct, the highest title for Irish bards-in-training was
Rushing Stream. That title has great meaning, since bards are described as having meditated next to gurgling streams and near waterfalls,
so that they might gain inspiration while composing. And, while
considering the implications of water as the ancient-Celtic source of wisdom and
inspiration, one should not omit the creature which most symbolized wisdom to the ancient-Celts:
the salmon. The sacred salmon, willful fish of wisdom, swims upriver and upstream to spawn.
The hazel-trees of knowledge over-hung a sacred pool, and it was this tree most
symbolized wisdom to the ancient-Celts. A great and wise salmon swam
in that sacred pool. In the story
relating how the hero Fin gained his inspiration, he catches and cooks a very wise salmon who has been eating the sacred hazelnuts of the a sacred
pool. The hazelnuts of this pool imparted wisdom, and each red spot on the
huge salmon represented a hazelnut. As the salmon cooks over a campfire,
Fin bursts a blister forming on the side of the salmon, scalds his
thumb, and sticks his thumb in his mouth, thereby receiving great wisdom.
He became Fin Mac Cool; Fin, son of Hazel.
While Fin Mac Cool was thus distracted, the sacred salmon jumped back into the
pool overhung by hazel-trees, and began to swim about again,
unharmed. Even the word Celtic may be related to salmon;
fish which are physically strong, strong willed and wise enough to find
their river of origin after a long journey at sea. I am not sure how ancient the
usage of the word is, but in Nova Scotia, kelts are Atlantic salmon who did not die
after the process of swimming all the way upriver, upstream, and mating.
Afterward, the kelts have transformed severely, loosing their fat, turning very
dark and gaining a hook-bill. This happens due to the physical rigors of swimming in the fresh water and
mating. Not many survive, but when all is concluded, any that do survive swim
back down-stream. Kelts are able transform back again into the shapely, silvery salmon of the
ocean, and return later in their life to swim upriver and mate yet again. It would be very illuminating if the word kelt was
an ancient-Celtic word for Atlantic salmon that survive. "We are
Kelts" is what a certain trading-people told a group of Greeks when they
encountered them for the first time. After that, the Greeks referred to
them as Keltoi, and we now refer to them as Celtic (pronounced keltic).
If, by calling themselves Kelts, those ancient people were metaphorically
saying, "We are those who are wise enough to find a river, willful enough
to want to go upriver, strong enough to do just that, and tough enough to
survive the experience so as to do it again." then that does, indeed, sound
like the response of a Celtic people. In any case, the subtle sound of water
is a Muse that creates solitude, even when other people are
nearby. Listening to this sound, lulled by this environment, one is
allowed to dwell inwardly; even while dwelling externally enough to keep from falling into daydream. The sound of a rushing river at a rapids, or the sound of a crystal-clear mountain-stream cascading over
rocks, allows this Muse to come. Even the sound of a fountain splashing soothingly at a park setting or
café has been known to bring this tranquility. How many times have people received inspiration sitting next to moving water?
Watching and sitting in the midst of trees can be very inspiring, especially among
willows. How many people have felt their thoughts relaxing and starting to
flow while taking a shower or long bath? It’s happened
so many times for me that it is beyond count now. One might even be
compelled to put an altar in the kitchen and the bathroom, to the
Goddess of life, inspiration and eloquence, the Goddess of the local River.
Perhaps the long-searched-for pronunciation of awen is amhainn, the
river.
Whether the river is recognized as the awen or not, emerald springs, gurgling creeks, cascading waterfalls,
rushing rivers, and lush groves of trees growing near them, are all
extremely life-giving and inspirational. This does not, in itself, make the local
stream or living water the awen - inspiration and soul. But, many
lines of evidence above relate how the amhainn or abhainn,
the river, deserves real spiritual recognition today. From anthropological
and archeological evidence it is clear the water-source was sacrosanct to
the ancient-Celts. It is clear they were enamored with wells and streams, and
aware of the wellspring's ability to cause flowing knowledge, aware that one
could imbibe knowledge. If we harken to these experiences, we can learn from
the practices of the ancient-Celts, and make our lives more fulfilling.
Copyright © J. G. Jones
The ruin of my life was made inevitable,
On the day when Paris – Prince of Troy
Had timber felled in the pine-woods of Mount Ida
To build a ship for his voyage to Greece,
To win the bed of Helen, the loveliest woman [Helen was Greek]
That ever lived in the light of the golden sun.
Are round us in an unbreakable ring.
By one man’s folly a whole nation,
All who drink from the river Simois, [a river in present-day Turkey]
Are destroyed and die together
At the onset of aliens. [the Greeks who conquered Troy to get Helen back]
When the quarrel of three immortal Goddesses
Was settled by a herdsman [this herdsman was Paris, Prince of Troy]
That word brought war and slaughter
And the ravaging of my home.
A Spartan wife is sitting in her house
Lost in tears and groans;
And a grey haired mother beats her head
In grief for her dead sons.”