Copyright © 2013 by Ian J MacDonald. Permission required for any use. All rights reserved
Pen and ink on paper
This scene sets to evoke the impromptu, rustic countryside feel of a minor festival. I do not know what this holiday might be, nor do I know the season - fall or spring or summer - but I imagine that festivals and rites were not as formalized or centralized as we think of today. Although there are commonalities (at least archeologically speaking) between many Celtic people and there were certainly shared values it did not have a central ruling authority. Ancient writings suggest that learned men met periodically to discuss pertinent issues and make rulings, but ultimately the local leader went back to his people and made rulings. It is not clear how binding those rules were either.
There were certainly some broad rituals and sayings that joined Celts together (although I do not think they had a cohesive self identity as Celts). Aside from the main deities local areas, in such extreme isolation, had very local flavors of deities, rituals, lore and iconography strongly flavored by the local conditions. It is hard to understand the level of isolation these people must have known. Most people probably never left their village, and while they might have understood there were others like them off in the distances, the average person probably did not meet anyone who wasn't part of a local family. Thus many of these people lived for generations in isolation. It was be silly to think that there wasn't village to village variance in culture, language, and religion.
Religion was also likely inextricably interwoven into grind of daily life. From farming to hunting to metal work to caring for children to eating etc... religion was so ingrained that no one could imagine it not being. IN the iron age life was tough and short and in lack of scientific knowledge or any real control of the environment religion was as reasonable a way as any to try to ensure a better life.
On a good festival day I imagine that the gathering begins somewhat haphazardly, when all the work is done. There were no clocks very little artificial light, so life had to move with the rhythms of sunrise and sunset and feelings weather, abundance or scarcity, health and sickness, and human feelings. The place may have current religious. I think of the Southern German countryside which is dotted with crosses with little shelters over them. Many were erected to commemorate the death of someone, such as a farmer that had been struck by lightning, others were erected to give thanks for prosperity and many were erected for reasons now unknown. The places may be a cemetery or may have meanings meanings lost in time. They may have adapted a place that earlier cultures considered holy.
I try to avoid the stereotype of the Celts ad drunken brutes, but archeology shows that they did consume copious amounts of wine and alcohol. The Romans (although they too could drink heavily as well) highlighted their machismo and alcohol-fueled bravado, Archeology shows that huge numbers of wine amphorae were imported into Cletic lands and so likely they is a kernel of truth in this behavior, especially amongst the warriors and leaders.
Food and wine might have arrived as people gravitated to the gathering. Perhaps there was a fresh animal slaughtered to share. Finally I imagine the party went on until the last person finally passed out and then late the following day life began again.
Sacred Places
Archeology and ancient sources suggest that the ancient Celts revered certain natural places. These were perhaps regarded as places that connected the living world to that of gods, the underworld, the dead, or were places with healing properties such as hot springs.
I have been fascinated by this subject for years and have devoured many books about the archeology and culture of these people. However I am also always left with a feeling that the artifacts and studies are sterile and out of context. This isn't to imply that there is anything missing in modern archeology, in fact the goal is to reconstruct and understand the past as fully as possible. Barry Cunliffe, in his books about the ancient Celts suggests that the they didn't make art for art's sake. In "The Ancient Celts" he shows a pair of forged fire dogs with bull's heads on them and profoundly relates that this imagery was not merely artistic but had meaning to them that was as obvious as modern religious symbols would mean to us - the crucifix for example. I can imagine archeologists thousands of years in the future unearthing a richly adorned crucifix, without an image of Christ on it and concluding that it is an artistic pair of crossed sticks - but having no idea of the extensive body of meaning implied by that crucifix. This is what I mean when I say the artifacts seem sterile and out of context.
In these pictures I am attempting to mentally recreate their world and see it as much as is possible in the eyes of the ancient people. This is naturally impossible since as time marches on our knowledge and control of the world has grown far beyond what they could have ever imagined. Like a genie, new knowledge cannot be un-discovered, as many people wish could happen.
The world in pre-Roman and pre-Christian eras was a small, uncertain and a violent place. Diseases, disasters, invading bands and armies came seemingly out of nowhere and struck ferociously. Knowledge has provided us an unparallelled amount of certainty in our lives, but until recently a spate of bad weather could mean mass starvation - something that still occurs in places in the modern world. I religions probably arise formed from our insatiable desire to connect events with reason. Coupled with the ability to have abstract thought this powerful adaptation has made humans one of the most powerful forces on earth.
Religions provided some explanation and feeling of control over the world. Some authors have noted connections between ancient Indo-European religions originating in India and Iran, that are often nowadays associated with Yoga and meditation. I often see the Gundestrup cauldron held up as an example as their is a horned deity, similar to depictions of Cunernos,sitting in the lotus position, possibly meditating and holding a torc and snake - a symbol also associated with Eastern religions. It seems plausible to me that many tenets of European religions could have originated from ancient Indo-European society, but I hesitate to take this comparison too far as meditation and quiet introspection are features of many religions including Christianity. Christianity similarly contains elements of many ancient Pagan religions but it is only murky shadows of them. Besides we really have no firsthand description of even the most basic tenets of their religions, only reconstructions based on archeology and some ancient writings which contain considerable amounts of bias and misunderstanding. I believe the local conditions and experiences shaped their religions which would account for the huge variety of deities that have been uncovered through archeology.
As a reflection of the world around them, Celtic deities appear to be fearsome beings with fickle personalities. We'll never know for sure, but forgiveness and fairness do not seem to be their main attributes. A personal relationship with the deities also does not appear to be likely either. These were deities that affected the world and meted out harsh retribution for...tbc
Care must be used when using the word "natural" as it comes loaded with modern implications. Natural means things that occurred naturally such springs, bogs water bodies, mountains, caves etc... In modern parlance "natural" means closer to the land, organic, environmentally aware and so on. This modern meaning of natural cannot be applied to the ancient Celts as the whole world was "natural" and everyone was more connected to the land and weather and the cycles of nature as a means of survival. There was no other alternative to that world. Imposing the modern meaning on them reduces them to the stereotypical "noble savage" or barbarians just as the ancient Roman writers often did intentionally (e.g. Caesar ) or not (e.g. Pliny and Tacitus).
In these pictures I have tried to get into the head of the ancient Celts and depict their holy places without relying on the cliches, stereotypes, and misinformation - e.g. Stonehenges and scrolling knot work, white-robed druids praying to the sun etc... I imagine that sacred places evolved for reasons, perhaps long lost to the ancient Celts. I also envision that sacred places were subtle and perhaps not noticeable until you were on top of them. A foreigner might never recognize them.
I don't believe we can ever see the world as ancient people did, or anyone in the past for that matter. Knowledge is like a genie - once it is out it cannot be put back and the world cannot be experienced as it was before, no matter how hard one tries. Ancient writers have described "fearsome" wooden idols standing in dark groves. Ancient writers also seemed to highlight the most lurid aspects of these ancient religions, although all societies practiced animal and human sacrifice. The Romans describe the Celts ...and all barbarians....as spooky and superstitious but Romans were no less spooky or superstitious. They were the conquerors wrote the history, and found their Celtic superstitions to be strange and creepy and theirs moral and right.
