The One Who is Many, the Many Who Power and Potentiality in the Sacred Females by sherry ROWIS) Indeed, she comprises three separate sacred females, each with her own multiplicity of attributes. A brief examina- L huteure examine h dtcsses a% dIrhndc, ces Triadrsdivines tion of the triple goddesses of Ireland will demonstrate composkes & troh personnages ftminins, chacune avec sa that divine triads, while manifestations of sacred females multipi&titi&dons, quimcrcenten mime temps unpouvoir often uniting to perform a specific role, resist analyses that unique et multiph. draw upon a maiden/mother/crone model and defy all attempts to define them strictly by function. The triad form exemplifies the manifold possibility and multiplicity within the sacredness ofthe female. Triple goddesses attest The best known of the triadicforms offemale that pre-Christian and early Christian Irish religion has a divinity in Ireland is that in which the three sacred complex perception of female deity which embodies all of the potentiality of divinity. females have separate and distinct names and Triadic female forms in Ireland are comprised, not identities, but appear together as a single unit. surprisingly, in at least three different ways. Perhaps the best known of these forms is that of the Badhb or the Morrfgan, the triple form of the war goddess. This triad is Because of the insular nature of Ireland, Celtic religion is composed of three females who each have separate and believed by many scholars to have survived there for much distinct names and traits. The combinations are generally: longer than anywhere on the continent. Ireland had not Nemain, Macha, and the Morrigan, together referred to as been subject to Roman occupation and remained rela- the Badhb; Anann, Badhb, and Macha, together called the tively untouched by outside forces until the coming of the Badhb; Nemain, Badhb, and Macha as the Morrtgan; or Vikings in the ninth century. Christian missionary work Badhb, Macha, and the Morrigan, together called the did not begin in Ireland until the fourth or fif'iy~enturyc~ Morrigan. The separate and fourth name identifies the (Common Era, same as AD). We know that some of the three females when they have come together and taken on Celtic Irish material is different from similar material of their war aspect. The women in this triad may manifest the continent, but whether that is a reflection ofthe purity themselves as birds or other animals. They may also appear of the insular material or whether the difference actually as an old crone or hag, and sometimes they have been reveals a strong assimilation of native pre-Celtic with called the Crones in place of their triadic title. The Celtic material remains open for discussion. What we do members of this triad often appear interchangeably in the have is a tradition that had a longer and more peaceful literature, probably because they reflect different aspects period of growth than those of Continental Celtic cul- or manifestations of the same (triple) goddess. This triple tures, and one that preserved pre-Christian myth and goddess will be discussed more completely in a later ritual until a relatively late period. This tradition is rich section of this paper. with tales about the ancient goddesses-the sacred fe- Although the Badhb or the Morrigan is the best known males---of Ireland and may well reflect elements of pre- of the triadic forms of female divinity in Ireland, perhaps Celtic indigenous sacred belief. the most common form is that in which the three sacred One of the features common to the Irish, British, and females have separate and distinct names and identities, continental Celtic religion is the predominance of divine but appear together as a single unit, for instance, Clindna, triads. Sacred groups of three appear frequently in the pre- Aeife, and Edaein Fair-hair, who are the "three treasures of Christian and early Christian Irish materials, and the spinsterhood and chastity" of the Tuatha dC Danann (the extensive appearance of triple forms, iconographically and deities of pre-Christian Ireland). Frequently the group are in design elements, further reflects and reinforces the sisters, as is the case with Caechne, D6e, and Fadat, who importance of these triads to the culture. An individual battle against a male enemy of their family; and triadic goddess of pre-Christian Irish religion possesses multiple, groups ofwives are also to be found, such as the three wives sometimes contrasting attributes, revealing her to be too of Celtchair mac Uithechar: Findabair, Daruamna, and complex to be narrowly defined by asingle rolesuch as that Bribethach. The most well known manifestation of this of sovereignty goddess, war goddess, fertility goddess, or triad is probably the group consisting of Banba, Eriu, and goddess oflove. She often embodies all ofthese aspects and Fodla. These are three queens of the Tuatha dk Danann, is just as likely to take a lover into her arms as she is to take and Ireland has, at one time or another, been called by each up arms against a lover. The triple goddess of pre-Chris- of their names. They merge their powers together in their tian Ireland is no less complicated than her singular sister. triad form, and in one famous battle they create a magical 10 CANADIAN WOMAN STUDIESILES CAHIERS DE LA FEMME Are One of Pre- Christian Ireland armywhich appears as an illusion to the enemy sons ofMil ways and that the triad itself takes on a multiplicity of and aids in the enemy's eventual defeat. These triads are manifestations. known by what unites them: they are sisters, maidens, Warrior triads often include sacred females who shape- wives, mothers, warriors. shift. Shape-shifting is not uncommon in the sacred Sacred females also appear in groups wherein each has figures of pre-Christian Ireland and early Christian Ire- thesame name, but they represent different identities. For land. Female deities often shape-shift into creatures that instance, Brigit in her triple form is goddess of smithcrafi, are directly linked with fertility and the earth. Such a goddess ofpoetry, andgoddess ofhealing. She also appears creature may be either a direct manifestation or a shape- at times as the mother of the Dagda (a god in the Tuatha shifred manifestation of a deity. For example, the triple d6 Danann), the mate of the Dagda, and the daughter of form of the Badhb often manifests herself as great black the Dagda. Another goddess who takes three forms is birds while on the battlefield. Individual members of Macha: Macha, wife of Nemed; Macha, wife of Crund; warrior triads are also known for their own particular and Macha, daughter of Aed the Red. She is the same exploits on the field of battle. Nemain takes the form of a Macha who figures as one of the triple forms of the war crow, and her primary hnction seems to be to confound goddess Badhb; thus Macha has the position of being armies with madness. Macha may be able to take on the twice a member of a form of a horse, as she is said to run faster than the swiftest triad. Findabair, in- of horses. The Morrigan herself appears in more forms troduced a moment than the bird shape associated with her in her triple form. ago as one of a triad of She has, in various stories, taken the form of a white wives, also appears to hornless red-eared heifer, a black eel, and a gray-red bitch- be twice a member of wolf. Thus, each triad is a dynamic interaction of multiple a triad. She is Fin- shape-shiftingforms emanatingfrom individual members dabair, daughter of as well as from the triad itself. Medb and Ailill; Aside from shape-shifting into a diversity of forms, the Findabair, daughter of divine triads of Ireland also embody multiplicities of Conor macNessa; and attributes. For instance, the function of the Morrigan in Findabair, daughter of the form ofthe triple war goddess seems primarily to incite Lugaid Liigde. people to deeds of valour or to plan strife and chaos; she It is clear that some often appears over the battlefield in the form of a raven or triads are more com- crow. The Morrfgan, however, is not exclusively related to plex and powerful war. Evidence suggests that she is also related to fertility than others, and it and has the power to grant sovereignty. In one tale, the may well be that tri- Morrigan meets with the Dagda a week before a great adic combinations are battle is to take place. When he comes upon her, she is so common to the pre- straddling the river, holding the tresses of her hair loose in Christian Irish tradi- her hands. He joins her in this position, and they have tion that some ofthem sexual intercourse. She then prophesies how she will have no significance herself destroy the enemy and deprive the enemy of his beyond the fact that blood. All that she foretells comes to pass, and she delivers there is a grouping of two handfuls of blood to the hosts of the Tuatha dd three. Among the Danann, proclaiming the great deeds of the battle with her most complex triads poetry. The act ofsexual intercourse reveals the Morrlgan's in pre-Christian Irish connection to fertility and sovereignty. She awards victory religion are those to the Dagda in the same way that a sovereignty goddess known predominan- awards victory and kingship to her mate, an arrangement tly as warrior goddes- sealed by an act of sex. Her role in this tale is not merely ses. Careful study of warrior; she is linked to the fertility of the earth and these triads, however, imparts victory to her mate.