by Sharynne NicMhacha
The folklore the legends of Wales are beautiful and mysterious and offer a very rich source of information about the Celtic otherworld.
To the Celts, the otherworld was all around us. It always existed but was easier to access at certain times of year or at certain places. It was located either underground or underwater, on an island across the water, or under the sea. In Wales, the otherworld was known as Annwn or Annwfn, which may mean “inner” or “under” world, or even “not-world” (referring to the mirror-like aspects of the Celtic divine realms, which are different from our own).
Annwn could be accessed by visiting sacred bodies of water (lakes, rivers, wells) or fairy mounds (sedd in Welsh, síd in Irish). Sacred assemblies were held at these sites, and there were traditions that if one slept on a fairy mound, one would have an otherworld encounter for good or for bad (depending on one’s relationship with the spirits).
The old gods and goddesses were the original inhabitants of the fairy mounds, later becoming the “fairies” of folklore tradition. However, the Celts didn’t refer to them as fairies. In Wales, they were called plant Annwn (“the children of the other-underworld”), gwragedd Annwn (“the women of Annwn”), or plant Rhys ddwfn (“the children of Rhys the deep”).
In later times, they were called y yylwyth teg, the “fair/beautiful family/tribe” (which may be a word play or misunderstanding of the English word fairy). They were sometimes also called tylwyth Gwynn, the tribe of Gwynn (a word meaning “white,” “fair,” or “sacred”). Gwynn ap Nudd was an early rules of Annwn, and he led the Wild Hunt for the supernatural boar known as Torc Trwyth. In one tale, he abducts a beautiful woman called Creiddylad. Arthur decides that Gwynn and another suitor must fight for her every May Day until the end of time.
The old gods and goddesses of Wales (or early Britain) were also called plant Dôn, the children of Dôn, who was a primal goddess or ancestress. She had a number of divine offspring, including Arianrhod (“silver wheel,” a moon goddess), Gwydion (a divine magician), Amaethon (“divine ploughman”), and Gofannon (“divine smith”). Other early British gods and goddesses may have been ancient inhabitants of Annwn as well. This list includes Epona (“divine horse goddess”), Maponus (“divine son”), Belenus (“bright or healing one”), Cernunnos (“horned one”), and Taranis (“the thunderer”).
One of the most famous Welsh legends about Annwn is a kind of Welsh version of the Lady of the Lake legend. Female spirits of goddesses were believed to inhabit most bodies of water (including lakes, wells, and rivers). In this tale, “Llynn y Fan Fach,” a young man is tending his cattle on the banks of a lake on the Black Mountain. He sees a beautiful young woman combing her hair, appearing to sit right on the surface of the water. She is so beautiful that he doesn’t know what to say or do. He offers her some of his barley bread, but she rejects it, saying: Cras dy fara, nid hawdd fy nala. (“Hard is thy bread, it is not easy to catch me.”)
The lad goes home and tells his mother what he has seen. She makes moist bread for him, which he offers to the fairy maiden the next day. This time, though, she says: Llaith dy fara, ti ni fynna. (“Moist is thy bread, I do not want thee.”)
He goes home, crestfallen. This time, his mother makes half-baked bread. After the lad waits all day, finally the woman appears just before sunset. She accepts the bread and agrees to this offer of marriage on one condition: If he strikes her three times without just cause, she will leave him forever. They are married and live happily for many years. The woman bears him three fine sons.
Years later, when they are going to a baby blessing, the young man taps her to hurry—this is the first causeless blow. Another time, she cries at a wedding, and he taps her again. She replies that she was crying for the young couple’s upcoming troubles. Finally, he taps her when she is laughing at a funeral (the person’s troubles were over), and she disappears into the lake. The husband and sons were heartbroken and wander a long time searching for her.
One day she appears to the eldest son and tells him that his path is to heal the sick. She gives him a bag full of medical cures and herbs and reveals to him the healing properties of the plants. This eldest son and his three sons become famous healers. They write down their medical knowledge (which came from Annwn) in three medieval manuscripts in the twelfth century called Meddygon Myddfai. This family remains powerful healers for the next five hundred years, and distant descendants of the family still uphold the tradition to this day.
As late as the 1800s, people visited the site on August 1, the day that signaled the coming of the Lady of the Lake. This date corresponds with a Celtic feast day known elsewhere has Lugnasad, the beginning of the harvest. Other wonderful folk customs took place in Wales during the year:
Candlemas: Candles were lit in the windows to symbolize the coming of spring. Sometimes two candles were lit on the table, and each member of the family would take turns sitting on a chair between the candles. After taking a drink from a drinking horn or goblet, they would throw the vessel backwards over their head. If it landed upright, it meant long life.
May Day (Calan Haf): People gathered on a hilltop or village green and created a small mound on which a musician sat. It was decorated with oak branches, and people danced in a circle around the mound. Fires were lit from nine types of sacred wood, and the house was decorated with hawthorn, rowan, or birch.
Midsummer: A sacred pole or tree called the “summer birch” was raised in each area and guarded all night long against theft by another village. In the morning, people danced around the birch. There were also bonfires and divination. St. John’s wort and mugwort were used to purify the home.
Winter’s Eve (Calan Gaeaf): Special bonfires were lit from fern, gorse, straw, and thornbushes. Apples and root vegetables were roasted, and then there was dancing, shouting, and leaping through the flames. Spirits like Ladi Wen (“white lady”) or the Hwch Ddu (“black sow”) were believed to be about on this night.
New Year’s: Early on New Year’s morning, a vessel of spring water was sprinkled on people’s hands and faces using a sprig of holly, rosemary, myrtle, or another evergreen plant. A procession called the Mari Lwyd (“gray mare”) went from house to house. A decorated horse skull on a pole led the way, and a spontaneous contest of poetic skill was held at the door of each house.
These Welsh customs are a wonderful source of tradition and inspiration to include in your celebration of the turning of the year wheel.