The Family Way

Copyright © 2001, Caile Nèamh

If you were to pool together a group of 1000 Celts or 1000 Pagans or even 1000 Christians and ask of them of their religion, you would quite probably get 1000 different answers. However, in saying that, each of us, no matter what religion we follow or colour or race we are, we will all follow traditions passed down from generation to generation that are unique to our family unit or culture.

The Celts are no different.

The Clann or Fine is the extended Celtic Family.... it is the social unit which holds together several generations of decendants from one Father or ancestor. In the Celtic traditions, this family structure and the maintaining of lineage is a strong one from which few will sway from.

Such as the aboriginal tribes, when several families are settled in an area or territory, they formed a Tuath which was ruled or governed by an King or Cheiftan. Eligibility for this role was traditionally by blood, but was not directly inherited. The successive king would be chosen from those eligible within the Tuath. Any male member with in the King's Derbfine (a kinship group extending back for 5 generations) was eligible to be chosen. It is believed, throughout ancient highland that some 150 Tuatha were formed.

Within each Clann, each person was responsible for the actions of the other. The value of the Family Name was high and provided you stood to honour the family name, you would have the support of your clann. To have one's family turn their back upon you, you would need to have cast great shame and dishoured the family name. For the Celts it was essentially about the Clann or Fine. The individual was not deemed to legally exist, except as a member of the Clann or Fine.

Kinship and lineage are of great value to the Celt's. It provided a link between one and their history including such things as the origins of the Treubh or Clann and the area in which one lived. These links also provided one with the right to build a home on and make use of the land of the Clann. Being one of a Clann also gave one an entitlement to inheritanceor 'derbhfine', protection and the rights to follow a particular path of the craft or spiritual beliefs.

The young were generally educated with in the family unit, however some would be 'fostered' to other families to teach them another skill or to obtain an education in another way to bring back to the primary Clann. Traditionally, it was the grandparents and other members of the family who would teach the young. It was considered customary for the family to share their skills or songs with the young to keep the knowledge of the family line alive.

The Hearth as it was known was central to the Celtic Clann, essentially having it's foundation through a marriage contract. Within the hearth, it was the woman who held authority. This was the gathering place where many traditions were carried out and much more. It was the centre of the family circle and as such provided warmth and nourishment to those who were a part.

The hearth was an area of hospitality as well. It was customary to provide a lavish feast to guests ... sometimes a warm bed if possible and entertainment. To not provide one's guest with the best they were able to provide was considered a serious insult. In balance though, the guest was also expected to bring an 'offering', bread, wine, cakes .. according to what was available. Once a guest was welcomed into the hearth and had accepted the hospitality of the hearth it was forbidden for any arguments or fueds to occur.

In Celtic cultures, women were deemd to be of equal to men. They had the same entitlements to own and disperse property, inherit property and also gain skills. They were even permitted to own and use weapons on a battle field. It is not uncommon to find Celtic Women noted in history for acts of bravery and in battle.

"Boudicca achieved fame as the Celtic Queen of the British Iceni tribe who rebelled against the Roman yoke, sacked London and all but freed Britain from Roman rule in AD 60/61. Her contemporary Queen Cartimandua of the Brigantes sided with the Roman occupation forces. "
Reference

Unlike many modern ways, Marriage was a union considered to be a civil matter. There was little religious aspect other than the keeping of oaths as agreed to in the marriage contract. This contract was the foundation of the hearth.

Throughout history, not a lot has changed in the traditional Celtic way .... although much has been modernised to blend in and make use of technology.

Many of the beliefs still remain, the aknowledgements of the gods and the work they did is still passed down from one generation to another. The downside, is that in the last couple century, much of the traditional values have been rebelled against and passed over. It is only in the later part of the 20th Century that we started finding our way back to our roots to make peace with the mother and embrace the ways of the Gods once more.

Nèamh

References

http://www.greyhawkes.com/text/celts.txt
http://royalty.about.com/newsissues/royalty/msubbda1.htm
http://www.celtic-art.net/index2.htm