View source for Macha

{{short description|Irish deity}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
[[File:Macha.jpg|thumb|"Macha Curses the Men of Ulster", [[Stephen Reid (artist)|Stephen Reid]]'s illustration from [[Eleanor Hull]]'s ''The Boys' Cuchulainn'' (1904)]]
'''Macha''' ({{IPA-ga|ˈmˠaxə}}) was a [[sovereignty goddess]]<ref name="o hogain"/><ref name="green"/> of ancient Ireland associated with the province of [[Ulster]], particularly the sites of [[Navan Fort]] (''Eamhain Mhacha''){{sfnp|Toner|2010|p=86}} and [[Armagh]] (''Ard Mhacha''),<ref name=dindsenchas-rennes-094-Ard_Macha/> which are named after her.<ref name="koch">Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia''. ABC-CLIO, 2006. p. 1231</ref> Several figures called Macha appear in [[Irish mythology]] and folklore, all believed to derive from the same goddess. She is said to be one of three sisters known as '[[The Morrígan|the three Morrígna]]'. Like other sovereignty goddesses, Macha is associated with the land, fertility, kingship, war and horses.<ref name="MacCana">Mac Cana, Prionsias. "[http://www.ricorso.net/rx/library/criticism/classic/Celtiana/M-Cana_P/Celtic_Myth/3_Goddess.htm The Goddesses of the Insular Celts]". ''Celtic Mythology''. Hamlyn, 1970.</ref>
[[Proinsias Mac Cana]] discusses three Machas: Macha, wife of Nemed; Queen Macha, wife of Cimbáeth; and Macha, wife of Crunnchu, who caused the debility of the Ulstermen.<ref name="MacCana"/> Gregory Toner discusses four, with the addition of Macha as one of the three Morrigans.{{sfnp|Toner|2010|p=81}}
==Etymology and alias==
[[File:Machair east of Uig Bay - geograph.org.uk - 126686.jpg|thumb|Machair east of [[Uig, Lewis|Uig]] Bay, Lewis]]
The name is presumably derived from [[Proto-Celtic]] *''makajā'' denoting "a plain" (genitive *''makajās'' "of the plain").<ref>[http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/institutes/sassi/spns/ProtoCelt.pdf Proto-Celtic lexicon] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927041947/http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/institutes/sassi/spns/ProtoCelt.pdf |date=27 September 2007 }}</ref> In modern [[Scottish Gaelic]], the etymologically related term ''[[machair]]'' refers to a fertile grassy plain that is maintained by continuous trampling and grazing of livestock.
In the Dindsenchas Macha is called ''Grian Banchure'', the "Sun of Womanfolk" and is referred to as the daughter of [[Midir]] of Brí Léith.<ref name=dindsenchas-rennes-094-Ard_Macha/>
==Macha, daughter of Partholón==
A poem in the ''[[Lebor Gabála Érenn]]'' mentions Macha as one of the daughters of [[Partholón]], leader of the first settlement of Ireland after the flood, although it records nothing about her.<ref>''[[Lebor Gabála Érenn]]'' [http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/lebor2.html §38]</ref>
==Macha, wife of Nemed==
Various sources record a second Macha as the wife of [[Nemed]], leader of the second settlement of Ireland after the flood. She was the first of Nemed's people to die in Ireland – twelve years after their arrival according to [[Geoffrey Keating]],<ref>[[Geoffrey Keating|Keating]], ''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn'' [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100054/text017.html 1.7]</ref> twelve days after their arrival according to the ''[[Annals of the Four Masters]]''.<ref>''[[Annals of the Four Masters]]'' [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005A/text002.html M2850]</ref> It is said that the hilltop where she was buried was named after her: ''[[Armagh|Ard Mhacha]]'', "Macha's high place". The surrounding woodland was cleared by Nemed's folk and named ''Magh Mhacha'', "Macha's plain". She is described as the daughter of red-weaponed Aed, as the [[raven]] of the raids and diffuser of all excellences.<ref>[https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T106500D/text027.html ''The Metrical Dindsenchas''] "Ard Macha"</ref>
==Macha, daughter of Ernmas==
Macha, daughter of [[Ernmas]], of the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]], appears in many early sources. She is often mentioned together with her sisters, "[[Badb]] and [[The Morrígan|Morrigu]], whose name was [[Anann|Anand]]".<ref name=LGE-62,64>[http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/lebor4.html ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' §62, 64] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100715225248/http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/lebor4.html |date=15 July 2010 }}</ref> The three (with varying names) are often considered a [[Triple deities#Triple goddesses|triple goddess]] associated with war.<ref>James MacKillop, ''Dictionary of Celtic Mythology'', Oxford University Press, 1998, pp. 281–282</ref> ''O'Mulconry's Glossary'', a thirteenth-century compilation of [[gloss (annotation)|glosses]] from medieval manuscripts preserved in the ''[[Yellow Book of Lecan]]'', describes Macha as "one of the three ''morrígna''" (the plural of ''[[Morrígan]]''), and says the term ''Mesrad Machae'', "the [[Mast (botany)|mast]] of Macha", refers to "the heads of men that have been slaughtered". A version of the same gloss in MS H.3.18 identifies Macha with Badb, calling the trio "raven women" who instigate battle.<ref>Angelique Gulermovich Epstein, ''War Goddess: The Morrígan and her Germano-Celtic Counterparts'', September 1998, pp. 49–52.</ref> Keating explicitly calls them "goddesses",<ref>Geoffrey Keating, ''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn'' [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100054/text021.html 1.11]</ref> but medieval Irish tradition was keen to remove all trace of pre-Christian religion. Macha is said to have been killed by [[Balor]] during the battle with the [[Fomorians]].<ref name=LGE-60,62,64>[http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/lebor4.html ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' §60, 62, 64] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100715225248/http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/lebor4.html |date=15 July 2010 }}</ref><ref name=stokes>Whitley Stokes (ed & trans), ''[http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T300011.html The Second Battle of Moytura]'', p. 101</ref>
==Macha Mong Ruad==
Macha Mong Ruad ("red hair"), daughter of [[Áed Rúad]] ("red fire" or "fire lord" – a name of [[the Dagda]]), was, according to medieval legend and historical tradition, the only queen in the [[List of High Kings of Ireland]]. Her father Áed rotated the kingship with his cousins [[Díthorba]] and [[Cimbáeth]], seven years at a time. Áed died after his third stint as king, and when his turn came round again, Macha claimed the kingship. Díthorba and Cimbáeth refused to allow a woman to take the throne, and a battle ensued. Macha won, and Díthorba was killed. She won a second battle against Díthorba's sons, who fled into the wilderness of [[Connacht]]. She married Cimbáeth, with whom she shared the kingship. Macha pursued Díthorba's sons alone, disguised as a [[leper]], and overcame each of them in turn when they tried to have sex with her, tied them up, and carried the three of them bodily to [[Ulster]]. The Ulstermen wanted to have them killed, but Macha instead enslaved them and forced them to build [[Emain Macha]] (Navan Fort near Armagh), to be the capital of the [[Ulaid]], marking out its boundaries with her brooch (explaining the name ''Emain Macha'' as ''eó-muin Macha'' or "Macha's neck-brooch").<ref>Eugene O'Curry, ''Lectures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish History'', 1861, [https://books.google.com/books?id=li02AAAAMAAJ&q=macha&pg=PA527 Appendix No. XXXVIII]</ref> Macha ruled together with Cimbáeth for seven years, until he died of plague at Emain Macha, and then a further fourteen years on her own, until she was killed by [[Rechtaid Rígderg]].<ref>Geoffrey Keating, ''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn'' [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100054/text037.html 1.27]-[http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100054/text038.html 1.28]</ref><ref>''Annals of the Four Masters'' [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005A/text017.html M4532]-[http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005A/text018.html 4546]</ref> The ''Lebor Gabála'' synchronises her reign to that of [[Ptolemy I Soter]] (323–283 BC).<ref>R. A. Stewart Macalister (ed. & trans.), ''Lebor Gabála Érenn: The Book of the Taking of Ireland Part V'', Irish Texts Society, 1956, pp. 263–267</ref> The chronology of Keating's ''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn'' dates her reign to 468–461 BC, the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' to 661–654 BC.
[[Marie-Louise Sjoestedt]] writes of this figure: "In the person of this second Macha we discover a new aspect of the local goddess, that of the warrior and dominator; and this is combined with the sexual aspect in a specific manner which reappears in other myths, the male partner or partners being dominated by the female."<ref name="Sjoestedt">{{cite book |first=Marie-Louise |last=Sjoestedt |others=Translated by Myles Dillon |title=Gods and Heroes of the Celts |edition=2nd |year=1982 |publisher=Turtle Island Foundation |location=Berkeley, CA |pages=[https://archive.org/details/godsheroesofcelt00sjoe/page/28 28–9] |isbn=0-913666-52-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/godsheroesofcelt00sjoe/page/28 }}</ref>
==Macha, wife of Cruinniuc==
Macha, daughter of Sainrith mac Imbaith, was the wife of [[Cruinniuc]], an Ulster farmer. Some time after the death of Cruinniuc's first wife, Macha appears at his house. Without speaking, she begins [[Housekeeping|keeping the house]] and acting as his wife. Soon she becomes pregnant by him. As long as they were together Cruinniuc's wealth grew. When he leaves to attend a festival organised by the king of Ulster, she warns him that she will only stay with him so long as he does not speak of her to anyone, and he promises to say nothing. However, during a chariot race, he boasts that his wife can run faster than the king's horses. The king orders Cruinniuc be held on pain of death unless he can make good on his claim. Although she is heavily pregnant, Macha is brought to the gathering and the king forces her to race the horses. She wins the race, but then cries out in pain as she gives birth to twins on the finish line; a boy named Fír ("True") and a girl named Fial ("Modest").<ref name=dindsenchas-rennes-094-Ard_Macha/> For disrespecting and humiliating her, she curses the men of Ulster to be overcome with weakness—as weak "as a woman in childbirth"—at the time of their greatest need. This weakness would last for five days and the curse would last for nine generations. Thereafter, the place where Macha gave birth would be called ''Emain Macha'', or "Macha's twins".<ref name=noinden_ulad>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/ctexts/debility.html |title=The Debility of the Ulstermen |access-date=20 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226141502/http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/debility.html |archive-date=26 December 2013 |url-status=<!--not dead-->}}</ref><ref name=noinden_ulad-hull/>
This tale, ''The Debility of the Ulstermen'' (''[[Noínden Ulad]]'') explains the meaning of the name ''Emain Macha'', and explains why none of the Ulstermen but the semi-divine hero [[Cúchulainn]] could resist the invasion of Ulster in the ''[[Táin Bó Cuailnge]]'' (Cattle Raid of [[Cooley peninsula|Cooley]]).<ref name="koch"/><ref name=noinden_ulad-hull/> It shows that Macha, as goddess of the land and sovereignty, can be vengeful if disrespected,<ref name="green"/> and how the rule of a bad king leads to disaster.<ref>Fee, Christopher and Leeming, David. ''The Goddess: Myths of the Great Mother''. Reaktion Books, 2016.</ref>
This Macha is particularly associated with horses—it is perhaps significant that twin colts were born on the same day as Cúchulainn, and that one of his chariot-horses was called [[Liath Macha]] or "Macha's Grey"—and she is often compared with the [[Welsh mythology|Welsh mythological]] figure [[Rhiannon]].<ref name="koch"/>
==Relationships of the Machas==
Macha is named as the wife of Nemed, son of Agnoman, or alternately as the wife of Crund, son of Agnoman, which may indicate an identity of Nemed with Crund. Macha is also named as the daughter of Midir and Aed the Red.<ref name=dindsenchas-rennes-094-Ard_Macha/>
==See also==
*[[Cliodna]]
*[[Áine#Related goddesses|Grian]]
*[[Mongfind]]
==References==
{{reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name="green">{{Cite book |last=Green |first=Miranda |author-link=Miranda Aldhouse-Green |title=Celtic Goddesses: Warriors, Virgins and Mothers |location=London |publisher=British Museum Pressl |year=1997 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_kHXAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Macha%22 |page=77|isbn=9780714123127 }}</ref>
<ref name="o hogain">{{Cite book |last=Ó hÓgáin |first=Dáithí |author-link=Dáithí Ó hÓgáin |title=Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopaedia of the Irish folk tradition |location=New York |publisher=Prentice Hall |year=1991 |url=<!--N/A--> |pages=284–285}}</ref>
<ref name=dindsenchas-rennes-094-Ard_Macha>{{citation |editor-last=Stokes |editor-first=Whitley |editor-link=Whitley Stokes (Celtic scholar) |title=The Rennes Dindsenchas |journal=Revue celtique |volume=16 |year=1870 |url=https://archive.org/stream/revueceltique16pari#page/44/mode/1up |location=<!--Paris--> |publisher=<!--Émile Bouillon--> |pages=44–46}}. "94. Ard Macha".</ref>
<ref name=noinden_ulad-hull>{{citation |editor-last=Hull |editor-first=Vernam |editor-link=<!--Vernam Hull--> |title=Noínden Ulad: The debility of the Ulidians |journal=Celtica |volume=8 |year=1968 |url=<!--N/A--> |pages=1–42}}</ref>
}}
===Works cited===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite journal|last=Toner |first=Gregory |author-link=<!--Gregory Toner--> |title=Macha and the Invention of Myth |journal=Ériu |volume=60 |date=2010 |publisher=<!--Royal Irish Academy--> |url=<!--N/A--> |pages=81–109 |doi=10.1353/eri.2010.0007 |jstor=41417580|s2cid=245847281 }}
{{Refend}}
==Further reading==
{{commons category|Macha}}
* Tatár, Maria Magdolna. "[https://www.academia.edu/3635867/The_Cult_of_Macha_in_Eastern_Europe The Cult of Macha in Eastern Europe]". In: ''The Journal of the Indo-European Studies'' (JIES) Volume 35, Number 3 & 4, Fall/Winter 2007. pp.&nbsp;323–344.
{{s-start}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Cimbáeth]]<br>and Macha}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of High Kings of Ireland|High Queen of Ireland]]<br>(Alone)|years=[[Lebor Gabála Érenn|LGE]] 4th/3rd century BC<br>[[Geoffrey Keating|FFE]] 468–461 BC<br>[[Annals of the Four Masters|AFM]] 661–654 BC}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Rechtaid Rígderg]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Ulaid}}
{{Celtic mythology (Mythological)}}
{{Celtic mythology (Ulster)}}
{{given name|Macha|nocat}}
[[Category:Animal goddesses]]
[[Category:Cycles of the Kings]]
[[Category:Irish goddesses]]
[[Category:Legendary High Kings of Ireland]]
[[Category:Mythological Cycle]]
[[Category:Mythological queens]]
[[Category:Tuatha Dé Danann]]
[[Category:Ulster Cycle]]
[[Category:War goddesses]]
[[Category:Women in ancient European warfare]]
[[Category:Solar goddesses]]
[[Category:Horse deities]]
[[Category:Raven deities]]