Editing Samhain (section)

==In Irish mythology==
[[File:Heroes of the dawn (1914) (14750481494).jpg|thumb|upright|The hero [[Fionn mac Cumhaill|Fionn]] fighting [[Aillen]], who is said to have burned [[Hill of Tara|Tara]] each Samhain]]
While Irish mythology was originally a spoken tradition, much of it was eventually written down in the Middle Ages by Christian [[monk]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Harpur |first=James |title=Celtic Myth: A Treasury of Legends, Art, and History |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1317475286 |location=London |date=2016 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ZwGDAAAQBAJ&q=irish+mythology+was+written+down+by+christian+monks&pg=PA9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Leeming |first=David |title=From Olympus to Camelot: The World of European Mythology |publisher=OUP US |isbn=978-0195143614 |date=2003 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aijoCwAAQBAJ&q=samhain&pg=PA78}}</ref> The tenth-century tale ''[[Tochmarc Emire]]'' ('The Wooing of Emer') lists Samhain as the first of [[Quarter days|the four]] seasonal festivals of the year.<ref name="Stations361">Hutton, Ronald (1996) ''Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain''. Oxford: Oxford University Press {{ISBN|0-19-288045-4}}, p. 361.</ref> The literature says a peace would be declared, and there were great gatherings where they held meetings, feasted, drank alcohol,<ref name="monaghan407">Monaghan, p. 407</ref> and held contests.<ref name="Stations361"/> These gatherings are a popular setting for early Irish tales.<ref name="Stations361"/> The tale ''[[Echtra Cormaic]]'' ('Cormac's Adventure') says that the Feast of [[Hill of Tara|Tara]] was held every seventh Samhain, hosted by the [[High King of Ireland]], during which new laws and duties were ordained; anyone who broke the laws established during this time would be banished.<ref>{{cite web |title=''Cormac's adventure in the Land of Promise, and the decision as to Cormac's sword'' Section 55 |url=https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T302000/text056.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=''Cormac's adventure in the Land of Promise, and the decision as to Cormac's sword'' Section 56 |url=https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T302000/text057.html}}</ref>

According to Irish mythology, Samhain (like [[Bealtaine]]) was a time when the 'doorways' to the [[Celtic Otherworld|Otherworld]] opened, allowing supernatural beings and the souls of the dead to come into our world; while Bealtaine was a summer festival for the living, Samhain "was essentially a festival for the dead".<ref>{{cite book |last=Monaghan |first=Patricia |title=The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore |date=2004 |publisher=[[Infobase Publishing]] |isbn=978-0816075560 |location=New York City |page=41}}</ref> ''[[The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn]]'' says that the ''[[aos sí|sídhe]]'' (fairy mounds or portals to the Otherworld) "were always open at Samhain".<ref>{{cite book |last=Koch |first=John T. |title=Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia |url-access=limited |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |isbn=978-1851094400 |location=Santa Barbara, California |page=[https://archive.org/details/celticculturehis00koch_128/page/n415 388] |date=2006 |url=https://archive.org/details/celticculturehis00koch_128}}</ref> Each year the fire-breather [[Aillen]] emerges from the Otherworld and burns down the palace of Tara during the Samhain festival after lulling everyone to sleep with his music.
One Samhain, the young [[Fionn mac Cumhaill]], stays awake and slays Aillen with a magical spear, for which he is made leader of the [[fianna]]. In a similar tale, one Samhain, the Otherworld being Cúldubh emerges from the burial mound on [[Slievenamon]] and snatches a roast pig. Fionn kills Cúldubh with a spear throw as he re-enters the mound. Fionn's thumb is caught between the door and the post as it shuts, and he puts it in his mouth to ease the pain. As his thumb had been inside the Otherworld, Fionn is bestowed with great wisdom. This may refer to gaining knowledge from the ancestors.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ó hÓgáin |first=Dáithí |title=Myth Legend and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition |date=1991 |publisher=[[Prentice Hall Press]] |isbn=978-0132759595 |location=Upper Saddle River, New Jersey |page=214}}</ref> ''[[Acallam na Senórach]]'' ('Colloquy of the Elders') tells how three female [[werewolf|werewolves]] emerge from the cave of [[Rathcroghan|Cruachan]] (an Otherworld portal) each Samhain and kill livestock. When [[Cas Corach]] plays his harp, they take on human form, and the [[fianna]] warrior [[Caílte mac Rónáin|Caílte]] then slays them with a spear.<ref>{{cite book |title=Tales of the Elders of Ireland: A new translation of Acallam na Senórach |date=2005 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0199549856 |editor-last=Dooley |editor-first=Ann |location=Oxford, England |page=212 |editor-last2=Roe |editor-first2=Harry}}</ref>

Some tales suggest that offerings or sacrifices were made at Samhain. In the ''[[Lebor Gabála Érenn]]'' (or 'Book of Invasions'), each Samhain the people of [[Nemed]] had to give two-thirds of their children, their corn, and their milk to the monstrous [[Fomorians]]. The Fomorians seem to represent the harmful or destructive powers of nature; personifications of chaos, darkness, death, blight, and drought.<ref name="macculloch2009">{{cite book |last=MacCulloch |first=John Arnott |title=The Religion of the Ancient Celts |date=2009 |publisher=The Floating Press |isbn=978-1475164480 |location=Portland, Oregon |pages=80, 89, 91}}</ref><ref>Smyth, Daragh. ''A Guide to Irish Mythology''. Irish Academic Press, 1996. p. 74</ref> This [[tribute]] paid by Nemed's people may represent a "sacrifice offered at the beginning of winter, when the powers of darkness and blight are in the ascendant".<ref>MacCulloch (2009), p. 80</ref> According to the later ''[[Dindsenchas]]'' and the ''[[Annals of the Four Masters]]''—which were written by Christian monks—Samhain in ancient Ireland was associated with a god or idol called [[Crom Cruach]]. The texts claim that a firstborn child would be sacrificed at the stone idol of Crom Cruach in [[Magh Slécht]]. They say that King [[Tigernmas]], and three-fourths of his people, died while worshiping Crom Cruach there one Samhain.<ref>[https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T100005A/text006.html ''Annals of the Four Masters: Part 6''] at Corpus of Electronic Texts.</ref>

The legendary kings [[Diarmait mac Cerbaill]] and [[Muirchertach mac Muiredaig (Mac Ercae)|Muirchertach mac Ercae]] each die a [[threefold death]] on Samhain, which involves wounding, burning, and drowning, and of which they are forewarned. In the tale ''[[Togail Bruidne Dá Derga]]'' ('The Destruction of Dá Derga's Hostel'), king [[Conaire Mór]] also meets his death on Samhain after breaking his ''[[geis|geasa]]'' (prohibitions or taboos). He is warned of his impending doom by three undead horsemen who are messengers of [[Donn]], the god of the dead.<ref>[[Dáithí Ó hÓgáin|Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí]]. ''Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopaedia of the Irish folk tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. pp. 165–66</ref> ''The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn'' tells how each Samhain the men of Ireland went to woo a beautiful maiden who lives in the fairy mound on [[Croghan Hill|Brí Éile]] (Croghan Hill). It says that each year someone would be killed "to mark the occasion", by persons unknown.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cross, Tom P., & Clark Harris Slover, ed. & trans |title=The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn – Ancient Irish Tales |date=1936 |publisher=Henry Holt |location=New York |pages=360–69}}</ref> Some academics suggest that these tales recall human sacrifice,<ref name="koch690">{{cite book |last1=Koch |first1=John T. |title=The Celts: History, Life, and Culture |url-access=limited |last2=Minard |first2=Antone |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |isbn=978-1598849646 |location=Santa Barbara, California |page=[https://archive.org/details/celtshistorylife00koch/page/n751 690] |date=2012 |url=https://archive.org/details/celtshistorylife00koch}}</ref> and argue that several ancient Irish [[bog body|bog bodies]] (such as [[Old Croghan Man]]) appear to have been kings who were ritually killed,<ref>{{cite book |last=Kelly |first=Eamonn |title=The Archaeology of Violence |date=2013 |publisher=[[SUNY Press]] |isbn=978-1438444420 |editor-last=Ralph |editor-first=Sarah |location=Albany, New York |pages=232–40 |chapter=An Archaeological Interpretation of Irish Iron Age Bog Bodies |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/3209307}}</ref> some of them around the time of Samhain.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Bentley |first=Diana |title=The Dark Secrets of the Bog Bodies |journal=[[Minerva (archaeology magazine)|Minerva: The International Review of Ancient Art & Archaeology]] |date=March–April 2015 |publisher=Clear Media |location=Nashville, Tennessee |pages=34–37 |url=https://www.academia.edu/11790293}}</ref>

In the ''[[Nera (mythology)|Echtra Neraí]]'' ('The Adventure of Nera'), King [[Ailill mac Máta|Ailill]] of [[Connacht]] sets his [[retinue]] a test of bravery on Samhain night. He offers a prize to whoever can make it to a [[gallows]] and tie a band around a hanged man's ankle. Demons thwart each challenger, who runs back to the king's hall in fear. However, Nera succeeds, and the dead man asks for a drink. Nera carries him on his back, and they stop at three houses. They enter the third, where the dead man drinks and spits it on the householders, killing them. Returning, Nera sees a [[Wild Hunt|fairy host]] burning the king's hall and slaughtering those inside. He follows the host through a portal into the Otherworld. Nera learns that what he saw was only a vision of what will happen the next Samhain unless something is done. He returns to the hall and warns the king.<ref>Monaghan, p. 107</ref><ref>Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth Legend and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. p. 317</ref>

The tale ''Aided Chrimthainn maic Fidaig'' ('The Killing of Crimthann mac Fidaig') tells how [[Mongfind]] kills her brother, King [[Crimthann mac Fidaig|Crimthann]] of Munster, so that one of her sons might become king. Mongfind offers Crimthann a poisoned drink at a feast, but he asks her to drink from it first. Having no other choice but to drink the poison, she dies on Samhain eve. The [[Middle Irish]] writer notes that Samhain is also called ''Féile Moingfhinne'' (the Festival of Mongfind or Mongfhionn) and that "women and the rabble make petitions to her" at Samhain.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Stokes |first=Whitley |year=1903 |title=Revue Celtique |journal=Revue Celtique |volume=24 |page=179 |url=https://archive.org/details/revueceltiqu24pari}}</ref><ref>Byrne, Francis John. ''Irish King and High Kings''. Four Courts Press, 2001. p. 75</ref>

Many other events in Irish mythology happen or begin on Samhain. The invasion of [[Ulster]] that makes up the main action of the ''[[Táin Bó Cúailnge]]'' ('Cattle Raid of Cooley') begins on Samhain. As cattle-raiding typically was a summer activity, the invasion during this off-season surprised the Ulstermen.<ref>Monaghan, p. 438</ref> The ''[[Cath Maige Tuired|Second Battle of Magh Tuireadh]]'' also begins on Samhain.<ref>Monaghan, p. 345</ref> [[The Morrígan]] and [[The Dagda]] meet and have sex before the battle against the Fomorians; in this way, the Morrígan acts as a [[sovereignty]] figure and gives the victory to the Dagda's people, the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]]. In ''Aislinge Óengusa'' ('The Dream of Óengus') it is when he and his bride-to-be switch from bird to human form, and in ''[[Tochmarc Étaíne]]'' ('The Wooing of Étaín') it is the day on which Óengus claims the kingship of [[Brú na Bóinne]].<ref name=koch690/>

[[File:Owenagcat.jpg|thumb|The '[[Rathcroghan#Oweynagat|Cave of Cruachan]]', one of the many 'gateways to the Otherworld' whence beings and spirits were said to have emerged on Samhain.]]
Several sites in Ireland are especially linked to Samhain. Each Samhain, a host of otherworldly beings was said to emerge from the [[Rathcroghan#Oweynagat|Cave of Cruachan]] in [[County Roscommon]].<ref>O'Halpin, Andy. ''Ireland: An Oxford Archaeological Guide.'' Oxford University Press, 2006. p. 236</ref> The [[Hill of Ward]] (or Tlachtga) in [[County Meath]] is thought to have been the site of a great Samhain gathering and bonfire;<ref name=monaghan407/> the [[Iron Age]] [[ringfort]] is said to have been where the goddess or druid [[Tlachtga]] gave birth to triplets and where she later died.<ref>Monaghan, p. 449</ref>

In ''The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain'' (1996), [[Ronald Hutton]] writes: "No doubt there were [pagan] religious observances as well, but none of the tales ever portrays any". The only historical reference to pagan religious rites is in the work of [[Geoffrey Keating]] (died 1644), but his source is unknown. Hutton says it may be that no religious rites are mentioned because, centuries after Christianization, the writers had no record of them.<ref name="Stations361"/> Hutton suggests Samhain may not have been ''particularly'' associated with the supernatural. He says that the gatherings of royalty and warriors on Samhain may have been an ideal setting for such tales, in the same way, that many [[list of books about King Arthur|Arthurian]] tales are set at courtly gatherings at Christmas or Pentecost.<ref name="Stations362">Hutton, Ronald (1996) ''Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press {{ISBN|0-19-288045-4}}, p. 362.</ref>