BOANN
SHE WHO HAS COWS
ART BY THALIA LIGHTBRINGER
MEMORIA OF BOANN
Daughter of Dealbaoth Mac Eleada,
Wife of Nechtan,
Wife of Nuadha,
Lover of An Dagda,
Mother of Angus Og,
Mother of the Three Strains,
Sister of Bebhfionn and Brighid.
Lily-face,
Great silver Yoke,
White Marrow of Feidlimid,
Stormy Wave,
Roof of the Ocean,
White Bright One,
River of the white hazel,
Enduring one,
Banna, lunnand and torrand,
White-bellied One of Grace,
Bestower of Happiness.
Giver of wealth,
Clothed in raiment unto precious stones,
She who possesses white cows,
Ever-full,
Soft-blooming Woman,
Who knows the soreness of the pangs,
Who knows the joy of the pleasure of bringing,
Who knows the soothing of the heaviness of birth,
From whom comes forth the promise of spring,
Lady of the ebb and flow,
Mistress of the Bothar Bo Fionn,
Lady companion of the heavenly road,
She of one hand, one foot and one eye,
She who mourns Dabaillea,
Bringer of the Lament-cry of the women of the Sith.
Sater of the poet’s thirst,
Birdsong of the verdant forest,
Chanter of Intent,
She who loosed the enclosure of knowledge.
© Robert J Smith, 2022, London
White bright Boand
Boand ever-full
Great Silver Yoke
Stormy Wave
River of the White Hazel
Banna
Roof of the Ocean
Boand.
~ The Metrical Dindshenchas
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I am She. Welcome to my land. I am the Mother of Meath. My spirit flows throughout the River Bóinne and its tributaries, watering the woods and fields of the most fertile place in all of Eire. Rich pastures cover nearly three-fourths of this realm. The terrain is gentle and deep green, with no mountains and only one large lake, Lough Sheelin. The highest hill is Slieve-na-Calliagh to the west, where the limestone ridges gracefully ascend. Uplands lie to the north.
You are standing where the earliest known settlers in Ireland put down their roots. Here you will find remnants of buildings and tombs that are older than Egypt's pyramids. People have lived here for over 8,000 years. My land is called Royal Meath because for at least 500 years, ancient Irish kings lived within the stretch of my arm, at Temuir. All five provinces of Ireland meet here, which is why Meath was called Mide, meaning "centre." Aill na Mireann (The Stone of Boundaries) still stands on Uisnech hill where in ancient times a national assembly was once held every year.
There is a story of how the River Bóinne was made. It is said that Boand, wife of Nechtaine, visited his forbidden secret, sacred spring and caused it to burst open, overflowing in an angry torrent over the land to the sea. The myth claims that she was drowned, yet the people continue to honor me as a goddess. I was the life-bringer for the first people and I am still today the living source of fertility for this thriving place.
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(by Flidais Niafer, from Celtia in ancientworlds.net)
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See Also Winter Solstice - Fèis Lurgainn
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See Also Bealltuinn