Macha
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For other uses, see Macha (disambiguation).
In Irish mythology, Macha (/ˈmaxə/) is a goddess linked with horses, battle, and sovereignty. She is said to have collected the heads of the slain, which were known as "Macha's acorn crop". Though possibly a triple goddess herself, she is often seen as one aspect of the Irish triple goddess of battle and sovereignty, the Morrígan.
There are several characters called Macha in Irish mythology, probably reflexes of the same goddess.
- Macha, the wife of Nemed. She was a prophet.
- Macha Mong Ruad ("red mane"), daughter of Áed Ruad. After the death of her husband Cimbáeth, the High King, there were other claimants to the throne, all men. Macha defeated every one of them in battle. Through her own prowess in combat she became the High Queen - not by inheritance but by right of conquest. "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."[1] Macha Mong Ruad also founded the fortified village Emain Macha, marking out its boundaries with her brooch, explaining the name "Emain Macha" as "Macha's Neck-Brooch".
- Macha, wife of Cruinniuc. When her husband arrogantly boasted that his wife could beat the king of Ulster's horses in a footrace, she was forced to race against the horses while heavily pregnant. She won, but collapsed at the finish line in labour and gave birth to twins on that spot. Due to this, some also explain the name "Emain Macha" as "Macha's twins". She cursed the men of Ulster to suffer labour pains in the hour of their greatest need, which is why none of the Ulstermen but the semi-divine, "un-bearded" Cúchulainn were able to fight in the Táin Bó Cuailnge (Cattle Raid of Cooley).
[edit] References
- ^ Sjoestedt, Marie-Louise; (Translated by Myles Dillon) (1982). Gods and Heroes of the Celts, second, Berkeley, CA: Turtle Island Foundation. ISBN 0-913666-52-1.
