We all know that modern Halloween has blown in from America and that this celebration has its origins in the Irish samhain. But what does this mean in a broader Indo-European context? What do these celebrations tell us about our form of ancestor veneration? In this blog we try to place samhain, the predecessor of Halloween, in an accessible way within a broader context.
Indo-European ancestor veneration
Indo-European paganism is a dharmatic nature religion; we speak of dharmatic because there were prescriptions and rules that maintained and supported the cosmic order.
The ancestors play an important role in this. For thousands of years, the Proto-Indo-European peoples buried high-ranking deceased in burial mounds. On the steppes, these mounds were visible from a distance. They were sacred places that emphasized the status of the ancestor. Tribes, which were predominantly nomadic, regularly returned to these places to make sacrifices in honor of the ancestors. The people in these burial mounds were also a personification of the semi-mythological ancestors of the tribe. Their exploits and achievements were told and revered for generations. Their deeds were immortalized in the bardic oral traditions of the people. Indo-European peoples, such as the Greeks, Romans, Germans, Celts, Balto-Slavs, Indo-Iranians, Indo-Aryans maintained this tradition.
In this context, we should view the Germanic álfablót, the Celtic samhain and the Slavic dziady.
All these celebrations have one thing in common: commemorating deceased ancestors. These can be both one's own ancestors as well as the mythological ancestors of the tribe or clan. Ancestor veneration is a very important custom in Indo-European cultures. It connects the people and creates a bond of honor and pride.
What is samhain
Samhain is a Celtic holiday that begins on the evening of October 31st. The Celtic day began at sunset, not sunrise as it does today. The celebration marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter.
Some neolithic passage tombs in Great Britain and Ireland are aligned with the sunrise at the time of samhain, which may suggest a much older origin of this celebration.
October 31st falls approximately halfway between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice. The light season transitions to the dark season, with winter being the symbol of death. After samhain, the wild hunt begins heading toward yule (midwinter) and then light (life) returns to earth.
At samhain one honored the ancestors and made offerings at their graves. This could be either one's own ancestors or the semi-mythological ancestors of the tribe. The period was considered a time when the veil between the world of the living and the dead (the Otherworld) was thin, allowing souls of the deceased to come closer.
The night of samhain was not without danger. Because the world of the dead lay close beside the world of the living, traveling between both worlds was easier. In Old Irish mythology it is clear that monsters and evil spirits lived in the underworld, who could cross over to the world of the living during this night.
Samhain in Old Irish mythology
Samhain is frequently mentioned in Irish manuscripts and is connected with important events in Irish mythology. These stories were written down between the 9th and 13th centuries by Christian monks. They were probably orally transmitted for hundreds of years before that. Often the texts known today are copies of earlier texts.
From this literature we can gather that celebrations and large gatherings took place. Tochmarc Emire (10th century) mentions samhain as the first of the four seasonal festivals. According to Echtra Cormaic (12th century), the High King of Ireland (ard rí na hÉrenn) organized the celebration at Tara every seventh samhain, establishing new rules, laws and duties. The celebration was also a time when one had to hand over part of the harvest to their lord, as described in an extreme version in Lebor Gabála Érenn (12th century).
Such gatherings, where the heroes of Ireland assembled and people feasted, drank and organized competitions, were a popular setting in the stories because quarrels easily arose, or love was sealed, and all heroes were gathered in full glory.
It was a time of peace. In Táin Bó Cúailnge (12th century) the cattle raid on Ulster begins at samhain, a day when no one expected war.
During samhain, beings from the Otherworld came into the human world, as told in Macgnímartha Finn (12th century) and Acallam na Senórach (early 13th century). Burial mounds were seen as gateways to the Otherworld. In the Dinnshenchas of Móin Gai Glais, Cúldub kills someone at samhain and is killed in revenge by one Gae Glas. In Dunaire Finn, samhain is not mentioned, but Cúldub emerges from a burial mound to steal cattle, and the hero Fionn pursues him. He throws a spear at Cúldub, who tumbles into the burial mound. A woman shuts the door to the burial mound, and Finn's thumb gets caught. He puts it in his mouth to relieve the pain. Because his thumb was in the Otherworld, Fionn gains great wisdom, possibly referring to knowledge of the ancestors.
From Echtra Neraí (10th century) and Togail Bruidne Dá Derga (11th century), it is clear that samhain was associated with death, not only of individuals, but of entire populations. In some versions of the first-mentioned tale, Nera remains in the Otherworld for a long time, and convinces his rulers of this by bringing summer flowers as proof.
How was a samhain celebration held?
Exactly how the ancestors celebrated samhain remains unclear. But by studying Old Irish texts, Indo-European moral expressions, Old Irish law and early modern celebrations, we can make a reconstruction.
Unlike the Germanic and Scandinavian álfablót, the entire community likely participated in one large, central samhain celebration and the festival was therefore not limited to the domestic sphere. It's possible that larger samhain festivals were held every few years than normal.
Men and women washed themselves and put on their finest clothing to present themselves well. They went to a central place, where they were received by the king (rí) or his nobility (the flaith). Hospitality and generosity were very important to secure the king's status. If he did not receive his guests according to their status, conflict could arise and his good name would be stained. The guests were given food. It's possible that gifts were also exchanged, or this was the moment when clients gave gifts to their lord.
Offerings were made to the dead, both one's own deceased family members and the mythological ancestors. The offering was probably performed by the druid and by the king, who also served a spiritual role. Through this, the bond between ancestors, law, beauty and tribe (túath) was emphasized and confirmed.
As evening fell, two large fires were lit. Tribe members and cattle (bovines) were possibly guided between the fires as a ritual purification. In early modern times, all fires were first extinguished before being relit at the central bonfire.
The bards told stories and sang songs about the exploits of the ancestors. This was the greatest gift one could give to the dead: eternal fame through the telling of their story. There were competitions, such as spear-throwing and horsemanship.
Gatherings were also an opportunity to make business arrangements, for example to divide grazing land among themselves for the coming year. It's possible that the king, either the rí túaithe (king of the tribe) or the High King (ard rí), read new laws to the assembled guests. He was probably supported in this by his judges (brithemna), because the king was also not above the law.
Such tribal gatherings were also where young people could meet each other and contacts were made that eventually led to marriages. So the celebration of the dead also had an influence on new life. The ritual offerings must have made an impression on the children of the clan.
They were probably entertained on the evening of samhain with stories about gruesome monsters that came from the otherworld into the world of the living and about the magic that existed in the burial mounds. Soon, sometime between samhain and yule, they themselves would have to go on an adventure to seek out the dead in their burial mounds and bring offering gifts back as proof.
Reconstruction
We have assembled the outfits of an Old Irish man and woman from the early 5th century A.D. The characters in this blog, whom we have named Conchobar and Gráinne, have the status bóaire, meaning free farmer. Conchobar owns his own piece of land and shares a pair of oxen with his neighbor, with which they plow their land together. He also owns livestock: 6 cows, 15 sheep and a beehive.
They lived just before the introduction of Christianity. There are no written sources from this period, but based on later texts we can reconstruct much about it.
The couple will participate in the samhain ritual that is commonly held within the túath (clan/tribe) and led by the king of the túath (rí túaithe).
Like other clan members, they have been looking forward to this for the whole month. They have collected their offerings, such as part of the grain harvest, honey from their honeycomb, butter or a piece of pork. Higher circles offered more extensively, possibly a whole (white) bull, horse and mead.
To see Conchobar's (man) outfit click here
Like her husband, Gráinne works on the farm, where they share the responsibilities of land management together. Between Imbolc and Samhain there is a period of intense work on the land, reflecting the cyclical nature of agricultural life in Old Irish society. However, after Samhain, the silent, dead winter begins, a time of rest and reflection.
During the offering ritual, Gráinne plays an important role by making offerings to the ancestors on behalf of her family. Although we cannot say with certainty whether in Old Irish Celtic paganism, as in Germanic paganism, the woman is primarily seen as the catalyst between the world of mortals and the gods, we can assume that parallels exist. Since both religions were likely branches of
