The Dagda Mor was the father and chief of the People of Dana
The Dagda Mōr was
the father and chief of the People of Dana. A certain conception of
vastness attaches to him and to his doings. In the Second Battle of
Moytura his blows sweep down whole ranks of the enemy, and his spear,
when he trails it on the march, draws a furrow in the ground like the
fosse which marks the mearing of a province. An element of grotesque
humour is present in some of the records about this deity. When the
Fomorians give him food on his visit to their camp, the porridge and
milk are poured into a great pit in the ground, and he eats it with a
spoon big enough, it was said, for a man and a woman to lie together
in it. With this spoon he scrapes the pit, when the porridge is done,
and shovels earth and gravel unconcernedly down his throat. We have
already seen that, like all the Danaans, he is a master of music, as
well as of other magical endowments, and owns a harp which comes
flying through the air at his call. “The tendency to attribute life
to inanimate things is apparent in the Homeric literature, but
exercises a very great influence in the mythology of this country.
The living, fiery spear of Lugh; the magic ship of Mananan; the sword
of Conary Mōr, which sang; Cuchulain's sword, which spoke; the Lia
Fail, Stone of Destiny, which roared for joy beneath the feet of
rightful kings; the waves of the ocean, roaring with rage and sorrow
when such kings are in jeopardy; the waters of the Avon Dia, holding
back for fear at the mighty duel between Cuchulain and Ferdia, are
but a few out of many examples.”A legend of later times tells how
once, at the death of a great scholar, all the books in Ireland fell
from their shelves upon the floor.
Dagda Mor, Tuath
De Danaans, Fomorians, magic
The Dagda Mōr was
the father and chief of the People of Tuath De Danaan, he is a master
of music, as well as of other magical endowments
