The Tomb of Bith
From the archaic strata of Irish myth concerning the original settlement of Ireland, as recorded in 'Lebor Gabála', the first man and woman to land were Adra – The Ancient (alias Ladra) – and his sister Cesair, with their father, Bith, together with a number of subordinate women.
Bith traveled north through Ireland from the Munster landing place and then died at Slieve Beagh, on the Ulster mountain named after him. There the "seventeen magnificent maidens" who accompanied him on the journey to the northern province buried him under the mountain-top cairn they constructed, the Carn More or Great Cairn.
The Irish word 'bith' means "cosmos, world, eternity, everlasting, being and existence." Thus his name, his body, and his cairn carry the load of the entire universe. He brings a truly cosmogonic myth to the southern fringe of Ulster.
From "Ireland, A Sacred Journey" by Michael Dames (Element Books 2000), first published as "Mythic Ireland" by Thames and Hudson, 1992.
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Posted by ryaner
19th February 2020ce
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