Everything about Macha totally explained
Macha (/ˈmaxə/) is a presumed
goddess of ancient
Ireland, associated with war, horses, sovereignty, and the sites of
Armagh and
Emain Macha in
County Armagh, which are named after her. A number of figures called Macha appear in
Irish mythology, legend and historical tradition, all believed to derive from the same deity.
Macha, daughter of Partholón
A poem in the
Lebor Gabála Érenn mentions Macha as one of the daughters of
Partholón, leader of the first settlement of Ireland after the flood, although it records nothing about her.
Macha, wife of Nemed
Various sources record a second Macha as the wife of
Nemed, leader of the second settlement of Ireland after the flood. She was the first of Nemed's people to die in Ireland - twelve years after their arrival according to
Geoffrey Keating, twelve days after their arrival according to the
Annals of the Four Masters. She is said to have given her name to
Ard Macha - "Macha's high place", the city of
Armagh - where she was buried.
Macha, daughter of Ernmas
Macha, daughter of
Ernmas, of the
Tuatha Dé Danann, appears in many early sources. She is often mentioned together with her sisters, the
Morrígan and the
Badb, and the three are often considered a
triple goddess associated with war.
O'Mulconry's Glossary, a thirteenth century compilation of
glosses from medieval manuscripts preserved in the
Yellow Book of Lecan, describes Macha as "one of the three
morrígna" (the plural of
Morrígan), and says the term
Mesrad Machae, "the mast [acorncrop] of Macha", refers to "the heads of men that have been slaughtered." A version of the same gloss in MS H.3.18 identifies Macha with the Badb, calls the trio "raven women" who instigate battle. Keating explicitly calls them "goddesses", but medieval Irish tradition was keen to remove all trace of pre-Christian religion, so Macha is said to have been killed by
Balor in the Second Battle of Mag Tuired.
Macha Mong Ruad
Macha Mong Ruad ("red mane"), daughter of
Áed Rúad, was, according to medieval legend and historical tradition, the only queen in the
List of High Kings of Ireland. Her father rotated the kingship with his cousins
Díthorba and
Cimbáeth, seven years at a time. Áed died after his third stint as king, and when his turn came round again, Macha claimed the kingship. Díthorba and Cimbáeth refused to to allow a woman to take the throne, and a battle ensued. Macha won, and Díthorba was killed. She won a second battle against Díthorba's sons, who fled into the wilderness of
Connacht, and married Cimbáeth, with whom she shared the kingship. She pursued Díthorba's sons alone, disguised as a leper, and overcame each of them in turn when they tried to have sex with her, tied them up, and carried the three of them bodily to
Ulster. The Ulstermen wanted to have them killed, but Macha instead enslaved them and forced them to build the stronghold of
Emain Macha (Navan Fort near Armagh), to be the capital of the
Ulaid, marking out its boundaries with her brooch (explaining the name
Emain Macha as
eó-muin Macha or "Macha's neck-brooch"). Macha ruled together with Cimbáeth for seven years, until he died of plague at Emain Macha, and then a further fourteen years on her own, until she was killed by
Rechtaid Rígderg. The
Lebor Gabála synchronises her reign to that of
Ptolemy I Soter (323-283 BC). The chronology of Keating's
Foras Feasa ar Éirinn dates her reign to 468-461 BC, the
Annals of the Four Masters to 661-654 BC.
Marie-Louise Sjoestedt writes of this figure: "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."
Macha, wife of Cruinniuc
Macha, daughter of Sainrith mac Imbaith, was the wife of
Cruinniuc, an Ulster farmer. After Cruinniuc's first wife died, she appeared at his house and, without speaking, began acting as his wife. As long as they were together Cruinniuc's wealth increased. When he went to a festival organised by the king of Ulster, she warned him that she'd only stay with him so long as he didn't mention her to anyone, and he promised to say nothing. However, during a chariot race, he boasted that his wife could run faster than the king's horses. The king heard, and demanded she be brought to put her husband's boast to the test. Despite being heavily pregnant, she raced the horses and beat them, giving birth to twins on the finish line. Thereafter the capital of Ulster was called
Emain Macha, or "Macha's twins". She cursed the men of Ulster to suffer her labour pains in the hour of their greatest need, which is why none of the Ulstermen but the semi-divine hero
Cúchulainn were able to fight in the
Táin Bó Cuailnge (Cattle Raid of
Cooley). This Macha is particularly associated with horses – it's perhaps significant that twin colts were born on the same day as Cúchulainn, and that one of his chariot-horses was called
Liath Macha or "Macha's Grey" - and she's often compared with the
Welsh mythological figure
Rhiannon.
Etymology
As part of its
lexicon,
Proto-Celtic is thought to have had a
feminine word *
makajā denoting ‘
plain,’ with a
genitive singular *
makajās ‘of the
plain’ . The name Macha may be derived from either of these.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Macha'.
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