I have been a practicing Neo-pagan for thirty-three years now. A Druid and member of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids for twenty plus years. There is a theory, it is a very raw theory, that Druidry stems from teachings from the Indus Valley. Depending on whom you ask, Druidry originated in Czechoslovakia, Egypt, and India or even, yes, say it with me, Atlantis. There are even some who claim that Joshua of the Old Testament, or even Jesus Christ himself brought Druidry to the British Isles. As Druidry was written of at least 2500 years ago, legitimate scholars find both claims pathetically lacking in either evidence or historical accurateness and have generally been dismissed. What is known is that the Druids were the learned class of the Celtic people and acted as priests, magi, and judges. They filled a role similar to the Brahmans of Indian society. In an exciting twist of history, scholars are coming to realize that the nature worship in the Indus valley is likely the foundation for many European tribal faiths which started spreading approximately 5000 years ago from the Indus Valley up through Europe and over to the British Isles. This potentially includes Druidry! There has been little research, and even less evidence into the subject, and if I were a younger man, I would pursue it. There is however an unusual synchronicity linking language, stories, myths and songs that exist between societies that practiced Druidry and those societies that practiced what we now call Hinduism. For instance; in County Kerry, Ireland, historian, Dr. Bryan McMahon sings an Irish folk song and then asks Indian guests to complete the tune. Almost always they will correctly finish the song. There is evidence in similarities of practices; the horse sacrifices of the Irish kings mirror those of the Brahmin to commemorate battle victories. Both Celts and Hindus worship a Goddess named Danu, a mother goddess that is astonishingly similar in both cultures. Even the Greek historian, Cornelius Tacitus (c. 55 B.C.E. –c.117 C.E.) commented on the similarity between the Brahman and Druidic ritual of bathing in rivers at the break of day to welcome the Sun. Other observations of cultural similarities include a lack of slavery, a warrior/king class, and strong ethical systems. Now, for only the second time in my career as a scholar, in reading this book, The Silk Road by Valerie Hansen, have I seen anything that indicates that there may be a connection. On Page 13, Hansen speaks of Caucasoid bodies, buried in woolen textiles with plaid patters similar to 2nd Millennium BCE Ireland’s clothing. How cool would it be to take DNA samples from these bodies and run ancestral analysis on them?
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 14:06:17 +0000
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