Lesson Nine ~ Family and Education
The early book of Gaelic legal codes called the Law of the Fenechus (referred to in Lesson 7) had guidance to give on the matter of family life, as well as on most other things! As discussed before, family was terrifically important to the Celtic peoples, from early times onwards. The law was quite clear in terms of what was expected of people, with regards to how they cared for each other. In this lesson we will look at the treatment of the young, and of those still in education. In future lessons we will explore other aspects of tribal life. The purpose of this lesson is partly to flesh out the historical background to the religious ideas, but also to stimulate reflection on how we organise modern Society, and the ways we could change it in future.
Cormac’s Glossary (which was written by a bishop who lived in Cashel in the 8th century) details six “ages of man” ~ naoidheanachd, or infancy; macdacht, or boyhood (or inidacht as the probable word for girlhood); gillacht, or youth; oglachass, or primacy; sendatu, or elderhood; and dibildeta, or decrepitude. Women could get married at 14, the age at which males were entering into the phase of gillacht. Women probably had five “ages”, and went straight from childhood into primacy.
Childhood, then, had three phases. By the time the Fenechus was being put in written form, males ceased to be children at the age of 17. At this age they could marry (with their family’s consent) and hold adult legal status. Whilst the head of the family, the cenn-fine, remained alive, they still needed his consent to form business contracts and the like. Whether the ages of consent were the same prior to the 8th century, we do not currently know.
The legal (bearing in mind parents had to pay fines for their children’s behaviour)and financial responsibility for raising children was usually divided equally between both parents. There were some exceptions to this. If a man violently raped a woman (forcor) or molested her whilst she was too drunk or drugged to know what was happening (sleth), then he had to finance the care of any child thus resulting. The cenn-fine had to give formal consent to any sexual liaisons embarked on by his or her dependents. If an unmarried female relative had an affair without the cenn’s consent, and fell pregnant, again the man bore sole financial responsibility. A free man who impregnated a cumal (an indentured female servant) bore the care of the child. Conversely, a free woman who became pregnant by a mug (a male servant) would have to pay for the care of her child, and take legal burden for it. Such children were considered to be born free, and did not inherit the lowly status of their servant parent.
The mother might also be expected to take sole care if she became pregnant by a foreigner who had no social standing within the tribe. In later periods, as communities became larger and prostitution more common, ladies of the night could make no claims against their customers should they fall with children.
Early Gaelic society seems to have allowed for a degree of social mobility between the classes. However, as the centuries rolled past they seem to have become more oriented to hereditary class. As one law text stated:
”Whether the offspring of kings, warriors, poets, workers in wood or stone, or tillers of the soil, a son or daughter shall follow the career of his or her parents.”
Thus the expected future of the child became mapped out. The old texts also had something to say on the proper rearing of children. Unsympathetic to the current politically correct outlook, the Brehon laws allowed parents to slap their children up until the age of 7. After that a naughty child was not meant to be hit, but rather was supposed to be subject to punishments in the form of fines on their pocket money. These fines were meant to reflect the measures they could expect when they became adults.
Childhood in 3rd century Ireland would have been very different from one in 21st century Ipswich. Extended families were the norm back then, and most children would have been surrounded by aunts, cousins, grandfathers etc. Given that most communities were fairly small, children would quite probably have known the names of virtually everyone in their village. There is an African saying that it takes a village to raise a child, and that communal approach would probably have been familiar in ancient times.
It is not currently known if the old tribes had puberty rites to mark the transition to adulthood ~ though these seem to be very common throughout tribal societies. We can look to other cultures to see what they did, such as the Roman habit of adopting adult dress and ceremonially burning items associated with childhood, though wether anything similar was done in these lands we can only guess at. One element that may be guessed at is renaming. A number of heroes were known by one name in childhood, and another when becoming prominent warriors, such as Setanta becoming Cuchulainn. The names are awarded on the basis of some event, and this may have been a widespread practice.
Some modern social commentators have pointed out that the idea of a rebellious teen is often unusual in tribal societies that have puberty rites. Such writers have suggested that having and important event that draws a line under childhood and confers adult rights and responsibilities may be an important factor in psychological stability. In Britain, there is no simple cut-off age in law (one can get married at 16, but not buy a shot of vodka in a pub) and no widely recognised puberty ritual. Unless one counts getting pissed and shagging a stranger in an alleyway.
Aiteachas, or fosterage, was a major feature of early Celtic culture. The word can also mean to cultivate land ~ to nurture growing things. On entering the stage of macdacht, many children were sent to live with foster parents. Some people fostered out of love, a type of guardianship called altramm serce. Others fostered more as an apprenticeship, getting paid by the parents for the keep of the child ~ and teaching them social or professional skills in the process. The word for a foster-father, aite, is also the word for a teacher (muime means both foster-mother, and nurse.) Dalta, a foster child, also means a student or apprentice.
The Gaelic notion of a school was unlike ours. A school was not a building, but a group of people gathered about a teacher. Where the master went, the school followed. As a fosterer fed and housed their ward, so the teacher fed and housed their student. The role of the teacher was to inspire and cultivate. The agricultural allusion encourages the idea of bringing out what is already there, rather than of filling an empty head with endless dates, names, facts and figures.
With approaching adulthood many youths may have looked towards apprenticeships to learn a craft or profession. Most probably just took up the family trade as the previous quote suggested, but there would have been those who looked to masters outside their blood-kin to teach them a new skill. The surviving Brehon law books describe apprentices ~ be they learning blacksmithing, carpentry, druidry or whatever ~ as becoming part of the household of their teachers. Just like a foster-parent they became answerable for the students actions in law, were required to authorise such business deals or marriage contracts as the pupil might wish to make etc. The student became a member of the family, not just a virtual stranger who turned up to a class once a week.
In the modern day few people could afford to feed, clothe etc one student, let alone an entire class of them. However, teachers (at least perhaps those operating from a Druid world view) can still be seen as having moral responsibility for their pupils. This need not be just in terms of school-teachers and kiddies, but also anyone who agrees to teach an adult some skill or knowledge, perhaps especially religious knowledge.
It’s no longer viable for the head of a Druidic group or Order to have right of censure over members marriage plans or mortgages (perish the thought!) However, there is a responsibility for the nature of what is taught. It should be accurate, to the best of everyone’s awareness, but also it should be delivered in a responsible and caring way. Poor teachers rely on fear and humiliation to get their points across. Students, even (perhaps especially) those who are not very bright, should not leave a class feeling stupid or inadequate. The old apprentice-master relationship was a formal one, a contract. There were rights and responsibilities in law on both sides. When a teacher became too old or ill to work, his graduates were meant to look after him.
Fosterage ended at maturity, when the youth returned to their birth family. Thus some other unfortunate had to cope with teenage tantrums, an arrangement that doubtless many modern parents might envy! An educational apprenticeship may have continued on beyond this age barrier.
Many people seem to have felt deeper bonds for their foster parents than for their biological family. Tradition has it that the festival of Lughnasadh was started as a commemoration of Lugh’s own foster mother. The bond between apprentice and master may often have gone deep. The story of the young Fionn mac Cumhail gives us the example of the old Druid Finegas who asked the lad to cook the Salmon of Knowledge for him. Juices from the roasting fish splattered on to Fionn’s fingers, and he put them in his mouth. Just as Gwion Bach unintentionally absorbed the magical power of the Awen in Welsh myth, so Fionn gained the knowledge of the salmon. Far from exploding in rage, old Finegas took this as an omen and instructed his pupil to eat the whole salmon, as the knowledge was destined to go to Fionn and not to the old man who has spent so long trying to catch the fish. The pupil excels the master, and the master rejoices for him.
Some questions for you to think about:
Do you think the old ideas about child rearing would work with modern children? Are those ideas better or worse than the way people treat their children these days?
How do see the role of a teacher? How should a good teacher treat their pupils (does it make any difference if they are teaching children or adults)?
How might a modern day Druid apply the idea of fosterage?
Practical exercise:
Plan a puberty ritual for an imaginary teen. Firstly, decide at which age this should be done ~ would it be on a specific birthday, or whenever puberty naturally occurs, or when some task has been accomplished etc. Secondly, decide who would be present ~ only people of the same gender, the whole family, etc. Thirdly, consider what elements you would include (maybe read around the practices of other cultures for inspiration), for example….
Special tasks ~ the Jewish bar mitzvah ceremony requires the boy to memorise a passage of the Torah and recite it for all those present.
Seclusion ~ in Ghana young women go into a period of contemplation away from the rest of the tribe at their first menstruation.
Change of name ~ as mentioned previously.
Gifts ~ the Apache womanhood ceremony involves a presentation of gifts to the new woman.
Decoration ~ the Congolese Pygmies paint special patterns on their skin during the ceremonies. Some other cultures have used permanent tattoos or scarification.
Some cultures have engaged in activities that would be too dangerous or even illegal in modern times, so there have to be limits! Fourthly, consider what you would educate the newly made adult about ~ what is the essence of manhood or womanhood? Finally, think about which deities you might call upon to guide the transition successfully.