Dôn: a Cymric and Celtic mother goddess (Gift)

Synonyms: Donwy, Danu
Cym, Celtic: Gift

Dôn is a goddess about whom much has been witten; though little is actually known about her. She is the eponymous mother and ancesstress of the Plant Dôn, the Cymric gods. However, the name of Dôn occurs in the Cymric genealogies, the Triads and the Mabinogi. Though she is not directly described as a deity in her own right each instance sheds a little more light on her nature and attributes.

In the Cymric genealogies: Bonedd yr Arwyr (Peniarth MS 127) the Plant Dôn are named as Gwydion, Gofannon, Amaethon, Hunawg, Idwal, Eunydd, Elestron, Digant, Gilfaethwy, Cynan, Hedd, Aidden, Elawg and Arianrhod; the first three of these are also noted as Dôn's sons in the Mabinogi. It should also be noted that Gwydion, Gofannon and Amaethon themselves form a sacred triad wth names meaning, respectively, Great of Knowledge (Druid), Great Smith and Great Farmer. Arianrhod, their sister is herself the mother of the divine twins Lleu and Dylan, and herself forms a sacred triad: that of mother and divine offspring. The relationship of Math fab Mathonwy as Gwydion's uncle indicates that Math was Dôn's brother and if Mathonwy ever existed as a real person (see entry on Math for a discussion) then he/she would also be Dôn's parent.

In the Trioedd Ynys Prydein Dôn is mentioned as the mother of Gwydion in triad 28 and the mother of Arianrhod in triad 67. Though no consort is explicitly named for Dôn, triad 35 does give a tantalizing hint. In this poem, Arianrhod is mentioned as the mother of Gwennwynwyn and Gwnar. Here Arianrhod is noted as the daughter of Beli. Some have suggested that there may have been two Arianrhods and the one in this triad was different from the one in the Mabinogi. However, Arianrhod was a well-known figure during the Middle Ages and if there were two figures bearing this name then some distinction would probably have been made between them. Thus we have Beli Fawr as Arianrhod's father and Dôn as her mother which suggests that the selfsame Beli Fawr was Dôn's consort.

If Beli Fawr is the ancestral Father then this would make Dôn the ancestral mother. A rôle that is perfectly compatible with her function as the mother of a divine trinity of deities and the ancesstress of the Cymric lineage of gods, the Plant Dôn. In the Mabinogi Math fab Mathonwy is Dôn's brother, the ruler of the Plant Dôn, who gains his authority via his sister in a relationship reminiscent of Egyptian matrilinear descent. This obviously also makes Mathonwy Dôn's father.

The name 'Dôn' is probably derived from the reconsturcted proto-Celtic *dƒnu- (gift) and may be related to the Scythian dānu (river). Indeed, her name is preserved in that of the river Danube (Donaw) and possibly the Dee, which in old Cymric is the Dyfrdonwy; which has led to the proposal that the original form of Dôn is actually Donwy. A form that later became truncated around the tenth century. Indeed the mutation from the original Indo-European Donaw to old Cymric Donwy to modern Dôn seems etymologically plausible.

It has long been believed that the Plant Dôn are cognate to the family of Irish gods and goddesses, the Tuath Dé Dannan with the goddess Danu (suggested by the genitive form Dannan being rendered to the nominative *Danu). However, the presumed goddess name Danu cannot be verified in any early Irish sources. In the earliest Irish source, the Lebor Gabála Érenn (Book of Conquests of Ireland) there is no mention of any primordial mother goddess bearing the name Danu. The only figure in this book with anywhere near a similar name is Danand, daughter of Delbaeth son of Ogma. She has three sons by her own father, Brian, Iuchar and Iucharba who became known as the tri Dé Danand (the three gods of Dannand). Though the situation is complicated in that other triads of gods by different fathers — Tuireann, Bres and Cermait — are ascribed to Danand. The goddess is also described as having four daughters (Airgdean, Barrand, Be Chuille and Be Thedhe) though elsewhere they are sometimes represented as Danand's sisters. Danand and Be Chuille are particularly linked and are describes as di bantuathaig (the two female farmers). What we see here is a mediaeval attempt at unifying many conflicting original sources into a coherent whole. Regardless, the features of Danand emerge clearly: she is the mother of a triad of deities and has earth/agricultural connotations. Might Danand therefore be the true name of the Irish mother goddess now known as Danu? This is certainly an intruiging possibility.

In common with the assignment of constellations to her offspring, Dôn is associated with the constellation Cassiopeia which even today is known as Llys Dôn (The Court of Dôn) in modern Cymric.

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