Danu

Ancestral mother goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the 'people of the goddess Danu'.

Domains

• motherhood sovereignty

Epithets

• Ana old-irish · Anamother of the Irish gods; the 'Paps of Anu' (Dá Chích nAnann)Sanas Cormaic (Cormac's Glossary), s.v. Ana; Lebor Gabála Érenn (primary)

Relations

• equated with: DônAncestral-mother equation (Tuatha Dé Danann ~ Plant Dôn), standard since Rhŷs. Flagged: 'Danu' is back-formed from gen. Danann and the Danu/Dôn phonology is imperfect — structural identification, not certain.J. Rhŷs, Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion as Illustrated by Celtic Heathendom (1888) (secondary); J. T. Koch (ed.), Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia (2006), s.v. 'Dôn' (secondary)

Sources

• existence: Lebor Gabála Érenn; Sanas Cormaic (Cormac's Glossary), s.v. Ana (primary)