Bandua the Town-Warden
Lusitanian · deity · Iron Age to Roman period · Recorded classification
Name leads with the English phrase 'the Town-Warden'; attested votive forms Bandua/Bandi/Bandue, generally in Galaico-Lusitanian dative. Native etymon often linked to a root *bhendh- ('to bind') — a god binding the community. The form Bandue/Bandua predominates north of the Douro, Bandi/Bande to the south. Known only from epigraphy; no narrative.
Domains
- community protection
- war battle
Powers
- protect a specific community or stronghold
Epithets
- Bandua The tutelary god of communities and their places, equated at times with Mars or FortunaHispano-Roman votive inscriptions (primary)
Sources
- Bandua (Bandi/Bandue) is among the most frequently attested theonyms of western Hispania (dozens of dedications, concentrated in Ourense and Cáceres), the tutelary protector of local communities, frequently equated with Mars.: J. C. Olivares Pedreño, Los dioses de la Hispania céltica (Madrid 2002) (secondary); Olivares Pedreño, e-Keltoi 6 (2005) (secondary)
- Bandua appears mostly as male, yet the only figured image is female, suggesting the name covered several local tutelary numina; Olivares Pedreño argues Bandua and the northwestern Cossus occupy mutually exclusive territories and may be equivalents.: Olivares Pedreño, Los dioses de la Hispania céltica (2002) (secondary)