A baby is born, a hero to be

 

By Hugh Mulqueeney

The boy Setantae was always destined for great things. The boy who is later re-named CU CHULAINN is the Greatest, most famous man to have ever walked the Emerald Isle. The Druid CATHUB predicted a warrior who took up arms on the day directed would be "...famous among the men of Eriu and that stories of him would be told forever...", perhaps CU CHULAINN is more famous now than he ever has been before, he is known the world over by people as foreign to him as a deer is to a salmon.

An inkling of the boys future Greatness can be spied in the tale of his birth as I shall now relate thus:

Once when Conchubur and the Chieftains of the Ulaid were at Emuin Macha, a flock of birds did frequent the plain yonder where they did graze til not anything remained to clothe the Earth. The Ulaid were distressed to see the land devastated as it was, so they decided to drive the birds away, as it was their custom to hunt birds. So they did harness nine chariots and set forth. Conchubur and Dechtine in his chariot, and the other champions in theirs, Conall and Loegure and everyone else even Bricriu. All over the birds flew, enchanting the Ulaid with their song. There were nine score birds in all, each score flying separately, each pair of birds was linked by a silver chain. Upon the eve, three birds did break away and made for Bruig na Boinde. With nightfall came a great snowfall and Conchubur told his people to unyoke the chariots, and he sent a party to search for shelter. It was Conall and Bricriu who did come across a small house, new, and they were welcomed inside by the couple there. They returned to their people, Bricriu complained the house had neither food nor clothing and was narrow, it would not be worthwhile to go there. The Ulaid did go all the same, they took their chariots but did not take much inside. They did discover a storehouse before them, and then it was time to eat, and the Ulaid grew merry with drink, their disposition was good. The man of the house told them his wife was in labour, so Dechtine went back to help, and soon a son was born. At the same time a mare at the entrance to the house gave birth to two foals. The foals were given as a gift to the boy from the Ulaid, and Dechtine nursed him. Upon the morn, the Ulaid found themselves east of the Bruig and there was no house or birds, only their horses, the boy and his colts. They returned to Emuin Macha, the boy was looked after, but when he was still a young lad he fell ill and died. Dechtine was very sad for the loss of her foster son. When she stopped sighing she requested a drink for she was thirsty. The vessel was brought, and every time she went to take a draught a tiny creature would leap from the liquid to her lips, but there was nothing to be seen when she took the vessel from her mouth. That night Dechtine dreamt, she dreamt of a man, he told her it was he who brought her to the Bruig, it was his house she had entered, she was pregnant by him, a son would be born. The man was LUGH SON OF EITHLIU, the boy was to be named Setantae, and the two colts were to be raised for him. When Dechtine became pregnant, the Ulaid did not know who the father was, they figured Conchubur had fathered the child while drunk, for Dechtine used to sleep next to him. Dechtine was then betrothed to Sualtaim and a child was born, Setantae, he who has knowledge of roads and ways...

Now then, before I get to the more "overt" subtleties in the tale, I shall ask of the birds who denuded the plain at the very beginning, could this symbolize the need of a new "king" to heal the land? From what we know of the boys later life, could this be a reference to the future threat the Ulaid faces when it is only the young lad CU CHULAINN who protects them while they are under the power of a curse that puts the rest of the Ulaid out of action? Whatever it may be, there is significance in this passage.

So, to chase the birds away, the Ulaid harnessed nine chariots, the number of course being of great importance, nine being triple the Triune. An innate sacred concept not only to the Gaels or to EUROPEANS/ARYANS exclusively, but to all who wish to understand for three is the key to creation, the key to existence. Continuing on, the importance of what is to follow is pointed out when everyone sets forth to chase the birds, an event of great significance to the entire province/people is about to occur.

Again, three appears when giving the number of birds the Ulaid is chasing. Furthermore, the birds are in pairs linked by a silver chain, that the chain is of a precious metal tells us the birds are in fact Otherworld animals, that the Ulaid are now not purely in the physical level, something exemplified further on in the tale.

Yet again, three crops up in the number of birds who break from the flock with the Ulaid in pursuit. That the three birds lead the Ulaid to Bruig na Boinde further underlines the importance, a "divine" happening. The great snowfall, a portent of a severe winter, the season when the Green World dies before being re-born in the spring. Tying in with the denuded plain at the beginning of this tale, we can thus say that the affected plain and the snowfall are manifestations of a winter that the Ulaid are to undergo.

With the chariots unyoked, Conall and Bricriu are sent to search for shelter from the snow, they find a small house. However, when they return with their people they find a storehouse. The house that not food nor clothing and was narrow when the two warriors found it was now enough to accomadate the Ulaid and satisfy their hunger. This house is clearly not of the average, everyday kind, it is very much a building from beyond the physical world, a structure that moulds itself to the needs of those at hand.

We are then told that the woman of the house gives birth to a son with Dechtine at her side, at the same time one of the Ulaid's mares bears two foals. That the two colts were born at the entrance of the house is of significance in itself, this tells us that the colts are not entirely of the physical world or that they are entirely of the Otherworld, they are born at the threshold of both, the physical world outside the house and the Otherworldly realm within; they are therefore of both worlds. You will note also that the two colts and the boy make up yet another triune, this one the third we have come across thus far.

After the night of drink and merryment the Ulaid arise to find themselves with their horses the boy and his colts east of Bruig na Boinde, no house in sight. Being that they are now east of the Bruig we may deduce that this also ties in with the devastated plain and the great snowfall - east being the direction of the spring, of re-juvenation, of re-birth, with the new day that is dawning, the Ulaid are entering the age of their Greatest but short-lived Hero.

But what then happens, the boy dies! The triune of the boy and the two special colts is now not complete indicating there will be another to fill the triune. Again we have death in the tale, but from the death comes new life, vigorous, youthful life. We might as before overlay the seasons, there is the inevitable winter, but closely following is the dawn of spring, and the vitality of the world - on all levels - returns. The boy born in the house, the Otherworldly realm, returns to his people, his world.

The next section, try as I might, all I can say is stating the obvious; that it is hardly a common thing to have little men jumping out of a cup at oneself and it is just as obviously tied in with what follows from it. Maybe it is a previous attempt by LUGH to inform Dechtine what transpired at Bruig na Boinde? Whatever the case may be, Dechtine soon learns that she is pregnant by LUGH and she is to bear a son whom will be called Setantae, the two colts born at the doorway of the house at Bruig na Boinde are to be his - the triune now filled.

To summarize; the Ulaid go through an experience that is of major importance to the province, they spend a night beyond the physical world at which time their Greatest Hero is conceived, a man whose deeds we would do well to aspire to. Setantae - he who has knowledge of roads and ways, rather ironic in the light of the round-a-bout way he led the Ulaid from Findtans to his feast later in life, but that is a tale for another time...