Ainmm Oénguso

The youth, time, and name of Oéngus

by C Ryan Moniz

original research· summer 2020
updated & published· spring 2022

philology

During the winter solstice, when the days in the northern hemisphere once again begin to lengthen, the rays of the sun shine directly into the chamber of the Newgrange monument at Brú na Bóinne, County Meath. It is this very site where the Irish myths and legends tell us Óengus Mac ind Óc of the Tuath Dé, son of the Dagda and Eithne/Boand wife of Elcmar, was born. The place and circumstances of Óengus’s birth prefigure the associations of Óengus with the manipulation of time, an association which follows him throughout Irish mythology.

Oéngus & Time

Óengus’s first association with the manipulation of time comes through his father, the Dagda of the Tuatha Dé. We are told in Tochmarc Étaíne that the Dagda, who could control the crops and weather, coveted Eithne (also known as Boand, for the River Boyne), wife of Elcmar, who governed the Brú at Newgrange. It is said of Elcmar that the Dagda “dispelled the darkness of night for him… so that nine months went by as one day, for he had said that he would return home again between day and night.”❦1 “The Wooing of Etain” This association with the time between day and night, and the dispelling of the night, is carried through to Eithne’s naming of Óengus Mac (ind) Óc ‘Óengus the young son,’ when she says “‘Young is the son who was begotten at the break of day and born betwixt it and evening.’” Already, this tale establishes an association of Óengus with a god who governs crops (cf. Greek Χρόνος Chronos), with the period of a day, with the lengthening of a day to many months, and with a megalithic site which aligns with the sun at the solstice. It is by means of this established association that many scholars have claimed Óengus as a personification of the day itself. In his research into megalithic structures in Ireland, Martin Brennan writes:

“Óengus is regarded as a personification of the day, and it is curious that his birth takes place during a magical lengthening of the day at Newgrange. The entrance of the sun’s rays into the chamber of Newgrange occurs at winter solstice and therefore marks the beginning of the actual lengthening of the days in the sun’s yearly cycle.”❦2 Brennan p 12-14

There is a possibility that this visual observation of the lengthening of the days at Newgrange inspired or informed this myth of Óengus’s birth. The prevalence of references in Irish literature to Newgrange under the specific name Brú Mac ind Óc (one meaning of brú in Old Irish is ‘belly, womb’) may attest to this.❦2 Brennan p 12-14 However, what is more certain is that the connection between Óengus and the manipulation of time does not end with his birth.

There are at least two versions of Óengus’s taking of control over Brú na Bóinne. In Tochmarc Étaíne, the Dagda advises Óengus to trick Elcmar into simply giving him rulership of the Brú for one day and one night, and, after Óengus does so, saying that “it is in days & nights that the world is spent,” he technically takes ownership of the area.❦1 “The Wooing of Etain” In another version of the tale, Óengus uses the same trick to wrest control of Brú na Bóinne from the Dagda himself.❦3 “De Gabáil in t-Sída” In both versions, it is the invocation of the eternal cycle of day and night which extends Óengus’s “temporary” one-day rule of Brú na Bóinne into an indefinite one.

Oéngus & Etymology

Given Óengus’s connection with the lengthening of time, Eithne’s reasoning for his naming of Mac ind Óc ‘the young son’ may seem unsatisfactory. However, an etymological investigation into his names reveals some surprising links with his character and the stories in which he is involved. The name Óengus is of disputed origin, though the most widely accepted formulation is from a Proto-Celtic name *Oinogustos, with the elements *oinos ‘one’ and *gustos ‘choice,’ perhaps merely indicating his importance as a figure in the Irish myths.❦4 Woolf p xiv·❦5 Kneen

More illuminating is the etymology of the Old Irish word óc ‘young.’ Derived from a Proto-Celtic word *yowankos ‘young’ (yielding Breton yowank, Welsh ieuanc, Cornish yonk), this word has cognates in Old English geong (Modern English young), Latin iuvenis (cf. English juvenile), Lithuanian jáunas, and Sanskrit yuvaśa, among others, all meaning ‘young.’ Linguist Ranko Matasović derives these from a Proto-Indo-European stem *h₂yu-h₁en- ‘young,’ comprised of the root *h₂óyu ‘long time, lifetime’ and an unclear suffix *-h₁en-.❦6 Matasović p 436-437 James Clackson, on the other hand, reconstructs *h₂yu-h₃en-, where the second element *h₃en(h₂)- forms adjectives with the meaning of “burdened or charged with X.”❦7 Clackson·❦8 De Vaan In either case, the word hinges on the root *h₂óyu ‘long time, lifetime,’ with derivatives in Greek αἰών aiōn ‘lifetime, generation, epoch’ (cf. English eon), Latin aevum ‘life, eternity, generation, age’ (cf. English [medi]eval, age), Gothic aiws ‘lifetime, eternity’ and aiw ‘always,’ Old English á ‘always,’ Sanskrit āyu ‘generation, man,’ and others.❦6 Matasović p 436-437 Following Clackson, *h₂yu-h₃en- could be interpreted as having originally meant ‘charged with longevity,’ and subsequently undergone a semantic shift towards the meaning ‘young.’

Synthesis

It is at the semantic intersection of eternity and youth encapsulated in the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂yu-h₃en- that the Irish stories of Óengus find their home, as he is both called “the young son,” and governs through and by the passage of time. Returning to Tochmarc Étaíne, it is after Etain, in fly-form, spends time under the care and love of Óengus that she is swallowed by the wife of Etar, and then begotten once again as Etain, daughter of Etar. The text then reads: “Now it was a thousand and twelve years from the first begetting of Etain by Ailill until her last begetting by Etar.”❦1 “The Wooing of Etain” The story proceeds with interactions between the same characters of the same generation as if no time at all had passed, suggesting another manipulation of time.

An even clearer connection between Óengus and enduring time can be found in the Fenian cycle, wherein Finn describes the mound at Newgrange as “the house of Óengus of the Brú which cannot be burned or destroyed as long as Óengus is alive.”❦2 Brennan p 12-14 This latter reference connects the longevity of Brú na Bóinne itself with Óengus’s own life.

The Irish tales which feature the character of Óengus present him as one of the Tuath Dé most strongly connected with both youth and longevity, with time and its manipulation. In stories such as “The Wooing of Etain” and “De Gabáil in t-Sída,” and his mention in the Fenian cycle, we can see that his association with time is interlinked with his connection with Newgrange at Brú na Bóinne. Additionally, through an etymological exploration of his epithet Mac ind Óc, we can see echoes of his role at the crossroads of youth and eternity. Through the tales of Óengus, we are reacquainted with the wondrous mystery and yet all-too-familiar inevitability of the passage of time.

references

❦1· “The Wooing of Etain”
❦2· Brennan p 12-14
❦3· “De Gabáil in t-Sída”
❦4· Woolf p xiv
❦5· Kneen
❦6· Matasović p 436-437
❦7· Clackson
❦8· De Vaan

bibliography

philology