364 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



This digression is of service to our present purpose, for the Ulidian pro- 

 hibitions most clearly enable us to understand that these lists of gessa belong- 

 to the dominant Celtic peoples, and that the actions which they are designed 

 to prevent belong to the religion of the aboriginal tribes. 1 



Returning to the Ternair prohibitions, we remark that the first is not a 

 little reminiscent of the prohibition which forbade the Mikado of Japan from 

 going into tin' open air. becaust th sun was nut worthy to shine upon him? 

 The sun must not shine on the king in his bed — he must not expose his 

 sacred body, deshabille", t<> the touch of its rays. It is worthy of note that 

 the Monday after Beltene, the first of May. and the Tuesday after the pre- 

 cede ^ - 'in. tin-' tii st of November, always fall on the same day of the 

 month, except when the intercalary day of a leap-year intervenes; as though 

 naval expeditions on a certain day after Beltene, and military expeditions 

 - main, were forbidden. The reference to the horse- 

 jpecially interesting. The horse would necessarily, as a totem, 

 be a Bacred animal, only t" be sacrificed on extraordinary occasions, such 

 as the inauguration of a new monarch; the king must therefore lend no 

 countenance t" an aboriginal sacrifice of this auimal which took place, 

 presumably anuually, al Fan Chomair. We may Biippose this locality, now 

 unfortunately unknown, t" have been a sanctuarj of Borne pre-Celtic horse 

 divinity. 



Beside these restrictions on his liberty, the king enjoyed the following 

 privilegi -•■ were, it i- now unnecessary to point out, the true tabus — 



the things Bet apart for the kii 



( 1 1 The tish "i l'."\ i 



i 2 ' The deer "t Luibnech, 



! \! inn, 



: Bri l.eith, 



l 



I : _ra, 

 N.iv 



In others, the geia is designed to prevent the repetition of 

 some action which when performed bad been Followed by misfortune. Ageis with com- 

 plicated detail, such as tint which Forbade the king of C'ruachu " to race with the rider 

 . grey one-eyed horse in Atli Uallta between two hurdles," can only mean that a king 

 "f Cruachu mice really did the deed specified : something untoward happened afterwards : 

 on the principle ;■ < '■ r hoc, the king's action was supposed to be the cause 



"f the misfortune: and .- not certain which of the details of the action had 



offended the Powers, the whole complicated crime wat minutely specified to guard 

 omitted again. 

 \boo aiui tht Ferils of the So\U, p. 3, quoting Kaempfer's Japan 17-7) 



