380 Proceedings of the Rot/al Irish Academy. 



horse at Sparta, whose tradition is recorded for ns by Pausanias. 1 This seems 

 to have been a single burial of a single sacred animal. 



But, on the other hand, Duma na B6 may not have been a burial mound at 

 all. It may well have been the site of the sacred dairy, in which the succession 

 of kine was kept or milked. We seem to see an indication of a religious 

 institution analogous in no small degree to the sacred dairies which are the 

 sole temples of the Todas of the Nilgiri Hills.- Ai this point we may call 

 to mind the tradition that makes one of the founders of Temair a lady 

 called ClO-find. This I'i'iindros has. I suggest, been evolved from a by-name 

 of Temair, Cathair Oroi-find, which would mean the "fortress of the white 

 rat ile-stall." 



The sacred cow was indicated by certain marks, chief of which appear to 

 have been red ears on a white body. The milk nf such cai tie was an antidote 

 t" the poison of weapons ; Lebor Oabdla says thai the Milesians, i.e. the Celtic 



I plea, learnt this useful fact from Drosten (note the name and ef. p. _%)a 



"druid" of the Cruithne or aborigines. That the sanctity of such animals 

 continued into Celtic times— that, in fact, the incoming Celts took over many 

 of the beliefs and the rites oftheirprei -- is shown inter alia by the 



fact that the milk of such cattle was tin- only fund thai Si. p.i igid, as a child. 

 could assimilate. 1 This probably means that the head of the college of the 

 K ibi.ii.- was under some geis that affected and restricted her food ; 



we may fairly compare some of the i l-geasa collected by Frazer, 1 such ae 



tl —"the heir to the throne of Loango is forbidden from infancy to eat 



pork .... The head chief of the Masai may eat nothing but //////. honey, and 

 the roasted livers ol . and more especially" the diet "i the king of 



IJnyoro in Central Africa was strictly regulated .... He must live on milk 

 and beet .... Tii miUcvxu. always drattm from a sacred herd whic/i iras kept 

 for • 



Though the syncretism ol pre-Celtic and of Celtic religions 

 was carried out to a considerable length, it was not complete. The king of 

 the (Jlaid, for instance, might m>t attend the feast of the Bull of Daire son of 

 Daire — that is, of Oak ?»ii of i»ak. The connexion of sacred cattle and sacred 



trees is now a i imonplace «'f comparative religion, and need not here be 



enlarged upon. We Ree it in the TaiDOS Trigaranot standing under the sacred 

 tree, on the altars of Paris and of Treves. It must be admitted that there 

 is ii" record, so 1 I have been able to find, of any conspicuous single 



in. 



v\ || R. .Rivers' monograph on this primitive tribe (London, 1906). 

 3 Lisin- line 1225 



1 7". i- - , . ... 291 il. 



