Feis
Feasting has been apart of Celtic Culture likely since it's inception. The histories and legends of the Irish do not hide this from us. Stories of grand banquetting halls and massive feasts full of games and competitions are recorded, like that of Briciu's Feast and the Hall of Tara. Therefore it should come as no surprise that Feasts have been adopted by the Society as apart of its ceremonies.
Feasting is apart of every Holiday that the Society celebrates, whether it be the Wren Feast of Wren Day or the Lakeside Feasts of Samhain, they make up a primary form of celebration and worship in the Society. Historically, due to the fact that Feasts were commonly held on Holidays and important events religiously, the sacral element of a Feast seems to be likely.
Feasts are defined by their membership, most if not all members of a community come together for a feast or even multiple feasts when the crowd is large enough. While it is likely that more private Feasts between a closed group is possible it is not represented in the mythology or in general records however these larger community gatherings have.
Now no direct evidence of worship during a Feis is recorded, this is likely however due to the Christianisation of our records where no act of worship is recorded. Due to comparison with other feasts, including Christian ones, it is possible to reconstruct what a Feis may look like in the modern day.
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A Feis can be held for any special occasion such as a Holiday or because of a recent important act such as victory in conflict or even a good harvest of crop. It can also be dedicated towards a certain god or goddess or groups of deities such as the Sidhe or spirits of the dead.
The Feast may occur in a place of significance, especially places such as mounds, lakes or rivers as they are most often connected with gods and spirits and have historically been places of assemblies and feasts.
Historically the meat of the Feis is a sacrifice, however the Society does not practice Sacrifices. As requested by Diolun. So instead the meat will likely just be acquired from regular venues or hunting. However an offering should be made to the gods either way, whether it be a plate or the Champions portion.
Speaking of which, the Champions portion is the best cut of meat, which can be decided by the table. That's given to a particular person at the feast for their heroics or behaviour, considered the best person at the table. It may be appropriate, since it is rare to have heroics like in the legends, to give this to the gods or god as a great offering and honour to the deity.
If a Druid is present and the Feast is given to a particular deity, then it falls upon them to recite the mythology and deeds of the god. Or for the other spirits that the feast is held in honour of.
Group prayers of hymns can also be sung although it is not necessary and any other part of worship can occur. It may also be proper to purify before going to a Feis as it is a religious event and the deity or spirit may be present.
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Below will be examples of some special Feis, these can only be done with the approval of the Society of Ancient Irish Religion and are for special ceremonies only.
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Tarb Feis
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The Tarb Feis or Bull Feast was a rite practised by the Ancient Irish in order to select a new High King of Ireland. There are many explanations as to why this rite was practised in this fashion, including that it was originally tied to the creation of the world. These however are merely theories and does not affect how the rite is performed.
The Rite was used twice, to elect Lugaid Riad nDerg the foster son of Cu Chulainn and to elect Conaire Mor. The instructions below are the guide on how to perform the Tarb Feis.
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A bull is to be selected, this bull will likely have some remarkable qualities and be white of colour. These qualities are not quantifiable and can only be determined at the time, however an example would be a bull possessing three horns. Apart from it's qualities it must not have ay serious defect such as blindness or lameness.
The Bull is then sacrificed, the meat is made into a broth while the skin is dried out and laid down akin to a bed. The bull can be sacrificed as in this instance Ireland has no king or clear successor and therefore any restriction on the Society is forfeit.
Afterwards a selected individual, most likely a Flaith or someone else from the Society will be selected. They will drink and eat the broth until completely full and then afterwards lay down to sleep on the cow skin.
A spell of truth is chanted over them, it is unknown what exactly this is, however it is likely in this situation the Society will have atleast produced an equivalent if not a reconstruction of the spell. It is thought that if you lied after the chanting is done you will die.
It is expected that during the sleep, the one asleep will dream of the next High King, this includes details such as his appearance or an event concerning him. It should be noted that in the tale of Conaire Mor it is hinted towards that this can fail, however the spell is considered faulty, not the dreamer.
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It should be reiterated that the Association has rules of succession that the Society has agreed to and as such this rite would only appear in more extreme circumstances where these rules do not work or the fault of the royal family is too great.
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Eo Feis
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The Eo Feis or Salmon Feast is a religious rite used by the Society to confer wisdom onto a person of interest. This rite is based off of the Welsh story of Gwidyon and the Irish story of Finn. It is further backed by the presence of sacred fish in wells and the importance that these fish seem to hold in Celtic Religion.
Below is the instructions of the Eo Feis.
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A sacred fish of a well, preferably a Salmon, is selected. The person who owns the well, after giving worship and offerings to the god of well and locating a replacement, take the fish from the well and sacrifices it. The Society has had special permission for this sacrifice.
The well owner is then to cook the fish and prepare it for consumption, this is the only person permitted to cook the fish and beyond any security measures no one is to enter the room.
No one is allowed to eat the fish, not even to taste, except the person receiving the fish anyone found to purposefully break this rule will be dismissed from the Society or fined.
Afterwards, on a clean material, the fish is to be given to the person who is expected to completely finish the meal so that nothing remains. Any remaining parts of the fish is to be buried or offered to the gods.
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This is only used in important events such as someone taking the leadership of the Society or the Association and is to be done rarely. One cannot pay for this rite.
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Mil Bec Feis
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The Mil Bec Feis or Worm Feast is a theoretical rite, based off the births of Conchobhair, Conall Cernach and Cu Chulainn in it is thought that the gods may take a shape of a worm that allows them to incarnate into a person in the womb.
It is also possible to use this for animals, as it is the bulls of the Tain Bo in order to create divine animals for further rites. However this is also merely theoretical.
Although it occurs often in the Mythology it is unclear if it should be considered a common occurrence or merely something that happens rarely. Nevertheless the following will be the rites to follow for this rite to happen.
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A worm is found in a sacred well or in a river of religious importance, (Excluding the river Barrow). They are drawn out of the water and prayed to in case they are indeed a god in disguise.
The Worm is then fed to a pregnant woman, whole and alive, or a pregnant animal. This is of course with the consent of the woman or the animal.
The worm of course must be determined to not be toxic or harmful.
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It is not expected that this rite will occur often, however for the sake of not missing anything