Anu or Ana (sometimes given as Anann or Anand) is the name of a

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...

mentioned briefly in

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally Oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era. In the History of Ireland (795–1169), early medieval era, myths were ...

Myths and sources

The 9th century '' Sanas Cormaic'' (Cormac's Glossary) says in its entry for her: : "Ana – mother of the gods of Ireland; well did she feed the gods". She may be a goddess in her own right, or an alternate name for Danu. In the ''

Lebor Gabála Érenn ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (literally "The Book of Ireland's Taking"; Modern Irish spelling: ''Leabhar Gabhála Éireann'', known in English as ''The Book of Invasions'') is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language inten ...

'', Anand is given as another name for

The Morrígan The Morrígan or Mórrígan, also known as Morrígu, is a figure from Irish mythology. The name is Mór-ríoghan in modern Irish before the spelling reform, and it has been translated as "great queen" or "phantom queen". The Morrígan is mainl ...

. As her name is often conflated with a number of other goddesses, it is not always clear which figure is being referred to if the name is taken out of context. The name may be derived from the

Proto-Celtic Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the hypothetical ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly Linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed throu ...

theonym A theonym (from Greek (), 'god', attached to (), ) is a proper name of a deity. Theonymy, the study of divine proper names, is a branch of onomastics, the study of the etymology, history, and use of proper names. Theonymy helps develop an und ...

*''Φanon-''. Anu has particular associations with

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

: the pair of breast shaped hills known as the Paps of Anu (''Dá Chích Anann'' or "the breasts of Anu") in

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

are said to have been named after her. Her name has the meaning of "wealth, riches, and prosperity." Leaving her with a title of being the goddess of "good fortune and prosperity" in the land of Munster. While an Irish goddess, in Scotland (Alba) a similar figure is referred to as “Gentle Annie”, in an effort to avoid offence, a tactic which is similar to referring to the

fairies A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...

as “The Good People”.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anu Irish goddesses Tuatha Dé Danann Mother goddesses War goddesses Animal goddesses Agricultural deities Celtic goddesses