Because She Could Not Stop for Death: An Irish Goddess in the Afterlife | S7 Ep16

OUR STORY

According to traditional Irish myth, Tailtiu, the foster mother of Lugh of the Tuatha Dé Danann, uproots a vast forest with an axe and her own two hands. The plains she clears become the site of the great festival of Lughnasadh and once the people begin planting crops on these vast fields, agriculture comes to Ireland. She wasn't there to see it. She died from exhaustion, having done all the work alone.

One source says that Tailtiu was in bondage to the men of Ireland, but what does that actually mean? In this retelling, Tailtiu is a queen and a goddess who belongs to several worlds. The question Marisa asks in this story: was Tailtiu ordered to clear those fields, or did she merely believe she had no choice?

And then what happens after Tailtiu dies? In this reimagining of what comes after the traditional story ends, Tailtiu arrives in Tír na mBan, the Land of Women, where she comes to understand her worth is rooted in so much more than her capacity to work.

Past KnotWork episodes featuring Tailtiu:

• A Mother’s Love, A Mother’s Sacrifice: Tailtiu and Lugh | S5 Ep9
• The Eagle Remembers: A Bardic Vision for Lughnasadh with Jonathon Huet | S7 Ep13

HEAR THE WHOLE STORY

This preview episode is part of our Turas series.

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Music by Beth Sweeney and Billy Hardy: billyandbeth.com