The Celtic Gods of the Iberian Peninsula : Part 1 - Introduction - Bandua
Matamoro
This series of articles will limit itself to presenting the deities of the Iberian Peninsula, by focusing on the Indo-European pantheon, most of the data concerning it coming from the north-central-northwestern axis, that is, the Celtic Hispania, inhabited by several peoples including the Lusitanians.
The Lusitanians
Who were they? Closely related genetically, but also linguistically, culturally, traditionally and religiously to the Vettones and Gallaecians, they formed the base of the Indo-European heritage of the peninsula.
The peninsula was, before the first Indo-European arrivals, already inhabited by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, who saw the Neolithic farmers, both ancestors of the Iberians, arrive and mix with them. Therefore they spoke a pre-Indo-European language. These cultures have left us many megalithic sites throughout the peninsula, such as in Malaga :
Although it is a controversial subject, there is agreement that the first arrival of Indo-Europeans in the peninsula took place shortly before the Urnfield culture, that is, the Tumulus culture or the Bell Beakers culture, specifically, between 1600 and 1300 BC. They mixed with the indigenous peoples in the western region, which marked the birth of the Lusitanians. This is mainly supported by the fact that the Lusitanian language, while belonging to the Indo-European family, is of pre-Celtic origin.
It is commonly accepted that the second wave that continued this process of Indo-Europeanization around 800 to 700 BC was embodied by the Celts of the Hallstatt culture, although others place the origin of the Celts in the Iberian Peninsula itself. The influence of the latter was profound in all that the Romans would later call Hispania, in language as well as in culture and religion. Nevertheless, it should be pointed out that the eastern coast has preserved more Iberian features than others. Indeed, in this area, the pre-Indo-European languages were still spoken, which is still the case today in the Basque Country.
The Lusitanian language
Although there is no consensus on the etymology of the word "Lusitanian", it is believed that this tribe was named by the Romans themselves. Pliny the Elder suggests a relationship with "Lusos", a son or companion of Bacchus. Other researchers suggest a possible root in the Latin word lux and, in fine, the proto-Indo-European *lewk-, meaning "light", Lusitania would then mean "Land of Light". A comparison with the Anatolian word luth has been suggested, meaning "stone of light", and ythania, meaning "land of the river of heaven". This comparison with the Anatolian is based on the fact that the Neolithic farmers who once inhabited Europe arrived through Anatolia, although they had nothing to do with the modern local populations of that region.
Very few traces of this language remain today, of which only inscriptions using the Latin alphabet subsist. Although it is difficult to categorize it, it is generally described as pre-Celtic and placed in the Indo-European language family with its own category (Lusitanian).
Society and religion
As in Gaul, the Lusitanians were divided into several independent tribes with their own leaders, although they sometimes united in times of war. Each of them lived in a Castro or Citâna, a sort of fortified tribal village with a circular structure, like the Gallic Oppidum. It was the warriors who made up the vast majority of the ruling class.
The Lusitanians were polytheists, just like all the other European branches. Animal sacrifice was a common ritual throughout the Iberian Peninsula. The remains were consumed by the members of the tribe, as can be seen in the Iliad. A caste of priests, surely of a Druidic nature, was present and played the role of guardians of the traditions and phytotherapists (see the article on the Druids). Most of the temples were located in natural environments such as rocks, forests or on the banks of rivers and streams and had little or no human-made structures. After centuries of resistance and conflict, culminating in the assassination of Viriathus, a hero of the Lusitanians, the long process of Romanization began, which eventually resulted in Roman Hispania. Although most of the Celtiberian myths have disappeared, the function of the deities is still very much in evidence.
Bandua - Bandu:
epithets: Roudaeco, apolosego
It is likely that this name refers to several or a group of deities. It is indeed a masculine name in the inscriptions found so far, but its only available representation is feminine. His cult is present both in Lusitania and Galicia. His dedicated altars bear appellatives that derive from toponyms with the suffix -briga.
He is often cited with the epithets uici, pagi, castella, and the fact that it is not found in highly Romanised cities indicates a relationship of a protective God with the low status indigenous communities. There are no epithets associated with particular families, clans or tribes.
Bandua is associated with Mars in the Gallo-Roman provinces, it is also known that he/they were the deities least venerated by women, two obvious arguments to indicate its warlike character. Thus, as the Castella were losing political power to the Romanised Oppida, the combatant character of these deities began to be lost and confining themselves to a function of protective deities of the populations inhabiting the uici, pagi and castella, which are now considered to be established social groups, continuing to worship the Gods of their ancestors, whereas in the new municipia or ciuitates the Roman guardian deities took precedence through the support of the native elites.
Bandua is thus the God of the local community, of the fortified settlements, protector, his patronage probably extending to the realm of war. He would thus be the equivalent of the archetype embodied by Mars in the Roman branch of the Indo-European pantheon.
However, the patera, a type of bowl, found in the province of Caceres shows something that may seem very different in appearance; a female figure holding a horn of plenty, wearing a walled crown, a figure that some consider similar to Fortuna or Tutela.
As far as the etymology of Bandua is concerned, we find the prefix *band-, which would mean fountain if we consider river hydronyms such as Bandugia, Bandova ... In Sanskrit bandhuh means "family relationship". In the face of this uncertainty about the meaning of this appellation, the Indo-European origin of the theonym itself has been questioned.
But all these proposals are not necessarily contradictory, as Bandua is finally a protector of the community, not only in its military dimension but also in the preservation of social and family ties, the health and prosperity of the population as indicated by the horn of plenty she holds on its patera, which allows Bandua to preserve the identifications that his multiple aspects have engendered with Tutela, Mars and even Mercury. Some of his denominations allow us to consider it not as a celestial deity but as the deity of the fortified sites, such as the castro, traditionally elevated places, which were and still are a symbol of the community and its survival. He is therefore a warrior god, not confining himself only to the battlefield but fighting against everything that threatens the community, invasions, diseases, catastrophes, the dissolution of community life... A unifying, apotropaic god.
Theories
First theory: The theory proposes Bandua to be embodied by a pair of gods with one male member and one female member. This theory has recently been criticized, interpreting what have traditionally been considered singular thematic derivatives of male attributes as plural genitive forms referring to groups of people (B'andue Aetobrico(m), Cadogo(m), Roudeaeco(m), Veigebreaego(m)). It also states that they depend on a theonym, Bandua, which would be feminine as a consequence of the above, and which was probably created later than its male counterpart. Thus we would have a pair of deities, Bandus (male) and Bandua (female), comparable to other Celtic pairs such as Bormanos & Bormana, Belisama & Belisamaros, Camulos & Camuloriga and Arentius & Arentia.
Second theory: It has recently been proposed that Saint Torquatus, one of the seven apostolic men responsible for the introduction of Christianity into Hispania, whose relics are kept at Santa Comba de Bande (Ourense), is a Christian version of Bandua.
Cosus:
Inscriptions referring to Cosus have been found near colonies. Indeed, the names of this God refer to local communities, such as Conso S[...]ensi and Coso Vacoaico. Of a similar religious nature to Bandua, the territories where inscriptions referring to one or the other are found almost never overlap, making the worship of these deities complementary and thus covering almost the entire western part of the Iberian Peninsula where indigenous cults have been found. Moreover, no evidence of any veneration by women has been found in the monuments dedicated to Cosus, which further supports the theory of his complementarity with Bandua.
You will find the presentation of the other Celtiberian deities in the next parts.
Sources :
Juan Carlos Olivares Pedreño, University of Alicante
Alberto J. Lorrio, Universidad de Alicante Gonzalo Ruiz Zapatero, Universidad Complutense de Madrid