' Diarmaid and the Daughter of King Under Waves' (Celtic Folklore and Mythology)

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'The Daughter of King Under-Wave'

A folkloric memory of Celtic Other-worlds, of which there are many. In this story, we visit the enigmatically named 'Land Under-Wave', and also the 'Plain of Wonder'.

Celtic Other-worlds are often envisioned as like parallel universes, here, but not usually visible. On a different 'frequency', if you like. They can also be thought of as like shamanic visionary states.

The Daughter Of King Under-Waves (Nighean Righ Fo Thuinn) is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands.

It features Diarmaid, and the warrior poets of Britain and Ireland, the Fenians, led by Fionn Mac Cumhaill as well as a 'loathsome maiden', a popular motif in Celtic folklore.

It is also an early mention of a common Celtic motif, The Cup of Healing, which may have inspired later legends of the Holy Grail in Arthurian Romance and Christian Mysticism.

This was recorded a while back, during lockdown 2020. I am in a very different place now, as I'm sure many of us are, and watching this video feels almost like its drifted up from some realm under the sea.

Still, I'm posting it in case any of you might enjoy it.

I may rework this story this year.

The gorgeous harp playing in this video is 'A Trip to the Islands' by Nadia Birkenstock :    • Celtic Harp Solo – A Trip to the Islands (...