Basics of ritual and prayer.
This article outlines a simple prayer structure with a small example. Briefly, we will discuss the ritual vow in Gaulish practices and the purpose, meaning and symbolism behind ritual as a whole in a Gaulish context.
Prayer:
Prayer is structured into three parts, the invocation, argument and petition, as Ausfeld in Versnel (1981) laid out. These parts are alternatively called the invocatio, pars epica and preces.
The invocation is a formal calling and naming of the Gods being called, including their epithets and other descriptions. In general, three epithets or kennings are given, due to three being a common and sacred number in Indo-European cultures, but this does not need to be adhered to.
The argument is the reasons given as to why these Gods being called are being called. For example, ‘you are a God of healing’ or ‘you have given me much in the past’.
The petition is the wish or call to aid. For example, ‘I am sick and ask for assistance in getting better’. It is important to note that this is often asking the Gods for aid or assistance in something, rather than asking Them to do something for you.
All prayers end with an offering and thanks for all that the Gods have already given. Alternatively, the petition can be replaced with a simple expression of gratitude if you have nothing to ask for specifically.
An example of this prayer structure is as follows:
Invocation:
Esus I call to you
Divine woodsman
Cultivator of Drus
You who taught us sacrifice
Argument:
I call to you as I have in the past
You have given so much so freely
For aid in guiding my life
Petition:
I ask you Esus, oh great God
To guide my hand and heart
As I do what I need to do
Ending:
Thanks to you divine woodsman
Praise to you
May you be with me
[give offering]
Ritual vow:
Another common form of ritual in Gaulish religion was that of the ritual vow. This took a specific form before and after the conquest, but Derks (1995) argues that the ritual vow continued in a way specific to the Gauls after the conquest.
Caesar says this of the Gauls ritual vows:
“…Mars controls wars. To him, when they decide to wage war, they usually promise to offer what they seize in battle. When they prevail, they sacrifice captured animals and gather the rest of their plunder in one place. In many cities heaping mounds of these things can be seen, nor does anyone much dare to scorn religious practice and hide captured property for themselves or steal from the mounds. For that crime the worst punishment, with torture, has been established.” - Caesar, B. G. VI, 17.
This sacrifice of plundered goods, and occasionally of people and animals, is similar to the sacrifice of the swords of captured or defeated warriors. In graves around Europe, swords and other weapons were ritually bent, destroyed, wrapped around urns or broken into precise pieces (Zetochová, 2019).
Derks (1995) argues that the Gallo-Roman ritual vow was an evolution of the pre-Roman vow as expressed by Caesar and found in archaeological sites. The Gallo-Roman ritual vow had three parts to it, firstly a contract of sorts was sought with specific Gods, where aid was asked for and offerings proposed for this deed. Then the ritual lies in wait for the vow to be fulfilled by both parties, the Gods and humans. Once the vow has been fulfilled, an inscription stating that was made, almost all inscriptions would have this formal saying “to [the God/s in question] [the individuals who made the vow] willingly and deservedly fulfilled their vow”. These inscriptions are generally on altars, votive statues or columns, or on tablets in sanctuaries and temples. The vast majority of these inscriptions are in Latin, as participating in these ritual vows also helps cement the social standing of individuals. However, it is possible that primarily lower-class individuals would partake in these vows in Gaulish, but these would likely have been on wood and therefore have not stood the test of time. Some inscriptions do have elements of Gaulish, but this is rare.
Meaning, purpose and symbolism:
Ritual and prayer have many meanings and purposes according to individuals and different groups. However, one of these meanings and purposes is to engage with a gifting cycle that strengthens your community, relationships and place within it (Woolf, 2013). Another, just as essential purpose is that of cosmic maintenance through imitation of the Gods themselves (Lincoln, 2013). Through ritual and sacrifice, we bring ourselves closer to the Gods by reenacting Their actions and partaking in maintaining the cosmos they created. An example of this is the erection of votive monuments (Derek, 1995). The very act of creation is symbolic of the fight against entropy which is one of the purposes of sacrifice, the other being offerings to the Gods for Their acts of creation (Lincoln, 2013).
Bibliography:
Caesar, J. (2019). The war for Gaul : a new translation. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Derks, T., 1995. The ritual of the vow in Gallo-Roman religion. Metzler et al.(eds), pp.111-127.
Lincoln, B., 2013. Myth, cosmos, and society. Harvard University Press.
Versnel, H.S. ed., 1981. Faith, hope and worship: Aspects of religious mentality in the ancient world (Vol. 2). Brill Archive.
Woolf, G., 2013. Ritual and the individual in Roman religion. The individual in the religions of the Ancient Mediterranean, pp.136-160.
Zetochová, Z., 2019. Intentional Destruction of Inventory in Celtic Warrior Graves in the Middle Danube Region. Studia Historica Nitriensia, 23(SUPPL.), pp.215-226.