Deh₂nu
goddess of rivers
Personal information
Childrenthe *Deh₂newyóes
Equivalents
Hinduism equivalentDanu
Celtic equivalentDanu
Ossetian equivalentDonbettyr
Balinese equivalentDewi Danu

*Deh₂nu- is a proposed Proto-Indo-European goddess of rivers based on the Vedic goddess Dānu, the Irish goddess Danu, the Welsh goddess Dôn and the names of the rivers Danube,[1] Don, Dnieper, and Dniester. Mallory and Adams however note that while the lexical correspondence is probable, "there is really no evidence for a specific river goddess" in Proto-Indo-European mythology "other than the deification of the concept of ‘river’ in Indic tradition".[2] Some have also proposed the reconstruction of a sea god named *Trih₂tōn based on the Greek god Triton and the Old Irish word trïath, meaning "sea". Mallory and Adams also reject this reconstruction as having no basis, asserting that the "lexical correspondence is only just possible and with no evidence of a cognate sea god in Irish."[2] It is also linked to Ossetian Donbettyr who is offered “three scones with honey” for turning their waterwheels.[3] Donnán of Eigg is considered a possible Christianized version of this deity.[4][5]

There’s a central Asian river called Dan which may also be related[6]

In many Indo-European traditions she is said to be a mother goddess of mythological tribe, the *Deh₂newyóes, which is reconstructed on the basis of Vedic Danavas, Irish Tuatha Dé Danann, Greek Danaoi and Norse Danes. It is seen that they, together with their leader Bel, having fought a hero called *H₂nḗrtos, with possible descendants including Nart from the Nart saga, nṛtama (epithet of Indra), and Norse Njord.[5]

Table of correspondances, according to A. Petrosyan:[5]
Culture H₂nḗrtos Deh₂nu- Bel
India nṛtama, epithet of Indra Danu, Danava Mahabali
Iran Narava Danava ?????
Ossetia Nart Donbettyr Bliago (?)
Armenia ari, epithet of Hayk,
Ara (?)		 ???? Bel, Barsamin
Greece Andromeda, Alexandros Danaos, Danaids, Danae, Danaans,
Poseidon (?)		 Belos
Wales ???? Dôn Beli
Ireland ???? Danu Bile
Scandinavia and Iceland Njǫrðr Dan, the Danes Beli

See Also

Look up Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/d%C3%A9h%E2%82%82nu in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.


References

  1. ↑ Mallory, J.P; Mair, Victor H. (2000). The Tarim Mummies: Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples from the West. London: Thames and Hudson. p. 106. ISBN 9780500051016.. V. I. Adaev (1949). Осетинский язык и фольклор [Ossetian language and folklore] (PDF) (in Russian). Moscow: Publishing house of Soviet Academy of Sciences. p. 236.
  2. 1 2 Mallory, James P.; Adams, Douglas Q. (2006). The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. p. 434. ISBN 978-0-19-929668-2.
  3. ↑ "Proto-Indo-European Goddesses". 2022-03-02. Archived from the original on 2022-03-02. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  4. ↑ "Danu, a Pagan Goddess". 2021-05-13. Archived from the original on 2021-05-13. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  5. 1 2 3 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/291942914_The_Indo-European_H2nert-s_and_the_Danu_tribe
  6. ↑ "Language Log » Blue-Green Iranian "Danube"". Retrieved 2023-03-07.
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