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Re: translation of 'bealtinne'
Searles

Mon Mar 15 09:27:16 1999
The Irish name for May and the festival is "Bealtaine."  There were two fires at the Bealtaine festivals in Ireland and cattle and other livestock were driven between them for purification and warding off diseases. A common Irish expression is" idir dhá thine Bhealtaine, in a dilemma."  This literally translates as "between the two fires of Bealtaine."  It goes back to a time when sacrifices were made and one could literally be in a "hot spot!"  This practice of having two fires, IMO, makes the name Bealtaine mean "mouth of fire."  Beal = mouth and tinne = fire in Irish.  In the Dictionary of the Irish Language (DIL), Bealtaine is defined as "the month of the beacon fire."  Alternative spellings given there are: Beltaine, Belltaine, Be/iltine, Bell-tine, Be/ilteine, etc.*p*It's clear that the name is associated with fires, though some scholars say that the name means "bright fires" rather than "mouth of fire, " as I contend.*p*Searles*p**p*Epona na Donnaigh wrote,*br*<snip>*br*: As far as the translation of Bealtinne, I have to dissagree *br*: here.  All the old spellings of Beltaine I have seen in *br*: Irish start with 'beal' *not* 'bel'.  The closest *br*: equivalient to 'bel' in Irish is 'beo' which means 'living' *br*: or sometimes 'good'.  The Irish 'beal' means 'mouth', *br*: 'opening', or 'passage' which would make sense to me as May *br*: is the opening of Summer.  but of course I am looking up *br*: modern Irish (don't have an Old Irish foclair on me :>) *br*: Does anyone have any sources on this?*br*:*br*: Also, the Irish word for the Month of May is of course *br*: Bealtinne (again the 'beal').*br*
Re: translation of 'bealtinne'
Epona na Donnaigh
325
Mon Mar 15 05:57:44 1999