IRELAND’S
OGAM INSCRIPTIONS *
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Introduction
Both the early Irish and the succeeding Roman Catholic church used
the Ogam script. As the following examples show, long sentences were
condensed into very short Ogam inscriptions by compiling the first consonants
of words of the indigenous Irish language into one "word" with a
few vowels added in between. The resulting word usually made no apparent
sense. It was not supposed to. Nyland
(2001) suggested that the amazing thing about this Ogam script is that it was
designed for, and could be used with, one language only. The encoded sentence
could be decoded and read with considerable confidence, but only if the
inscription was clearly legible. The language used was the universal (Gen.
11:1) Saharan Language a precursor of which
we now know in western Europe as Basque. Many have tried to translate
the inscriptions using the Celtic language, but without any success. Not a single genuine Ogam inscription is written in
Celtic, and so far Edo Nyland had not found a single name in any of them. The Celtic language did not yet exist
at the time these petroglyphs were made, as explained in the Benedictines'
own operations manual the "Auraicept" . Only the Basque Language and a more ancient West
African Igbo Language possess the vowel-consonant-vowel (VCV) structure of the morphemes which allows the
encoding into the Ogam script (see VCV Formula).
The modern
Basque-English dictionary by Gorka Aulestia
is eminently suited to decode and translate many of these very old
inscriptions, in combination with Nyland’s VCV dictionary,. About half
of the words in the Basque vocabulary start with VCV, and it was this VCV
half which was used almost exclusively in the Ogam inscriptions. See also the
"Saharan Language". One very special characteristic of both the Ogam script
and the Saharan language is that numerical- and letter- magic is built into
the structure of the inscription.
This early Christian magic was intended to overpower the magic of the pre-Christian,
or Ashera
Religion (see Jackson 1993, chapters 7 and 8). For example, both Q and K are used in
the inscriptions and both represent a K.
However, the number of strokes in the inscription and the total value
of the letters is different, which has to do with the numerical magic of the
inscription. For a more detailed discussion of the all-pervading
pre-Christian magic and its use, please see the section on magic in "The Timeless Society", a society very different
from ours.
The
numbers behind the following inscription names refer to the "Corpus Inscriptionum
Insularum Celticarum" by R.A.S. Macalister
(1949).
The silver
Ballispellan broche is located in the Treasury of the National Museum of
Ireland, Dublin. Beside the broche was a description saying that the Ogam
engraving on the backside had not yet been translated but that it was
expected to give the name of the artist who made the broche. Two years later,
this explanation was replaced with the suggestion that the inscription
represented the names of four successive owners, even though the lettering
was done in exactly the same hand. These remarks were obviously
guesswork. This then became a
challenge for Edo Nyland because the Ogam inscription is one of the longer
known and has far too many letters to be merely an artist's name or even four
names. In fact, the four carefully inscribed lines are one tragic story and
there is no break in the interlocking between them. This inscription is #27
in the Irish National Register compiled by R.A.S. Macalister.
This tantalizing inscription intrigued
Edo Nyland and he was compelled to translate it. The lettering appeared to be
in a code that had not yet been broken. It was obvious that the language
could not be Gaelic so he tried Latin., which was the only other language
that was known to be in use in Ireland. However, this was not productive.
After months of groping with possible codes, involving comparisons with Ogam
from Scotland, Ireland and West Virginia, the effort
finally paid off when the surprise language showed up, thanks to an article
by Dr. Cavalli-Sforza in Scientific
American (November 1991 issue). The solution turned out to be deceptively
simple. It involved a code so ingenious that only one consonant was required
to express an entire complex word and still allow that word to be identified
with confidence. The paucity of vowels did create a few problems in
deciphering but none were insurmountable. Some value judgments were required
in cases where more than one interpretation was possible, but the long and
coherent text made this relatively easy. In the end it was the liberal
scattering of vowels throughout this inscription that made it possible to
translate its meaning.
Here is the lettering as transliterated in Ireland:
CNAEMSECHCELLACH
MINODORMUAD MAELMAIRE MAELUADAIG
As the
"C" is not part of the original Ogam alphabet, this letter had to
be written as "K". The complete coding would show alternating vowels
and consonants: VCVCVCV etc. However, many vowels and some h's were removed
so that only those (mostly monks) knowledgeable of the system could read it
at the time. The removed vowels and H's are represented here by dots. The
three spaces indicate the places where the vowel interlocking is interrupted.
.K.NA.EM.SEK.H.KEL.LAK.H.
.MINODOR.MU.AD.
.MA.EL.MA.IRE .MA.ELU.ADA.IG.
.k. aka akabu death .na ana anai brother a.e ahe aihezka grieving em. ema emazte wife .se ase aserregorri fury ek. eka ekaizte storm .h. ahi ahituezin endless .ke ike ikertu to explore, search el. ele ele story .la ela elaberriti talker, story teller ak. aka akabu dead .h. aha ahaideko relative .mi ami amilketa fell down cliff ino ino inolaz somehow odo odo odolgaizto violently or. ora oratu seized .mu amu amultsuki affectionately, gently u.a uha uharka waterbody ad. ada -ada roaring .ma amai amaitu endlessly a.e aihe aihenatu to disappear el. ele elegile storyteller .ma ama emakumezko woman a.i ahi ahitortu to witness ire ire irensle swallowing by the sea ema emai emaitza ending a.e aihe aihenegarri lamentable elu elu elurtu to freeze u.a uha uhalde coast ada ada adarreztatu to cover with branches a.i ahi ahizpa woman ig. iga igar dead
My dead brother's grieving wife searched
endlessly in the fury of the storm. The story teller's dead relative had
somehow fallen violently down a cliff, was seized gently by the endlessly roaring
water and then disappeared. The storyteller witnessed the woman being
swallowed by the sea. The lamentable ending on that frozen coast was the
covering of the dead woman with branches.
Note: The word irensle (swallowing) comes
from the verb irentsi (to swallow). In the context it is a shortening of itzasoak irentsi hura (the sea
swallowed her). Nyland (2001) has
estimated that the inscription on the Ballispellan broche was made between
600 and 700 A.D.
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DRUMMIN #11
CUNAVATO corrected
to: KUNABATO
.ku-una-aba-ato
.ku aku akuilatu to stimulate
una
una unadora
boredom
aba
aba abade
priest
ato
ato ator
Come!
"The priest will stimulate your boredom; come!"
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CUNAGUSOS MAQI MUCOI
VIRAGNI
corrected to:
KUNAGUSOS
MAKI MUKOI BIRAGNI
.ku-una-agu-uso-os. .ma-aki .mu-uko-oi .bi-ira-ag.-.ni
.ku
iku ikuste
the act of seeing
una una
unatu to tire
agu agu
agur egin to worship
uso uso uso
dove, holy man
os. oso oso
sincere
.ma ama
ama
mother
aki
aki akiarazi to tire, to age
.mu amu
amultsu affectionate
uko uko
uko egin to renounce
oi
oi oiheskeria vulgarity
.bi ubi ubil
whirlpool
ira
ira irauti
patient
ag. agu
agur egin to worship
.ni uni unibertsal
general
"After seeing the tired and sincere holy man
in worship, our aged and affectionate mother renounced the vulgarity of the
whirlpool by patient general worshiping".
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DOMNGEN
.do-om.-.n.-.ge-en.
.do ado adoratu to worship
om. oma oma
grandmother
.n.
ana anaia religious
brother
.ge age
agerian
openly
en. ene
enetan always
"Grandmother's religious brother always worshiped openly".
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BOGAI MAQI BIRACO
corrected to:
BOGAI
MAKI BIRAKO
.bo-oga-ai .ma-aki
.bi-ira-ako
.bo
abo abonau
to approve of, to voice
oga oga
ogasun wealth
ai
ai aiene
lament
.ma ama ama
mother
aki
aki akiarazi
to tire, to age
.bi
obi obi
grave
ira
ira iraunkor
suffering
ako ako akorduan euki to remember
"Voicing a wealth of lament, we remembered our aged mother's
suffering at her grave".
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BALLYKNOCK #94
DEGO MACI VEDUKURI
corrected to:
DEGO MAKI BEDUKURI
Macalister,
because of lack of clarity here, had to decide between DOMMO MACI and DEGO MACI and he picked the first one that was
impossible to translate. He also rejected someone else's transliteration
VEDUCURI in favor of his own VEDUCERI. Again his chosen interpretation was
impossible to translate because there exists no such letter combination in
Basque as UCE (UKE).
.de-ego
.ma-aki .be-edu-uku-uri
.de ede eder egin to be pleased
ego ego
egon to stay
.ma ama ama
mother
aki
aki akitu to be exhausted
.be abe
abelgorri cattle
edu edu eduki to keep
uku uku ukuilu stable
uri
uri urrindu to
smell
"The exhausted mother was pleased to stay
with the cattle, kept in the smelly stable".
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BALLYKNOCK #95
ANM MEDDOGENI.
an.-.m. / .me-ed.-.do-oge-eni
an. ana anaia
religious brother
.me ame
amestu to imagine, to wonder
.me eme emen
here
ed. edi ediren to find
.do
ido idor
dry
oge oge
oge bed
eni eni
enitzat for me
"The religious brother wondered: 'How to
find a dry bed here for me'?"
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BALLYKNOCK #96
COVALOTI
corrected to:
KOBALOTI
.ko-oba-alo-oti
.ko oko okolu
stable
oba oba oba better
alo
alo alorgizon
farmer
oti
oti otzikaratu to
shiver
"The shivering farmer (felt) better in
the stable".
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AB ULCCAGNI
corrected to
AB. ULKKAGNI
ab. ul.-.k.-.ka-ag.-.ni
ab./ aba abade
priest
ul. ula ulatu
to welcome
.k. aki akigabe
tirelessly
.ka ika ikaserazi to
teach
ag. agu agur egin to worship
.ni
uni unibertsal general
"The welcome priest tirelessly taught
general worship."
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UDDMENSA CELI NETTASLOGI
ud.-.d.-.me-en.-.sa / seli-.ne-et.-ta-.as.-.lo-ogi
ud. uda udazken
autumn
.d.
ade adelatu to prepare
.me eme emen here
en.
ena -ena (superlative) great
.sa asa asaldaketa excitement
.se ase asete
period of abundance
eli
eli elikatura food
.ne ane anega
grain
measure/supply
et. ete etenkatu to interrupt
et. eta -eta action/work
as. ase asegaitz craving
.lo alo
alorgizon
farmer
ogi ogi ogi bread
"In the autumn we prepare here for the great excitement of
the period of abundant food of the grain supply, the work only interrupted by
our craving for farmer's bread."
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MICANAVVI MAQ LUGUNI
corrected to:
MIKANABBI
MAK LEGUNI
Macalister comments
that the two U's are very faint, and indeed the first U is incorrect because
there is no morpheme UGU in the Basque language. The following translation
will show why it should have been an E.
.mi-ika-ana-ab.-.bi .ma-ak.
.le-egu-uni
.mi umi umil humble
ika
ika ikasi
to learn
ana ana anaia religious brother
.ba aba abantailadun privileged
ab. abi abilitate
talented
.ma ema eman to teach
ak.
aki akigabe
tirelessly
.le
ele ele story
egu egu egundainoko
eternal
uni
uni unibertsal
universal
"Humbly learn from
the talented and privileged religious brother who is teaching tirelessly the
eternal story of the universal God".
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KNOCKSHANAWEE #113
VEQIKAMI
MAQI LUGUNI
corrected to:
BEKIKAMO MAKI LEGUNI
.be-eki- ika-ami .ma-aki .le-egu-uni
.be
ebe ebertar Hebrew, Jesus
eki eki
ekinalean as much as possible
ika ika
ikasi
to learn
ami amo amodio love
.ma ema eman
to teach
aki aki
akigabe tirelessly
.le ele ele story
egu egu
egundainoko eternal
uni uni
unibertsal universal
"Learn as much as possible of Jesus' love,
then teach tirelessly the eternal story of the universal
God".
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VEQREQ MUCOI GLUNLEGGET
corrected to:
BEKREK
MOSOI GLUNLEGGET
In the entrance
hall of the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin stands a tall slim stone,
one of the thousands of megalithic stones that were placed upright by the
pre-Christian Irish. It was found in 1872 and had been used as building
material in an underground chamber in Monataggert, County Cork. On this stone
(#118 in Macalister's National Register) an Ogam inscription was carved which
to this day is regarded as the grave-marker of Mr. Glun Legget, whoever he
may have been. They say this only because the last letters of the inscription
read GLUNLEGGET. The fact that this "name" is written in one word is
explained as a "typo" made by the inscriber, who "forgot"
to leave a space after GLUN (McManus 5.29). The binomial
system of naming was not introduced until several centuries later. However,
so ingrained is the belief that all Irish Ogam stones are grave markers and
that the inscriptions say something like: "here lies Johnny mourned by
Mary", that any suggestion a quite different explanation could exist was
rejected right out of hand by museum staff. The letters "Legget" were adopted by an Irish
family as their tribal name.
.be-ek.-.re-ek. .mo-oso-oi .g.-.lu-un.-.le-.eg.-.ge-et. .be abe abe cross ek. eku ekurutasun peace of mind .re ure urentasun nobility ek. eka ekarri to bring .mo amo amodio love oso oso osoro totally o.i ohi ohilkor oppressed .g. agi aginbide authority .lu ilu ilun dull un. una unagarri darkness .le ale alegera rejoicing eg. egi egiazki true .ge ige iges escaping et. eto etorki caste, clan
The peace of mind of the noble Cross brings love to the totally
oppressed. It has the authority (to change) dull darkness into true rejoicing
when escaping from the clan.
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DEGOS MAQI MOCOI
TOICAKI
corrected to
DEGOS
MAKI MOSOI TOIKAKI
.de-ego-os. .ma-aki
.mo-oso-oi .to-o.i-ika-aki
de de deboziotu to be devoted
ego
ego egoki to be concerned
os .
oso oso sincere
.ma
ama ama mother
aki aki akigarri aging
.mo
emo emonkor generous
oso
oso oso
sincere
oi oi oialgin weaver
.to eto etorri inspiration
oi oi oituraz always
ika
ika ikaserazi teaching
aki aki
akigabe
tireless
"Devoted, concerned and sincere, our
aging mother was an inspired weaver, always teaching tirelessly".
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COOLMAGORT #199
CUNACENA
corrected to:
KUNAKENA
Seven stones
found in a souterrain in 1838 were presented by the owner to the Irish people
and were brought to the surface and protected from the elements. This is
stone #3.
.ku-una-ake-ena
,ku
uku ukur
evil
una una unagarri
annoying
ake ake akela
priestess
ena ena ena
(superlative) extremely
"The priestess is extremely evil and
annoying".
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RITTUVVECC MAQI VEDDONOS.
corrected to:
RITTUBBEKK
MAKI BEDDONOS
.ri
eri erio death
it.
iti iti to denounce
.tu itu
ituragabe
senseless
ub. ubi ubil whirlpool
.be ibe ibeni to bring about
ek. eko ekoizpen
fertility
.k. oka okaztagarr i disgusting
.ma ama ama mother
aki aki akiarazi aged
.be ebe ebertar Jew, Jesus
ed. eda edangura thirsting for
.do ado adoratu
to worship
ono ono onon
wonderful
os. oso oso sincere
"While denouncing the senseless death in the whirlpool, to bring
about disgusting fertility, our aged mother thirsted for Christ's wonderfully
sincere worship".
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ALATTO CELI BATTIGNI
corrected to:
ALATTO
KELI BATTIGNI.
ala
ala alabeharreko necessary
at. ate ateratu
to leave
.to eto etorri come!
.ke ike ikertu to visit, to go to
eli
eli eliza church
.ba aba oba better
ati ati
atiki
to gather
ig. iga igar
dead, body
.ni ani ani
anitz
"It is necessary to leave. Come, let's go
to the church. It is better to gather the many bodies at the refuge.
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WHITEFIELD #216
GOSOCTEAS MOSAC MAKINI
.go
ago agortu
to dry up
oso oso oso perfect
ok. oka okaldi
bellyful
.te
ate atera to get
as. ase asearazi to stuff
.mo umo umo
sensible
osa osa osaketa
healing
ak. ako akorduan euki to remember
.ma ama ama mother
aki
aki akiarazi
aged
ini
ini ini
my
"It is perfect to dry up and get your
belly stuffed full. We remembered the sensible healing of our aged
mother."
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BLADNACH
COGRADEDENA and BLADNACH CUILEN
BLADNAK
KOGRADEDENA and BLADNAK KUILEN
These inscriptions
are found on a bronze hanging bowl, probably an incense burner, dug up from a
swamp in County Kerry. McManus (7.6) writes: "They are
inscribed along the upper surface of the rim and on one of the
escutcheons". This bowl may be seen in the National Museum in Dublin.
Bladnak: .b.-la-ad.-.na-ak .b. abe abe cross .la ela ela story ad. ade adelatu to prepare .na ena ena that
ak. aka
akabu ultimate, superior
kogradedena:
.ko-og.-.ra-ade-ede-ena .ko ako akorduan euki to remember og. ogi ogizatitze breaking of the bread .ra ira iragan to suffer ade ade adelatu to prepare ede ede edergi to confide in
dena dena Deuna Lord
The story of the Cross-prepares us for
that ultimate remembrance while preparing for the breaking of the bread (for
His) suffering (while we) confide in the Lord.
kuilen: .ku eku ekurutasun peace of mind ile ile ilezin everlasting en. ene eneganatu to come over me/us The story of the cross prepares us for that ultimate everlasting peace of mind (which will) come over us.
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Transliteration:
B.Fell: Ma-q -q -i -i -a -r -i y i m a
E.Nyland: .MAK. KI.IARI. E.A.IMA
This rather
startling Ogam inscription is included here to give an impression of the
great variety of topics written on stone in Ireland. The Ballintaggert text
is inscribed on a phallic stone from County Kerry, Ireland (James P.Whittall
II). The transliteration was published in Barry
Fell's book "America B.C." (p.22) and corrected by Nyland (2001). He inserted dots to show
where the author of the inscription had eliminated vowels. Fell's
"y" in the transliteration could not be used as this letter is not
part of the Ogam alphabet. Also, the "X" shown in the inscription
is the standard forfeda character for "EA". More about the five
Forfeda characters in Translating Ogam.
.ma-ak-.ki-i.a-ari-i.e-e.a-ima .ma ema emagose sexual desire ak. aku akuilatu stimulate .ki uki ukitu to touch i.i ihi ihizitegi secret place i.a iha ihardun to spend time ari ari arrigarri marvelous i.e ihe ihesaldi escape e.a eha ea (emphasis) a.i ahi ahigarri exhausting ima ima imatz wattle shelter Stimulate your sexual desire by touching your secret place and spend a marvelous time in exhausting escape in the wattle shelter.
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TIRTHURKIRTHUS
INRRISKURSSIARISTA A
This stone was
removed in 1865 from the ancient Cille Barra cemetary and taken to the Museum
of Antiquities in Edinburgh. It was always thought to be a gravestone, which
it obviously is not. The transliteration was copied from a local tourist pamphlet.
Barra-Vatersay is the most southerly populated island in the Outer Hebrides
of Scotland. Dots indicate where vowels were removed by the author. In this
inscription, only one 'h' was removed, also indicated by a dot.
.ti-ir.-.t.-.hu-ur.-.ki-ir.-.t.-hu-us.
in.-.r.-.ri-is.-.ku-ur.-.s.-.si-i.a-ari-is.-.ta
a
.ti uti utikan get
away from here!
ir.
iro irol run-off
.t.
ota otamendi brush covered
mountain
.hu ahu ahulkor
weakened
ur. ure ure
water
.ki
eki ekin
to continue
ir.
iru irudi
to look like
.t.
utsi utsitu
to empty, to surge
.hu ihu ihurtzuri thunder
us. usta ustakatu
to scourge
in. ino inor
everyone
.r.
ora orratio
dismayed
.ri
ari arritu
petrified
is.
isi isiltze
overwhelmed
.ku iku ikustaile
eye-witness
ur. ura uraldi
flood
.s. asa asaldagarri
shocking
.si asi
asialdi
beginning
i.a iha ihartu
to dry up
ari ari
arinari to
escape
is. isi
isiltoke shelter
.ta ita itaizur
leaky
a ? ?
Get away from here! The run-off
has weakened the brush-covered mountain and it looks like (the water) will
continue to surge and the thunder to scour. Everyone is dismayed, petrified
and overwhelmed to see this shocking flood from the beginning; to dry up we
escaped to this leaky shelter.
Bibliography
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