The Fomorians
There are many oblique references to the presence of Black people in ancient Ireland. Ancient Irish mythology refers to the original inhabitants of the island as being a giant, sea-faring people called the Fomorians (Fomors), which means “dark of the sea”. According to the ancient lore, they were a cushitic people from the African continent. Often depicted as demons, they defeated the first few incoming waves of invaders, but could not defeat the Firbolgs, who settled the land and lived side-by-side with the native Fomors.
Those myths may have a factual historical basis. It is proposed that the Formorians were a real people who were in all likelihood sailors from the African continent.
Two more invasions, the first led by the godly Tuatha de Danaan, and the second by the Celtic Milesians, took control of Ireland, mixing together with the Fomorians until they were no more.
There are credible sources for the African association with Ireland. The most likely of these is that they were Phoenicians and/or Egyptians. The Phoenicians were Canaanites, which came from the line of Ham. Ham is the mythological ancestor of the Black nation.
The Phoenicians were also well-known for their sailing skills, and are said to have traveled to the British Isles, which they called the “Tin Islands”. Perhaps, before Ireland was a Celtic domain, which it wasn’t until a few centuries BCE, the Phoenicians colonized it. It is noteworthy that the name Fomorians sounds a bit like Phoenicians.
There is also a legend that an Egyptian princess, Scota, left Egypt with some followers and journeyed to Ireland. Legend has it that Egyptians left many ancient tin mines all over Britain but especially Ireland which was their major source of the valuable metal.
Another idea is that they were Taureg Berbers. The Berber language is Hamitic, and the Berber people live in an area from which travel to Ireland would be easily accessible. The Berbers perhaps set sail from western Morocco, and settled on Ireland before the Celts, making it their new home.
Moorish Science Temple founder Drew Ali teaches that Ireland was once part of a Moorish empire, and that the Irish are a Moorish people. Perhaps there is a common root between the “moor” sound in Fomor and the word Moor?
Selkies and Half-Breeds
Another Irish legend tells of the Selkies, a sort-of “wereseal” that is a seal during day, but a human by nightfall. Sometimes, in an Irish family of fair-skinned, light-haired people, a child is born with dark hair eyes, and skin, and is called a Selkie.
The concept of the Selkies appears to make subliminal reference to the half-breed children that resulted from the extensive miscegenation that occurred between the Celts and the dark skinned original inhabitants that they had met upon their arrival in Ireland.
Many people of Irish descent have distant and recent African roots, and these features can still be seen in the people and in the culture. There are some Irish people with Afros (just like Andre the Giant a late continental European wrestler with afro-hair). In Southern Ireland, some people, referred to as “Black Irish”, are noted for their strikingly dark features, as opposed to the fair-skinned, light-haired north.
Although many Irish descendants are particularly pale, they do have pronounced Africoid facial features, as well as dark brown eyes, and dark brown hair that is sort-of kinky, especially in moist conditions. A sub race of the Irish called the Bronn are noticeably Mediterranean (read: African) in features especially their hair.
In addition to all of this, Celtic music is distinctly different from the rest of Europe, and easily comparable to African music.
Black, Viking and Irish
Unlike Scotland and England, Ireland was never colonized by the Romans. As a result, Ireland remained relatively isolated.
The Vikings established port cities like Dublin. The Viking texts left stories and descriptions of African soldiers captured in Ireland whom they called blaumen[blue-men].
Most Viking references to ”black” in Norse would have signified having black hair as opposed to skin color but blaumen meant black skinned. Most of these blaumen were captured soliders from Moorish Spain. It was observed that:
“A prominent Viking of the eleventh century was Thorhall, who was aboard the ship that carried the early Vikings to the shores of North America. Thorhall was “the huntsman in summer, and in winter the steward of Eric the Red. He was, it is said, a large man, and strong, black, and like a giant, silent, and foul-mouthed in his speech, and always egged on Eric to the worst; he was a bad Christian.””
“Another Viking, more notable than Thorhall, was Earl Thorfinn, “the most distinguished of all the earls in the Islands.” Thorfinn ruled over nine earldoms in Scotland and Ireland, and died at the age of seventy-five. His widow married the king of Scotland. Thorfinn was described as “one of the largest men in point of stature, and ugly, sharp featured, and somewhat tawny, and the most martial looking man… It has been related that he was the foremost of all his men.””
What about Scotland and Wales?
“Any comprehensive account of the African presence in early Europe should include England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Scandinavia. The history and legends of Scotland confirm the existence of “purely Black people.” We see one of them in the person of Kenneth the Niger. During the tenth century Kenneth the Niger ruled over three provinces in the Scottish Highlands.
The historical and literary traditions of Wales reflect similar beliefs. According to Gwyn Jones (perhaps the world’s leading authority on the subject), to the Welsh chroniclers, “The Danes coming in by way of England and the Norwegians by way of Ireland were pretty well all black: Black Gentiles, Black Norsemen, Black Host.””
Ogu Eji Ofo Annu
Sources:
Ancient And Modern Britons, by David Mac Ritchie
Nature Knows No Color-Line, by J.A. Rogers
check this out
Meet The Afrikan, Mitochondrial Eve Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bie96K8YujE&feature=related
Uh, this is utter crap. Take it from a native Gaelic speaker, the name of the Fomorians comes from the Gaelic “faoi muire” which means “under the sea” not “black of the sea”.
You can’t seriously be making judgments based on what a word looks and sounds like as compared to words in completely languages. The Irish are a lot of things, we’re a mesh of Celtic, Germanic, and Basque. But one thing we’re not, and that is African. All serious research shows that.
Granted Mac mac mikel that not all Irish come from Africa. Those that descended from the Troglodytes apes did not come directly from Africa. They might have evolved into creatures such as yourself, his “eminence” Mac Mac mikel.
The MauroIberians are from Africa. The Formorians are from Africa. The Silures are African. The Irish of African descent know themselves.
The fakers who come from pale cave dwelling apes also know themselves.
BTW: You are one fake Gaelic speaker if you do not know that “muir” is a variant of “moor”.
That meaning of muir is never used in Irish. Muir in this case shares the root of mara (sea). That can be seen in the various transformation of the Irish names of the Formorians.
Who, by the way, are completely fictional. Most people who have studied Irish may be aware of Keating’s history of Ireland and the Tuatha dé Danann and all the rest, but they are completely mythical and have no historical basis whatsoever. The Neolithic people of Ireland came in a number of waves (far more than Keating’s seven) from all around Europe. I haven’t heard North Africa ruled out, but there is little archaeological evidence.
I’m hear because I’m reading Doomnsday Key by James Rollins..he mentions and uses the formotians as part of his book plot…so it made me interested..and well..here i am…howdy..
I’m irish and i always found the irish culture had a lot in common with african culture, especially the rhythmic music. this is a very interesting article.
First off, tip of the hat to Tired Viking Professor, its nice to hear from an educated person with a PHD. Not some black person trying to steal the Irish identity or some white person trying not to sound racist but is still apalled the idea of a “black Ireland.”
So here’s my rant…
This is all pointless, stupid, and irrelevant. Irish are white Indo-Europeans. Related ethno-linguistically to Baltics, Uralics, Aryans (Iranians), Indians, Germanics, Slavs, and Romance speakers, and a bunch of other people living in EUROPE AND ASIA!
Africans being descended from Ham is crap, the Biblical account of the flood is a metaphor.
The Fomori or whatever are a myth.
A “myth” is something which is NOT REAL.
Gypsies are Indian, so they are related to Irish, Vikings, Celts, etc…. several thousand years ago!
Moors originated in Africa, were in Spain, then France, then kicked back to Spain. They never were in Ireland. And Basque territory in Spain never fell to them, it was in the North, surrounded by Christian kingdoms.
Basques are from Spain and have been there since ancient times. The only times they were in Africa is when EVERYONE was still there.
And yes, humanity originated in Africa, so Black people can claim superiority or whatever since we all originated there. Whoop dee fricken doo. You feel better now? *Sorry white people, you’re from Africa… but hey, now you can dance/play basketball (so don’t let anyone say you can’t!!!)… AND!!! White people doing rap music is not only restricted to Eminem*
But mainly…
Everyone has a unique culture, and trying to appropriate someone else’s culture is pathetic. Irish have enough trouble and turmoil in the north of their country with racism and discrimination, amongst themselves and England. The last thing they need is a bunch of random people with too much time on their hands, arguing over “where they came from,” or whether they’re “black or white” ON THE FRICKEN INTERNET.
Also, trying to argue for historical/racial prescedence on a *Rastafarian* website is stupid, no scholarly institution would take this serious.
There, my rant is over. Now everyone please go find something better and more meaningful to do with your lives than argue with people you will never meet.
Thank you MultiRacialHistoryMajorWhoCantStandPeopleAppropriatingOtherCulture great post. There is so much on genetics on the internet that anyone can research. If you want to look up Irish genetics it’s not difficult. The Irish are related to their neighbours i.e Scottish, Welsh, English, Dutch on autosomal dna analysis. On the Y chromosome the majority are the same as most of Western Europe i.e. the Atlantic Modal Haplotype. What is on this site is so easily disproved I don’t know how anyone can take it seriously.
It’s 2010 the time of Maat truth,justice,balance.Truth is the only thing that can set the mind free.Truth is and this can be researched but I’m sure most know this.All people on this earth started off a color the original Hueman was created in the image of our creator carbon.All life has carbon, in Huemans it is a working Pineal Gland, in Mutant ALBINOS the gland is calcium and doesn’t function meaning not connected to the grand scheme of things.The so-called whites are Imitations of the original Hueman beings.Mutant ALBINOS FROM COLORED HUEMAN BEINGS.
The so-called blacks don’t exist,NEGRO a trick,no one can put Hueman beings in any category,we were first on any land mass from so-called Africa to Asia all across china, japan, around to north & south america.Something very interesting, every place the mutant Albino landed after comming out of the caves of europe they found that it was occupied by A DARK RACE of Hueman beings,who left images of themselves, none of which looked Mutant in origin.All over the world statues, paintings deplicting the original man & woman as being Negroid: big lips,big noses, high cheek bones,nappy hair,shapely bodies with butt, surely none can say EUROPEANS were anywhere before the Hueman being.Fact is everyone was Dark in color,to be white in the bible was to be cursed.
In the world we were the first no matter where we landed or walked in India we were Negas, south america Olmecs, north america Indians, Moorish,In Ireland Formordian,the greek,romans,germans welsh,italians etc. the original were Huemans in essence everyone was a HUE.So the jig is up we know the truth,lies will not be tolerated in the 21st century.Truth all Hueman beings have one mother & father both were Dark.Mutant ALBINOS can’t produce a yellow let alone a Black toned people.All over the world the female, mother is worshipped as the creator of Hueman beings. From them came the Albinos, Huemans without color. Without a working Pineal the white or Mutant ALBINOS lost their Negroid features straight hair replaced nappy,Noses had to breathe high altitudes became thinner,lips became thin, the animalistic behavior followed.
So this is where the Hueman has to correct our children & teach them who they are the owners of the whole world, no matter where the Hueman being goes there is family that looks just like them. peace to all the third EYERS spread the word we’re back!!