COMPLIMENTARITY STORY
The Assembly of the Wondrous Head
The Assembly of Branwen and Matholwch
The Men who Went to the Other World
Bran the Blessed, son of Llyr, was
king over us, the people of the Island of the Mighty. His brothers were
Manawydan of Llyr, Nissyen and Evnissyen. Nissyen was a man who could make
peace between mortal enemies while his brother Evnissyen could make loving
brothers want to fight to the death. These brothers had a sister, Branwen,
daughter of Llyr. She was one of the Three Great Matriarchs of the Island of
the Mighty and the most beautiful woman in the world.
One day, a
great fleet of thirteen ships, greater than anything anyone had ever seen
before, came to the Island of the Mighty. It was Matholwch, the King of the
Other. He had come to ask for the hand of Branwen to unite the Island of the
Mighty and his own realm of power, which would make both prosper. So at
daybreak, the chiefs of the Island of the Mighty held council and it was
decided that Branwen would marry Matholwch. All agreed except for the querulous
brother Evnissyen. After the marriage that would unite the two kingdoms, a magnificent
feast was held. All partook with the festivities with the exception of
Evnissyen. In revenge, he maimed all of Matholwch’s horses. How he maimed them
was in the following manner: He cut their lips through to the teeth, and their
ears back to their heads, and he cut their tails off--- and when he could get
his hands around them, he cut their eyelids right back to the bone. Upon
hearing the news, Matholwch left for his ships immediately, proclaiming his
regret over his new marriage. In order to once again create peace, Bran offered
Matholwch “a sound horse for every horse that was maimed, his honor-price a
silver staff as thick as his little finge and a plate of gold as broad as his
face”. After conferring with his chiefs,
Matholwch decided to accept his peace offering and once again the kingdoms were
allies. One of the other gifts given to Matholwch was a cauldron which was
given so Bran would not have to kill his treacherous brother. Upon receiving
his gift, Matholwch and Bran started discussing the origins of the remarkable
caldron.
LAKE OF THE CAULDRON
PART
From this
battle, there were seven survivors of the Island of the Mighty. These seven who
returned to the Island of the Mighty were Pryderi, Manawydan, Glifieu son of
Taran, Talyessin, Ynawg, Gruddyeu son of Muryel, and Heilyn the son of Gwynn
the Old. Bran the Blessed did not survive. He was slain by a poised spear that
he took in the foot. Before his demise, he told his men to “take my head and
carry it with you to Gwynfryn- the White Mountain. And bury it with its face
towards the east. You will be a long time upon the road. At Harlech you will
feat for seven years and the Birds of Rhiannon will be singing to you there.
And the head will be as good company to you as it ever was when it was minee.
Then after, you will be at Penvro eighty years and my head will not decay; only
until one of you opens the door towards Aber Henvelen will you stay there. But
when that door is opened, you cannot stay longer- then you must you east to the
White Mountain to buyr the head. But now- now it is time for you to sail home
to the other side” On the journey home, Branwen’s heart broke and they buried
her on the shore of the Alaw. The men finally arrived in Harlech were a
boundless feast awaited them. After feasting for 7 years, they left to the
royal hall at Penvro. Here they felt no sorrow for all they had lost until
Heilyn opened the door that gazed toward Aber Henvelen. After he opened this
forbidden door, all the sorrow and pain came back as if they were once again
experiencing it. After leaving the Hall,
the seven reached Gwynfryn and buried the head as Bran the Blessed had decreed.
After the burial of Bran, no plague bothered the Island of the Mighty.
Back in the
Other World, no one survived the battle except for 5 women in a cave in the
wilderness, all of whom were pregnant. All five bore sons who then took turns
sleeping with each other’s mothers. The five men divided the realm equally and
each ruled their own domain which prospered with them as leaders.
Essentially the point of a complimentarity and the role that
it plays within the Oral Tradition is that all stories are a process. And these
processes are unending. Kane states it in this manner “it is a mistake to speak
of two equivalent states called “light” and “dark”. Instead, light is an aspect
of the prior and enduring state which is darkness. And so the state of light
and the state of dark are present at the same time to the myth teller, like the
light and dark phases of the moon.” This
means that in order for the light or dark to exist, the other must exist as
well. The two states are dependent on each other in every manner possible.
“Each kind of power makes the other kind possible; the potentials of one
compensate for the limitations of the other.” (172) Within the story of Bran
the Blessed, the two forces are the Island of the Mighty and the Other world of
Matholwch, who are each related in some aspects to gods. Each has their own powers that amplifies and
highlights the powers of the other side. As you are sure to see in the story,
Matholwch is the more cunning while Bran is more in-line physical prowess. So
listen up carefully while we tell you a story of the tricks gods play on each
other…..
One of the main concepts that Kane
talks about is the Celtic Four Branches of the Mabinogi. The four branches
refer to separate tales of the hero. The first branch shows how powerlessness
affects each side of the teeter totter of complimentarity. Bran is powerless to
control his brother while Matholwch is powerless to save his horses. By using
the other as a resource, each are able to find a solution to their problem.
Matholwch is able to get new horses while Bran finds a way around to control
his brother through manipulating the situation. The main point of the first
branch is that each side needs the other to fix its own problems.
The second branch is shown as a tale
of youthful exploits which is exemplified by Matholwch’s quest to gain
Branwen’s hand in marriage. The truly interesting part of this branch is that
it involves a certain amount of double-thinking. Using this form of logic, it
is interesting to consider that Branwen may not have been the prize that
Matholwch was truly seeking but instead the cauldron was his true aim. Here
Kane refers to the people of the Other Kingdom to be gods or at the very least
to be god-like. This part of the story suggests the gods ineptness and how they
need the mortals to get them the Cauldron of Rebirth. This relates back to
complimentarity because neither would have been able to have access to the
Cauldron without the other truly making it the double-thinking of the story.
The third branch focuses on the
banishment of the hero. This branch is described by the quest of the seven men.
It starts from when they have Bran’s head to the time that they open the door
and once again feel all the sorrow they have avoided. In this part, they have
lost all fertility from the death of Branwen and thus all hope for the human
race. Even though they are not feeling the sorrow of life, they are truly
banished from even the emotion of the Island of the Mighty or the Kingdom of
the Other.
The fourth and final branch depicts
the very end of the story when the five female gods are found to be alive and
pregnant. It is also apparent in the burial of Bran the Blessed’s head which
causes an end to all plagues in the Island of the Mighty. This has created a
circular trend for each kingdom. But this is only possible when the story
collapses upon itself and then grows out of the ashes like a phoenix!
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