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Tuatha

Tuath is an Old Irish term meaning people, tribe, or territory. The plural form is tuatha. In historical and literary contexts, the word denotes both a social group and the land they inhabit, reflecting how Gaelic communities organized themselves around kinship, territory, and local rulers. The concept can refer to a single community as well as to multiple such communities within a larger region.

In political and geographic terms, a tuath was a basic unit of Gaelic Ireland, often functioning as

Mythology provides a notable usage of the term, most prominently in Tuatha Dé Danann, “the People of

Today, tuath remains a scholarly and historical term, encountered mainly in discussions of early Irish society,

a
local
kingdom
or
district
led
by
a
king
or
chieftain.
Tuatha
operated
with
their
own
laws,
assemblies,
and
tribute
obligations,
and
they
interacted
within
a
broader
hierarchy
that
included
provincial
kings
and
overkings.
Boundaries,
alliances,
and
leadership
could
shift
through
conquest,
marriage,
or
political
reform,
making
the
map
of
tuatha
a
dynamic
picture
across
different
eras.
the
Goddess
Danu.”
In
Irish
myth,
this
race
of
supernatural
beings
inhabits
Ireland
before
the
arrival
of
the
Milesians
and
includes
figures
such
as
Dagda,
Brigid,
Lugh,
and
Manannán
mac
Lir.
They
are
described
as
possessing
great
magical
power,
dominion
over
the
arts
and
sovereignty,
and
influential
roles
in
governance
and
civilization.
After
their
defeat
by
the
Milesians,
they
are
said
to
have
withdrawn
to
the
Otherworld,
where
they
endure
in
folklore
as
the
sídhe
or
fairies.
literature,
and
place-names,
rather
than
as
a
living
administrative
unit.
The
phrase
Tuatha
Dé
Danann
remains
a
central
reference
in
the
study
of
Irish
myth.