Nihansan And Bricriu: Unpredictable Tricksters Who Fool Others And Are Fooled Themselves

MessageToEagle.com – Tricksters – rebellious, naughty and often entertaining characters – are commonly known in many cultures and appear in various forms in ancient folktales and myths.

They are jokers, who with their quick wits, can easily deceive and exploit their fellows for their own pleasure. They usually appear as semi-divine creatures that may permanently change an animal’s appearance or the course of a river and make other unbelievable tricks.

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Unfortunately, by fooling others, tricksters eventually are fooled, humiliated and even lose their lives.

In Irish myths, the most notable trickster is Bricriu, a bard with a nickname “Poison Tongue”.

He was an typical mischief-maker of the Ulster tales. Sometimes his sneaky nature was helpful to Ulster; more often, unfortunately, it was not.

However, Bricriu’s malevolence rarely caused serious damage and was usually humorous.

One day, Bricriu tried foment civil strife in Ulster by making three great warriors, including Cuchulain, quarrel over who should receive the champion’s portion – the greatest serving of food at a royal banquet, together with  the privilege of sitting on the king’s right hand.

To achieve this end, Bricriu invited the court to a great feast at his grand dwelling, threatening various calamities if they refused. The king and his men ignored Bricriu’s threats, however, until he finally swore that if they did not come he would make the breasts of their women beat together until they were black and blue.

This did the trick and the court, including the three heroes decided to come to Bricriu’s house. Once there, he provoked the quarrel, which turned into a terrible struggle and chaos that ruined his house.

trickster ans the plums

Bricriu himself ended up in a rubbish tip and emerged so dirty that nobody recognized him.

The trickster met his end when he stepped in to judge between Brown Bull of Ulster and the White Bull of Connacht. Ignoring completely his presence, the two bulls trampled Bricriu to death.

According to an Arapaho legend, there was a curious figure called Nihansan, who fell victim of his own false perception.

This trickster dived into water to gather fruit that were nothing but reflections.

One day, Nihansan was walking by a stream, when he suddenly spotted some red plums under the water; he wanted to eat them, so he dived undressed into the water, trying to collect the fruit.

He failed, so he emerged from the stream and decided to try again. He took some stones; he tied them to his wrists and ankles to weigh himself down under water. And again, the trickster Nihansan failed to catch the plums. Eventually, when he could not hold his breath for any longer, he released the stones and floated up to the surface.

Suddenly, he looked up and noticed plums hanging on a tree above him.

“You fool!” Nihansan said to himself, and approached the three where he ate some of the plums and picked some more of them for his journey.

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