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North American Gorsedd Association

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The North American Gorsedd Association will encompass six regions in North America and the Caribbean. Member Druids, Bards, and Ovates serve in civic rituals and ceremonies at various Celtic events and festivals.

Location: Portland, Oregon, USA, North America
Members: 6
Latest Activity: 11 hours ago

Organization of the Gorsedd Association and Member Gorseddau.

Western North American Gorsedd, Mid-North American Gorsedd, Northeastern North American Gorsedd, Southern North American Gorsedd, Latin American North American Gorsedd, Caribbean and Mid-Atlantic Gorsedd.

This new association will grow to encompass North America, the North Atlantic Islands, and the Caribbean Islands with regional, area, and local gorseddau. As with its sister associations in Europe, it is composed of Druids, Bards, and Ovates who serve in civic rituals and ceremonies at various Celtic events and festivals in North America and associated islands.

The North American Gorsedd Association is a voluntary-informal network of Celtic-cultural revivalists, groups, and events. Six regional Gorsedds coordinate civic and cultural activities as custodians of a Celtic impulse for events they are invited to assist with. Each of these member Gorseddau is a social association of Druids, Ovates, and Bards who serve various Celtic Festivals and Gatherings by helping to manage ceremonial functions at and for events such as announcing an upcoming event and awarding of prizes and tokens to contest winners. The first such cooperative event will be the 2010 (second) Left Coast Eisteddfod in Portland, Oregon, in early October. We look forward to expanding our Gorseddau throughout the six regions in North America and the Caribbean and to cooperating with our European counterparts in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, Brittany, the Channel Islands, England, Wales, the Celtic revival movements in old Cymbria, Iberia, and elsewhere in Europe and Asia Minor.

Member Gorseddau of the North American Gorsedd Association will be composed of three grades, in ascending order, and similar to those in Britain and Brittany, Ovates who wear green, Bards who wear blue, and Druids who wear white. However, each constitutes a distinct and separate grade with specialties drawn from ancient practice, but adapted to contemporary needs of Civic Druidry in the twenty-first century.

The Six Regional Gorseddau.

A regional gorsedd, will itself have two or more sub-gorseddau to focus and promote Celtic events within their areas. While not required, local gorseddau may be formed to promote local activities and competitions, but only when these may be sustained over time. When the members of a regional, area, or local Gorsedd determine they want to establish bardic or other positions of honor for meritorious contributions to the bardic arts, they may elect to do so, providing each such competition is announced no less than a year and a day prior to holding the event..

Note: This tradition of announcing a competition a year and a day shall also be the rule for all competitions.

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Comment by Dean Edwards on December 21, 2009 at 1:55am: We will be putting up a page soon for the Northeastern North American Gorsedd, Region 3 of NAGA due to interest by its incipient members.

Comment by Dean Edwards on November 26, 2009 at 4:42am: We have begun the process of organizing Region 1 of NAGA, Western North American Gorsedd Association.
http://americymru.ning.com/group/westernnorthamericangorsedd

Comment by Dean Edwards on November 13, 2009 at 11:45pm: It is appropriate, in the interests of clarity, to mention the Left Coast Eisteddfod benefits greatly from initiating the North American Gorsedd Association. However, while we will continue to have and further develop a close relationship with the annual eisteddfod in Portland, Oregon, the new Gorseddau and the North American Gorsedd Association are independent and cooperative associates, not organs of the eisteddfod.

Comment by Dean Edwards on November 12, 2009 at 12:53am: As Ovates, Bards, and Druids, and descendants of the isle of ancient Albion, our Association and its Gorseddau stand ready to serve and generate the creative impulse, the flowing Awen, of the Celtic heart, not only for the survival and vitality of Welsh culture, but for other Celtic peoples, and indeed for any who would dine at the table of inspiration. In this manner, we may from time to time, according to the decisions of the members of each grade recognize with appropriate honors and membership in the Gorsedd within that grade for excellent service and accomplishment to the arts safeguarded by our Druids, Bards, or Ovates. The flame within the heart burns with life and truely is a universal bond beyond gender, beyond, language, beyond race. As such, we serve this vital flame as it grows to express the cultures of North America.

Comment by Dean Edwards on November 10, 2009 at 4:11am: We are now beginning the work of organizing Region 1 in the North American Gorsedd Association: The Western North American Gorsedd.

Comment by Dean Edwards on November 9, 2009 at 8:36pm: We have now made unofficial contact with both the Gorrsedd yy Beirdd Patagonia and with a Gorsedd y Beirdd druid here in the U.S. This will no doubt be the beginning of a very long process. In the meantime, we will move forward as independent gorseddau in the North American Gorsedd Association. Come join us at the Left Coast Eisteddfod in 2010 and in Northwest Druidry in fb groups.

Comment by Dean Edwards on November 6, 2009 at 9:22am: Here is an interesting history of gorseddau in Celtic countries, and yes, of the re-established gorsedd in Patagonia and the Gorsedd of North America that vanished in 1946.

http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/900/

Comment by Dean Edwards on November 2, 2009 at 1:11am: Gorsedd Beirdd Ynys Prydain - www.gorsedd.org - The Gathering of the Bards of the Isle of Britain is the mother gorsedd of Welsh bardic competitions. We are making the first tentative contact with the Gorsedd. Just what relationship we should have with them is a matter for development in its own good time. Make comments in a discussion or look in from time to time for updates.

Comment by Dean Edwards on October 31, 2009 at 1:05am: I continue to receive comments from people who have agreed to advise me so I can make reasonably intelligent contributions to our work in planning and putting on a successful Eisteddfod next October. Check the Blog post for updates to the Celtic Consciousness and Civic Druidry article. The new Gorsedd Association is still very incipient. I expect it will take the remainder of 2009 to set it up in at least four of the six regions. More later....

Comment by Dean Edwards on October 27, 2009 at 6:43pm: Croeso!
This new network works primarily as a Celtic-cultural and social-service association, there being many other groups and people who cover the wide variety of religious and spiritual practices and beliefs. The historic practice of organizing a gathering or Gorsedd/Gorseth to award prizes and tokens to winners of competitions, announce upcoming events, and enhance civic ritual and ceremony comes to us from Britain and Brittany. It will continue as a voluntary association of people invited to join in the fun of revitalizing Welsh and other Celtic events in North America. Anyone may join in our online discussions. Watch this group for announcements over the upcoming year.

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LEFT COAST EISTEDDFOD 2010 / EISTEDDFOD YR ARFORDIR CHWITH 2009

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