It is a geis to the Ulster champion, Fergus
mac Roy, that he must not refuse an invitation to a feast; on
this turns the Tragedy of the Sons of Usnach. It is not at all
clear who imposed these geise or how any one found out what his
personal geise were - all that was doubtless an affair of the
Druids. But they were regarded as sacred obligations, and the
worst misfortunes were to be apprehended from breaking them. Originally,
no doubt, they were regarded as a means of keeping oneself in
proper relations with the other world - the world of Faery - and
were akin to the well-known Polynesian practice of the 'tabu.'
Rolleston prefer, however, to retain the Irish word as the only
fitting one for the Irish practice.
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