Could there be a linguistic and cultural connection between the Aran Islands, ancient Aran (Caucaus region), and Iran/Aryānām ("place/land of the Aryans") which reflects Indo-European continuity between the divergent Western and Eastern migrations of the Indo-European and Indo-Aryan peoples?
The Aran Islands, in Galway Bay off the west coast of Ireland, are a unique geological and cultural landscape, and for centuries their stark beauty and their inhabitants’ traditional way of life have attracted pilgrims from abroad.
I have not been able to find any direct explanation of the meaning of of the word "Aran" online, but its potential linguistic implications are curious. I'm not an expert on Indo-European languages, but I'm reminded of another place called Aran. The word "Aran" was also an ancient Iranian name of the Caucasus region. It is a contraction of 1) Ar – the Indo-European root of the words "Arya" and "Arta" – and 2) an, which is a place name designator, as in Gorgan (place of the wolves), or Abadan (well-built place). Ar-an. I think it basically implies "place/land of Aryans" (similar to the meaning of Iran or Aryānām). Correct me if I'm wrong. But the ancient Indo-Europeans and Indo-Aryans seemed to have embedded this "arya/airya/aryos concept (or a similar variation) wherever they went. For example, the Greeks upheld major principles such as Arete (virtue; excellence) and Aristos (noble; the best) and Aristocracy (rule of the best) – all of which are linguistically connected to the Indo-European "Arya" or ar-yo concept which connotes various meanings related to Truth/Nobility/Excellence/Virtue/Best/Skillfulness, and it was used as a designator for free or noble people. An "aryan" in the East was typically an upper-caste noble person in ancient India and Iran (which usually included a priestly ethnic class at the very top, and aryan classes traditionally would not breed with non-aryans). An "aristocrat" was a title given to a high nobleman in the West. The ancient Persians called their own ethnic noble stock "Aryans." Iran (Aryānām) connotes "land of Aryans." Ancient Afghanistan (way before the Arab invasions after the rise of Islam) used to be known by the name "Ariana," essentially meaning the same thing as Iran ("land of Aryans"). Before WWII, people used to speculate whether places in Europe with names such as Ireland might indeed have a similar meaning as Iran. Now after WWII, that discussion has been severely suppressed and abandoned, as scholars have settled on simpler linguistic explanations of the term relating to an old goddess called Eire (eerily similar to aire). But there is practically no doubt that the Old Irish term aire, from Proto-Celtic aryos'' was used to describe a nobleman, chief, or freeman among the ancient Celts. There clearly appears to be a connection here.
So this is why I tend to wonder about the Aran Islands off the coast of Ireland.
Maybe it's just a spelling coincidence of transliteration, but I still wonder if there could be a linguistic connection between the Aran Islands, ancient Aran (Caucasus region), and Iran/Aryānām ("place/land of the Aryans") since the Irish word for this place is Indo-European after all, so it's not an entirely different linguistic universe.
I am currently reading a book on the Aran Islands called Stones of Aran: Pilgrimage which opens up with an interesting description of their ritual life:
The circuit that blesses is clockwise, or, since the belief is thousands of years older than the clock, sunwise. It is the way the fire-worshipper's swastika turns, and its Christianized descendant St. Bridget's cross.
We see here yet another symbolic vestige of an ancient Indo-European heritage.
What are your thoughts? What do you think is the significance of the Aran Islands? Are there any Irish people who can explain the exact meaning of "Aran"?
Here are some related links:
Iran - en.wikipedia.org
Name of Iran - en.wikipedia.org
Afghanistan/Ariana: en.wikipedia.org
Old Irish aire / Proto-Celtic aryos - en.wiktionary.org
ar-yo/aristos/aristocracy - en.wikipedia.org