U̯irotutis icon. Explanation in thread.

Establishing anything in a Gaulish language is difficult. There are usually 3 suggestions of what a name or theonym could actually mean, what functions it could point to etc. It’s quite honestly something that makes reconstruction efforts maddening (1).

This is precicely why we can’t allow ourselves to get bogged down with one interpretation as polytheists when faced with multiple choice answers. It’s up to us to determine how we relate and view these beings. Ralph Häussler classifies this phenomena as Interpretatio Indigena(2)

-in which the ‘indigenous’ population are at the forefront of interpreting ‘foreign’ gods. We do this all the time with short hand comparisons or lengthy comparative studies (Zeus is like _____, for example). (3)

This will the case with a god attested a few times (Apollo) U̯irotutis in Allobroges and Aulerci Diablintes (with no attachment to Apollo) territories. (4)

According to Delamarre: tuto-, 'female sex' The NP compounds Tuto-motulus (H2 647 and 1732, without ref.), Uiro-tuti dat. and the derivatives Tuta, Tutus, Tutinatia, Tutia, Tuticanus, - (5)

Tutinus, Tutius, Tutula (DAG 230, 419, 658, 745,830, 1149, 1310) may contain a tuto- 'female sex' theme, comparable to v.irl. toth m. 'id.', LEIA T-119, if it is not a tuto- phonetic variant of toto- <allo- 'people' or 'left'. See moto- 'male sex'. (6)

Olmsted believes the theonym means ‘Healer of man’ and Guyonvarc'h says that the name would mean ‘man of the nation’. Another translation according to Miranda Aldhouse-Green would be ‘Benefactor of man’. (7)

Almost no Celticist assumes that U̯iro- relates to the homonym ‘truth’, despite some contemporary polytheists assuming that root. As you can see, we already have 4 options for this theonym. (8)

Do we give up and assume all is lost with this god? Or do we take a better and more contemporary approach to our polytheisms? This is where we can utilize ‘Enter Olla’ (a Celticization of Inter Allia ‘also meaning”) for theonyms - (9)

- that have no clear meaning, and can open up new understandings of various Gods. By using ‘Enter Olla’, we can assume U̯irotutis is a god presiding over healing (when comparing to Apollo, which would encompass healer and benefactor of humans, and man of the nation) and - (10)

- truth (perhaps oracular functions and/or justice), but also possibly a more intersex, queer, trans and non-binary inclined god (especially if compared to Ἑρμαφροδιτος) when considering the possiblity that the theonym could also mean ‘Man-Female’ (essentially).