Banshee

A banshee is one of many spirits of Irish and Scottish folklore. The modern understanding of a banshee as a grotesque, angry female spirit that flies in the air at night, terrifying those with her shrieking is something of a misnomer; the banshee was a culturally understood truth to the peasantry of Ireland and Scotland, as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld by wailing under the windows of a house where a person is about to die. Banshees are common in Irish and Scottish folk stories such as those recorded by Herminie T. Kavanagh. They enjoy the same mythical status in Ireland as fairies and leprechauns.

Etymology

The term Banshee is an Anglicization of the Irish bean sídhe or bean sí, which translates as "female, or woman of the faeries or elves." The Scots Gaelic version of the name is Bean Nighe - "washer-woman." Both names are derived from the Old Irish ben síde, "fairy woman": bean: woman, and sidhe: the genitive case of "fairy."

Description

The shriveled hag, with long, unkempt white hair and wearing a funeral robe is only one of several different forms that a banshee can appear in, although in modern times this is the most common form the creature takes. It can also appear as a young woman with a beautiful, if slightly un-Earthly, appearance, an honorable matriarch. No matter what appearance, she is almost always portrayed as having long grey or white hair, and wearing long flowing robes of similar color Conversly, the scottish Bean Nighe is described in some tales as having one nostril, one big protruding tooth, webbed feet and long hanging breasts, and to be dressed in green.

Of course the most important distinction of the banshee is her cry. It has been described differently, from a low moan to a loud shriek. Most often it was said to be a loud, said lamenting that not startled but saddened those who heard it.

Origin

The banshee first appeared in very old Gaelic legends. According to such stories, the five noteworthy families of Ireland, the O'Neills, O'Donnells, O'Connors, the O'Learys, the O'Tools and the O'Connaghs each had a woman spirit would act as the harbinger of death; having foresight, she would appear before the death and keen. When several banshees appeared at once, it indicated the death of someone great or holy. Why these specific families were connected originally to the banshee is not entirely known. Some have suggested that the banshee is actually the conglomeration of death rituals and supernatural beliefs. Traditionally, when a citizen of an Irish village died, a woman would sing, otherwise known as keen, a lament at their funeral. Music in those times were often connected to the spirits and fairies that were believed to inhabit the woods. It is possible that at some point, the ritual merged with the belief, creating the banshee.

Scottish Bean Nighe

Since the Scottish name Bean Nighe is derived from the Old Irish language, it is possible that the fairy washer woman of Scottland is derivied from the Irish banshee, yet the two creatures are different in details. As the "Washer at the Ford" she wanders near deserted streams where she washes the blood from the grave-clothes of those who are about to die. It is said that Mnathan Nighe (the plural of bean nighe) are the spirits of women who died giving birth and are doomed to do this work until the day their lives would have normally ended.A mortal who is bold enough to sneak up to her while she is washing and suck her breast can claim to be her foster child.

In the ancient Celtic epic, The Ulster Cycle, The Morrígan is seen in the role of a Bean Nighe. When the hero Cúchulainn rides out to war, he encounters the Morrígan as a hag washing his bloody armour in a ford. From this omen he realizes this battle will be his last.

Banshees in literature and popular culture

When these oral narratives were first translated into English, a distinction between the "banshee" and other fairy folk was introduced which does not seem to exist in the stories in their original (Irish or Scottish) Gaelic forms. The funeral lament became a mournful cry or wail by which the death is heralded. In these tales, hearing the banshee's wail came to predict a death in the family and seeing the banshee portends one's own death. Yet, the Banshee is still one of a handful of mythical creatures that, although widely known over a diverse geographical area, is not commonly seen outside of folklore. Gaelic oral traditions passed down for centuries, written down only in the last five hundred years, are the most common place to find the banshee, such as the 14th century Chogaidh Gaeil are Gall. Such traditions changed over time to include poems, limericks, nursery rhymes and superstition that has carried on to the 20th century, although actual belief in such creatures is scarce at best. Today, the best places to find stories of banshees are in anthologies of Irish and Scottish lore. Some contemporary authors, such as Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel Reaper Man employ banshees, but on the whole the banshee is not used frequently in literature or art. Certain pop-cultural activities, such as role-playing and video games, incorporate vast amounts of mythology and mythical creatures, including the banshee.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Lysaght, Patricia (1986). The Banshee: The Irish Death Messenger. Roberts Rinehart Publishers. ISBN 1-57098-138-8. 
• Briggs, Katharine (1976). An Encyclopedia of Fairies. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-394-73467-X. 
• Wentz, WY Evans (1966, 1990). The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries. Citadel. 
• Vinopal, John (1986). Ten Years of Torment. UC Santa Cruz Press. 

External links

• The Legend of the Banshee Retrieved May 17, 2007.
• The Banshee Retrieved May 17, 2007.

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