Banshee

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This article describes the banshee of Gaelic folklore (in Ireland, Man and Scotland). For other uses, see Banshee (disambiguation).

The banshee (Template:IPA2) is a creature in Irish mythology, the word being derived from the Gaelic ben síde, modern Irish bean sídhe or bean sí, "fairy woman" (bean, woman, and sidhe, being the tuiseal ginideach or possessive case of "fairy"). The sídh are derived from pre-Christian Gaelic deities.

Long ago, when a citizen of an Irish village died, a woman would sing a traditional lament or modern Irish caoineadh (pronounced kweenyah) at their funeral. These women singers are sometimes referred to as "keeners". Traditionally, the banshee can only cry for five great Gaelic families: the O'Gradys, the O'Neills, the O'Briens, the O'Connors, and the Kavanaghs. These families had a fairy woman associated with them, who would make an appearance after a death in the family to sing this lament. Tales recount how, when the family member had died far away then the appearance or, in some tales, the sound of the fairy keener, might be the first intimation of the death.

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 original stories in their original (Irish or Scottish) Gaelic forms. Similarly, 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.

Banshees are frequently dressed in white and often have long, fair hair which they brush with a silver comb, a detail scholar Patricia Lysaght attributes to confusion with local mermaid myths. Other stories portray them as dressed in green or black with a grey cloak.

Banshees were common in Irish and Scottish folk stories such as those written down by Herminie T. Kavanagh. They enjoy the same mythical status in Ireland as fairies and leprechauns.

References

• {{cite book

| title = The Banshee: The Irish Death Messenger
| first = Patricia | last = Lysaght
| year = 1986
| publisher =  Roberts Rinehart Publishers
| id = ISBN 1-57098-138-8
}}

• {{cite book

| title = An Encyclopedia of Fairies
| first = Katharine | last = Briggs
| year = 1976
| publisher =  Pantheon Books
| id = ISBN 0-394-73467-X
}}

• The Banshee by Josh Grantde:Banshee

es:Banshee fr:Banshee ga:Bean sí gd:Bean-shìdh it:Banshee nl:Banshee (demoon) ja:バンシー no:Banshee pl:Banshee ru:Баньши fi:Banshee