Guest Author - Phyllis Doyle Burns
'Hast thou heard the Banshee at morn,
Passing by the silent lake,
Or walking the fields by the orchard?
Alas! that I do not rather behold
White garlands in the hall of my fathers.'
- An old Irish phrase
The infamous Irish Banshee - is she a scary monster, to be avoided and shunned, or, is she only a faery woman who mourns the loss of a beloved member of the Irish High families? Is she to be dreaded or loved?
As old Irish legend tells, the Banshee, or ben sidhe, is a "woman of the faery mounds". She attaches herself to the great houses of the old elite Irish families and sings her mourning song of lament for each soul that has left this earth until the last member of that family has joined their ancestors in the beyond. She is said to be a supernatural attendant on the ancient families.
In both Irish and Scottish lore, the Gaelic spelling of bean-shidh (Scottish) or bean sidhe (Irish) means "peace", as the faeries are considered Aos Si or Daoine-Sith, "the people of peace". Is she a ghost of a specific murdered woman, or a woman who had died centuries ago in childbirth or is she in fact a faerie of the mounds, whose music and song is so profoundly beautiful? The tales vary from village to village and glen to glen.
The Banshee wails her sad song around the house of someone who is about to die and continues her mourning until the soul is safe in heaven. At the funeral, there are women singers, or "keeners", who are kept in demand for the purpose of mourning and caoin (weeping) like the banshee.
Even if a member of the family had died far from home, the first warning that the household had was the wailing of the Banshee and preparations for the funeral would begin in all seriousness and respect. Often, when the actual news had been delivered to the family, the kitchens were already well stocked with foods for the people who would come to give their respects to the family and a farewell to the dead.
If you have ever heard a strong wind rushing through a crack in a window not fully closed or sailing in and around mighty oaks or pines, sounding, oh, so mournful that you become strangely melancholy, then you will have a fairly good idea of what the sound of a Banshee's cry is like. It is hollow, yet with a human tone and can be heard from great distances.
Although the sound is eerie and one you wish not to hear, it comes from a petite and beautiful maiden, dressed in old Ireland fashion of ages ago. She usually is described as having long, fair hair and dressed in white or grey, and sometimes wearing a black cloak. She is usually portrayed as a scary-like, wicked and vengeful hag in American tales, but in old Ireland she was of the peaceful and good folk. She does no harm to her "family" and attends to them out of love.
So, is she to be feared, dreaded and shunned? And if so, why? She does not bring on the death, she only brings the message of impending death, which she has not caused, and is there to mourn and cry for the beloved departed - to pay tribute and respect to her "family".
It was said by one of the best loved writers of Ireland that:
"You will with the Banshee chat, and find her good at heart." - William Butler Yeats
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If you would like to read more about Gaelic and Celtic folklore, you may purchase the recommended books at the Amaozn links below:
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