 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Celtic [Kel-tic] communities, especially
in the Scottish areas, are familiar with this spirit. In Gaelic,
the word, “bean” can be pronounced as [Ba(w)n] and translates as "woman."
The word, “sidhe” [Shee] is defined as “spirit,” “phantom,” or “fairy.”
The Gaelic word "bhean" can also be pronounced as "Vawn," depending upon
its application.
These “women-spirits” have also been called “Lady of Death,” “White Lady of Sorrow,” and “Spirit of the Air,” to name a few. Banshees are believed to be disembodied souls who, in their lifetimes, were strongly attached to a certain family. The older, more established the family, the more likely it would have a banshee. Though dead, a banshee still has strong interests in the affairs of the living. A banshee can have a strong, loving relationship with the members of a family, or she may have had good reasons to hate them all. A banshee can either announce the death of a family member to another relative, or she may announce the impending death to the one who will be dying. If she has a strong, loving relationship with the family, her death-song will come as a soft, consoling chant to reassure the one who hears it that the life after death is a welcomed experience. However, if a banshee hates the family, her death-scream can come with such horrific venom and demonic force that the sound itself causes extreme agony in the very marrow of the listener. The terrible sound made by a banshee cannot be described. However, for anyone who has ever heard the cry of a mother in the loss of her child will know, in part, the agony of that sound. A banshee’s cry is a thousand times worse. Most of the stories describe banshees as frightening experiences. Terrible banshees are described as old and ugly with large gaping mouths. These types of banshees must work out some type of wrong as a form of penance and are often shackled or bound in some way. “Loving” or good banshees are described as fair-skinned maidens with green, brown or black eyes, and black or golden hair. A few are described as males forms. They usually wear the finest clothes of royal blue or deep green (green symbolizes a respect to the dead in Celtic cultures). Many of the older, established, Celtic families believe strongly in banshees, and to say they don’t exist is equal to heresy itself. As these older families in Ireland and Scotland disperse or die out, so too have the tales of the banshee passed into history in the way of fairies, leprechauns and pookas. But before you discount banshees completely, remember that some things
exist whether we believe in them or not.
Patrick O. Young is a writer, illustrator, storyteller and Celtic flute maker. Additional Reading: Irish Wonders. D.R. McAnally, Jr. Sterling/Main Street Book, Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. New York, N.Y. 1993. The Celtic Tradition. C. Matthews. Element Books Limited for Jacaranda Wiley Limited. 33 Park Road, Milton, Brisbane 4064. 1989. |