Banshee - who are they? Irish Mythology

Myth is not a fantastic story about the dawn of mankind, it is a timeless cultural universal that accompanies human development at all stages of history. Naturally, the "shells" of the myth change, from irrational interpretations it is transformed into ideological forms of justifying the world order. Religions - a transitory phenomenon, while the myth, being a universal category, is coherent to man: he is in a latent state, then he regains his active form. The most active mythological tradition of Europe can be considered the British, in particular the Irish mythology, where the mythopoetic tradition invisibly intertwined with artistic works and merged into the life of modern man, becoming part of his worldview.

Characteristics of the Banshee image: myths and legends of the peoples of the world

Banshee is one of the varieties of faerie, an element of Irish and Scottish folklore. In literary translation this is a "magic woman", the literal translation of her authentic name is bean sí or bean sídhe, which means "woman of the hills". The appearance of the Banshee is not exactly defined: to one it comes in the form of a sad pale girl with tear-red eyes or a deceased maiden of the genus, and to others is in the form of an awesome old woman with bulging teeth and a deathly pale skin in spots. The only thing that unites all the interpretations of this image is her long hair. Most often, the hair has a silvery, gray color, but several legends are known, around the time of the 15th, where she shows people a scarlet-bloody hair. Banshee is found in legends in different clothes, it is a gray cloak over a green dress, and a white glow in the darkness, and even a shroud.

Banshee is the guardian of the family and the harbinger of death

The main functional purpose of the Banshee is that Irish mythology considers custody of ancient families. She anticipates a close death of one of the members of the family and heralds her to his relatives with a loud cry. Some American legends of the 18th century say that glass is bursting from her heartbreaking cry. It is not clear in the image of the Banshee who such sounds are generally capable of issuing, because her wailing does not belong to any language, it is rather a synthesis of canine barking, inarticulate speech, cries of wild ducks, wolf howl and desperate moaning of an abandoned child.

When in legends one of the people sees the Banshee, it means a close death of his or her friend. For example, there is a legend about how a farmer met a long-legged old woman in a white dress by the river, when he greeted her, saw how pale she was. The man became creepy, and when he decided to leave home, the old woman turned to him and stood at full height, towering over a meter to him. The farmer had already managed to say goodbye to life as a woman just stepped into the water and disappeared. The next day the farmer learned that his neighbor was dead.

Banshees: who are these creatures - the unique brand of Ireland or one of the popular images of mythological characters that portend death?

In Ireland, it is believed that the Banshee image is unique. Although the British Isles have mythological creatures that perform similar functions and have a similar appearance, the Banshee is a household name, known throughout the world.

Few will remember the laundress Ben-Niye, the sufferer Kiherieth or the malevolent Baavan Shi, when there is a well-illustrated film by the cinematographer of the Banshee story as a crying long-haired girl in a white dress. In other mythological systems there are also harbingers of death: in Slavic mythology it is a house, in the Sumerian-Akkadian - Anka.

With such a number of mythological analogies, the original image is somewhat blurred, and it acquires the most diverse functional features. It is important to refer to the Irish primary source in order to understand the Banshee image, who are these creatures and what function they perform, because if you get the description of the Banshee as a succubus killing men, this is clearly not the Irish primary source.

Characters bred by Banshee: a Scottish analogy in the person of Bunny and Baavan Shi

There are several Banshee prototypes on the British Isles. Who are these characters and what is their difference from the original image, we will tell Scottish mythology. It is from there that we know the image of Baavan Shi. Unlike the defender of the Banshee family, this faerie is evil, it feeds on the blood of men. Protect against them with iron. With her beautiful appearance, the fairy lures the men into her lair and drinks them dry. A distinctive feature of Baavan Shi is beautiful long golden hair and a green festive dress, under which reindeer hooves are hidden.

In turn, Bunny - the image opposite to the evil Baavan Shi. It's a small washerwoman by the river, wiping the bloody garments of people, who are destined for a near death. Bunny are women who died during childbirth, they will leave this world only when they break through their real hour of death.

There is a belief among the peoples of the mountainous Scotland that if it is unnoticed for Bunny to sneak up and stand between it and the water, she will answer any three questions. Nevertheless, in return, it will also require the same, and it must be answered with utmost truth.