Banshee - who are they? Irish Mythology

Myth is not a fantastic story aboutthe dawn of mankind, this is a timeless cultural universal that accompanies the development of man at all stages of history. Naturally, the "shells" of the myth change, from irrational interpretations it is transformed into ideological forms of the justification of the world order. Religions - a transitory phenomenon, 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.

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

Banshee is one of the varieties of faerie, elementIrish 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 red eyes, or a deceased maiden of the genus, and to others it is in the form of an awesome old woman with bulging teeth and a pale skin in stains.

The only thing that unites all interpretations.This image is her long hair. Most often, the hair has a silvery, grayish color, but several legends are known, around the 15th century, where it shows people with purple-bloody hair. Banshee is found in legends in different clothes, this is a gray cloak over a green dress, and a white dress glowing in the dark, and even a shroud.

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

The main functional purpose of BansheeIrish mythology considers custody of ancient families. She anticipates the near death of one of the members of the gens and foreshadows her relatives with loud crying. Some American legends of the 18th century say that glass burst from her heart-rending cry. It is not clear in the image of Banshees, who are capable of making such sounds at all, because her moans do not belong to any language, it is rather a synthesis of dog barking, inarticulate speech, screaming of wild ducks, wolf howling and desperate moans of an abandoned child.

When in the legends one of the people sees the Banshee, it means the near death of his or his acquaintance.

For example, there is a legend about how a farmerI met a long-haired old woman in a white dress by the river, when he greeted her, saw how pale she was. The man became terrified, and when he decided to get out of the way, the old woman turned to him and stood up to her full height, having risen a meter above him by 4. The farmer managed to say goodbye to life, as the woman simply stepped into the water and disappeared. The next day, the farmer learned that his neighbor had died.

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

In Ireland, it is believed that the image of the Banshee is unique.Although there are mythological creatures in the British Isles performing similar functions and having a similar appearance, Banshee is a common noun, known all over the world.

Few people will remember Ben-Niye’s washerwoman, Kiheriet’s sufferer, or the evil Baavan Shi, when there is a story of Banshee perfectly replicated by the cinema as a weeping long-haired girl in a white dress.

In other mythological systems, there are also harbingers of death: in Slavic mythology, this is a brownie, in Sumero-Akkadian - Anka.

With so many mythological analogiesthe original image is somewhat blurred, and she herself acquires a wide variety of functional features. It is important to refer to the Irish source to understand the image of Banshees, who these creatures are and what function they perform, because if you come across a description of Banshees as a succubus that kills men, this is clearly not the Irish source.

Characters raised by the Banshee: the Scottish analogy in the person of Bunny and Baavan Shea

There are several prototypes in the British Isles.Banshee. Who are these characters and how are they different from the original image, we will tell the Scottish mythology. From there we know the image of Baavan Shi. Unlike the protector of the Banshees, this fairy is malicious, it feeds on the blood of men. You can protect against them with iron. With its beautiful appearance, the fairies lure men into their lair and drink them dry. A distinctive feature of Baavan Shi can be called beautiful long golden hair and green festive dress, under which deer hooves are hidden.

In turn, Bunny is the opposite image.the evil Baavan Shi. This is a small laundress by the river, erasing the bloodied robes of people who are destined for near death. Bunny are women who have died in childbirth; they will leave this world only when their real hour of death is breaking through.

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