Mystery Of The Banshee – Is The Celtic Death Messenger Linked To The Tuatha De’Dannan Race?

Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com - The mysterious Banshee or Bean Sidhe is a fascinating creature we encounter in Irish mythology.

Throughout history and across cultures, stories and myths of beings forewarn human death. In Ireland, these frightening beings were known as the Banshees.
"Bunworth Banshee", från Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland av Thomas Crofton Croker (1825). Image credit: W.H. Brooke - Public Domain

From Irish folklore, we learn that whenever you heard the thin scream of the Banshee, you knew death was around the corner. The sound of their voice was prophetic.  The Irish do not believe the Banshee causes death but merely warns of it.

The Banshees were Celtic death messengers, and although it is unknown precisely when stories of the Banshee first were told, they can be traced back as far as the early eighth century.

The physical descriptions of the Banshees vary somewhat. In most cases, the Banshee is a woman with long, red hair and ashen skin. According to other accounts, on the other hand, it is an older woman with stringy gray hair, rotten teeth, and fiery red eyes. She is often depicted with a comb in her hair, leading to an Irish superstition that finding a comb on the ground is considered bad luck.

The Banshees were also shape-shifters that could take on any form, much like the goddesses of Celtic folklore and the Greek gods, who were also shape-shifters. Other forms of the Banshee include the Bean Nighe and the washerwoman, both more attributed to Scotland than Ireland. According to legends, the Bean Nighe was a ghost woman who died during childbirth and was usually seen wearing the clothes of the person about to die. At the same time, the washerwoman is dressed like a countrywoman and is cleaning bloody rags on a river shore.

Banshee - Messenger of death. Image credit: Michael1010 - CC BY-SA 4.0

Sometimes, a Banshee will perch on a windowsill like a bird, where she'll remain for several hours or even days until death comes to call. Often, as the Banshee escapes into the darkness, witnesses have described a birdlike fluttering sound. Thus, many believe that the Banshee is a birdlike creature.

The Banshee tradition is widespread throughout Ireland and nearby islands. The Gaelic terms used most frequently to describe the Banshee are the "bean-si" (a female dweller of a sidhe, or fairy mound), the "bean chaointe" (a female keener, a term found in east Munster and Connaught), and the "badhb" (referring to a more dangerous, frightening bogey). Although "bean-si" implies an Otherworld or fairy being, the Banshee is a solitary creature without a male counterpart who never partakes in communal human or fairie social enterprise.

In Christianity, the Banshee was believed to be a devil who wails for the souls lost to her as they ascend to heaven, or that they are familial guardian angels or souls of unbaptized children or even the souls of women who committed the sin of pride in life.

Some researchers have suggested that the Banshee could be linked to the mystical race of Tuatha De Dannan. The true origin of the Tuatha De Danaan is unknown. The name means "the folk of the god whose mother is Dana." These fabled Irish gods appeared out of nowhere on 1st May (Beltane).

According to some of the earliest sources, the Tuatha de Danaan came from the skies.  The Tuatha De Danaan landed in a dense cloud on the top of Sliev-an-lerin, the Iron Mountain in the County Leitrim.
It is fascinating because it is clear that they appeared like the Watchers when they descended on Mount Hermon.

Still, we wonder whether Banshees exist or are they mere mythical.

Although the existence of the Banshee is based on ancient myths and legends, people still report seeing and hearing this mysterious creature lurking around before she disappears into a cloud of mist. When she vanishes, a fluttering sound like a bird flapping its wings is heard.

Written by - Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com 

Updated on March 16, 2024

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