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| ==Banshees in popular culture== | ==Banshees in popular culture== | ||
| *A ] appears in ]'s ] novel ], named Brother Ixolite. He has a speech impediment, so "instead of sitting on roofs and screaming when people are about to die, he just writes them a note and slips it under the door". ] introduces "feral" banshees, whose predatory habits offer an explanation as to why a banshee's cry is an omen of death (i.e. the banshee is stalking its prey, most likely whoever hears the banshee's cry). | *A ] appears in ]'s ] novel ], named Brother Ixolite. He has a speech impediment, so "instead of sitting on roofs and screaming when people are about to die, he just writes them a note and slips it under the door". ] introduces "feral" banshees, whose predatory habits offer an explanation as to why a banshee's cry is an omen of death (i.e. the banshee is stalking its prey, most likely whoever hears the banshee's cry). | ||
| *Banshees have been featured in a number of video games, such as the ]s ] and Tibia, in which they are often known to attack players by singing. In the popular ] game, ], "banshees" belong to "the undead army" and can attack other units with "tortured blasts of sonic force"; they can also curse or possess their enemies |
*Banshees have been featured in a number of video games, such as Halo and the ]s ] and Tibia, in which they are often known to attack players by singing. In the popular ] game, ], "banshees" belong to "the undead army" and can attack other units with "tortured blasts of sonic force"; they can also curse or possess their enemies. | ||
| *The name "Banshee" has been given to many whistling ] produced by various manufacturers. | *The name "Banshee" has been given to many whistling ] produced by various manufacturers. | ||
| *"]" is the name of a mutant in the second iteration of Marvel's ] comics. He is able to cause damage with his "sonic scream." A modification of this scream allows him to fly, although he can not talk while doing so. | *"]" is the name of a mutant in the second iteration of Marvel's ] comics. He is able to cause damage with his "sonic scream." A modification of this scream allows him to fly, although he can not talk while doing so. | ||
| *In 1987 Yamaha Motor Corporation began production of an ATV by the name of "Banshee". It was the first in it's racing class of ATV's powered by a two cylinder motor. The dual cylinder, two stroke engine of the screamin' Banshee was once described sounding like "two chainsaws eating each other alive." It was this distinctive blast coming from the exhaust pipes that rightfully gave the Banshee it's name. | |||
| == References == | == References == | ||
Revision as of 14:55, 11 March 2007
For other uses, see the banshee of Irish folklore.The Banshee (IPA: [ˈbæn.ʃi]), from the Irish bean sí ("woman of the sídhe" or "woman of the fairy mound") is a female spirit in Irish mythology, usually seen as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld. Her Scottish counterpart is the Bean Nighe ("washer-woman").
The sídhe are variously believed to be the survivals of pre-Christian Gaelic deities, spirits of nature, or the ancestors. Some Theosophists and Celtic Christians have also referred to the sídhe as "fallen angels". They are commonly referred to in English as "fairies", and the banshee can also be described as a "fairy woman".
Banshees in history, mythology and folklore
Traditionally, when a citizen of an Irish village died, a woman would sing a lament (in Irish: caoineadh, or ) at their funeral. These women singers are sometimes referred to as "keeners". Legend has it that, for five great Gaelic families: the O'Gradys, the O'Neills, the O'Briens, the O'Connors, and the Kavanaghs, the lament would be sung by a fairy woman; having foresight, she would appear before the death and keen. When several banshees appeared at once, it indicated the death of someone great or holy. The tales sometimes recounted that the woman, though called a fairy, was a ghost, often of a specific murdered woman, or a woman who died in childbirth.
Banshees are frequently described as dressed in white or grey, and often having long, fair hair which they brush with a silver comb, a detail scholar Patricia Lysaght attributes to confusion with local mermaid myths. This comb detail is also related to the centuries-old traditional romantic Irish story that, if you ever see a comb lying on the ground in Ireland, you must never pick it up, or the banshees (or mermaids - stories vary), having placed it there to lure unsuspecting humans, will spirit such gullible humans away. Other stories portray banshees as dressed in green, red or black with a grey cloak.
Banshees are common in Irish and Scottish folk stories such as those recorded by Herminie T. Kavanagh. They enjoy the same mythical status in Ireland as fairies and leprechauns.
Etymology
The term Banshee is an anglicization of the Irish bean sídhe or bean sí - "woman of the sídhe" or "woman of the fairy mound". The Scots Gaelic version of the name is Bean Nighe - "washer-woman". Both names are derived from the Old Irish ben síde, "fairy woman": bean: woman, and sidhe: the genitive case of "fairy".
Sídhe in Irish, and Sìth in Scots Gaelic, mean "peace", and the fairies or sídhe are also referred to as the Daoine Sídhe or Duine Sìth - the "people of peace". Sídhe, in its variant spellings, is used to refer to the Sídhe Mounds, as well as to the beings said to inhabit the mounds.
Banshees in popular culture
- A banshee appears in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel Reaper Man, named Brother Ixolite. He has a speech impediment, so "instead of sitting on roofs and screaming when people are about to die, he just writes them a note and slips it under the door". Going Postal introduces "feral" banshees, whose predatory habits offer an explanation as to why a banshee's cry is an omen of death (i.e. the banshee is stalking its prey, most likely whoever hears the banshee's cry).
- Banshees have been featured in a number of video games, such as Halo and the MMORPGs RuneScape and Tibia, in which they are often known to attack players by singing. In the popular RTS game, WarCraft III, "banshees" belong to "the undead army" and can attack other units with "tortured blasts of sonic force"; they can also curse or possess their enemies.
- The name "Banshee" has been given to many whistling fireworks produced by various manufacturers.
- "Banshee" is the name of a mutant in the second iteration of Marvel's X-Men comics. He is able to cause damage with his "sonic scream." A modification of this scream allows him to fly, although he can not talk while doing so.
References
- Lysaght, Patricia (1986). The Banshee: The Irish Death Messenger. Roberts Rinehart Publishers. ISBN 1-57098-138-8.
- Briggs, Katharine (1976). An Encyclopedia of Fairies. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-394-73467-X.
- Wentz, WY Evans (1966, 1990). The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries. Citadel.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - Vinopal, John (1986). Ten Years of Torment. UC Santa Cruz Press.
Notes
- W. B. Yeats, Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry, in A Treasury of Irish Myth, Legend, and Folklore, p 108, ISBN 0-517-489904-X
- Katharine Briggs, An Encyclopedia of Fairies, Hobgoblins, Brownies, Boogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures, "Banshee", p14-6. ISBN 0-394-73467-X