I was hopin per'aps someone would be able to
spare a little information on kippin at bay the banshee. lookin fer olwives tales youngwives tales
personal experience anything would be of help.
thanks
guardiangorilla

well, this is how banshee's sound


eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeooooooooowooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

how's that? it felt good for me, did it feel good for you? *s*

I mus say it feels alot better than it would if
it were standin in front of me. too bad ya still left an awful ringin in me ears. **give head a good shake** at least now I can kip the effect in mind. Maybe even use to scare me future in laws away.
Thank ye kindly lacie

I've never heard of a Banshee bothering anyone in a harmful way, unless you've pissed one off. If you've done that go to the place where she most often appears after dark and leave a peace offering of bread. If it is gone the next day, you know that all is forgiven. If not, you must have really got her angry.
The best advise is to not mess with them nor with the objects that they hold dear. (Never cut down a Fairy tree, or move an ancient boundary marker.)

I've never heard of a Banshee bothering anyone in a harmful way, unless you've pissed one off. If you've done that go to the place where she most often appears after dark and leave a peace offering of bread. If it is gone the next day, you know that all is forgiven. If not, you must have really got her angry.
The best advise is to not mess with them nor with the objects that they hold dear. (Never cut down a Fairy tree, or move an ancient boundary marker.)

If you meet one and she gives you her name, DO NOT GIVE HER NAME TO ANYBODY ELSE!!! SHE'LL LIKELY NOT FORGIVE SUCH AN INTRUSION OF HER PRIVACY.

thanks fer the advice Daryl. ill kip it in mind. You are right one bein angry is rare, but anythin is possble.

Guardiangorilla .. would you like a recording of my call? *smile* Daryl, I promise I was not angry with the gorilla .. just gving him a friendly call. I am the friendliest of Banshee, I dont mind people knowing my name *s*

Lacie, I've often been accused of being either part Fey or in leagues with them. I do know one or two of them personally, and every time I've put one of their names on a E-mail, my computer locks up. I've never gotten any correspondence out that included any of their names. Although I have gotten the impression that I was on the verge of raising their ire for trying.

By the way have you seen the poem I wrote for you in the tribute area?

hmmmm locking 'puters .. is that like locking horns? *GRIN* ... i have just seen the message you left elsewhere, Daryl *s* my homepage address is
http://www.angelfire.com/az/ratzy

i hope you enjoy your visit.

Are you familiar with the legends of the Celtic Muse? Long before I was familiar with them, I had already felt their truth, and me Lady is a very jealous mistress.

I wonder what Daryl means, exactly, by Banshee ... as the Banshee I know of is a specific type of "fairy woman" (not just a generalised one) and they are, invariably, portents of disaster. If you hear the Banshee you or someone close to you will die. End of story.

Ban Sidhe, of course, translates as simply fairy woman and so I would imagine Daryl's suggestions about not cutting down blackthorns etc holds. But an actual Banshee is not NICE.

I am very familiar with the difference of which you speak. But translated into english, both become Banshee. And the Good Ladies whose appearance portents disasters, do so to sing the praises of The one or ones about to die. They are not there to do harm to anyone.

A Banshee is one of the nicest types of solitary faeries around. Most of the others are known for their love of pulling pranks on mortals. Only the Banshee and a few others do mortals any kind of service.

I read a story recently, and in it the idea was put out that Banshees were mourning the imminent death of a person who had fairy blood in them...in essence mourning the close death of their descendants. I thought that was a sweet sentiment...

That is the basic premise of the Poem I wrote, Sweet Banshee. I am glad to hear that I am not the only one who gathered that from the historical data about the Banshee.

I turned into a banshee during the raising of 4 kids, voice & all.

Then a gentleman called me his beansidhe and that was the most flattering name I ever was graced with.

It's a matter of context.

hey Marie, I understand you ! .... i think my neighbours still think I am banshee!! *LOL*

Well, lacie, I wish I had the same sensitivity and ability as Marie's gentleman. One of the difficulties about translating Irish into English is that a lot of the meaning gets lost on the way. Beansidhe means, literally, 'woman of the fairies', but the real meaning is not easy to translate. Tá tú mo bheansidhe means 'You are my magical lady.' 'You are my every wish.' 'You are the lady of my dreams.' Still can't get close to what it means. English is such a limiting language!

Ah! Translations -

It came up again this evening over dinner. Some non-Irish friends wanted to know the Irish for 'Yes'.
There isn't such a word, but there are a variety of affirmative echoes depending on the circumstances and the particular question.

Letting go of the idea that literal translations can be valid it one of the first steps to understanding other cultures, and eventually to understanding one's own culture.

I couldn't agree more, Acc. Similarly, there isn't an Irish word for 'No.' 'Ní hea' is usually translated as 'No' but it really means 'That is not the case' or 'That is not true.' I think I've already used the example of 'Go n-eirigh an bothar leat,' the literal translation of which is 'May the road rise to meet you.' The real meaning is something along the lines of 'May the course you take be successful.'

Maybe we'll get this lot thinking in Irish eventually.

they are sure pretty words, Shae *smile*

or as George Lucus would have said...."May the course be with you."....heheheh

I knew somebody would come out with that. It had to be Rogue, of force.

Trouble with the thinking in Irish part is that when you don't live in an Irish-speaking (or teaching, for that matter) part of the world, it's pretty near impossible. Unless I count strange phrases my Dad (non-Irish speaking Irish) uses which I also use sometimes! Such as *what breed is it* which is often applied to inanimate objects (what breed of car is that).

Language is indeed a fantastic toy and this board is not the first place I've seen someone bemoan the limitations of English to express emotions in a subtle way.

Ahhh...Suzycat, I think you are touching on the heart of the problem. I, for one, would count the strange phrases you and your Dad use. I think you were correct when you stated on the "Translations needed please" board "Maybe it's in the blood (spooky!)". Even the web quest which leads to the discovery of this board, I think, points in this direction. Most of us start this quest in search of geneology or researching a story Grandma used to tell or researching a point of ethnic pride and then we arrive here. And we discover that alot of the stuff here is most oddly familiar(the really spooky part!). So I would say the basic thinking in Irish is present in all who arrive on the shores of this web site, however the accoutrements of thinking in Irish are all missing, an effect of the "Diaspora". More then once I've bemoaned that fact to Acc and others, however we should not waste much time in mourning, but be about the business of rediscovery of heritage. I would say, this site portents the rise of a new Tuatha, with better communication and archieving, so that effects of "Diaspora" need not happen again.

As for language being a fantastic toy,...a horse is a course of force, of course...isn't it great...LOL

So it looks like ya really got your work cut out for you, Shea...hehehe...better put on a big pot of coffee...LOL

*silly rogue* .. "a horse is a horse, of course of course" .. get it right!!!

(used with permission of the Famous Mr Ed)

Cheers, Rogue!

the stories i've heard are that banshees are the bringers of death. to hear them means they will come to take the soul of you or someone close to you at the momment of death.

Banshees are not the bringers of death, but rather the speakers for the soon to be dead. They sing of the deeds done by the soon to be departed, but to mortal ears, only the keening wail is heard.
They have been known to help loved ones find their way to a dying person's home. Yeats devoted a portion of his prose to them, as did Croker and others.
The Banshee is always tied to a specific family and some say that it is the spirit of a woman of the family that was killed. According to those legends, that woman may not find her eternal peace until another takes her place.

I dont think they are the harbinger's of death,
I've alway's believed they were the spirit of an Irish lady who has committed suicide.

I saw something once with a friend and to this day the only explanation we could come up with was a banshee, it put the shitter's up both of us for year's but no one in our family's died, It was either a banshee or a good eight. :)

Bean Sidhe (Banshee) are faery mourners of death. Legend has it that each important Irish Clan has a Bean Sidhe and they look out for and protect the clan. When a member of the clan dies, the Bean Sidhe wails in lament.