Sídhe
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- For other uses, see Sidhe (disambiguation).
Sídhe (IPA [ʃiː], shee, modern Irish: sí; Scottish Gaelic: sìth) is an Irish and Scottish Gaelic word referring first to earthen mounds that were thought to be home to a supernatural race related to the fey and elves of other traditions, and later to these inhabitants themselves. The Sídhe or Sìth are variously believed to be the ancestors, the spirits of nature, or the goddesses and gods themselves.
Many see the Sídhe as later, literary versions of the Tuatha Dé Danann (the gods and deified heroes of Irish mythology). In folk belief and practice, the Sídhe are often propitiated with offerings, and care is taken not to anger them. They are often spoken of with euphemisms such as "The Good Neighbors", "The Fair Folk", "The Gentry", or simply "The Folk", in the hope that if humans consider them to be kind, they are more likely to be so. In this vein, the most common names for them, Aes Sídhe, Daoine Sídhe and Duine Sìth mean, literally, "People of Peace".
Banshee or bean sídhe, simply means "woman of the Sídhe", however the term has come to specifically indicate the supernatural women of Ireland who announce an oncoming death by their wailing and keening. Her counterpart in Scottish mythology is the Bean Nighe - the washerwoman who is seen washing the bloody clothing or armour of the person who is doomed to die. Other common names are "Leanan sídhe" - the "fairy lover"; the Cait Sidhe - a fairy cat; and the Cu Sith - fairy dog. The "sluagh sídhe - "the fairy host" are sometimes depicted in Irish and Scottish lore as airborne spirits of an unpleasant nature, and perhaps the cursed, evil or restless dead.
Sídhe are sometimes seen as fierce guardians of their abodes - whether that be a fairy hill, a fairy ring, a special tree (often a hawthorn), or perhaps a particular loch or wood. The Celtic Other World is seen as being closer at the times of dusk and dawn, therefore this is seen as a time special to the Sídhe, as are some of the festivals such as Samhain and Midsummer. The Sídhe are generally described as stunningly beautiful, though they can also be terrible and hideous.
Some sources describe the Sídhe as the remnanants of the Tuatha Dé Danann ("people of the Goddess Danu"), who left Ireland to live in the Otherworld after they were defeated by the Milesians. According to the Lebor Gabála Érenn (The Book of Invasions), the Tuatha Dé Danann (also "Daoine Sídhe"), were defeated in battle by the mortal Sons of Míl Espáine. As part of the surrender terms the Tuatha Dé Danann agreed to dwell underground in the síde (singular síd), the hills or mounds that dot the Irish landscape. Each leader of one of the tribes of the Tuatha De Danaan was given one mound. Later, due to a corruption of the meaning, both the mounds and the supernatural entities became known by the same word: síd, then as the language changed over time, sídhe, sìth and sí.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Briggs, Katherine (1978). The Vanishing People: Fairy Lore and Legends. New York, Pantheon
- Carmichael, Alexander (1992). Carmina Gadelica: Hymns and Incantations. Hudson, NY Lindisfarne ISBN 0-940262-50-9
- MacKillop, James (1998). Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. London: Oxford. ISBN 0-19-860967-1
- Wentz, WY Evans (1966, 1990) The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries. New York, Citadel
