Cet expo traite d'une légende irlandaise, qui est également beaucoup connue à travers toute la Grande Bretagne et les pays anglophones (comme le Canada ou l'Australie).
J'espère que les lecteurs apprécieront cette légende. Et pour toutes les personnes qui souhaiteraient avoir plus d'infos, une traduction, une explication... n'hésitez pas à me laisser vos commentaires.
Bonne lecture ...

THE BANSHEE, A MYTH OF IRELAND

The First Definition and the Etymology
The Banshee from the Irish bean sí, also ban•shie ("woman of the sídhe" or "woman of the fairy world") : This is a female spirit in Gaelic folklore believing in omen (a death in a family).
The term Banshee is an anglicism 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: "fairy".
In the Irish Gaelic : bean sídhe, woman of the fairies, banshee : bean, woman (from the Old Irish ben; see gwen- in Indo-European roots) + sídhe, fairy (from the Old Irish síde; see sed- in Indo-European roots).
Sídhe in Irish, and Sìth in 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 inhabitants of the mounds.
Her Scottish counterpart is the Bean Nighe ("washer-woman").
Her Welsh counterpart is the Cyhyraeth, or Gwrach y Rhibyn
Her French counterpart is Mélusine or the White woman

Origins
Hence, the mistaken belief that banshees manifest as birds such as the crow. The inaccurate association with crows is probably due to the confusion of the banshee with the primitive Celtic goddess Badb, the goddess of war who frequently appeared in the form of a crow.

Historical origins
There is historical precedent for the banshee's appearance as a female spirit :
-In Genesis, Eve gave Adam the apple.
-In the Christian myth, Mary freed Christ the world.
-In ancient Greece women prophesied the message of the gods to mortals who sought their divine purpose in the Oracle of Delphi.
-In Old Gaelic legends, music and poetry were said to be fairy gifts and the possession of these was said to show a fatal kinship with the spirit race.
=} For example : Carolan, the great Irish harper obtained some of the wildest and most beautiful music by hearing the fairy harpers plays while lying asleep in the moonlight on a fairy mound.

The Banshee’s voice
There is no harm or evil in her presence, unless she is seen in the act of
crying; this is a fatal sign. The wail of a banshee pierces in the night,
notes rising and falling like the waves of the sea, it always announces a
mortal death.
She is often heard more than seen, wailing as she is approaching the abode in the late evening or early morning, sometimes perching on the windowsill for two or three hours or even days before a death. As she moves off into the darkness witnesses describe a fluttering sound, such as the sound made by birds flying at night.

Her voice is special when she cries : this sound is often called the « Keening » : -The wail of the Banshee is a peculiarly mournful sound that resembles the melancholy sound of the hollow wind, and having the tone of the human voice, and is distinctly audible at a great distance.


Who is the Banshee ?

She is a lonely solitary fairy, mourning and only forewarning those of the best families in Ireland, those with most ancient Celtic lineages. Those whose names begin with « Mac / Mc » or « O’ », whose origin dates from the time of the Irish heroes.
Legend for five great Gaelic families: the O'Gradys, the O'Neills, the O'Briens, the O'Connors, and the Kavanaghs.

The Banshee is believed to be an unearthly attendant on the ancient families of Ireland, the true descendants of the noble Gaelic race.
And the families with the old names of the Gaelic leader, such as the O'Neills, the O'Donnells, the O'Connors, the O'Learys, the O'Tools and the O'Connaghs, each had their banshee whose cry, heard by any of them was a forewarning of death.
Here is a poem which explains the legend :
« By Mac and O,
You’ll always know
True Irishmen they say »
« But if they lack
The O and Mac,
No Irishmen are they »

The tales sometimes recounted that the woman, though called a « fairy », was in reality a ghost, of a murdered woman or a woman who was stillborn (a still born woman).

As in the definition, some people name her : « White Lady of Sorrow » or « Lady of Death ». For others, she is the « Woman of Peace » and the « Spirit of the Air ». Despite her wailing, she is somehow graced with an image of peace.


What does the Banshee look like ?

Banshees are frequently described as dressed in white or grey, and often having long, fair hair that they brush with a silver comb. This comb is also related in the old traditional romantic Irish stories, like in the mermaid legends.
Other stories portray banshees as dressed in green, red or black with a grey cloak.

The banshee appears as a beautiful young girl, with long, red-golden hair, and wearing a green kirtle and scarlet mantle, broached with gold, after the Irish fashion. Or she will appear shrouded and muffled in a dark, mist-like cloak.
More likely the banshee should be thought of as the "spirit of the family", a spirit who assists the family in a time of transition. The banshee is described as a wee woman with long white, blond or even auburn hair who appears in the vicinity of the birthplace to be deceased. When seen, she is wearing the clothes of a country woman, usually white, but sometimes grey, brown or red. The former hues represent the colors of mourning whereas red is associated with magic, fairies and supernatural.

But, the details of the legend are various. When stories about banshees began, there were beautiful women….and with the passing of the years, she became an old woman who appeared only for the death predictions.


When does she appear ?

When a member of the beloved race is dying, she paces the dark hills about his house. She sharply contrasts against the night's blackness, her white figure emerges
with silver-grey hair streaming to the ground and a grey-white cloak of a cobweb texture clinging to her tall thin body. Her face is pale, her eyes are red with centuries of crying.

Unseen, banshees attend the funerals of the beloved dead. Although, she can sometimes be heard wailing, her voice blending with the mournful cries of others.

Banshees also wail around natural forms such as trees, rivers, and stones. Wedge shaped rocks known as "banshee's chairs" are found in Waterford, Monaghan and Carlow.

Laurie F