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Aos Si

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Riders of the Sidhe (1911), painting by John Duncan

Aos si ( pronounced [iːs? ??iː] ; English approximation: / iː s ? ? iː / eess SHEE ; older form: aes sidhe [eːs? ??iː?] ) is the Irish name for a supernatural race in Celtic mythology ? daoine sith in Scottish Gaelic ? comparable to fairies or elves . They are said to descend from the Tuatha De Danann , meaning the 'People of Danu ', according to pagan tradition. [1]

The aos si are said to live underground in fairy forts , across the Western sea, or in an invisible world that co-exists with the world of humans. This world is described in the Lebor Gabala Erenn as a parallel universe in which the aos si walk among the living.

In modern Irish the people of the mounds are also called daoine si ; in Scottish Gaelic they are called daoine sith [2] (in both cases, it means 'people of the fairy mound'). [3] They are variously said to be the ancestors, the spirits of nature, or goddesses and gods. [4]

Etymology [ edit ]

In the Irish language , aos si means "people of the fairy mounds", as " sidhe " means the Otherworldly mounds or hills. In modern Irish, the word is si ; in Scottish Gaelic, sith ; in Old Irish, side , and the singular is sid . [5]

By the time of the Celtic Revival , when the “ Fairy Faith ” became a topic for English and English-language authors, sidhe in its various forms, with various meanings, became a loanword into English and took on a variety of, often inaccurate, meanings.

The sidhe [ edit ]

The Sidhe are the hills or tumuli that dot the Irish landscape. In modern Irish the word is si ; in Scottish Gaelic, sith ; in Old Irish side and the singular is sid . [5] In a number of later, English-language texts, the word sidhe is incorrectly used both for the mounds and the people of the mounds. For example W. B. Yeats , writing in 1908, referred to the aos si simply as "the sidhe ". [6] However sidh in older texts refers specifically to "the palaces, courts, halls or residences" of the otherworldly beings that supposedly inhabit them. [7] The fact that many of these sidhe have been found to be ancient burial mounds has contributed to the theory that the aos si were the pre-Celtic occupants of Ireland.

David Fitzgerald conjectured that the word sidh was synonymous with "immortal," and is compared with words such as sidsat "they wait/remain," sithbeo "lasting," sidhbuan "perpetual," and sidhbe "long life." In most of the tales concerning the si a great age or long life is implied. [8]

In Irish folklore [ edit ]

In many Gaelic tales, the aos si are later, literary versions of the Tuatha De Danann ("People of the Goddess Danu ")?the deities and deified ancestors of Irish mythology . Some sources describe them as the survivors of the Tuatha De Danann who retreated into the Otherworld when fleeing the mortal Sons of Mil Espaine who, like many other early invaders of Ireland, came from Iberia. As part of the terms of their surrender to the Milesians , the Tuatha De Danann agreed to retreat and dwell underground. (In later interpretations, each tribe of the Tuatha De Danann was given its own mound.) Geoffrey Keating , an Irish historian of the early 17th century, equates Iberia with the Land of the Dead, providing a possible connection to the aos si.

In folk belief and practice, the aos si are often appeased with offerings, and care is taken to avoid angering or insulting them. Often they are not named directly, but rather spoken of as "The Good Neighbours", "The Fair Folk", or simply "The Folk". The most common names for them, aos si , aes sidhe , daoine sidhe (singular duine sidhe ) and daoine sith mean, literally, "people of the mounds" (referring to the sidhe ). The aos si are generally described as stunningly beautiful, though they can also be terrible and hideous.

Aos si are seen as fierce guardians of their abodes ?whether a fairy hill, a fairy ring , a special tree (often a hawthorn ) or a particular loch or wood. It is believed that infringing on these spaces will cause the aos si to retaliate in an effort to remove the people or objects that invaded their homes. Many of these tales contribute to the changeling myth in west European folklore , with the aos si kidnapping trespassers or replacing their children with changelings as a punishment for transgressing. The aos si are often connected to certain times of year and hours; as the Gaelic Otherworld is believed to come closer to the mortal world at the times of dusk and dawn, the aos si correspondingly become easier to encounter. Some festivals such as Samhain , Bealtaine and Midsummer are also associated with the aos si.

Alternate names in Irish folklore [ edit ]

The Aos si are known by many names in Ireland, among them: [8]

  • Aingil Anuabhair : "Proud angels"
  • Daoine Uaisle': "The noble folk"
  • Daoine maithe : "Good people"
  • Deamhna Aerig : "Air demons"
  • Dream Anuabhair : "Excessively proud [people]"
  • Sidhfir : "fairy men"
  • Sidheogaidhe : "Young Moundlings"
  • Sluagh Cille : "Host of the churchyard"
  • Sluagh na Marbh : "Host of the dead"
  • Sluagh Sidhe : "Mound host"
  • Sluagh-Sidhe-Thuatha-De-Danann : "Mound host of the Tuatha De Danann"
  • na Uaisle : "The noble" or "The gentry"

Daoine maithe [ edit ]

Daoine maithe is Irish for "the good people", which is a popular term used to refer to the fairies in Irish folklore . Due to the oral nature of Irish folklore the exact origins of the fairies is not well defined. There are stories enough to support two possible origins. The fairies could either be fallen angels or the descendants of the Tuatha De Danann ; in the latter case this is equivalent with Aos Si . [9] In the former case, it is said that the fairies are angels who have fallen from heaven, but whose sins were not great enough to warrant hell. [1]

They are generally human-like, though there are exceptions such as the puca and the mermaid . The defining features of the Irish fairies are their supernatural abilities and their temperament. If treated with respect and kindness, Irish fairies can be quite benevolent; however, if they are mistreated they will react cruelly.

Types [ edit ]

The banshee or bean sidhe (from Old Irish : ban side ), which means "woman of the sidhe ", [10] has come to indicate any supernatural woman of Ireland who announces a coming death by wailing and keening . Her counterpart in Scottish mythology is the bean sith (sometimes spelled bean-sidh ). Other varieties of aos si and daoine sith include the Scottish bean nighe : the washerwoman who is seen washing the bloody clothing or armour of the person who is doomed to die; the leanan sidhe : the "fairy lover"; the cat sith : a fairy cat; and the Cu Sith : fairy dog.

The sluagh sidhe ? "the fairy host" ? is sometimes depicted in Irish and Scottish lore as a crowd of airborne spirits, perhaps the cursed, evil or restless dead. The siabhra (anglicised as "sheevra"), may be a type of these lesser spirits, prone to evil and mischief. [11] [12] However, an Ulster folk song also uses "sheevra" simply to mean "spirit" or "fairy". [13]

List [ edit ]

Creideamh Si [ edit ]

Hawthorn tree, considered in local Irish lore, and Celtic folklore in general, to be sacred to the Aos Si

Creideamh Si is Irish for the "Fairy Faith", a term for the collection of beliefs and practices observed by those who wish to keep good relationships with the aos si and avoid angering them. [4] General belief in the Celtic otherworld, the existence of Aos Si and the ability of the Aos Si to influence the local area and its people are all beliefs characteristic of Creideamh Si. It is characterised as an aspect of Irish popular religion and exists syncretically with folk Christianity. [14]

Effort is made by those who believe to appease local Aos Si through food and drink. The custom of offering milk and traditional foods?such as baked goods, apples or berries?to the aos si has survived through the Christian era into the present day in parts of Ireland, Scotland and the diaspora. [4] Those who maintain some degree of belief in the aos si also are careful to leave their sacred places alone and protect them from damage through road or housing construction. [4] [15]

See also [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

  1. ^ a b Croker, T. Crofton (2001). Thomas Wright (ed.). Fairy Legends and the Traditions of the South of Ireland . Ann Arbor: Scholars' Facsimiles & Reprints. ISBN   0-8201-1535-5 .
  2. ^ Dwelly, Edward (1902). Faclair Gaidhlig air son nan sgoiltean: Le dealbhan, agus a h-uile facal anns na faclairean Gaidhlig eile . Herne Bay: E. MacDonald. p. 846 . Retrieved 29 August 2022 .
  3. ^ James MacKillop, A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), s.v. daoine sidhe .
  4. ^ a b c d Evans Wentz, W. Y. (1966, 1990) The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries . Gerrards Cross, Colin Smythe Humanities Press ISBN   0-901072-51-6
  5. ^ a b Dictionary of the Irish Language : sid, sith
  6. ^ Yeats, William Butler (1908). The Collected Works in Verse and Prose of William Butler Yeats . Stratford-on-Avon, UK: Shakespeare Head. p. 3.
  7. ^ O'Curry, E., Lectures on Manuscript Materials, Dublin 1861, p. 504, quoted by Evans-Wentz 1966, p. 291
  8. ^ a b Fitzgerald, David (1880). Popular Tales of Ireland . Revue Celtique. pp. 174?176 . Retrieved 6 November 2021 .
  9. ^ Yeates, W. B. (1977). Fairy and Folk Tales of Ireland . Buckinghamshire: Collin Smythe Gerrards Cross. ISBN   0-900675-59-4 .
  10. ^ Dictionary of the Irish Language : sid, sith and ben
  11. ^ MacKillop, James (2004) Dictionary of Celtic Mythology
  12. ^ Joyce, P.W. A Social History of Ancient Ireland , Vol. 1, p. 271
  13. ^ "The Gartan Mother's Lullaby" published 1904 in The Songs of Uladh , lyrics by Seosamh MacCathmhaoil (Joseph Campbell)
  14. ^ O Giollain, Diarmuid (1991). "The fairy belief and official religion in Ireland" . The good people: new fairylore essays : 199?214 . Retrieved 9 April 2024 .
  15. ^ Lenihan, Eddie; Carolyn Eve Green (2004). Meeting the Other Crowd; The Fairy Stories of Hidden Ireland . New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin. chapter comments. ISBN   978-1585423071 .

Primary sources [ edit ]

Secondary sources [ edit ]

Tertiary Sources [ edit ]

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