Name the female spirit considered the harbinger of death in Irish folklore?
"Islamic view of the Afterlife, death is symbolised by a black and white ram which in turn will be slain to symbolise the ""Death of Death"". The Banshee also symbolizes the coming of death in Irish Mythology. Black is the color of mourning in many European cultures. Black clothing is typically worn at funerals to show mourning for the death of the person. In East Asia, white is similarly associated with mourning; it represented the purity and perfection of the deceased person's spirit. During the Victorian era, purple and grey were considered to be mourning colors in addition to black."
"Banshee A banshee or bean-sídhe ( ; Modern Irish , , from , , ""woman of the fairy mound"" or ""fairy woman"") is a female spirit in Irish mythology who heralds the death of a family member, usually by wailing, shrieking, or keening. Her name is connected to the mythologically important tumuli or ""mounds"" that dot the Irish countryside, which are known as síde (singular ""síd"") in Old Irish. There are many varying descriptions of the banshee. Sometimes she has long streaming hair and wears a grey cloak over a green dress, and her eyes are red from continual weeping."
"like being watched, and it was believed that if a dullahan knew someone was watching them, they would lash that person's eyes with their whip, which was made from a spine; or they would toss a basin of blood on the person, which was a sign that the person was next to die. Also in Ireland there is a female spirit known as Banshee (Gaelic: ""ban sibh"" pron. banshee, ""white spirit/fairy""), who heralds the death of a person, usually by shrieking or keening. The banshee is often described in Gaelic lore as wearing red or green, usually with long, disheveled"
"Nemain In Irish mythology, Neman or Nemain (modern spelling: Neamhan, Neamhain) is the spirit-woman or goddess who personifies the frenzied havoc of war. In the ancient texts where The Morrígan appears as a trio of goddesses — the three sisters who make up the ""Morrígna"" — one of these sisters is sometimes known as Nemain. In the grand Irish epic of the Tain Bo Cuailnge, Neman confounds armies, so that friendly bands fall in mutual slaughter. When the forces of Queen Medb arrive at Magh-Tregham, in the present county of Longford, on the way to Cuailnge, Nemain appears amongst them:"
"theory, the name would mean something like 'the Great Taker' or the 'Great Allotter.' Nemain In Irish mythology, Neman or Nemain (modern spelling: Neamhan, Neamhain) is the spirit-woman or goddess who personifies the frenzied havoc of war. In the ancient texts where The Morrígan appears as a trio of goddesses — the three sisters who make up the ""Morrígna"" — one of these sisters is sometimes known as Nemain. In the grand Irish epic of the Tain Bo Cuailnge, Neman confounds armies, so that friendly bands fall in mutual slaughter. When the forces of Queen Medb arrive at Magh-Tregham, in"
"is defined as a ""female fairy or water-kelpie"". Caoineag The caoineag () is a female spirit in Scottish folklore and a type of Highland banshee, her name meaning ""weeper"". She is normally invisible and foretells death in her clan by lamenting in the night at a waterfall, stream or lake, or in a glen or on a mountainside. Unlike the related death portent known as the bean nighe, the caoineag cannot be approached or questioned or be made to grant wishes. The Scottish folklorist Alexander Carmichael in ""Carmina Gadelica"" states that she foretells the death of those slain in battle,"
"Ireland, whom she is said to have killed with poison in a bid to make her son king. She drank the poisoned drink to convince Crimthann, and died soon after at Samhain. According to ""Cormac's Glossary"", she was a goddess the pagan Irish worshipped on Samhain. This was also called the ""Féile Moingfhinne"" i.e. ""Festival of Mongfind"". Later legend, as documented in Patrick Weston Joyce's ""Social History of Ancient Ireland"", makes her a banshee. A prominent hill called ""Cnoc Samhna"" (""Hill of Samhain"") or ""Ard na Ríoghraidhe"" (""Height of the Kingfolk"") in County Limerick is associated with a tale linked"
"Caoineag The caoineag () is a female spirit in Scottish folklore and a type of Highland banshee, her name meaning ""weeper"". She is normally invisible and foretells death in her clan by lamenting in the night at a waterfall, stream or lake, or in a glen or on a mountainside. Unlike the related death portent known as the bean nighe, the caoineag cannot be approached or questioned or be made to grant wishes. The Scottish folklorist Alexander Carmichael in ""Carmina Gadelica"" states that she foretells the death of those slain in battle, and that her mourning and weeping cause much"
"him the leadership of the Fianna. Áillen was also a popular personal name in ancient Ireland and was used by several personages. The fertility goddess Áine is also sometimes known by this name. Aillen Aillen or Áillen is an incendiary being in Irish mythology. He played the harp and was known to sing beautiful songs. Called ""the burner"", he is a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann who resides in Mag Mell, the underworld. According to ""The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn"", he would burn Tara to the ground every year at Samhain with his fiery breath after lulling all the"
"mother who died in childbirth. In Scottish folklore there was a belief that a black, dark green or white dog known as a Cù Sìth took dying souls to the afterlife. In Welsh Folklore Gwyn ap Nudd is the escort of the grave, the personification of Death and Winter who leads the wild hunt to collect wayward souls and escort them to the Otherworld, sometimes it is Melwas, Arawn or Afallach in a similar position. La Calavera Catrina is a character in Mexican culture and art that symbolizes death. She is an icon of the Mexican Day of the Dead,"
"The Morrígan The Morrígan or Mórrígan, also known as Morrígu, is a figure from Irish mythology. The name is Mór-Ríoghain in Modern Irish. It has been translated as ""great queen"", ""phantom queen"" or ""queen of phantoms"". The Morrígan is mainly associated with war and fate, especially with foretelling doom, death or victory in battle. In this role she often appears as a crow, the ""badb"". She incites warriors to battle and can help bring about victory over their enemies. The Morrígan encourages warriors to do brave deeds, strikes fear into their enemies, and is portrayed washing the bloodstained clothes of"
"Nicnevin Nicneven or Nicnevin or Nicnevan (whose name is from a Scottish Gaelic surname, Neachneohain meaning ""daughter(s) of the divine"" and/or ""daughter(s) of Scathach"" NicNaoimhein meaning ""daughter of the little saint"") is a Queen of the Fairies in Scottish folklore. In Ireland and Scotland, ""the Feile na Marbh"", (the “festival of the dead”) took place on Samhain (Celtic New Year) The names Satia, NICNEVEN, Bensozie, Zobiana, Abundia, Herodiana, were all used to identify the Scottish Witch Goddess of Samhain. The use of the name for this meaning was first found in Montgomerie’s Flyting (c.1585) and was seemingly taken from a"
"and the Morrígan, Badb is part of a trio of war goddesses known as the ""Morrígna"". In Irish legends, Badb is associated with war and death, appearing either to foreshadow imminent bloodshed or to participate in battles, where she creates confusion among the soldiers. As a harbinger of doom, she appears in a number of different guises. In ""Togail Bruidne Dá Derga"", she takes the form of an ugly hag who prophesies Conaire Mór's downfall. She appears in a similar guise in ""Togail Bruidne Dá Choca"" to foretell the slaying of Cormac Condloinges, as well as taking the form of"
"""bean sídhe"" (from ), which means ""woman of the ""sídhe"""", 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 sìth"" (sometimes spelled ""bean-sìdh""). Other varieties of ""aos sí"" and ""daoine sìth"" 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 sídhe"": the ""fairy lover""; the ""cat sìth"": a fairy cat; and the ""Cù Sìth"": fairy dog. The ""sluagh sídhe""—""the fairy host""—is sometimes depicted in Irish and"
"Lí Ban Lí Ban (; thus 'paragon of women') may refer to an otherworldly female figure in Irish mythology. This Lí Ban claimed the beautiful Fand as sister, and was wife to Labraid Luathlám ar Claideb (""Labraid of the swift sword-hand""), the ruler of Magh Mell. She appears primarily in the Irish tale of ""Serglige Con Culainn"" (""The Wasting Sickness of Cú Chulainn""), where she is the daughter of Áed Abrat. She appears first in the form of a sea bird, then as an otherworldly woman who inflicts the story's eponymous sickness on Cú Chulainn. In the story Lí Ban"
"Findabair discovers this, she takes her own life out of shame. Other female figures from Celtic mythology include the weather witch Cailleach (Irish for ""nun,"" ""witch,"" ""the veiled"" or ""old woman"") of Scotland and Ireland, the Corrigan of Brittany who are beautiful seductresses, the Irish Banshee (woman of the Otherworld) who appears before important deaths, the Scottish warrior women Scáthach, Uathach and Aoife. The Sheela-na-Gig was a common grotesque sculpture which presented an exaggerated vulva. Her significance - ultimately as a fertility symbol - is debated and her dating is uncertain. Possibly the display of the vulva was meant to"
"She may be dressed in white with red hair and a ghastly complexion, according to a firsthand account by Ann, Lady Fanshawe in her ""Memoirs"". Lady Wilde in ""Ancient Legends of Ireland"" provides another: Sometimes the banshee assumes the form of some sweet singing virgin of the family who died young, and has been given the mission by the invisible powers to become the harbinger of coming doom to her mortal kindred. Or she may be seen at night as a shrouded woman, crouched beneath the trees, lamenting with veiled face, or flying past in the moonlight, crying bitterly. And"
"The Hag of Beara The Hag of Beara (, also known as The White Nun of Beara, or The Old Woman of Dingle) is a mythic Irish Goddess (a ""Cailleach"" is a divine hag, crone, or creator deity, but literally means ""veiled one"" (""caille"" translates as ""hood"", the implications that the woman is a nun) associated with the Beara Peninsula in County Cork, Ireland, who was thought to bring winter with her. She is best known as the narrator of the medieval Irish poem ""The Lament of the Hag of Beara"", in which she bitterly laments the passing of her"
"her many failed attempts to attract his interest in hopes of becoming his wife. She declares that he must be the first man to suffer the consequences of the new marriage law. As a crowd of infuriated women prepares to flog him into a quivering bowl of jelly, he awakens to find it was all a terrible nightmare. Aibell In Irish legend Aibell (sometimes Aoibheall (modern Irish spelling), also anglicised as Aeval) was the guardian spirit of the Dál gCais, the Dalcassians or Ó Bríen clan. She was the ruler of a ""sídhe"" in north Munster, and her dwelling place"
"Badb In Irish mythology, the Badb (Old Irish, ) or Badhbh (Modern Irish, )—meaning ""crow""—is a war goddess who takes the form of a crow, and is thus sometimes known as Badb Catha (""battle crow""). She is known to cause fear and confusion among soldiers to move the tide of battle to her favoured side. Badb may also appear prior to a battle to foreshadow the extent of the carnage to come, or to predict the death of a notable person. She would sometimes do this through wailing cries, leading to comparisons with the bean-sídhe (banshee). With her sisters, Macha"
"""Morrígna"". Occasionally Nemain or Fea appear in the various combinations. However, the Morrígan can also appear alone, and her name is sometimes used interchangeably with Badb. The Morrígan is mainly associated with war and fate, and is often interpreted as a ""war goddess"". W. M. Hennessy's ""The Ancient Irish Goddess of War"", written in 1870, was influential in establishing this interpretation. Her role often involves premonitions of a particular warrior's violent death, suggesting a link with the banshee of later folklore. This connection is further noted by Patricia Lysaght: ""In certain areas of Ireland this supernatural being is, in addition"
"are referred to as the ""daoine sìth"" (Irish, ""daoine sídhe"") - the ""people of peace"". ""Sídhe"", in its variant spellings, refers to the ""sídhe"" (mounds) where these beings dwell. The ""bean nighe"" is sometimes known by the diminutives ""ban nigheachain"" (""little washerwoman"") or ""nigheag na h-àth"" (""little washer at the ford""). Bean nighe The bean nighe (Scottish Gaelic for ""washerwoman"" or ""laundress"") is a female spirit in Scottish folklore, regarded as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld. She is a type of ""bean sìth"" (in Irish, ""bean sídhe"", anglicized as ""banshee"") that haunts desolate streams and"
"acts as messenger and mediator; she and Cú Chulainn's charioteer Láeg work together to see that Cú Chulainn is healed in exchange for his aid in Fand's battle in the Otherworld. From this Lí Ban may have derived her namesake, a legendary Lí Ban of Lough Neagh. Lí Ban Lí Ban (; thus 'paragon of women') may refer to an otherworldly female figure in Irish mythology. This Lí Ban claimed the beautiful Fand as sister, and was wife to Labraid Luathlám ar Claideb (""Labraid of the swift sword-hand""), the ruler of Magh Mell. She appears primarily in the Irish tale"
"Fand Fand ('tear', ""teardrop of beauty"") or Fann ('weak, helpless person') is an otherworldly woman in Irish mythology. The two forms of her name are not phonetic variants, but two different words of different meaning, and the history of her name is debated. Fand appears most prominently in the Ulster Cycle tale, ""Serglige Con Culainn"" (""The Sickbed of Cúchulainn"") as the daughter of Áed Abrat, sister of Lí Ban and one Angus, and wife of Manannán. She enters the story in the form of an otherworldly sea bird. In her sea bird form, she flies with a flock of enchanted"
"Findabair Findabair or Finnabair (modern Irish Fionnabhair ) was a daughter of Ailill and Queen Medb of Connacht in Irish mythology. The meaning of the name is ""white phantom"" (etymologically cognate with ""Gwenhwyfar"", the original Welsh form of Guinevere). The Dindsenchas also mention a Findabair who is the daughter of Lugaid Laigde. Though not considered a main character in the ""Táin"", Finnabair occupies a crucial role in the epic. During the war of the ""Táin"", her hand is offered to a succession of warriors in exchange for their sparring with Cú Chulainn. Ultimately her beauty and charms serve as the"
"Findabair Findabair or Finnabair (modern Irish Fionnabhair ) was a daughter of Ailill and Queen Medb of Connacht in Irish mythology. The meaning of the name is ""white phantom"" (etymologically cognate with ""Gwenhwyfar"", the original Welsh form of Guinevere). The Dindsenchas also mention a Findabair who is the daughter of Lugaid Laigde. Though not considered a main character in the ""Táin"", Finnabair occupies a crucial role in the epic. During the war of the ""Táin"", her hand is offered to a succession of warriors in exchange for their sparring with Cú Chulainn. Ultimately her beauty and charms serve as the"
"as a threefold warning before the person expires. Along the Glamorganshire coast, the cyhyraeth is said to be heard before a shipwreck, accompanied by a corpse-light. Like the Irish banshee and the Scottish Cailleach, to which the cyhyraeth and the Gwrach y Rhibyn are closely related, the cyhyraeth also sounds for Welsh natives dying far from home. The legend of the cyhyraeth is sometimes conflated with tales of the Gwrach-y-Rhibyn () or Hag of the Mist, a monstrous Welsh spirit in the shape of a hideously ugly woman – a Welsh saying, to describe a woman without good looks, goes,"
"Death Coach The death coach is part of the folklore of north western Europe. It is particularly strong in Ireland but is also found in British and American culture. In Irish folklore, it is known as the Cóiste Bodhar , meaning deaf or silent coach, and it is said that the sight or sound of the coach is the harbinger of death. It warns of imminent death to either oneself or to a close relative. In Ireland in particular the Death Coach is seen as a signifier of the inevitability of death, as the belief goes once it has come"
"of creatures of the size and colour of green and grey grasshoppers, bearing a body laid out on a rose-leaf, which they buried with songs, and then disappeared."" They are believed to be an omen of death. The Tuath(a) Dé Danann are a race of supernaturally-gifted people in Irish mythology. They are thought to represent the main deities of pre-Christian Gaelic Ireland. Many of the Irish tales of the Tuatha Dé Danann refer to these beings as fairies, though in more ancient times they were regarded as goddesses and gods. The Tuatha Dé Danann were spoken of as having come"
"Bean nighe The bean nighe (Scottish Gaelic for ""washerwoman"" or ""laundress"") is a female spirit in Scottish folklore, regarded as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld. She is a type of ""bean sìth"" (in Irish, ""bean sídhe"", anglicized as ""banshee"") that haunts desolate streams and washes the clothing of those about to die. ""Les Lavandières"" is the French word under which these ""night washerwomen"" are perhaps best known. The ""bean nighe"", also known as the Washing Woman or Washer at the Ford, is seen in lonely places beside a stream or pool, washing the blood from"
"Aillen Aillen or Áillen is an incendiary being in Irish mythology. He played the harp and was known to sing beautiful songs. Called ""the burner"", he is a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann who resides in Mag Mell, the underworld. According to ""The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn"", he would burn Tara to the ground every year at Samhain with his fiery breath after lulling all the inhabitants to sleep with his music. This only ended with the arrival of Fionn mac Cumhaill, who inhaled the poison from his spear to keep himself awake and slew Aillen. The act won"
"Flidais Flidas or Flidais (modern spelling: Fliodhas, Fliodhais) is a female figure in Irish Mythology, known by the epithet ""Foltchaín"" (""beautiful hair""). She is believed to have been a goddess of cattle and fertility. In the recent past she has been popularly rendered as a woodland goddess akin to the Greek Artemis and Roman Diana, though scholars now believe this to be incorrect. She is mentioned in the Metrical Dindshenchas as mother of Fand and in the ""Lebor Gabála Érenn"" as the mother of Fand, Bé Chuille and Bé Téite. In the Middle Irish glossary ""Cóir Anmann"" (""Fitness of Names"")"
"Amadan Dubh Amadán Dubh, also known as the ""'Dark Fool'"" or ""Fairy Fool"", is a trickster fairy found in Irish folklore, and is the ""bringer of madness and oblivion."" It is also said that Amadán Dubh ""haunts the hills after sunset playing reed pipes to work his magic."" This is a bit like describing Heracles as an itinerant stable cleaner. Seeing as how he cloaks his deeds in shadow, myth, and deliberate obfuscation the lack of a coherent myth about The Amadán isn't surprising. One of the mighiest of the folk of the mound his powers are in poetry, the"