While you may have heard of the banshee - the fairy woman weeping for the death of members of certain old families - there is much more to the bean si (banshee) of Ireland and the bean nighe (ben neeyeh) and caoineag (konyack) of the Scottish highlands and islands.
This week we will consider where you might find these Folk, how you would identify them or tell them apart, and of course whether they present a danger and how to protect yourself if so.
Edith has only come across fragments of stories concerning the bean si and the bean nighe, some of which are included below.
Where
The bean si is found across Ireland, and may be seen at the houses of people about to die, peering in the windows, crouched beneath the trees, or even flying past in the moonlight.
The bean nighe, also known as the Little Washer by the Ford, may be found in desolate and wild places in the highlands and islands of Scotland, always by a stream in which she washes the blood-stained clothes of those about to die.
The caoineag, like the bean nighe, is found in Scotland. A local form, the caointeach, is found specifically in Argyllshire, Skye and some of the neighbouring islands.
How to identify the bean si and bean nighe
The bean si has long streaming hair and a grey cloak over a green dress. Her eyes are fiery red from continual weeping. To see more than one bean si together suggests the oncoming death of someone very great or holy. One account from the 1600s tells of a bean si who at one o’clock in the morning appeared at the window of a house, greatly frightening an Englishwoman who was visiting at the time. At two o’clock that night, a member of the household passed away. The woman in the window was dressed in white, with red hair and a terribly pale complexion, and she vanished after three utterances, with her body looking more like a thick cloud than anything of substance.
The bean nighe is usually described as smaller, still dressed in green, and sometimes with red webbed feet. Descriptions of the bean nighe often focus claim she has one nostril, one large protruding tooth, and long dangling breasts that she throws over her shoulders as she washes - however, these descriptions are localised to Mull and Tiree in the inner Hebrides, and are not a necessary part of the bean nighe’s appearance.
The caoineag (or ‘weeper’) is usually not seen, only her wails are heard in the darkness near waterfalls before a catastrophe. The caointeach of the Islands specifically however, is said to look like a child or very little woman, in a short green gown and petticoat with a high-crowned white cap, and a green mourning shawl.
The Bean Nighe.
Danger and protection
The bean si and the bean nighe portend evil but they do not cause it. It may be better if you do not come across them - indeed, imagine wandering by a stream in the wilderness and ahead you see a strange woman washing blood-stained clothing over and over in the stream. As you grow closer, you realise that you recognise the clothing…
One story of the bean nighe tells of a girl in Cromarty in the north of Scotland, who was walking by the loch one morning and came across a tall woman in the water washing clothes against a rock. When the girl looked about her she saw more than thirty shirts and smocks laid out on the grass, all covered in blood. Shortly after this, the roof of Fearn Abbey collapsed during the service, killing 36 people. This can be traced to a true event in 1742 - the official death toll of the roof collapse is closer to 50 people.
There is no clear protection from what is foretold by the bean si. However, the brave may approach the bean nighe - carefully. If they are able to get between her and the water, she may offer them three wishes, or three true answers - but she will demand three true answers in return. Stories from Mull and Tiree suggest that if a human is able to come close enough to suckle at her breast (truly, that must require significant stealthiness on the part of the human or absent-mindedness from the bean nighe!), they may claim to be her foster child and ask a wish from her.
If you ask the bean nighe whose clothes she is washing you will have a choice - if it is an enemy, let her continue and they will die. If it is someone you care for, you can try to interrupt her washing and save them. But, those seeking to try this should beware - if anyone interrupts the caointeach, who is often indistinguishable from the bean nighe, she will strike their legs with her wet linen and they will lose the use of those limbs. The caointeach may mourn for a specific family and it is said that like a Brownie, she may be laid if gifted clothing, and never come back to mourn for them again.