Lesson 1: Cultural Capsule
Fairies,
pookahs and nasty ghosts
Síofraí,
púcaí, ainspridí
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The Irish are renowned for their belief in the supernatural, and nowhere does this belief survive as well as in the Gaeltacht areas of Ireland where the traditional language of the fairies is still spoken. |
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The introduction of Christianity may well have occurred at a very early stage in Ireland compared to other northern European countries but it seems that the likes of St. Patrick and St. Ciarán, either did not try or did not succeed in convincing folks that there are no such things as fairies. And if you ask me, I wouldn't feel too comfortable insisting that there aren't.
There are of course good historical and pseudo-historical explanations for the existence of these 'little people' ('c' pron. Nuh dee-nee be-ug-uh) or the tribe of pride, i.e. the fallen tribe, ('dream an uabhair' pron. dram un uv-vur). Irish legends recount a number of successive invasions where the invaders forced the invaded underground to forevermore dwell beneath earthen mounds. These natives, such as the case with the Tuatha Dé Danann, were said to be equipped with supernatural powers. One, therefore, shouldn't be surprised to find that these vengeful vanquished supernatural beings would somehow work their way back into the popular imagination of the Irish countryside.
So, how do these beings manifest themselves? Do they deliberately go out to cause trouble to the late traveller? Some believers say "no, if you don't bother them, they won't bother you." But many believers insist that these denizens of the dark use their wicked tricks and diabolical powers to torment those who dwell above ground. They might walk beside you on the other side of the ever present drystone wall or they might approach you across a field and attack with little or no warning.
The late Donnchadh Shéamais (Ó Drisceoil), a man of great knowledge and intellectual abilities called it all 'rubbish' and yet said 'By God I wouldn't like to walk through a lonely glen on a wild and stormy moonless night.' Irish folklore abounds with clever ways to defend oneself from the wrath of the fairies. People, for instance, used to bring with them a piece of glowing coal or turf stuck on a stake or a fork and if an evil hobgoblin (púca - poo-kuh) attacked they would thrust the burning weapon towards the phantom's mouth. This would usually stop the attack, but people would also bring lanterns in case the wind and rain extinguished the flames. These lanterns were meant purely as defence against fairies and not intended to light the way.
Fleeing into a graveyard (reilig, pron. relig) or jumping across a creek were other options as it was believed the fairies couldn't follow you into a graveyard or cross water. Religious people, aware of the nightly danger, would also put their trust in 'consecrated' water (uisce coisricthe, pron. Ish-kuh krish-rick-huh) for their protection. It was transported in a handful of twisted stalks of straw, about six inches long which had been dipped into consecrated or holy water. The walker carried this 'aspersorium' (deisréad, pron. desh-raid) in one hand stretching it out ahead of themselves. Donnchadh Shéamais knew a woman who wouldn't dream of going out at night without a 'deisréad', or even more than one, although she claimed not to believe in fairies.
For fear that a good-looking baby would be kidnapped by the fairies people wouldn't mention its beauty in order not to attract the dangerous host to it. For his or her protection they would not only call God's blessing upon the baby but actually spit at him, hoping that this would deceive the fairies into believing that the baby isn't worth stealing. Male babies were often dressed like females for the first year to deceive the fairies who were always looking for a mate for the fairy queen. These beliefs were common up to the 1950s, 60s and maybe even later. Some people were believed to be changelings which the fairies got tired of and sent back into the community. People like that were called 'fuílleach na síofraí' (what the fairies left behind).
It is important to keep in mind that fairies are no ghosts in the conventional sense, but rather a supernatural race of people based on actual historical race memories of the Irish. People seem to fear fairies mostly at night, even though I've never heard anybody say that they're not around by day. They may well occupy certain fields or parts thereof by day and just start roaming by night. After all, darkness is their element.
It seems that older people tend to fear them more than young folk. They have more experience with this phenomenon as they have spent most of their lives walking the roads and paths of the countryside while young people have the privilege of motorized transport. The remoter the region the longer people walked and the more they walked the greater the threat of meeting someone from 'an saol eile' the other world. Some folk may be embarrassed to talk about fairies today and even their best friends wouldn't know their mind on this matter. But beware! One of the greatest tricks of this evil gang is to make people believe that they don't exist.
Despite some assertions to the contrary, fairies appear to be largely just mischievous by nature. They are occasionally malicious, but rarely, if ever, malevolent. Síofraí, púcaí and ainspridí are very important part of the culturally rich race memory of Irish folklore and heritage. Although some translations of these beliefs and stories exist, the overwhelming majority remain, like the síofraí themselves, only in the original Irish. For more information and books on Irish folklore and traditions please contact www.litriocht.com.