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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 ban-sìth (, anglicized as "banshee") that haunts desolate streams and washes the clothing of those who are about to die. Les Lavandières is the French word under which these "night washerwomen" are perhaps best known. She is also called nigheag, 'the little washer', nigheag na h-ath, 'little washer of the ford', or nigheag bheag a bhroin, 'little washer of the sorrow'.
On the Isles of Mull and Tiree she was said to have unusually long breasts that interfere with her washing so she throws them over her shoulders and lets them hang down her back. Those who see her must not turn away, but quietly approach from behind so that she is not aware. He should then take hold of one of her breasts, put it in his mouth, and claim to be her foster-child (see Milk kinship). She will then impart to him whatever knowledge he desires. If she says the clothing she is washing belongs to an enemy, then he can allow the washing to continue, but if it belongs to himself or any of his friends, then he can stop her from completing her task and avoid his fate.
On the Isle of Skye the bean-nighe was said to have a squat figure resembling a "small pitiful child". If a person catches her she will reveal to him his ultimate fate. She answers all his questions but he must also truthfully answer hers in return. If however the bean-nighe sees him first then he will paralysis.
In Perthshire she was described as small and rotund and dressed in green, and can be caught by getting between her and the stream.
The bean-nighe is sometimes said to sing a mournful dirge as she washes the clothing of someone who is about to meet a sudden death by violence. She is often so absorbed in her washing and singing that she can sometimes be captured. If a person can seize hold of her after a stealthy approach, then she will reveal who is about to die and will also grant three wishes.Mackenzie, Donald (1935). Scottish Folklore and Folk Life. Blackie & Son Limited. p. 239. Hence, when a man would be successful in his work of some phase of his life the people would often say "Mary! The man got the better of the nigheag, and she gave him his three choose desires". She is sometimes described as having various physical defects, including having only one nostril; a large, protruding front tooth; or red webbed feet.Briggs (1976). pp. 16, 19.
One popular Highland story connected with the washing of death shrouds regards the so-called "Mermaid of Loch Slin". A maiden from Cromarty was walking along a path by the side of this loch one Sabbath morning, and after turning a corner she saw a tall woman standing in the water "knocking claes" (clothes) on a stone with a bludgeon. On a nearby bleaching-green, she observed more than thirty smocks and shirts, all smeared with blood. Shortly following the appearance of this figure, the roof of Fearn Abbey collapsed during worship service, burying the congregation in debris and killing thirty-six people.MacGregor, Alasdair Alpin (1937). The Peat-Fire Flame: Folktales and Traditions of the Highlands and Islands. The Moray Press. p. 298. Historically, the abbey roof did collapse in 1742, with the death toll reckoned at nearly fifty.
One folktale collected by Alexander Carmichael in the Carmina Gadelica, Vol. II, runs as follows:
Both the Irish banshee]] and the Scottish Gaelic ban-sìth (both meaning 'woman of the sídhe', 'fairy woman' or 'woman of peace') are derived from the Old Irish ben síde, 'fairy woman': bean: 'woman', and sídhe: the genitive of 'fairy'.
In Scottish Gaelic, ban-sìth(e) also occurs as bean-shìth(e). Both are correct.
Sìth in Scottish Gaelic (síd in Old Irish, also means 'peace'), and the fairies are referred to as the daoine-sìth (), 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 ban-nigheachain ('little washerwoman') or nigheag na h-àtha ('little washer at the ford').
Etymology
A bean-nighe ('washerwoman') is a specific type of ban-sìth.Campbell, John Gregorson (1900, 1902, 2005) The Gaelic Otherworld. Edited by Ronald Black. Edinburgh, Birlinn Ltd. p.311: "A bean-shìth is any otherworld woman; the bean-nighe is a specific otherworld woman."
See also
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