The caoineag () is a female spirit in
Scottish folklore and a type of
Highland
Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...
banshee
A banshee ( ; Modern Irish , from sga, ben síde , "woman of the fairy mound" or "fairy woman") is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member, usually by screaming, wailing, shrieking, or keening. Her name is ...
, her name meaning "weeper". She is normally invisible and foretells death in her
clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meanin ...
by lamenting in the night at a waterfall, stream or Loch, or in a
glen
A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. Whittow defines it as a "Scottish term for a deep valley in the Highlands" that is "narrower ...
or on a mountainside. Unlike the related death portent known as the
bean nighe
The ( 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 ( ga, bean sídhe, anglicized as "banshee") that haunts des ...
, the caoineag cannot be approached, questioned, or made to grant wishes.
[Carmichael, Alexander (1900). ''Carmina Gadelica (Vol. 2)''. Edinburgh: T. and A. Constable. pp. 240–1.][Mackenzie, Donald (1935). ''Scottish Folklore and Folk Life''. Blackie & Son. pp. 239–40.]
The
Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
folklorist
Alexander Carmichael
Alexander Carmichael (full name Alexander Archibald Carmichael or Alasdair Gilleasbaig MacGilleMhìcheil in his native Scottish Gaelic; 1 December 1832, Taylochan, Isle of Lismore – 6 June 1912, Barnton, Edinburgh) was a Scottish excis ...
in ''
Carmina Gadelica
''Carmina Gadelica'' is a compendium of prayers, hymns, charms, incantations, blessings, literary-folkloric poems and songs, proverbs, lexical items, historical anecdotes, natural history observations, and miscellaneous lore gathered in the Gaelic ...
'' states that she foretells the death of those slain in battle, and that her mourning and weeping cause much anxiety to parents whose sons are in the wars. Before the
Massacre of Glencoe
The Massacre of Glencoe ( gd, Murt Ghlinne Comhann) took place in Glen Coe in the Highlands of Scotland on 13 February 1692. An estimated 30 members and associates of Clan MacDonald of Glencoe were killed by Scottish government forces, alleg ...
, the caoineag of the MacDonalds was heard to wail night after night.
[ Those whose fears were roused by her ]keening
Keening (Irish: Caointeoireacht) is a traditional form of vocal lament for the dead in the Gaelic Celtic tradition, known to have taken place in Ireland and Scotland. Keening, which can be seen as a form of sean-nós singing, was performed ...
left the glen and escaped the fate of those who remained behind. Fragments of the dirges said to have been sung by the caoineag before the massacre were collected by Carmichael:
Little caoineachag of the sorrow
Is pouring the tears of her eyes
Weeping and wailing the fate of Clan Donald
Alas my grief that ye did not heed her cries
There is gloom and grief in the mount of mist
There is weeping and calling in the mount of mist
There is death and danger, there is maul and murder
There is blood spilling in the mount of mist[
]
Other local names for her include caointeag, caoineachag, caointeachag, and caoidheag.[
]
Caointeach
The caointeach is another version of this death spirit attached to various clans in Islay. When a death from illness was about to occur, she would appear outside the sick person's house wearing a green shawl and begin lamenting at the door. In one account she is said to have been banished from the premises after having been pitied and given a gift of clothing to cover herself, much like traditions of the brownie and the Cauld Lad of Hylton
The Cauld Lad of Hylton is a ghost of murdered stable boy Robert Skelton, said to haunt the ruins of Hylton Castle (in Sunderland, Northern England).K. M. Briggs, ''The Fairies in English Tradition and Literature'', p 33 University of Chicago Press ...
.[Briggs, Katharine (1976). ''An Encyclopedia of Fairies''. Pantheon Books. pp. 68–9. .] She is sometimes conflated with the bean nighe who haunts desolate streams and washes the clothing of those about to die, but in this context the caointeach is more formidable. If she is interrupted she will strike at a person's legs with her wet linen and the victim will lose the use of them.[Briggs 1976, pp. 19–20.]
''Caointeach'' is also the spelling alternative given by Edward Dwelly
Edward Dwelly (1864–1939) was an English lexicographer and genealogist. He created the authoritative dictionary of Scottish Gaelic, and his work has had an influence on Irish Gaelic lexicography. He also practised as a professional genealogist ...
in his dictionary of Scottish Gaelic, where she is defined as a "female fairy or water-kelpie".
References
{{Scottish mythology
Aos Sí
Fairies
Fantasy creatures
Irish folklore
Irish legendary creatures
Female legendary creatures
Scottish legendary creatures
Scottish mythology
Tuatha Dé Danann
Banshees