Sidhe

## Introduction

The only named sidhe in the canon is Marika, and she is specifically daoine sidhe. The daoine sidhe are one of many types of sidhe.

## Physical Description

Gwyn ap Nudd says Marika is 'stunningly beautiful. She had a more refined face than even his mother.' Marika has pointed ears and fits the fairy stereotype better than most fae. She has grey eyes with pupils that are able to turn to slits like a cat's. The sidhe in Lavenna were quite tall.

Marika also tends to wear very elaborate clothing. At the last Wild Hunt, she wore small pearls on her ears, and '[d]iaphanous hunting attire, and strapped to her calf, a small hunting blade. Around her long fingers glittered rings, and Gwyn had no doubt that one of them housed a sharp little spike.' At the Coalition of the Classless, she wore a 'glittering gown [that] shone like the dawn'.

## Abilities

Marika can use magic, though it's unclear if this is a daoine sidhe attribute, part of her being classless, or simply something unique to Marika. She is also quite skilled in archery.

## Characteristics (culture, habits)

There are many types of sidhe, but the ones mentioned in *Fae Tales* are:

* bean sidhe
* cu sidhe
* daoine sidhe

Gwyn noted that some sidhe resided in Esgrettio, alongside common fae, ellyllon, laecquetti, and alven ottermanner. Since Esgrettians vacated the area after Augus Each Uisge's Blight destroyed the area, but returned after Augus healed it, it's likely this happened with the local sidhe, as well. A large group of daoine sidhe resided in Lavenna, alongside aelves and Seelie dryads.

## Folklore/Mythology

'The 'aos sí**'** . . . is the Irish term for a supernatural race in Irish mythology and Scottish mythology (where it is usually spelled Sìth, but pronounced the same), comparable to the fairies or elves.

They are said to live underground in fairy mounds, across the western sea, or in an invisible world that coexists with the world of humans. This world is described in the *Lebor Gabála Érenn* as a parallel universe in which the *aos sí* walk amongst the living. In the Irish language, *aos sí* means "people of the mounds" (the mounds are known in Irish as "the *sídhe*"). In modern Irish the people of the mounds are also called *daoine sídhe* . . . in Scottish mythology they are *daoine sìth*. They are variously said to be the ancestors, the spirits of nature, or goddesses and gods.

In many Gaelic tales, the *aos sí* are later, literary versions of the Tuatha Dé Danann ("People of the Goddess Danu")—the deities and deified ancestors of Irish mythology. Some sources describe them as the survivors of the Tuatha Dé Danann who retreated into the Otherworld when fleeing the mortal Sons of Míl Espáine who, like many other early invaders of Ireland, came from Iberia. As part of the terms of their surrender to the Milesians, the Tuatha Dé Danann agreed to retreat and dwell underground. (In later interpretations, each tribe of the Tuatha Dé Danann was given its own mound.) Geoffrey Keating, an Irish historian of the early 17th century, equates Iberia with the Land of the Dead, providing a possible connection to the *aos sí.*

In folk belief and practice, the *aos sí* are often appeased with offerings, and care is taken to avoid angering or insulting them. Often they are not named directly, but rather spoken of as "The Good Neighbors", "The Fair Folk", or simply "The Folk". The most common names for them, *aos sí*, *aes sídhe*, *daoine sídhe* (singular *duine sídhe*) and *daoine sìth* mean, literally, "people of the mounds" (referring to the *sídhe*). The *aos sí* are generally described as stunningly beautiful, though they can also be terrible and hideous.

*Aos sí* are seen as fierce guardians of their abodes—whether a fairy hill, a fairy ring, a special tree (often a hawthorn) or a particular loch or wood. It is believed that infringing on these spaces will cause the *aos sí* to retaliate in an effort to remove the people or objects that invaded their homes. Many of these tales contribute to the changeling myth in west European folklore, with the *aos sí* kidnapping trespassers or replacing their children with changelings as a punishment for transgressing. The *aos sí* are often connected to certain times of year and hours; as the Gaelic Otherworld is believed to come closer to the mortal world at the times of dusk and dawn, the *aos sí* correspondingly become easier to encounter. Some festivals such as Samhain, Beltane and Midsummer are also associated with the *aos sí.*

*Sídhe* are the hills or tumuli that dot the Irish landscape. In modern Irish the word is *sí*; in Scottish Gaelic, *sìth*; in Old Irish *síde* and the singular is *síd*. In a number of later, English-language texts, the word *sídhe* is incorrectly used both for the mounds and the people of the mounds. However *sidh* in older texts refers specifically to "the palaces, courts, halls or residences" of the otherworldly beings that supposedly inhabit them. The fact that many of these *sídhe* have been found to be ancient burial mounds has contributed to the theory that the *aos sí* were the pre-Celtic occupants of Ireland.'

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 *The Court of Five Thrones*, Chapter 21: Fracture. Accessed 01 May 2021.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 *The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague*, Chapter 12: Come Back To Me. Accessed 05 August 2021.
3. ↑ *The Court of Five Thrones*, Chapter 53: Arrow. Accessed 01 May 2021.
4. ↑ *The Court of Five Thrones*, Chapter 56: Islands. Accessed 01 May 2021.
5. ↑ *The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague*, Chapter 4: Esgrettio. Accessed 09 May 2021.
6. ↑ "Aos Si". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aos\_S%C3%AD. Accessed 07 May 2021.