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Es difícil poder distinguir, a través de siglos de historia de Irlanda y de sus muchos habitantes, quiénes son reales y quiénes forman parte de la leyenda. Puede que todos tengan alguna parte de realidad con cierta mezcla de leyenda, pues en esta tierra de seres mágicos e increíbles en la que sólo se menciona a las hadas en voz baja para no molestarlas y donde pocos se atreven a dudar de la existencia de los seres mitológicos, es muy posible que realidad y fantasía hayan llegado a mezclarse de tal modo que ambas parezcan lo mismo y una no pueda existir sin la otra. 

Fairy Hill o la colina de las hadas

Tieveragh es una prominente colina de forma redondeada en la ladera este de Glencorp, cerca de Cushendall, en el condado de Antrim. Tiene fama de ser el hogar de multitud de hadas y las gentes del lugar cuentan que éstas emergen en procesión en la víspera del mes de Mayo, en la fiesta celta de Bealtaine (el 30 de Abril). Aquellos que duden de la existencia de esta “gente pequeña” no las verán, pues se muestran solamente a quienes creen en ellas.

Existen muchos lugares en Irlanda del Norte relacionados con las hadas, siendo uno de ellos Glencloy. Desde lo alto de esta cañada puedes observar las escasas, pero impresionantes puertas de los pilares de piedra o “stone gate pillars”, con la parte superior en forma de cono. Algunos de los pilares, sin embargo, forman en la parte superior una pequeña plataforma lisa, hechas así a propósito para que las hadas puedan bailar sobre ellos.

Hay muchos tipos de hadas, algunas son hadas buenas y otras...no tanto. La mayoría son expertas en producir la más maravillosa de las músicas, como las llamadas hadas violinistas. En el pasado, cuando el lino crecía en abundancia, los violinistas de las cañadas (los glens) de Glenarm y Glencoy eran los encargados de animar las celebraciones de la recogida del lino. Se decía que aquellos que tenían excelentes habilidades y conocimiento de las melodías más extrañas y hermosas lo habían aprendido de las hadas, conocidos por ser estupendos músicos.

Las hadas también están estrechamente relacionadas con el agua, como el Watershee o hada del agua. Se dice que estas hadas se aparecen normalmente en forma de una mujer muy hermosa. El hada de las aguas atrae con su dulce canto a los viajeros cansados a los pantanos y a los lagos, sólo para poder ahogarlos y devorar sus desafortunadas almas. Solamente llevando una cruz o diciendo una oración se podrán proteger los humanos de sus malvadas intenciones.

Si preguntas a los norirlandeses por su creencia en las hadas, lo más seguro es que recibas una respuesta tímida o prudente. Las hadas son temidas por estas tierras y es mejor referirse a ellas de forma menos directa, utilizando términos como "la gente pequeña".

La gente de los túmulos: Los Sídhe; las guaridas de las hadas

Los Sídhe o Hadas, tal y como nos relatan las tradiciones irlandesas, son descendientes de los Tuatha De Danann, antiguo pueblo irlandés que fue arrojado al inframundo tras la invasión de la isla por sus actuales habitantes, los gaélicos, que procedentes de España conquistaron Irlanda capitaneados por su caudillo Míl Espaine.

A los Tuatha no les quedó más remedio que refugiarse en los sídhe, nombre céltico que también hace referencia a los montículos sobre los cuales se asientan los monumentos megalíticos y del que se deriva una de las denominaciones que reciben las hadas en Irlanda y en las tierras altas de Escocia, daoíne sídhe. De este modo circulan por toda Irlanda historias sobre los Knocks (del irlandés Cnoc, colina hueca) en cuyo interior viven extensas comunidades feéricas (o de hadas) gobernadas por un rey o una reina. Entre los sídhe más conocidos de Irlanda se encuentra Knockma, donde se situaba el trono de Fínvara, mítico rey de las hadas de Connaught y el Newgrange, vinculado al mito de Aengus Óg.

El mito de Aengus Óg y el Newgrange

Sus padres fueron Dagda, un poderoso dios celta protector de las tribus y Boann, la diosa celta del Río Boynne. Dagda tuvo una relación con Boann, la esposa de Nechtan. Para poder esconder el embarazo de Boann, Dagda hizo que el sol se detuviera durante nueve meses, lo que hizo que Aengus fuera concebido, gestado y naciera, aparentemente, en un sólo día. Cuando cumplió la mayoría de edad Aengus le arrebató su hogar a Dagda, el Brú na Bóinne, una zona del valle del río Boyne que contiene las tumbas de corredor Newgrange, Knowth y Dowth. Aengus llegó cuando Dagda ya había repartido sus tierras entre todos sus hijos y no había dejado ninguna para él, así que éste pidió a su padre poder vivir en el Brú "un día y una noche" y Dagda estuvo de acuerdo. Como el idioma irlandés no tiene artículo definido, "un día y una noche" es lo mismo que "día y noche", lo que cubre un período de tiempo indefinido, así que Aengus se hizo con el Brú de manera permanente.

Los Sídhe se manifiestan a los mortales en determinadas fechas, sobre todo en la noche del Solsticio de Verano, que es cuando se los suele ver bailando en corro a la luz de la luna.

En las leyendas irlandesas se menciona un reino invisible habitado por gente de otro mundo conocido como los Sídhe, o la Buena Gente. Esta creencia fue una vez común entre los países celtas. Los Sídhe son considerados como una raza aparte, bastante diferente de los humanos, pero con mucho contacto con los mortales a través de los siglos y se pueden encontrar muchos testimonios documentados sobre estos contactos. Esta raza puede moverse a toda velocidad por el aire y cambiar de forma a voluntad. Es difícil señalar una época histórica de tiempo en el que comenzó la tradición de las hadas. Se dice que la gente de Irlanda y sus dioses, de época anterior a la llegada de los gaélicos, son los ancestros de los Sídhe. La creencia en los Sídhe es parte de la religión pre-cristiana que sobrevivió durante miles de años y que nunca fue apartada del todo de la memoria de la gente. Cuando los primeros gaélicos, los hijos del caudillo español Mil, llegaron a Irlanda, encontraron que los Tuatha De Danaan, la gente de la diosa Dana, ya tenían el control de la tierra. Los hijos de Mil lucharon contra ellos en una gran batalla y les vencieron, llevándolos al inframundo donde se dice que aún permanecen hoy en los huecos de las colinas o en los montículos shide.

En los primeros manuscritos irlandeses (recogidos de una tradición oral más antigua) encontramos referencias a los Tuatha De Danaan, y en algunos libros esta raza es descrita como “dioses y no dioses”, señalando el hecho de que eran “algo intermedio”. También se dice que “parece que vengan de los cielos, teniendo en cuenta su inteligencia y su excelencia de conocimiento”.

Los Tuatha De Danaan tenían una mente tan poderosa que no fue posible convencerlos con la nueva religión, el cristianismo. En el “The Colloquy of the Ancients” tiene lugar un diálogo entre San Patricio y el fantasma de Caílte, un mítico guerrero celta perteneciente a la Fianna; Patricio se quedó atónito al ver a una mujer hada saliendo de la cueva de Cruachan, llevando un manto verde y una corona de oro en la cabeza. Mientras que la mujer era joven y hermosa, Caílte estaba viejo y marchito. Cuando San Patricio pregunta por qué, Caílte le responde:

“Ella pertenece a los Tuatha De Danaan que nunca envejecen…Y yo soy de los hijos de Mil, que son efímeros y se apagan.”

Los Sídhe de los túmulos subterráneos también son vistos por los irlandeses como los descendientes de los antiguos dioses de la agricultura en la Tierra (siendo Crom Cruaich uno de los más importantes). Estos dioses controlaban la madurez de las cosechas y la producción de leche del ganado, por lo que había que llevarles ofrendas con regularidad. Se menciona en el Libro de Leinster que, tras haber sido conquistados, los Tuatha De Danaan se vengaron de los hijos de Mil destrozando sus campos de trigo y la calidad de la leche (los Sídhe son bien conocidos por esto, incluso en nuestros días). Los hijos de Mil fueron de este modo forzados a hacer un pacto con ellos y, desde entonces, la gente de Irlanda ha honrado este acuerdo dejando ofrendas de leche y mantequilla a la Buena Gente.

Un rasgo notable de los Sídhe es que están repartidos en distintas tribus, gobernadas por reyes y reinas-hadas en cada territorio. Podría ser que el orden social de los Sídhe se correspondiera con la aristocracia de las antiguas familias irlandesas, quienes en sí mismas reflejan el antiguo sistema de castas de los celtas. Es interesante señalar que muchos de los irlandeses se refieren a los Sídhe simplemente como “la nobleza”, debido a su apariencia alta y noble y su forma de hablar elegante. Tienen sus propios palacios donde hacen fiestas y tocan música, pero también luchan a menudo con las tribus vecinas.

En los testimonios de mucha gente de la zona rural se hace a menudo una distinción entre los Sídhe, quienes son vistos andando en la superficie después de la puesta del sol y los Sluagh Sidhe, las hadas que viajan por el aire durante la noche, y que son conocidas por “llevarse” a los mortales con ellas en sus viajes. Los Sídhe también son los guardianes de la mayoría de los lagos en Irlanda y Escocia. Estas distintas categorías de seres Sídhe están relacionadas con los testimonios de quienes dividen a los Sídhe en espíritus del bosque, espíritus del agua, espíritus del aire y así hasta completar los espíritus elementales de cada lugar.

El lago Gur en el condado de Limerick es un lugar increíblemente mágico donde nos encontramos con muchos de los reyes y reinas Sídhe de Irlanda. El lago está bordeado por un círculo de colinas bajas. Una vez cada siete años aparece seco y se puede encontrar allí una de las entradas a la Tierra de la Juventud. La guardiana del lago es conocida como Toice Bhrean (la perezosa) porque descuidó el cuidado del pozo, que rebosó y causó el surgimiento del lago. Se cree que una vez cada siete años una persona encuentra la muerte ahogándose en el lago, “llevado” por la Beann Fhionn, la Mujer Blanca.

LOS CHANGELINGS

Las mujeres hada de Irlanda del Norte sufren unos partos muy dificultosos. Muchos niños hada mueren antes de nacer y aquellos que sobreviven son criaturas malignas y deformes, llamados changelings. Una antigua creencia irlandesa dice que los hermosos bebés humanos son secuestrados por la noche y reemplazados por los changelings.

Las hadas adultas siendo como realmente son, estéticamente hermosas, sienten repugnancia por estos infantes y no tienen ningún deseo de quedárselos. Intentan cambiarlos por bebés mortales sanos y hermosos que roban de las casas de los humanos. En lugar del bebé humano dejan una criatura espantosa que se conoce como changeling y tiene el poder de producir el mal en el hogar donde aparece. Cualquier niño que no haya sido bautizado (un pensamiento probablemente instaurado por la iglesia católica para que no quedara ningún niño sin bautizar) o que es demasiado querido y admirado corre el riesgo de ser cambiado.

Siendo mejor prevenir que curar, se pueden establecer algunas protecciones alrededor de la cuna del niño para mantener alejadas a las hadas que quieren robarlos y remplazarlos por un changeling. Un crucifijo o unas tenazas de hierro colocadas a lo largo de la cuna son normalmente efectivos ya que esto asusta a las hadas. Alguna prenda del padre de la criatura echada sobre el niño también puede ser efectiva.

Cada changeling tiene una personalidad diferente pero la fealdad y el mal temperamento son genéticos. Las hadas, en su perfección inmortal, sienten repugnancia por estas criaturas con ojos como el carbón quemado, miembros arrugados y piel áspera. Los changelings tienen unas características físicas bien definidas: aspecto arrugado y marchito, junto con una piel amarillenta y áspera. Sus ojos son tan oscuros que revelan una gran sabiduría a pesar de su corta edad. Poseen también otras características, normalmente deformidades físicas, entre las que habitualmente se encuentran una espalda jorobada o una mano inútil. Unas dos semanas después de su llegada a la casa de un humano, los changelings ya muestran una completa dentadura, piernas tan finas como las patas de un pollo y manos curvadas y arrugadas como las garras de un pájaro, cubiertas por una pelusa.

De todos modos, es su temperamento lo que marca más a los changelings. Los bebés son generalmente alegres y agradables, pero el hada sustituto nunca está contento, excepto cuando alguna calamidad cae sobre el hogar. Durante la mayor parte del tiempo aúlla, y chilla durante el día; el sonido de sus gritos traspasa el umbral de la resistencia humana.

Poner un par de gaitas al lado de la cuna es un buen modo de averiguar si el bebé es un hada. Ningún changeling puede resistirse. Pronto la música de las hadas se extiende por la casa y por toda la aldea, paralizando a aquellos que la escuchan.

No importa cuanta comida devoren, siempre quieren más y aun así permanecen tan pequeños y raquíticos como antes. Cuando un granjero tiene que alimentar a un changeling, el resto de la familia pasará penurias. Los changelings se comen cualquier cosa que se les ponga delante.

Una familia cuyo hijo haya sido robado por las hadas, puede recibir como sustituto a un niño hada enfermo o un tronco de madera encantado con la forma de un bebé, que pronto enferma y muere. Los changeling no viven mucho tiempo en el mundo de los mortales. Se arrugan cada vez más y mueren en los dos o tres primeros años de su existencia entre los humanos. La familia le entierra y le llora, sin darse cuenta de que su verdadero hijo recoge flores en la tierra de las hadas. Si alguna vez se abre la tumba del changeling, todo lo que se encontrará es un trozo de madera quemado donde debería estar el cuerpo del infante.

Si de alguna forma se consigue echar del hogar a un changeling, el niño que fue robado será devuelto a su verdadero hogar.

Para deshacerse de los changelings disfrazados de mortales y poder volver a tener una vida normal con tu auténtico bebé se deben llevar a cabo unos métodos absolutamente crueles para los que no todo el mundo está preparado. La leyenda dice que hay que poner a la criatura sobre un fuego en una pala de hierro ardiendo y echar té hirviendo por su garganta hasta que se le quemen los intestinos. Nosotros no podemos contemplar llevar a cabo tales crueldades incluso con una criatura maligna y deforme que ha sido puesta en nuestro hogar en lugar de nuestro hijo, de modo que la mejor opción es no tener que enfrentarse nunca a esta situación y tener en cuenta que las medidas preventivas son mucho más fáciles de realizar que estos ataques tan crueles, así que conseguid en algún sitio un crucifijo y un par de tenazas de hierro y lo más importante de todo, no anunciéis a voz en grito lo guapo y maravilloso que es vuestro recién nacido, pues las hadas están por todas partes y podrían oíros. ¡Y saben dónde vivís!

Las ilustraciones para estos Mitos y Leyendas fueron creadas por Harv antes de que este se metiera en el estudio a grabar el último disco con su grupo Stormzone, “Seven Sins”. Harv estuvo muy influenciado por la historia de estos changelings y habiendo representado en el papel su versión de cómo debían haber sido para un padre los momentos antes de descubrir que su amado hijo es en realidad un demonio feérico de pesadilla, decidió también imprimir este sentimiento en su música. La canción de Stormzone “You´re not the same” está basada en la leyenda del Changeling y podéis ver un video con la letra de la canción en el siguiente link. No os asustéis, porque después de todo, solamente es una leyenda. ¿No?

ENLACE AL VIDEO DE "YOU´RE NOT THE SAME" CON LETRA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yg1LI1-q60

ENLACE AL VIDEO CONCIERTO EN DIRECTO SALA LIMELIGHT, "YOU´RE NOT THE SAME"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4XyrBpmsr0

ENLACE A "YOU´RE NOT THE SAME", !LA HISTORIA TRAS LA CANCIÓN!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZm4NvxWQ8c

Bea H.

IN ENGLISH!!!!

Looking back throughout the centuries during Ireland's very varied and exceptionally interesting history, and focussing particularly on its inhabitants through the ages, it has always been a difficult task to make a difference between those who are real beings and the characters and creatures who have become part of its mythology and legends. It is possible that each and every Irish man and woman who has ever lived has existed as being part reality and part legend! In this beautiful land of incredible and magical creatures where, so as not to disturb them, fairies are only ever mentioned in hushed tones and low voices, and in which only the very foolish dare to doubt the existence of wonderful mythological beings, it is highly likely that indeed fantasy and reality have become mixed together in such a way that one has become blended with the other, even to the extent that brother reality cannot exist without its sister mythology!

FAIRY HILL
Tieveragh is a round shaped prominent hill situated on the east side of Glencorp, a region near Cushendall, County Antrim. It has the honour of being home to many fairies and local folk tell of the occasion known as May's Eve when many of the resident fairies leave the safety and secrecy of their tiny abodes in the celebration on April 30th of what is known as Bealtaine. The significance of this event being mentioned first is to emphasise an exceptionally important point when the subject involves a belief in fairies because those who doubt the existence of these “little people” will not see them as they show themselves only to those who believe in them!

There are many other places in Northern Ireland related to fairies, one of them being Glencloy, close to Carnlough on the Antrim coast. From the highest part of this glen you can observe the rare but impressive “stone gate pillars”, usually with a conical top. Once widespread throughout the glens, here and there some were left with flat tops so that the fairies could dance on them.

There are many types of fairies, some are good fairies and some others…not so good. Most of them are expert in producing the most wonderful of music, such as those known as the 'violinist fairies'. In the past, when Linen used to be produced in abundance, the violinists of the glens in Glenarm and Glencoy were the musicians in charge of livening up the celebrations of the flax harvest, the plant from which Linen is made. It was believed that those who had excellent abilities and knowledge of the rarest and most beautiful melodies had learnt them from the 'violinist fairies' known for being the most excellent musicians. Once a little girl was coming past a bush of harvested flax from a well with a can of water. She saw a little violin just the length of her own little hand and a bow beside it for playing it and both were as white as snow. She brought it home with her to show her father. She was going to try and play on it but her father stopped her and told her to bring it back and leave it where she found it. When she looked for it the next morning it was gone, but there was a very tiny note thanking the person who had brought the violin back for their honesty.

Fairies at times are also very much related with water, like the Watershee or water fairy. This fascinating creature usually appears as either a female fairy or a beautiful woman. The Watershee lures weary travellers into bogs and lakes with her sweet singing; only to drown them and devour their unfortunate souls. Only the wearing of a cross or the saying of a prayer will protect human beings from her dark and evil ways. If you ask any Northern Irish person about their belief in fairies, it is very possible that you will receive a timid or prudent answer. Fairies are actually feared around these lands and it is better to refer to them in a less direct way, by using terms such as “the little people”.

THE SIDHE, THE PEOPLE OF THE MOUNDS
The Sídhe have distinct tribes, ruled over by fairy kings and queens in each of their territories. These sídhe of the subterranean mounds, as Irish tradition tell us, are descendants of the Tuatha Dé Danann, an ancient Irish nation which was thrown into the underworld following the invasion of the Emerald Isle, an invasion carried out by their current inhabitants, the Gaels, who originated in Spain and conquered Ireland captained by their warlord Míl Espaine.

The Tuatha did not have any other option that seek refuge in the sídhe, a Celtic name that also refers to the mounds on top of which stands the megalithic monuments and from which derives one of the denominations which fairy people receive in Ireland and the highlands of Scotland, daoíne sídhe. There are stories all around Ireland about the Knocks (from the Irish Cnoc, hollow hill) inside of which lives extensive fairy communities ruled by a king or queen. Amongst the most known sídhe in Ireland is Knockma, where Fínvara´s throne could be found. Fínvara was a mythical king of fairies in Connaught and Newgrange, linked to the myth of Aengus Óg.

The myth of Aengus Óg and the Newgrange

Aengus Óg's parents were Dagda, a powerful Celtic god and protector of tribes. and Boann, the Celtic goddess of the Boyne river. Dagda had a relationship with Boann who was the wife of Nechtan, a king who inhabited the otherworldly Síd Nechtain, the mythological form of Carbury Hill, and she became pregnant. To be able to hide Boann´s pregnancy, Dagda prevented the sun from appearing for nine months, which actually meant that Aengus was conceived, bred and born, apparently, in just one day! When Aengus came of age he powerfully took possession of Dagda´s land, the Brú na Bóinne, an area of the valley of the Boyne´s river that contains the passage graves Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth. Aengus had been away for a short time and returned to discover that Dagda had already distributed all his lands amongst his other sons and he had left none for him! So Aengus asked his father if it would be possible for him to live in the Brú “one day and one night” and Dagda happily agreed to this. The Irish language has no indefinite article what means that “a day and a night” is the same as simply “day and night”, which covers an indefinite period of time, so Aengus took possession of the Brú on a permanent basis.

The Sídhe manifest themselves to mortal human beings on specific dates, mainly on the night of the Summer Solstice. This is when they can be seen dancing in the moonlight.

In Irish legends it is mentioned that there is an invisible kingdom inhabited by people from another world, creatures known as Sídhe or Good People. This belief was once a common one amongst many Celtic nations. The Sídhe are considered to be a separate race, absolutely different from humans but still having had a lot of contact with mortals throughout the centuries and many documented testimonies can be found about these encounters. The Sídhe race can move around at high speed and change their shape at will. It is difficult to point at a historical period of time during which the fairy traditions are supposed to have started. It is said that the people of Ireland and their gods, from a previous time before the arrival of the Gaels, are actually the ancestors of the Sídhe. Belief in the Sídhe is part of the pre-Christian religion that survived for thousands of years and it has never been totally erased from the memory of the people of Ireland. When the first Gaels, the sons of the warlord Mil, came to Ireland, they found that the Tuatha De Danaan, the people of the goddess Dana, had already seized control of these lands. The sons of Mil fought against them and defeated the Tuatha De Danaan in a great battle, forcing them to retreat to the underworld where it is said they still remain in the hollow hills or the sídhe mounds.

In the first Irish manuscripts (gathered from an even older oral tradition) we can find references to the Tuatha De Danaan, and in some books this race is described as “gods and no gods”, pointing at the fact that they were “something in between”. It is also said that “it seems that they arrived from the skies, bearing reference to a familiarity of their intelligence and vast knowledge”.

The Tuatha De Danaan people had such powerful minds that it was not possible to convince them to embrace a new religion, the religion known as Christianity. In “The Colloquy of the Ancients”, a dialogue takes place between Saint Patrick and Cailte´s ghost, a mythical Celtic warrior who was part of the powerful Fianna; Saint Patrick was astonished to see a fairy woman coming out of the Cruachan cave, wearing a green cape and a golden crown over her head. While the woman was young and beautiful, Cailte was old and withered. When Saint Patrick asked about this, Cailte answered:

“She belongs to the Tuatha De Danaan, those who never grow old…And I am of the sons of Míl, who are ephemeral and only fade away.”

The Sídhe of the underground mounds are also seen by the Irish as the descendants of the old agricultural gods of the Earth, (one of the most important being Crom Cruaich, the Crooked One of the Hill). These gods controlled the ripening of the crops and the milk yields of the cattle, therefore offerings had to be given to them regularly. In the Book of Leinster we discover that after their conquest the Tuatha De Danaan took revenge on the sons of Mil by destroying their wheat and the goodness of the milk (the Sídhe are notorious for this even today). The sons of Mil were thus forced to make a treaty with them, and ever since that time the people of Ireland have honoured this treaty by leaving offerings of milk and butter to the Good People.

A notable feature of the Sídhe is that they have distinct tribes, ruled over by fairy kings and queens in each territory. It would seem that the social order of the Sídhe corresponds to the old aristocracy of ancient Irish families, which is in itself a reflection of the ancient Celtic caste system.
 It is interesting to note that many of the Irish refer to the Sídhe as simply "the gentry", on account of their tall, noble appearance and silvery sweet speech. They have their own palaces where they feast and play music, but also have regular battles with neighbouring tribes. Amongst the local folk in the rural areas there is a distinction often made between the Sídhe who are seen walking on the ground after sunset, and the 'Sluagh Sidhe', the fairy host who travel through the air at night, and are known to 'take' mortals with them on their journeys. There are also guardian Sídhe of most of the lakes of Ireland and Scotland. These different categories of Sídhe beings are related with the testimonies of who divide the Sídhe in forest spirits, water spirits, air spirits and so forth.

The Gur lough in County Limerick is an incredibly magical place where many Sídhe kings and queens of Ireland live. The lake in surrounded by a circle of low hills. Once every seven years the lake appears dry and there can be found one of the entrances to the Land of Youth. The guardian of the lake is known as Toice Bhrean (the lazy one) because she neglected to take care of the well, which overflowed and caused the appearance of the lake. It is believed that once every seven years a person finds death drowning in this lake, “carried” by the Beann Fhionn, the 'White Lady'.

THE CHANGELINGS
It is an unfortunate fact that he fairy women of Northern Ireland suffer very difficult births. Many fairy children actually die during fairy child birth. Thankfully there are still many successful births, and most fairy babies are successfully raised as good and healthy little creatures, however some of the survivors of difficult births are unfortunately born as evil and deformed creatures and these are known as changelings. An old Irish belief says that healthy beautiful human babies are kidnapped at night by fairy parents and replaced with their changelings if fate decreed that they were to suffer having one.

The adult fairies, being so beautiful and perfect, feel the need to reflect their deformed infants, and feeling cursed they do not have any desire to keep them even if they are their own fairy offspring. Their sole objective if afflicted with having a changeling is to try to exchange them for mortal healthy and beautiful human babies which they steal from under a human couple's noses. In place of their innocent infant they leave the horrifying creature which has been bestowed upon them, the changeling known to have the power to bring evil to the household in which it has been abandoned. A spell is put on the parents to ensure that under normal circumstances they will only see the horrible changeling as the beautiful child which has been kidnapped, and the peculiar antidote to such a spell is the placing of a set of musical pipes beside the toddler when he or she can make music and this first performance will reveal the changeling as it's true self, the playing of the pipes will adjust its appearance to its real horrifying aspect and its true nature will also transpire! There are measures which can be taken by humans to try to ensure they do not end up with a changeling in their nursery as the fact has been widely circulated that any human child that has not been baptised or that is too loved and admired is in danger of being kidnapped by the fairies and replaced by a changeling.

With prevention better than the necessary but brutal imminent cure, some protections can be established around a baby´s cot before baptism to keep them safe from the fairies that want to steal them and replace them with their deformed and despicable offspring. A crucifix or some iron pliers placed along the cot have been known to be effective as this seems to scare the fairies. Some piece of cloth belonging to the baby´s father put on top of the baby to cover him while sleeping can also be a preventative gesture.

Each changeling has a different personality, but none of them are good the hidden ugliness and truly bad temper are genetic. The fairies, in their immortal perfection, feel repulsion for these creatures, an understandable reaction perhaps when faced with their newly born baby having 'eyes like burned coal, wrinkled deformed limbs and rough detestable skin'. If revealed, the changelings have very well defined and recognisable physical characteristics: along with their wrinkled and withered aspect, together with a disgusting yellowish rough skin they have deep dark evil eyes which reveal a terrifying wisdom not in accordance with their small age. They also have other characteristics to add to the already mentioned physical deformities, usually a hunched back and perhaps a disabled hand. One or two weeks after their placement into a human´s household, the changelings already show a full set of sharp teeth, legs as thin as chicken limbs and twisted and wrinkled fingers reminiscent of a bird's claw and similarly covered with a feathery downy fluff. These descriptions are widespread and well known among the people of Northern Ireland throughout the centuries and may be the reason why early baptism and christening of children is higher in this region than in any other part of the world! It does not, however, prevent some parents from being too talkative about their child's beauty and charm, talk which may inevitably alert a fairy couple with a changeling desperately searching for a family with which to make an evil trade, so beware, you have been warned!

Physical characteristics aside it is a revealed changelings temper that can make it more than obvious about a changeling's existence in your household. Babies are generally happy and loving, but the fairy replacement is never happy, except when some calamity falls over the house. During most of the time he howls and screams during the day; the sound of his screams crosses the threshold of human capacity.

A couple sensing that something is not quite right with their child, perhaps a strong loving couple who can fight off to an extent the spell which the fairies have put on them to see the horrible changeling as their own beautiful child, can take measures to find out if their fears will be realised. The musical pipes method of a changeling revealing its true identity is perhaps the easiest, and the parents can leave a set of pipes beside the baby's sleeping place for it to discover when it awakens. No changeling can resist playing music, as soon as the changeling sees the pipes it will feel an irresistible urge to play them and doing so with transform it temporarily into the horrifying little beast that it really is. But those who choose to see if they have a changeling by doing this had also better be aware of the consequences of hearing the tunes that it plays, because as soon as the creature begins to blow into the pipes the music spreads around the whole house and village paralyzing those who find themselves listening to it. Ear defence is the best protection, but not everyone can be forewarned of a couple's intentions and the revelation of their supposedly beautiful human baby becoming a ghastly fairy monster can make them quite unpopular with their neighbours!

Once revealed it is up to the parents as to whether or not they can deal with their new circumstances. Many parents will still look on this little beast as their own. However, no matter how much food they eat, they always want more, they are never satisfied, it is an exhausting life for the desperate human couple and their efforts are seldom rewarded as no matter how much they work to provide their changeling with the food it demands it remains as small and rickety as before! When a farmer has to feed a changeling, the rest of the family will suffer as anything he grows or rears has to be given to feed the changeling's insatiable appetite, the terrible fairy demon will eat anything that is put in front of them.

Thankfully for the poor afflicted parents who have been tricked by clever fairies the changeling has not got the capacity to live for very long in the mortal world. They get more and more wrinkled and die in the first two or three years of their existence amongst humans. A family who has become adjusted to life with a changeling and has grown to love the little creature feel so paternally attached to the grotesque little character that they genuinely cry intensely when burying him or her, not realising that their real son is now in a beautiful form in the fairy afterlife gathering flowers in a wonderful place. If a changeling grave was to be reopened, all you will find is a burned wooden log where the child´s body should be.

Most parents, naturally, are not too pleased to discover that their child is actually not the beautiful gift they were given and of course they will try to take measures to get rid of the changeling, providing however that they have been fortunate enough to wear ear plugs if they've used the musical pipes to witness the transformation. Otherwise they will have become paralysed when hearing the music, unleashed a terrifying creature upon the world and left it to its own devices as to how it is going to satisfy its voracious need for food! Many skeletons have been mysteriously discovered through the years along with the disappearance of a child! However, if a miracle occurs and a somehow a family manages to get rid of or destroy the changeling, the child that was kidnaped will be returned to their home. To manage to return to a normal life is beyond some parents´ ability to comprehend as to get rid of their changeling toddler disguised as their human offspring they have to consider the most unimaginable cruelty. The child has to be shovelled up on the end of a burning iron spade, set on top of a fire and while it is burning alive on the outside its mouth must be held open and scalding tea forced down it's throat to ensure that it is destroyed on the inside as well. We don't really have the ability to contemplate such a deed, even to such an apparently evil and horribly deformed fairy creature, so the best thing to do is to ensure that you are never faced with such a prospect, the preventative measures are much easier to take than the cruelty of the cure, baptise or christen your child, get yourself a pair of rusty pliers and most importantly don't believe or announce that your child is the most beautiful of all, the fairies are everywhere, they are listening, and they know where you live!
The artwork for the Myths and Legends section of the blog was created before Harv went into the studio with Stormzone to record their latest album 'Seven Sins'. Harv was influenced by the story of the changelings and having depicted on canvas his version of what it must have been like moments after a father realises his son is indeed nightmarish fairy demon, he extended the influence from artwork to music! The Stormzone song 'You're not the same' was based on the legend of the Changeling and a lyrics video for the track can be viewed at the following link. Don't have nightmares, it is, after all, only a myth, isn't it??

"YOU'RE NOT THE SAME" LYRICS VIDEO - STORMZONE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yg1LI1-q60

"YOU'RE NOTE THE SAME" LIVE AT THE LIMELIGHT - STORMZONE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4XyrBpmsr0


"YOU´RE NOT THE SAME" - THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZm4NvxWQ8c


Bea H.