Aos Sí
The
aos sí (Irish pronunciation: , "
ees shee", older form
aes sídhe ), "
ays sheeth-uh") is the Irish term for a supernatural race in Irish mythology and Scottish mythology, (usually spelled Sìth, however 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
Book of Invasions (recorded in the Book of Leinster) 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 Irish literature 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. Some secondary and tertiary sources including well-known and influential authors such as W.B. Yeats refer to
aos sí simply as "the
sídhe" (lit.: mounds).