Talk:Lí Ban (mermaid)

Liban's trapped in residence?

After re-reading sources and papers, I now understand that Liban as mermaid roamed the seas for 300 years, but maintained the residence beneath Lough Neagh all that time (The underlined portion I had overlooked).

In the ancient tale, the mermaid chants ""Beneath loch nEchach I have my dwelling now" (O'Grady p.267[1]). Imhoff too says "spends 300 years living in Loch nEchach" (p.108).

Now, the original wiki article Lí Ban had stated "She and her dog.. lived trapped under the lake for 300 years" ( user:Evangelista Revision of 03:46, 16 Jan 2013). But the notion that she was was confined to the lake is obviously wrong, unless the "sea" and "seas" in the text of the story is to be taken to mean Lough Neagh.

In Nov 2014, Alarichall tagged this with {{citation needed}}, and subsequently Cagwinn supplied inline citation (Nagy ed. [=Vries] 2007, p. 41). However, I am rather doubtful this source is attributable on p.41 as saying she remained trapped in Lough Neagh, and I haven't been able to view the relevan snippet. On the other hand, I was able to preview the part where Vries says "she then swims the waters for three hundred years" on p. 42.--Kiyoweap (talk)

Nagy, 2007, pp. 41-42: "After the outburst of Loch nEchach, Li Ban lives in her bower under the lake with her lapdog for a year. After this her lapdog assumes the shape of an otter, and Li Ban changes into a salmon. She then swims the waters for three hundred years, accompanied only by her otter, until the time of Comgall, abbot (and founder) of the monastery of Bangor. Beoan, one of Comgall's fishermen, is sent to Rome by Comgall. During the journey, Beoan hears a wondrous singing coming form under his coracle. Upon his asking who the singer is, Li Ban emerges and identifies herself. She then addresses him and tells him her story. She asks him to set up a meeting with the saints of the Dal nAraide in a year's time. At this meeting, she is captured and put on display in a vessel, and crowds of people come to see her. Strife breaks out between her captors Fergus and Beoan and the abbot Comgall, because it is unclear to whom she belongs. The three fast against God and an angel appears with a solution, resulting in Li Ban being given to Comgall. He gives her two choices: i) to be baptized, die and go to heaven without delay, or 2) to live for another three hundred years before dying of extreme old age. She chooses the former, and is given the Christian name Muirgein after her baptism. The text indicates that she is also known as Muirgeilt and Fuinche." Cagwinn (talk) 20:29, 2 June 2016 (UTC)