Gwyllion, Pwca,
Cyhyraeth and the Others
Gwyllion
so it is not suprising that faeries dwell here.
The Welsh mountain fae, Gwyllion, sit quietly
among rocks, watching hapless travellers,
and sometimes frightening them. They are friends
of goats, however, and are known to comb and braid
their beards. They have been identified with the Unseelie Court.
Pwca
Shakespeare even wrote of him, in "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
It is of interest to note that Puck was probably Welsh.
A shapeshifting sprite, prone to mischief,
Puck was probably fashioned after
the Pwca of Wales (also known as Pooka in Scotland).
These shapeshifting goblins were known to herd cattle for farmers,
and in this respect, they were similar to brownies.
In fact, they can be quite helpful if milk
is left out for them. However,
they had a standing claim to crops left
unharvested after Samhain. Farmers who harvested after this date
risked the wrath of the Pwca.
Shapeshifters, they were known to take the shape of horses--
Shakespeare makes mention of this, also.
They frequently led travellers astray as part of their mischief.
One way in which they did this was in the form
of the Will O' the Wisp--
taking the form of a disembodied, ghostly light,
the Pwca would lead benighted wanderers
up a narrow path to the edge of a ravine,
and then leap over it, laughing loudly, the light disappearing.
The poor travellers would be left to grope their way back as best they could.
Cyhyraeth
at the oncoming death of someone.
There are also banshees in Wales--the Cyhyraeth.
She usually cries or groans before multiple deaths by epidemic or accident.
Llamhigyn y Dwr
seem more monster than faery. They look
somewhat like a toad with bat's wings
and a snake-like, barb-ended tail. It is said
that they devour sheep, and the occasional Welsh fisherman.
When hooked, they let out a blood-curdling scream.
