This is the way we go to school, Go to school, go to school, This is the way we wash our hands, This is the way we wash our face, VICTORIA MUSEUM, OTTAWA. WATER-BEINGS IN SHETLANDIC FOLK-LORE, AS REMEMBERED BY SHETLANDERS IN BRITISH Sea-Trolls or Sea-Trows (Fairies or Elves of the Sea) Sea-Language and the Sea-God INTRODUCTION. 200 It has often been pointed out that two or three generations ago the Shetland Islands would have yielded a rich harvest to the folklorist. This would have proved almost equally true only a generation ago; but all is now fast passing away under modern conditions and the new environment. Although most of the practices have now fallen into disuse, and little or no faith is preserved in the old beliefs, much valuable material is still retained in the memory of the people. Many writers have in recent years collected and published much of the folk-lore of the Islands,' but no systematic and adequate efforts 1 The following publications have been quoted: Black, G. F. County Folk-Lore, Orkney and Shetland Islands (Publications of the FolkLore Society, London, 1901). This is a compilation of the folk-lore of the islands, chiefly from the writings of Blind, Saxby, Edmonston, Burgess, Laurenson, Stewart, Tudor, and many others. Cited Black, quoting Blind, Laurenson, or Saxby, etc., as the case may be. have been made in this direction. Thus, no doubt, much has either been lost or remains unrecorded. This is particularly true, I believe, of the traditional narratives and of practices of various kinds. No scientific comparative study of the available printed information as a whole has been undertaken up to the present time, so far as my knowledge goes.1 Shetlandic folk-lore, in my opinion, is decidedly Scandinavian in character, as many of the surviving beliefs, practices, and tales are identical with those lately current in the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Norway. This is, moreover, in accord with the history of the country. Settlement from Norway was commenced by the Vikings probably late in the sixth or early in the seventh century,2 and was continued, no doubt, throughout the next three centuries. From the ninth century (commencing with the subjugation of the Viking inhabitants by King Harald Harfagri) to late in the fifteenth century, the country formed part of the kingdom of Norway under Norwegian and Danish sovereignty, being ruled part of the time by the Jarls of Orkney, and for about two hundred years directly from Norway in conjunction with the Faroe Islands. After the country was mortgaged to Scotland, the Shetlanders still kept up very close relations with Norway until the beginning of the nineteenth century. The Shetland folk-lore is also very closely related to that of the Orkney Islands, the history of the two groups of islands being much alike. How far south into Scotland this stream of Scandinavian oral traditions extends, I am unable to say; but certain beliefs and practices along the east and west coasts of Scotland appear to be closely related to those obtaining in the Orkney and Shetland Islands. Nevertheless the folk-lore of these districts may generally differ quite considerably from that of the Shetland Islands. Spence, John. Shetland Folk-Lore. Published by Johnson & Greig. Lerwick, 1899. Cited Spence, Shetland Folk-Lore. Old-Lore Series of the Viking Club, London, 1907, to the present time. This series contains important data contributed by various informants. Cited Viking Club, OldLore Series. Jakobsen, Jakob. The Old Shetland Dialect and Place Names of Shetland. Published by T. and J. Manson. Lerwick, 1897. Cited Jakobsen, Old Shetland Dialect. Det Narröne Sprog paa Shetland. Wilhelm Priors Hofboghandel. Copenhagen, Shetlandsoernes Stednavne. Thieles Bogtrykkeri. Copenhagen, 1901. Cited The last three publications contain valuable incidental information on Shetland folk-lore. ? Compare A. W. Johnston, Saga-book of the Viking Society, 8: pt. 2 (1914). Whether there are any survivals in Shetland of distinctively Celtic or Finnish folk-lore, is doubtful. It is quite unlikely, however, that traditions from these practically prehistoric races in the Islands survived the settlement of the Norsemen and the many centuries of close Norwegian connection. Increasing contact with Scotland since about the beginning of the seventeenth century has brought in new elements from the south. When the Scottish or English language became generally understood, this increment seems to have consisted almost entirely of ballads, folk-songs, and certain sayings and proverbs. Probably little in the nature of practices, beliefs, and folk-tales has been added from this source; and therefore the general folk-lore of the country is not likely to have been much altered since pre-Scottish times. As the ancient Norse language gradually fell into disuse, during the eighteenth century, the popular old Norse Sagas, ballads, and songs were superseded almost entirely by those of Lowland Scottish and English origin. Only fragments in partly corrupted forms of the Norse language 2 have been handed down to the present day, while some others with native Norse themes appear in English garb. In the following notes I have confined myself to the description of the beliefs in water-beings until recently current in Shetland. These beliefs are, on the whole, well known to most Shetlanders, and much has already been printed thereon. I do not claim, therefore, to offer very much new material in these notes. A part of the information here given is based on what I remember having heard in Shetland when I was young; and perhaps quite as much is derived from discussions with elderly Shetlanders residing in America, particularly in British Columbia. It may be noted that there is practically no such thing as a ShetlandCanadian folk-lore, or a Scandinavian-Canadian folk-lore, in the sense, for instance, of French-Canadian, or even German- and Scotch-Cana 1 Norwegian culture and tales were, it seems, influenced to some extent by this contact. Compare Viking Club, Old-lore Series (reference to various notes and articles of Professor Bugge); also Saga-books and Year-books of the Viking Club (London). For rhymes, ballads, proverbs, riddles, sayings, etc., in the old Norse language of Shetland, see Black, who quotes Saxby, Low, and others; also Jakobsen, in The Old Shetland Dialect, 51-53; and in Det Norröne Sprog paa Shetland, 8-12, 16-20, 147–155. As some of the information is general and derived from current knowledge of existing beliefs and traditions, I can hardly give any definite sources or authorities for it. On the other hand, some of it is more special, and derived from persons I can name; but I refrain from doing so, as many Shetlanders are averse to having their names mentioned as informants on these matters, while others rather resent the printing of the old beliefs and folktales of their country, thinking that their publication exposes Shetlanders in general to the ridicule of strangers. A few old people who still make use of certain formulæ are quite averse to relating them, for fear that they may be printed or made public; in this case, they claim, their value to them would at once cease. dian folk-lore, as Scandinavian settlement in Canada is as a whole quite recent and until lately has never been compact enough to allow the homeland lore to take root. For this reason the Canadian of Scandinavian descent, when born in Canada, retains generally little or nothing of the lore of his ancestral land. Only the immigrant of European birth and raising retains some knowledge of the traditions of his native country, but very little of it is transferred to the suc ceeding generation. 4 THE WATER-HORSE.2 THE NJOGEL. - A being or spirit formerly believed in was the waterhorse, generally known in Shetland as the njogel, njuggel, njogli, or water-njogel, and also sometimes called nikker, sjopeltin, or sjupilti.3 The last term is confined chiefly to North Shetland. This being is described as similar in size and shape to a horse or pony of the Shetland type, well proportioned, and of great strength and fleetness. Generally he was fat and sleek, and of handsome appearance; but occasionally he appeared as a very thin, worn-out, old horse. His color was gray, usually rather dark gray, but sometimes lighter or darker, and approximating to white or black. He differed from ordinary horses in that his hair grew and lay in the opposite direction to the hair of other horses; his fetlocks grew upwards instead of downwards; his mane was stiff and erect; his hoofs were also reversed and pointed backwards; and his tail was shaped like the rim of a wheel. Why the tail was so peculiar in form seems to be unknown; but the people say that it must have been of special utility to him in some way, perhaps used for propulsion in the water or to accelerate his speed on land, or perhaps to stop water-mills in some way. Some claim that his naturally very long tail was dragged behind, and occasionally rolled up like a hoop or 1 There are a few recent compact settlements, notably the Icelandic settlements in Manitoba and a few small Norwegian settlements in British Columbia and elsewhere. ? Compare E. M. Wright, Rustic Speech and Folk-Lore, 195: ". . . Then there is the phantom horse under its various names: Aughisky (Irel.), the fairy water-horse that preys on cattle; Phooka (Irel.), the spectral horse which carries off belated travellers on its back; Neugle (Sh. I.), the water-kelpie which appears in the form of a sleek horse, and vanishes in a 'blue lowe,' also known by the name of De Shoopiltie; Shagfoal (Lin. Nhp.), a hobgoblin in the shape of a small, rough horse, with eyes like tea-saucers; Tangie (Sh. & Or. I.), a sea-spirit which sometimes assumes the appearance of a horse, and at other times that of an old man. Taroo-ushtey (I. Ma.) is a fabulous water-bull." The apparition of one of those mysterious horses on l'Ile-aux-Grues, Quebec, is reported by A. Paré, in Le Parler français (Université Laval, Québec), (novembre 16, 1917): 113-114. The latter term seems to mean "Sea-boy" (see Jakobsen, Ordbog). For the derivations of the Shetland names used in this paper see Jakobsen, Etymologisk Ordbog over det Norröne Sprog paa Shetland (Prior, Copenhagen, 1908), etc. 4 I use the past tense in speaking of all these beings. Shetlanders, at least nowadays, never speak of them as "are," but always as "were," thus implying that they once existed. |