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Selkie
Faroese stamp 585 the seal woman.jpg
A 2007 stamp from the Faroe Islands showing a selkie.
Grouping Mythological
Habitat water,ocean

Selkies, also known as seal folk, are magical creatures from old stories, especially from Scotland, Ireland, and Scandinavia. These beings are said to live as seals in the ocean. But on land, they can take off their seal skins and become human.

The name "selkie" comes from an old Scots word for seal. Stories about selkies are a big part of Celtic and Norse folklore.

In these tales, selkies are often very beautiful as humans. Many stories are about a human who finds a selkie's skin and hides it. Without the skin, the selkie cannot return to the sea and is often forced to stay with the human. Even if they have a family on land, the selkie always misses the ocean and will leave forever if they find their skin again.

What Are Selkies?

Selkies are shapeshifters, meaning they can change their form. In the water, they look just like ordinary seals. But on land, they can remove their skin to walk as humans. Their sealskin is very important, because without it, they can never return to their home in the sea.

Stories often describe selkies as gentle and curious, but they can also be dangerous if they are treated badly. They are connected to the tides and the sea, and some legends say they can only come ashore at certain times.

Famous Selkie Legends

Most selkie stories come from the Northern Isles of Scotland, like Orkney and Shetland. These tales were passed down for generations by word of mouth.

The Stolen Sealskin

A very common selkie story is about a human man who finds a female selkie on the beach without her skin. He steals her sealskin and hides it, so she cannot return to the ocean.

Because she is trapped, she is forced to become his wife. They may have children together, but the selkie wife is always sad and longs for the sea. If she ever finds her hidden skin, she will immediately put it on and go back to her ocean home, leaving her land family behind forever. In some stories, she might be seen one last time as a seal, swimming near the shore to look at her children.

Male Selkies

There are also stories about male selkies. In their human form, they were said to be very handsome. They were known to seek out human women who were unhappy, such as the lonely wives of fishermen who were away at sea for a long time.

Tales from Scotland's Northern Isles

In the Shetland Islands, there is a story about a fisherman who tricks a selkie into being his wife by stealing her skin. In this tale, the selkie already had a husband and family in the sea. She lived with the fisherman for many years, but she never forgot her true home.

Another Shetland story tells of a group of fishermen who attack some seals resting on the rocks. The seals were actually selkies. This act caused the sea to swell up in a huge wave, and one of the fishermen was left stranded. The selkies, now in human form, were sad because they could not return to the sea without their skins. One selkie mother made a deal with the fisherman: she would carry him back to his home island if he promised to return their stolen skins.

Children of Selkies and Humans

According to the legends, children born to a selkie and a human were sometimes different from other children.

Some stories say these children were born with webbed fingers and toes, like the flippers of a seal. In one tale from Shetland, a family who were said to be descended from a selkie had to regularly trim a horny, web-like skin that grew between their fingers.

Similar Legends Around the World

Stories about seal people are not just found in Scotland. Many cultures with a strong connection to the sea have similar myths.

Iceland and the Faroe Islands

In Iceland, there is a famous folktale called "The Seal-Skin." It tells of a man who steals a selkie's skin and marries her. Years later, she finds the key to the chest where he hid it and returns to the sea to be with her original selkie partner.

A well-known legend from the Faroe Islands is about Kópakonan, which means "the seal woman." A farmer from the village of Mikladalur steals a selkie's skin and marries her. One day, he forgets the key to the chest where he keeps her skin. She finds it and returns to the sea. Later, the farmer goes on a seal hunt and harms her selkie husband and two sons. The seal woman then puts a curse on the men of the village, promising that many will be lost at sea or fall from cliffs.

Irish Folklore

In Ireland, the stories of merrow (mermaids) are sometimes very similar to selkie tales. One story from County Kerry says that a local family was descended from a man who married a mermaid. She was described as being like a seal-woman, and she eventually escaped back to the sea.

There is also a belief that the Conneely family of Connemara came from seals. Because of this, it was considered bad luck for them to harm a seal.

Where Did the Selkie Myth Come From?

No one knows for sure how the stories of selkies began, but there are several interesting theories.

  • Mistaken Identity: Some experts think the myths may have started when early settlers in Scotland saw visitors from other lands. People like the Sami from Finland or the Inuit from Greenland wore clothing made of sealskin and used sealskin kayaks. From a distance, seeing them remove their waterproof gear on a beach could have looked like a seal turning into a person.
  • Explaining Physical Traits: The stories might have been a way to explain why some people were born with unusual physical traits. For example, syndactyly is a real medical condition where a person's fingers or toes are joined by skin. A family with this hereditary trait might have explained it by saying they were descended from a selkie.
  • Souls of the Drowned: Another strong belief was that selkies were the souls of people who had drowned at sea. This idea connected the creatures to the dangers and mysteries of the ocean.

See also

  • Bucca (mythological creature)
  • Finfolk
  • Kelpie
  • Mermaid
  • Merman
  • Swan maidens
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