Scotland’s Stories: Story of a Selkie - Tom Muir
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- čas přidán 8. 05. 2017
- Have you ever seen a seal bobbing in the water, watching you? If you have been to the north of Scotland you may have...
The Pentland Firth is a wild and unforgiving stretch of water. It lies between the North Highland county of Caithness and the Orkney Islands, and each day sees the cold grey waters of the North Sea do battle against the might of the Atlantic Ocean as the two tides meet in the Firth. Whirlpools, powerful enough to sink ships or to draw them towards the rocks form as these waters meet. It is not a place that you can make a comfortable living, but many generations of fishermen had to do just that.
A long, long time ago there was a man whose small cottage lay by the shores of the Pentland Firth, not far from where John O’ Groats House now stands. He had a wife and bairns who depended on him and he had to reap a cold and dangerous harvest from these treacherous waters. He fished and he set creels to catch lobsters and crabs and he gathered shellfish in times of hunger to keep his family fed. He was also a hunter of selkies (as seals are called in the north), and the skins that he stripped from these animals could fetch a decent price at market. People treated the selkies with caution and respect, because it was believed that they had the power to take off their skins and become human at certain times of the tide.
Some said that they were the souls of people who had drowned, and they would not harm them, but the selkie hunter just laughed at these ‘old wives' tales’, and ignored the warnings of his neighbours.
© Tom Muir.
May be freely used within schools and early years’ centres in Scotland.
Rights of reproduction for commercial purposes are strictly not permitted without prior written permission. - Zábava
To hear the Scottish folklore is cool. To hear it told by a Scottish native, makes it SO much cooler!
Made me cry...
Wonderful deep story and how this storyteller tells it is amazing. You can tell he really has experience in the art and depth in his knowledge in lore. Thank you for uploading.
Wow. I really enjoyed listen Tom telling this story. I visited Orkney 30 yrs ago and hoping to travel there again after this pandemic is over.
What a great storyteller!
A wonderful story. I'm sitting here listening, looking out at a stormy October sky and the mood is so fitting. Well told Tom Muir. Thank you.
That was deeply engaging. To have been at the telling would have been quite an experience. Is this tale and others available on CD?
Thanks for your lovely comment, which we'll share with Tom - unfortunately we do not have Tom on any audio CD collections, but he has published this story in various forms - this version comes from 'Tales on the Tongue' which is available through the Scottish Storytelling Centre's bookshop: www.scottishstorytellingcentre.com/bookshop/ - and Tom has also published 'The Mermaid Bride and Other Orkney Folk Tales' books.google.co.uk/books?id=TBANPwAACAAJ&dq=inauthor:%22Tom+Muir%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjD98GAy97iAhWlQxUIHVaRAYoQ6AEIMzAC and 'Orkeny Folk Tales' books.google.co.uk/books?id=XTkTDQAAQBAJ&dq=inauthor:%22Tom+Muir%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjD98GAy97iAhWlQxUIHVaRAYoQ6AEIKjAA
Proud to be of Westray stock...
Have you ever heard of the seal buried in a open grave in Castletown in Caithness. Apparently it had a human face
J'aimes les fille de moin de 1 mois !
oui bas on s'en bas les couille connard
wtf c quoi ce bordel
Sacha ? Oui bien sûr.
Is this a traditional story ?
Hey Nicole - yes it is a traditional story - all of the tales under the "Scotland's Stories" banner are traditional tales from across Scotland that were told and handed down orally, so names and places sometimes vary but all of the stories are handed down in the traditional sense of folktales. Thanks!
Thanks. So many selkie stories are tragic in one way or another it's nice to hear one that has a happy ending.