Finfolk
Encyclopedia
In Orkney folklore
, Finfolk (sometimes Finnfolk) are sorcerous
shapeshifters
of the sea, the dark mysterious race from Finfolkaheem who regularly make an amphibious journey from the depths of the Finfolk ocean home to the Orkney Islands. They wade, swim or sometimes row upon the Orkney shores in the spring and summer months, searching for human captives. The Finfolk ( both Finman and Finwife ) kidnap unsuspecting fishermen, or frolicking youth, near the shore and force them into lifelong servitude as a spouse.
" made famous by the "The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry
", the Finfolk are neither romantic nor friendly. Instead of courting the prospective spouse, Finfolk simply abduct them. Regarded as territorial and greedy, the Finfolk, in addition to their lust for humans, have a weakness for silver
and things made of silver metal, such as coins and jewelry. According to legend a possible way to escape abduction is to exploit this Finfolk weakness by tossing silver coins away from oneself. The motivation for the amphibious abductions are inspired, in part, because marriage to a human is preferred over other Finfolk.
To capture the unsuspecting human bride or groom, the Orkney Finfolk cunningly disguise themeselves and their fins as other sea animals, plants or even as floating clothes. The Finfolk kidnapping attempt begins by approaching the prospective mate cautiously, floating ever closer, until it is possible to leap up and grab the victim. The Finmen often use another tactic, appearing in human form disguised as fishermen in a row boat, or a fishing boat propelled by oars. The Finwife prefers a more natural form, and often appears as a mermaid
http://www.orkneyjar.com/folklore/finfolk/mermaid.htm with long, flowing golden hair, snow white skin, incredible beauty, and, sometimes, a long fish tail. In some stories, she has a beautiful voice like that of the Greek Siren
s.
.
by her husband, who she is forced to send all her silver home to or risk a terrible beating. She often owns a black cat that can transform itself into a fish to deliver messages to her kin in Finfolkaheem.
with the magical Hildaland, touting the tale of The Farmer of Evie http://www.orkneyjar.com/folklore/finfolk/eynfree.htm as the reason that Hildaland/Eynhallow is now visible and relatively non-magical, though some would say otherwise http://www.orkneyjar.com/folklore/finfolk/hallow.htm.
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
, Finfolk (sometimes Finnfolk) are sorcerous
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
shapeshifters
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
of the sea, the dark mysterious race from Finfolkaheem who regularly make an amphibious journey from the depths of the Finfolk ocean home to the Orkney Islands. They wade, swim or sometimes row upon the Orkney shores in the spring and summer months, searching for human captives. The Finfolk ( both Finman and Finwife ) kidnap unsuspecting fishermen, or frolicking youth, near the shore and force them into lifelong servitude as a spouse.
Finfolkaheem
According to folklore, the under water dwelling of the Finfolk, known as Finfolkaheem (literally "Finfolk's Home")http://www.orkneyjar.com/folklore/finfolk/heem.htm is regarded as the place of origin for the Finfolk, and their ancestral home. A fantastic under water palace with massive crystal halls, Finfolkaheem is surrounded, inside and out, by ornate gardens of multi-coloured seaweed. It's never dark in Finfolkaheem, because it is lit by the phosphorescent glow of tiny sea creatures at night. Its great halls and vast rooms are decorated with moving underwater draped curtains whose colours move and dance with the underwater currents.Human Abduction
Unlike the "SelkieSelkie
Selkies are mythological creatures that are found in Faroese, Icelandic, Irish, and Scottish folklore....
" made famous by the "The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry
The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry
The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry or The Grey Selkie of Suleskerry is a traditional folk song from Orkney. The song was collected by the American scholar, Francis James Child in the late nineteenth century and is listed as Child ballad number 113...
", the Finfolk are neither romantic nor friendly. Instead of courting the prospective spouse, Finfolk simply abduct them. Regarded as territorial and greedy, the Finfolk, in addition to their lust for humans, have a weakness for silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
and things made of silver metal, such as coins and jewelry. According to legend a possible way to escape abduction is to exploit this Finfolk weakness by tossing silver coins away from oneself. The motivation for the amphibious abductions are inspired, in part, because marriage to a human is preferred over other Finfolk.
To capture the unsuspecting human bride or groom, the Orkney Finfolk cunningly disguise themeselves and their fins as other sea animals, plants or even as floating clothes. The Finfolk kidnapping attempt begins by approaching the prospective mate cautiously, floating ever closer, until it is possible to leap up and grab the victim. The Finmen often use another tactic, appearing in human form disguised as fishermen in a row boat, or a fishing boat propelled by oars. The Finwife prefers a more natural form, and often appears as a mermaid
Mermaid
A mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature with a female human head, arms, and torso and the tail of a fish. A male version of a mermaid is known as a "merman" and in general both males and females are known as "merfolk"...
http://www.orkneyjar.com/folklore/finfolk/mermaid.htm with long, flowing golden hair, snow white skin, incredible beauty, and, sometimes, a long fish tail. In some stories, she has a beautiful voice like that of the Greek Siren
Siren
In Greek mythology, the Sirens were three dangerous mermaid like creatures, portrayed as seductresses who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. Roman poets placed them on an island called Sirenum scopuli...
s.
Married Life
Whatever the method of abduction, the (often screaming) http://www.orkneyjar.com/folklore/finfolk/eynfree.htm hapless human captive is ferried away to the floating, and sometimes disappearing, mystical island of Hildaland where the rest of one's days are spent performing rigorous duties as either the husband to the Finwife, or wife to the Finman. Yet another compelling reason for Finfolk intermarriage with humans; should a Finwife mary a Finman, she loses both her beauty and mystical charm. As she ages (without a human husband), her ugliness increases in increments of seven years until she becomes the Finwife hagHag
A hag is a wizened old woman, or a kind of fairy or goddess having the appearance of such a woman, often found in folklore and children's tales such as Hansel and Gretel. Hags are often seen as malevolent, but may also be one of the chosen forms of shapeshifting deities, such as the Morrígan or...
.
The Finwife
The Finwife starts her life as a beautiful mermaid bent on acquiring a human husband. Should she succeed, she takes him to live with her in Finfolkaheem, or, on occasion in some stories, goes to live with him instead, as in the story of "Johhny Croy and his Mermaid Bride" http://www.orkneyjar.com/folklore/jcroy.htm. If not, the Finwife must take a Finman husband and is often made to go ashore and work as a healer or spinnerSpinner
Spinner may refer to:*Spinner Dolphin, a dolphin species*Spinnerbait, a type of fishing lure*Spinner , a graphical widget in a GUI*Spinner , a flying car from the film Blade Runner...
by her husband, who she is forced to send all her silver home to or risk a terrible beating. She often owns a black cat that can transform itself into a fish to deliver messages to her kin in Finfolkaheem.
The Finman
The Finman is described as being tall, dark and thin with a stern, gloomy face. He is said to have many magical powers, such as rowing between Norway and Orkney in seven oar-strokes, making his ship invisible and creating fleets of phantom boats. He avoids human contact, but is extremely territorial and will wreak havoc on the boats of any fishermen trespassing in 'his' waters, though he may sometimes be deterred by drawing a cross on the bottom of a craft with chalk or tar, for Finfolk abhor the sign of the Christian cross above any other device. The Finman was said to be very crafty and ever prepared to cheat men out of their silver or wives.Hildaland and Eynhallow
The Finfolk were said to have two homes: the magical underwater world of Finfolkaheem where they lived in the winter and the island of Hildaland (literally 'Hidden Land')http://www.orkneyjar.com/folklore/finfolk/hilda.htm, a paradisical island that was said to either be invisible, hidden just underwater or surrounded by magical fog. Whichever, it was rarely glimpsed by humans, and young men and women stolen away there never returned. Nowadays, many people associate the very real island of EynhallowEynhallow
Eynhallow is a small, presently uninhabited island, part of the Orkney Islands, off the north coast of Scotland.-Geography:Eynhallow lies in Eynhallow Sound between Mainland, Orkney and Rousay. It is in area....
with the magical Hildaland, touting the tale of The Farmer of Evie http://www.orkneyjar.com/folklore/finfolk/eynfree.htm as the reason that Hildaland/Eynhallow is now visible and relatively non-magical, though some would say otherwise http://www.orkneyjar.com/folklore/finfolk/hallow.htm.
Modern Renditions
- "A Time to Keep and Other Stories" Brown, George M, ISBN 0-8149-0929-9
- "Selected Stories" Brown, George M, Vanguard Press, Incorporated, New York 1983 ISBN 0-8149-0929-9
- "The Wheel of the Finfolk" Jackson, R. Illustrated By Warner, P. Capricorn Books. 1984 ISBN 0-7011-0487-2