Legends and myths are a very interesting part
of a culture. As you may already know, there are lots of folktales in Ireland.
Today we are going to learn a little bit about selkies (also called selchies,
silkies, or roanes), one of
the mythical creatures from Ireland.
Selkies are similar to mermaids since they both can be considered a mixture between human and sea creature. However, while mermaids are
half-human and half-fish, selkies are seals that can take human form by shedding
their skin.
There are several versions of the myth: in some
regions they say that selkies are the souls of drowned people, reborn as sea
spirits who help sailors when there is a storm at sea. Others say that they are
deceiving creatures that come onshore to seduce men and women so they can take
them away from their families. Both could be ways of rationalizing the deaths
of people who drown at the sea.
However, the most commonly heard stories are
those in which a selkie turns into a beautiful woman and is found by a man,
usually a fisherman. In some versions they both fall in love and she stays willingly
in the land with him. However, in most versions the selkie is forced to stay
because the man has found her seal skin and she can’t return to the sea without
it. Also, the man has power over her because he keeps the seal skin hidden, so
she becomes her wife and usually has children. She is unhappy because she loves
both her children and the sea equally, and she is torn between them. Almost
every version has a similar tragic ending, though: the woman finds the seal skin
and goes back to the sea, abandoning her family.
A few versions also include male selkies. You
can see one of them in this song, which also has a rare ending:
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