The Seal Woman - A Legend Retold

I encountered the Faroese legend of seal women in the Toronto Reference Library's rare book stacks. While I copied poems from a Faroese anthology, Jane flipped through a book called The Farthest Shore.  Turning the pages, she described the tales of unmarried suicides who lured men to sea from the safety of the shore.

Published to inspire and inform travellers to the islands, The Farthest Shore has two distinct parts. Jørgan-Frantz Jacobsen introduces the Faroe Islands with the poetic and tragic legend of the seal woman. The legend was just one of many handed down by oral tradition and placed into the written form by one of the Faroe's greatest writers. In the second half, Niels Elkaer-Hansen describes the culture and customs of early 20th century Faroe. A boat buoyed below a bird cliff illustrates the cover and is one of many of Ib Spang Olsen’s pencil illustrations in the book.

While Hansen informed, Jacobsen inspired. Tucked inside Jacobsen’s essay was a poetic backdrop that fused the Faroese storytelling tradition with the people, the place, and the legends of the islands. In the poetic tale, Jacobsen informed travellers in a way no travel guide could. Beyond the dates, names and places, and beyond the monetary, political and legal customs imported from the Danish Crown, were the beliefs of the fledgling dependency and the lifeblood of their threatened language. With this infused spirit, Jacobsen lured readers from the safety of their homes to the inhospitable islands at the edge of the world.

Legends of creatures that swim in the sea and live in the hills abound in the Faroese tradition of storytelling. Heðin Brú and other notable writers from the mid 20th century wrote in the midst of a modernizing Faroe, fusing folk legend and modern elements into their works. But are the storytelling traditions and legends still incorporated into Faroese literature today? Are the legends still important?

The Seal Woman - a legend retold and explored is a reflection on the spoken language before the written word and the growth of the Faroese literary form. Authors, Enna Garðshorn Mikkelsen and Elsa Heinesen, explore how early islanders experienced the seal woman legend long before modern writers put it to paper in the 19th century. They go on to explain why oral legends and storytelling are still meaningful to the Faroese today.

The Seal Woman is available in print from Sprotin in both English and Faroese.

Tóroddur Poulsen, translations by Randi Ward

Randi Ward has translated five poems from the collection Fjalir by Faroese poet Tóroddur Poulsen. The original Faroese-language poem and woodcut print accompanies each translation. Click on the link above each poem set to view the woodcut.

The complete collection of Fjalir in Faroese is available online at HNJ's and Rit og Rak.

The Third Blow: Faroese Tragedy and Theatre

Flóta means "to float". . . or "to flow". The subtle ambiguity of this single word perfectly captures so much of Faroe. Often, when browsing through the glossary of Lockwood's Modern Faroese, I get caught up in all these words, thinking what wonderful stories they inspire, and how they perfectly describe the Faroese landscape and the mood of the weather and sea.

Take vesturroði for example, which means "red in the west", referring to the red sky during sunset. The noun is reminiscent of the weather lore "red sky at night, sailor's delight", suggesting calm, cloudless skies are beyond the horizon, and prevailing winds from the west will push fair weather towards us. Eysturroði boðar morgunin, a line from "Bert ein stutt, litil stund, og eg fari" (Only a short little while, and I go), means "red in the east brings morning". The mood of the sky and sea would darken, bringing storms with heavy winds and heaving waves.

The Faroes were dependent on their fishing, and many tales and stories of men lost from stormy seas abound. The most striking story comes from the village of Skarð on Kunoy, a mountainous island in Norðoyggjar. On Christmas Eve, the men of the tiny village were lost at sea when sailing home with the Christmas Day's catch. The children, the elderly and the woman - all those dependent on the livelihoods of the seafaring husbands and sons - were left behind. The village never recovered and has since been abandoned. Gunnar Hoydal, a prominant Faroese playwright, author and poet, in collaboration with Nordic directors, choreographers, and composers, are trying to bring the story back, both to remind us of, and honour, those lost at sea and the loved ones who lost them. Check out Við Triðja Smeiti (The Third Blow - The Play) and consider making a donation. It's uncertain whether the play will get off the ground; unfortunately, there have been no updates since September of 2013, the centenary of the tragedy.