What Are Selkies in Mythology?

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The most popular stories and legends about the mythic seal women
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From mermaids and sirens to Finfolk, many cultures share legends of half-human, half-marine animal beings. One of the most infamous and interesting of these legends is about the selkies—half-seal, half-human women who split their time between the land and sea. While selkies originated in the coastal villages of Scotland and Ireland, their stories are also common in early Norse, Faroese, and Icelandic cultures. Read on to learn everything there is to know about the selkie myth , popular selkie legends , and the origins of this fishy folklore.

The Legend of the Selkies: An Overview

According to myths in Celtic, Norse, and other cultures, selkies are creatures who could shapeshift between seal and human forms by shedding or donning a seal skin. In most stories, selkies are beautiful women who, after arriving on land, have their seal skin stolen by men who want to keep them on land and marry them.

Section 1 of 6:

What are selkies?

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  1. Selkies are mythical creatures that shift between seal and human bodies. Selkies are seals while in water but shed their seal skin to appear as humans when on land. According to some stories, selkies can only become human once every seven years. In other tales, selkies are thought to have once been sinful humans or fallen angels. Prominent in Celtic (Scottish and Irish) mythologies, selkies are usually portrayed as either friendly and helpful or dangerous and seductive to humans. Many stories about selkies see them becoming romantically involved with humans and even having children with them—in some cases, the selkies are tricked into marriage by humans who steal their seal skins to trap them on land. [1]
    • Generally, these romantic unions are unhappy, as the selkies always long to return to the sea. The children who come out of these relationships (known as selkie children ) usually appear to be mostly normal with some unique physical characteristics—like webbed toes and fingers, greenish-white skin, or cracked skin with a fishy odor.
    • Although most selkie legends are about female creatures, male selkies do exist. There are mythic accounts of male selkies that describe them as half-man, half-seal beings with immense powers of seduction.
    • Male selkies are said to target married women who miss their fisherman husbands—but these women must (allegedly) shed seven tears into the sea in order to summon a male selkie.
    • The word “selkie” comes from the Scots word for “seal,” which can be spelled as “selkie,” “sylkies,” or “selchies.” In Scotland, they’re often referred to a selkie folk (or “selkie fowk” [“seal folk”] in Scots). [2]
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Section 2 of 6:

The Selkie Myth in Various Cultures

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  1. 1
    Celtic Selkies In Scottish and Irish lore, selkies are mythical beings who are part-seal, part-human. The Scottish version of the selkie legend is the most well-known and recognizable. In stories from the coastal regions of Scotland, like the Outer Hebrides, Orkney, and Shetland, selkies are described as beautiful, graceful, and magical creatures. They can shed their seal skin and become human at any time, and they can also return to seal form at any time by regaining their skin. [3]
    • The Irish version of the selkie myth is very similar, although some of their legends also claim that the selkies can shed seven tears into the sea to revert to their seal form. Male selkies procreating with human women is also more common in Irish stories.
    • Both Scottish and Irish stories usually describe selkies as having a deep connection to the sea. Even when they fall in love with or form relationships with humans, selkies are always called to return to the sea eventually.
    • Many of the Scottish and Irish legends of selkies involve a human stealing their skin in order to force the selkie to stay on land. In other tales, however, selkies will rescue people from drowning or give gifts to women who cannot have children.
    • Early Norse and Icelandic peoples shared similar stories of the Selkies, primarily among groups that had prominent seafaring cultures and interacted regularly with people in Scottish, Irish, and Faroese territories. [4]
  2. 2
    Faroese Selkies Faroese selkies are similar to other cultures in that they are half-seal, half-human creatures who can shed their seal skin to live on land. However, while Celtic selkies can be either mischievous or friendly toward humans, Faroese selkies are more likely to be deceptive or manipulative. They’re often portrayed as tempting humans with their beauty or using their supernatural powers for personal gain. This distinction may come from the Faroese view of the ocean as a mysterious, dangerous, and uncertain thing—while the Scots felt a closer connection to the sea as a positive spiritual force. [5]
    • Other variations of Faroese folklore claim that seals were once human beings who chose to live in the sea.
    • Others suggest that selkies can only transform on certain nights, like full moons or on Midsummer’s Eve.
  3. 3
    Chinook Selkies The indigenous Chinook peoples of North America had their own version of the selkie myth, although they referred to the mythic creatures as “seal changelings.” The changelings could transform between human and seal forms by shedding and replacing their animal skins. One of the most prominent Chinook tales told of a boy who changed into a seal, highlighting the importance of the ocean for these tribes (who live along the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean). [6]
    • Other stories about Chinook seal changelings were more similar to Celtic legends in that they portrayed tragically romantic relationships between humans and selkies. The human and the selkie were often bound together, but the selkie had to return to the sea eventually.
  4. 4
    Inuit Selkies Some Inuit cultures shared myths and legends that were similar to the Celtic and Norse selkies. Their stories told of seal-like shapeshifters (called "ijiraq," “tuurngait,” or "Ijraat”) who would shed or don their skin in order to change form. However, these Inuit creatures weren’t limited to seals—more stories were told about humans who could transform into other types of marine animals. [7]
    • Some Inuit cultures also worshipped a sea goddess named Sedna, whose powers are closely associated with the sea and its creatures—including seals! [8]
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Section 3 of 6:

Popular Legends & Stories About Selkies

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  1. 1
    The Selkie Bride Tale This story, one of the most common selkie tales, begins with a fisherman hearing beautiful singing coming from the seashore. When he goes to investigate the song, the fisherman sees a group of selkies who quickly disappear into the water when they notice him. However, the selkies have left a seal skin behind on one of the rocks, which the fisherman picks up and takes with him. As he walks away, a beautiful young woman walks up to him and pleads with him to return her seal skin. She tells him that she is a selkie but that she must return to the sea—and she needs her seal skin to do so. [9]
    • The fisherman is instantly smitten with the gorgeous selkie, so he asks her to stay with him and become his wife. He hides her skin in the chimney so that she’s unable to leave him and return to the sea.
    • The fisherman and the selkie get married and have children together, but she still longs to return to her life at sea. One day, while the fisherman is away at sea, the youngest child asks their selkie mother why she is always sadly looking at the ocean.
    • She tells her child that she is a selkie, but that she cannot return to the sea because her skin has been hidden from her. The child finds the skin in the chimney and returns it to their mother, who transforms into a seal.
    • The selkie finally jumps back into the ocean and swims away, after leaving a note to let the fisherman know where she has gone. When the fisherman returns, he’s heartbroken but aware that the selkie woman was never happy on land. Each day, he watches seals playing in the water and understands that his selkie bride is where she belongs.
  2. 2
    The Selkie & The Hunter There once lived a man named Donald who made his living as a seal hunter in the Northern Scottish village of John O’Groats. Donald, like any native Scot, was well aware of the selkie stories but didn’t put much stock in them. One day, Donald saw an enormous seal stretched out on the rocks. Donald was immediately excited, knowing how much money a seal skin of that size would fetch him. He crept up upon the seal, holding his sharpest knife in his hand, and plunged the blade deep into the seal’s skin. The creature moaned in agony before diving into the sea with Donald’s best knife still embedded in its body. [10]
    • Donald was furious about losing both his prey and his knife. That night, he was still sulking about the day’s happenings when he heard a knock at his door. When he opened the door, he saw a tall, handsome stranger.
    • The stranger told Donald that he was looking for the world-famous seal hunter. Donald told the stranger that he was that seal hunter, and the stranger replied that his lord had requested a large number of seal skins. He asked Donald to accompany him to his lord’s hall for further information.
    • Without pausing to consider this incredible opportunity, Donald hopped up on the stranger’s horse and the pair sped off. The horse was directed onto the steep cliff road, which made Donald a little nervous—but those nerves were only dialed up to terror when the horse galloped directly to the edge and dove through the air into the ocean.
    • Underneath the sea, Donald was dragged deep beneath the waves and to a hidden door in the seaside rocks. Donald entered through the door and saw a huge population of seals with sad expressions. In the middle of the room, Donald saw the huge seal from earlier in the day lying with a horrible gash in its side.
    • The handsome stranger then reappeared and presented Donald with the knife that he’d lost earlier. His host then said, “Donald, we are no ordinary seals. We are selkies. Although you’ve slain many of our kin, we mean you no harm. I brought you here because you are the only person who can save our King. Only your hands can close the wound they opened.”
    • Donald was immediately overcome with guilt for the pain he’d caused these creatures. He quickly stepped up to the dying king selkie and tenderly pushed the wound closed. The wound magically began to heal over, and the selkies allowed Donald to return home—after he promised never to harm another seal.
  3. 3
    The Selkie’s Grave One day, a long, long time ago, an old fisherman found a baby girl wrapped up in seal skin who’d been abandoned on Castletown beach. The fisherman and his wife had no children of their own, so the baby girl seemed like a blessing. They happily took in the infant child to raise as their own. However, rumors began to swirl that the child was a selkie. These rumors surrounded the girl for all her life, and they only grew as she began to see otherworldly things—like the Devil in the rafters of Olrig Kirk. [11]
    • Due to her claimed sightings, the girl was banished from the walls of Olrig Kirk and largely shunned by her townspeople.
    • Eventually, however, the girl must have grown up, fallen in love, and become pregnant. We know this because the girl tragically died in childbirth.
    • Inside the Old Olrig Kirk near Castletown, Scotland, you can find this girl’s grave. The grave is unique in that it’s shaped with a small, hollow stone that never dried out—even during times of drought.
    • To this day, visitors still leave gifts at the “Selkie’s Grave.” They usually leave items from the ocean in an attempt to make her feel more comfortable, like seashells, seaweed, and other sea paraphernalia.
  4. 4
    The Story of Thady Rua O’Dowd Thady Rua O’Dowd was a clan chieftain in Ireland who was looking to find himself a wife. Thady was struggling with this task, however, and couldn’t make up his mind about who he wanted as a bride. One day, Thady took a walk on the beach to clear his head and stumbled upon a beautiful girl who was combing her hair. She was undressed but had a magical cloak lying next to her, and Thady quickly realized that this woman must be a selkie lying out next to her seal skin. He quickly snatched up her seal skin cloak and professed his love for her. [12]
    • With her cloak stolen away, the selkie—who introduced herself as Eve—has no choice but to go with Thady and marry him. Once married, the pair ruled over the clan lands and raised their seven children together. However, Eve never stopped wishing to return to the sea.
    • The selkie cloak was kept well-hidden by Thady for many years. But, on one fateful day, one of the children saw Thady checking in on the cloak and told his mother that his father had hidden away a bag of gold.
    • When Thady left their home the next day, Eve looked in the spot that her child had told her about. Lo and behold, she found her seal skin cloak sitting there.
    • So, Eve took her clock and returned to the ocean, taking her children with her. Once on the shores of the sea, however, she realized that she couldn’t carry all seven of her children with her into the ocean. She turned five of them into rocks and swam into the waves with one of the remaining two children under each arm.
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Section 4 of 6:

Origins of the Selkie Myth

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  1. Selkies came from Scottish and Irish folklore, but their exact origins are debated. The earliest mentions of selkies are found in medieval texts from Norse and Celtic cultures, like the Orkneyinga Saga, as well as Icelandic “sagas,” which were written in the 13th century. In these texts, selkies are supernatural beings who can shed their skin to transform from a seal into a human. These stories also relate a selkie’s powers to the moon, claiming that they could only transform during certain cycles or tidal periods. However, the reasons why this myth emerged are unclear. [13]
    • One theory is that people used selkies to explain otherwise unexplainable medical abnormalities. Before modern medicine, it was common to blame “the fairies” for children being born with never-before-seen abnormalities.
    • For example, relatives of the MacCodrum clan of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland experienced syndactyly, which is a hereditary growth of skin between the fingers that made their hands look like flippers. However, without science to explain this growth, the clan claimed to be descended from a union between a fisherman and a selkie. [14]
    • Another theory is that early Scots encountered Spanish, Finnish, Inuit, or Sami peoples and misidentified them as seal-like creatures. Finnish, Inuit, and Sami women, for instance, would use sealskin for their kayaks and clothing and then have to let those objects dry out. The image of people removing their sealskin clothing and lying next to the skins as they dried out may have fostered the idea of people changing from seal to human. [15]
    • According to some other accounts, selkies were thought to be supernaturally formed from the souls of drowned people. So, it’s possible that shipwrecked Spaniards washed ashore in Ireland and Scotland, and the native peoples mistook their jet-black hair for a seal-like characteristic. [16]
Section 5 of 6:

Selkies in Popular Culture

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  1. The selkie myth has been retold in various novels, movies, and TV series. The legend of selkies has found its way into numerous corners of pop culture, with the mythical creature being reimagined for storytelling in literature and media. Here are a few of the most well-known appearances of selkie folklore in popular culture: [17]
    • A Stranger Came Ashore by Mollie Hunter : This young adult book by a Scottish author follows a boy who must protect his sister from the Great Selkie.
    • The Secret of Roan Inish (1994) : This Irish-American independent film is based on Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry by Rosalie K. Fry. The film portrays a young girl who sets out to discover her family’s selkie heritage.
    • Selkie (2000) : This made-for-TV movie from Australia tells the story of a teen boy who begins to grow scales and webbed fingers—indicating that he’s a descendant of the selkies.
    • Ondine (2009) : Set in Castletonebere, Ireland and starring Colin Farrell, this romantic drama follows a fisherman who finds a woman in his fishing net—and his daughter begins to raise suspicions that the woman is a selkie.
    • Song of the Sea (2014) : An Irish animated film about a boy who learns that his mute sister is a selkie. He helps his sister to find her voice and free the faerie creatures from a Celtic goddess.
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Section 6 of 6:

Further Learning on World Mythology & Folklore

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  1. Selkies are a prominent part of Celtic mythology, which boasts a wide range of fascinating folklore and mesmerizing tales. And when you run out of Celtic legends to explore, you still have a whole wide world of cultural stories, mythic creatures, and urban legends to read about! If that sounds like a good time to you, we invite you to click through the following links to discover more about world mythologies, folklore, and legends:

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      References

      1. ↑ https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2579&context=gradreports
      2. ↑ https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1785&context=honors
      3. ↑ https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1785&context=honors
      4. ↑ https://travellingwithoutfootprints.home.blog/2019/05/20/the-selkies-of-iceland/
      5. ↑ https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2579&context=gradreports
      6. ↑ https://www.rafemartin.com/bk_seals.html
      7. ↑ https://www.inuitartfoundation.org/iaq-online/your-guide-to-the-monsters-in-inuit-art
      8. ↑ http://staff.washington.edu/nfabbi/Sedna+'02.pdf
      9. ↑ https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1785&context=honors
      1. ↑ https://scotlands-stories.com/traditional-scottish-selkie-stories/
      2. ↑ https://scotlands-stories.com/traditional-scottish-selkie-stories/
      3. ↑ https://booksirelandmagazine.com/a-mermaid-story-with-a-twist-from-irish-folk-tales-of-coast-and-sea/
      4. ↑ https://www.scotlandhistory.co.uk/mythical-creatures-selkies
      5. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=Cn6pWMverBIC&pg=PA97#v=onepage&q=maccodrum&f=false
      6. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=Cn6pWMverBIC&pg=PA97#v=onepage&q&f=false
      7. ↑ https://archive.org/details/strangesecretpeo00silv/page/47/mode/1up
      8. ↑ https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2579&context=gradreports

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