What powers do selkies have?

In Orkney lore, selkie is said to denote various seals of greater size than the grey seal; only these large seals are credited with the ability to shapeshift into humans, and are called “selkie folk”.

Can selkies sing?

Selkies love to come ashore, shed their skin and bask in the sunlight, or sing and dance by the light of the moon. Without their skin, they cannot return to the sea.

What happens when you give a selkie their coat?

The Visitors is a little bit about selkies. Selkies are seals, and they are also people. They have a fur coat that allows them to take the form of a seal. When they step out of the coat, they become human.

Are selkies immortal?

Selkies are immortal, but they can be killed by other creatures. They are generally killed by sharks when they are in seal form. Selkies can also be killed by humans on land.

Can men be selkie?

Male selkies are described as being very handsome in their human form, and having great seductive powers over human women. They typically seek those who are dissatisfied with their lives, such as married women waiting for their fishermen husbands.

How could you summon a male selkie?

Ladies, if you want to summon a male selkie, shed seven tears into the sea. Legendary folk duo The Corries did a folk song about a male selkie, The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry.

Are selkies sirens?

Selkies appear alongside mermaids and sirens as sea dwelling folk that humans might encounter. They take the form of seals in the sea and humans on land. Tales of the selkie appear most often in the Orkney Islands. But they also appear in the folklore of Ireland, the Faroe Islands, and Iceland.

Can selkies be male?

What is the difference between a Kelpie and a selkie?

Some more familiar creatures are kelpies and selkies. Kelpies are supernatural water horses that haunt Scotlands lochs and rivers. Selkies meanwhile are creatures that can transform themselves from seal to human form and back again.

How are selkies born?

Another belief is that shipwrecked Spaniards were washed ashore, and their jet black hair resembled seals. As the anthropologist A. Asbjørn Jøn has recognised, though, there is a strong body of lore that indicates that selkies “are said to be supernaturally formed from the souls of drowned people”.

Do selkies have names?

Selkies are mythological beings found in Faroese, Irish and Scottish folklore. Selkies live as seals when they’re in the sea, but once they come on land, they shed their skin and become human. Selkies aren’t named that often in folklore and in the cases they are named they often just have regular human names.

Do selkies have dark hair?

‘ Unlike the many blondes and red-heads that can be found in Ireland, a selkie is a true ‘black Irish’ with hair so dark it is almost black, generally in long, wavy, full curls, skin more akin to porcelain, and striking dark eyes. If a mortal should capture her and hide her coat, she is unable to return to the sea.

How did selkies change from human to animal?

The Selkies were known to have the gift of therianthropy – the ability to change from human to animal form at will. They accomplished this by shedding a seal skin when they desired to be on land and hiding it. When they wished to return to the water, they would slip back into the skin and blend into the sea.

How would you describe a male selkie?

Male selkies are described as being very handsome in their human form, and having great seductive powers over human women. They typically seek those who are dissatisfied with their life, such as married women waiting for their fishermen husbands. If a woman wishes to make contact with a selkie male,…

What is a selkie folktale?

A typical folk-tale is that of a man who steals a female selkie’s skin, finds her naked on the sea shore, and compels her to become his wife. But the wife will spend her time in captivity longing for the sea, her true home, and will often be seen gazing longingly at the ocean.

What is a Shetland selkie?

While “selkies” is the proper term for such shapeshifters according to an Orcadian folklorist, treatises on Shetland refer to them merely as mermen or merwomen . Many of the folk-tales on selkie folk have been collected from the Northern Isles (Orkney and Shetland).