The Legend of the Selkie

There is a legend in Scottish folklore of the Selkie menSeals in the sea, men on land, this is one of the most romantic and enduring tales of Scottish mythology.

This legend has been told from the Orkney Islands down through the Highlands and Ireland, Wales, and even Iceland.

The Selkie men often came to shore on their own, but legend also says that a woman disappointed in love could weep seven tears into the sea to call a Selkie lover

The Selkie would shed his sealskin on the beach, in human form on land

Selkie men were described as pale and dark-haired, with large, dark eyes resembling those of the seal

All legends say that the Selkie men were handsome and charming

The Selkie man would visit the woman and love her, as was a Selkie’s purpose

Here, the story branches in to three different endings…

If a woman took his sealskin it would bind the Selkie to her – and to the landHowever, because of her duplicity, one day he will find the skin again

Return to the seaAnd break her heart

Sometimes, the Selkie only visited for a short time, and returned to the sea. The human woman would give birth to a child some time later. After the child was born, the Selkie would return, pay her the nursing fee, and then take the child to the sea to learn the ways of the seal-folk

Most Selkie stories have a tragic ending

But not all …

If the Selkie man fell in love with the human woman

He would take her in to the Seal Kingdom

Where they would be together for always

Recreation of the Selkie Legend

Photography: Stuart Hyland – http://www.facebook.com/stuart.hyland.7

Creative Director and Model: Brea Morgiane – http://www.facebook.com/brea.morgiane

Male Model: Alasdair Reavey

Make Up Artist: Elaine Meyer-Turner – http://www.facebook.com/emeyerturner

Lighting: Simon Pole – http://www.facebook.com/SPPSBL

Shot on Salcoats beach January 2013

© Stuart Hyland 2013