Selkie

Selkie · Maighdean mhara

Seal-woman who sheds her grey skin to walk the moonlit shore

The selkie takes her name from the Scots word for 'seal'. She is the seal-woman of the Northern Isles. In Orkney and Shetland tellings, selkies live in the sea in grey pelts. On certain nights they slip the skin off and walk the shore as people, dancing in the moonlight. In Irish tellings she may be called maighdean mhara, 'sea-maid'.

Hers is a folk tradition rather than a formal religion. Her tale speaks of longing for home and of the danger of mistaking possession for love. Whoever hides her skin holds her on land, yet she always longs for the sea. She lives on in the ballad 'The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry', in Irish west-coast stories and in the Faroese Kópakonan tale. Some families, such as the Conneelys of Connemara and the MacCodrums of North Uist, are said to descend from seals.

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How to recognise Selkie

Human formLook for a tall, dark-haired, dark-eyed woman who has just stepped out of her seal skin, with no fish tail, because Orkney tradition keeps selkies distinct from mermaids.
SealskinA soft, dappled grey pelt is draped like a cloak, held over her arm or folded on a rock beside her, because the skin is the whole story: without it she cannot return to the sea.
Rocky shoreShe stands on a lonely shore, skerry or sea-cave with water behind her, often by moonlight, the meeting place of land and sea where the tales have selkies dancing or basking.
Seal formIn the sea she is a large grey seal with dark, round, uncannily human eyes, and a seal or pup beside her recalls her other life.
Seaward gazeHer expression is wistful, calm and a little far away, because a selkie wife is said always to long for the sea.
Webbed fingersChildren of selkies were said to have webbed fingers or toes, a subtle family mark that should be shown gently, never as a deformity.

Names and titles

The Seal WifeThe best-known selkie tale is of the seal-woman whose hidden skin keeps her on land
Maiden of the SeaIrish tellers call the same beings maighdean mhara, 'sea-maid'
Dancer on the Moonlit ShoreSelkie-folk are said to dance on moonlit shores or bask on skerries once their skins are off
Called Home by the SeaA selkie wife always longs for the sea and goes back when she finds her skin
Grey Selkie of Sule SkerryThe Orkney and Shetland ballad names a great selkie whose home is the rock of Sule Skerry