#waterhorses

[blairstales]

Scottish Folklore Songs (Historic Recordings)

The site Tobar An Dualchais is a collection of historic audio recordings in Scotland, and that includes songs. I collected just some of the folklore related ones into a list for you all.

I have no talent in singing, so I will have to leave that up to the rest of you. Some are in English, and other are in Gaelic.

Kelpies and Each-Uisge 🐎🌊

(link) A MHÒR, A MHÒR, TILL RID MHACAN. "This song, which was used as a cradle song, was said to have been a lament composed by a water-horse(each-uisge) whose mortal lover had gone, taking their child with her. He is pleading with her to return. " (Recorded in 1956)

(link) A GHAOIL LEIG DHACHAIGH GU MO MHÀTHAIR MI "This song takes the form of a conversation between a girl and a water-horse. The girl is asking him to let her return home to her mother. The water-horse has other ideas. It is clear from the last verse that the girl escaped. " (Recorded in 1954)

(link) 'ILLE BHIG, 'ILLE BHIG SHUNNDAICH Ò "This is a fairy song. It was said to have been composed by a girl who was in love with a water-horse. As the song describes, he was killed by her brothers. The song lists some of the gifts he had promised to give the girl. " (Recorded in 1963)

Mermaids 🧜‍♀️

(link) ÒRAN NA MAIGHDINN-MHARA "In this song a mermaid says that she was deceived. She fell in love with a man even though he was human and she was a mermaid. Her sleep is unsettled when there is bad weather. " (Recorded in 1963)

Selkies:

(link) THE GREAT SELKIE OF SULE SKERRY "Supernatural ballad in which a woman bears a son to a selkie." (Recorded in 1973)

(link) THE SELKIE "The woman is speculating on who her baby's father is, when he appears and tells her he is Gunhaemilar and he is a selkie [seal man]. She is distraught and turns down his proposal of marriage. He tells her to nurse the baby for seven years, then he will return and pay her. He comes back and she asks him to marry her, but he rejects her in the same words she used to turn him down. He says he will put a gold chain round his son's neck so she will know him. She marries a gunner who shoots both the selkie and his son and she dies of a broken heart. " (Recorded in 1971)

(link) UNKNOWN "A Shetland song mentioning the selkies." (Recorded in 1985)

Other:

(link) MORAG'S FAIRY GLEN "Song of a man telling the beauty of Morag's Fairy Glen, and bidding his love to meet him there. " (Recorded in 1952)

(link) FAIRY DANCE "This is the reel 'Fairy Dance' played on the fiddle. " (Recorded in 1970)

(link) CRODH CHAILEIN "This song belongs to the fairy songs tradition and was used as a milking song or lullaby. Colin's cattle referred to in the song are the deer. " (Recorded in 1955)

(link) TÀLADH NA MNATHA SÌDHE "This song is a fairy cradle song in which the speaker says she would wander in the night with her beloved child. Sections of the song contain vocables which belong to the piping tradition." (Recorded in 1970)

(link) HORO 'ILLE DHUINN SHUNNDAICH "A song in which a woman tells of the murder of her fairy lover who promised her the kertch of a married woman." (Recorded in 1994) (link) HÈ O HÒ A RAGHNAILL UD THALL "In this fairy song, a fairy woman is trying to get a herdsman called Ronald to come across a river to her. Fairies cannot cross water." (In some stories, certain types of fairies can't cross running water) (Recorded in 1953)

(link) HÓRO 'ILLE DHUINN SHUNNDAICH "Song about a woman with a fairy lover." (Recorded in 1962)

(link) ÒRAN AN LEANNAIN-SÌTH "In this song the bard tells of being visited by a fairy lover. She asks him to make her a song, which will win an award at the Mod. He describes her beautiful appearance and sweet voice. She promises to give him a magic wand. She tells him about some of her deeds, and reminds him to make the song as she requested." (Recorded in 1960)

[tearlessrain]

please help me- i used to be pretty smart but i’m having so much trouble grasping the concept of diegetic vs non-diegetic bdsm!

gfkjldghfd okay first of all I'm sorry for the confusion, if you're not finding anything on the phrase it's because I made it up and absolutely nobody but me ever uses it, but I haven't found a better way to express what I'm trying to say so I keep using it. but now you've given me an excuse to ramble on about some shit that is only relevant to me and my deeply inefficient way of talking and by god I'm going to take it.

SO. the way diegetic and non-diegetic are normally used is to talk about music and sound design in movies/tv shows. in case you aren't familiar with that concept, here's a rundown:

diegetic sound is sound that happens within the world of the movie/show and can be acknowledged by the characters, like a song playing on the stereo during a driving scene, or sung on stage in Phantom of the Opera. it's also most other sounds that happen in a movie, like the sounds of traffic in a city scene, or a thunderclap, or a marching band passing by. or one of the three stock horse sounds they use in every movie with a horse in it even though horses don't really vocalize much in real life, but that's beside the point, the horse is supposed to be actually making that noise within the movie's world and the characters can hear it whinnying.

non-diegetic sound is any sound that doesn't exist in the world of the movie/show and can't be perceived by the characters. this includes things like laugh tracks and most soundtrack music. when Duel of Fates plays in Star Wars during the lightsaber fight for dramatic effect, that's non-diegetic. it exists to the audience, but the characters don't know their fight is being backed by sick ass music and, sadly, can't hear it.

the lines can get blurry between the two, you've probably seen the film trope where the clearly non-diegetic music in the title sequence fades out to the same music, now diegetic and playing from the character's car stereo. and then there are things like Phantom of the Opera as mentioned above, where the soundtrack is also part of the plot, but Phantom of the Opera does also have segments of non-diegetic music: the Phantom probably does not have an entire orchestra and some guy with an electric guitar hiding down in his sewer just waiting for someone to break into song, but both of those show up in the songs they sing down there.

now, on to how I apply this to bdsm in fiction.

if I'm referring to diegetic bdsm what I mean is that the bdsm is acknowledged for what it is in-world. the characters themselves are roleplaying whatever scenarios their scenes involve and are operating with knowledge of real life rules/safety practices. if there's cnc depicted, it will be apparent at some point, usually right away, that both characters actually are fully consenting and it's all just a planned scene, and you'll often see on-screen negotiation and aftercare, and elements of the story may involve the kink community wherever the characters are. Love and Leashes is a great example of this, 50 Shades and Bonding are terrible examples of this, but they all feature characters that know they're doing bdsm and are intentional about it.

if I'm talking about non-diegetic bdsm, I'm referring to a story that portrays certain kinks without the direct acknowledgement that the characters are doing bdsm. this would be something like Captive Prince, or Phantom of the Opera again, or the vast majority of bodice ripper type stories where an innocent woman is kidnapped by a pirate king or something and totally doesn't want to be ravished but then it turns out he's so cool and sexy and good at ravishing that she decides she's into it and becomes his pirate consort or whatever it is that happens at the end of those books. the characters don't know they're playing out a cnc or D/s fantasy, and in-universe it's often straight up noncon or dubcon rather than cnc at all. the thing about entirely non-diegetic bdsm is that it's almost always Problematic™ in some way if you're not willing to meet the story where it's at, but as long as you're not judging it by the standards of diegetic bdsm, it's just providing the reader the same thing that a partner in a scene would: the illusion of whatever risk or taboo floats your boat, sometimes to extremes that can't be replicated in real life due to safety, practicality, physics, the law, vampires not being real, etc. it's consensual by default because it's already pretend; the characters are vehicles for the story and not actually people who can be hurt, and the reader chose to pick up the book and is aware that nothing in it is real, so it's all good.

this difference is where people tend to get hung up in the discourse, from what I've observed. which is why I started using this phrasing, because I think it's very crucial to be able to differentiate which one you're talking about if you try to have a conversation with someone about the portrayal of bdsm in media. it would also, frankly, be useful for tagging, because sometimes when you're in the mood for non-diegetic bodice ripper shit you'd call the police over in real life, it can get really annoying to read paragraphs of negotiation and check-ins that break the illusion of the scene and so on, and the opposite can be jarring too.

it's very possible to blur these together the same way Phantom of the Opera blurs its diegetic and non-diegetic music as well. this leaves you even more open to being misunderstood by people reading in bad faith, but it can also be really fun to play with. @not-poignant writes fantastic fanfic, novels, and original serials on ao3 that pull this off really well, if you're okay with some dark shit in your fiction I would highly recommend their work. some of it does get really fucking dark in places though, just like. be advised. read the tags and all that.

but yeah, spontaneous writer plug aside, that's what I mean.

[dharmaart]

Do not feed or stroke the horses. They can bite!

Returning to my theme of folkloric horses who eat people with this blue black calligraphy ink, gouache, and pencil on brown paper piece.

[grimae]

a commission for @yakyuu-yarou

[tapidrinks]

[ltwilliammowett]

The Kelpie

If you are travelling in Scotland and there you are on the coast or at a loch, be careful, because if a beautiful horse offers to carry you over, run. Because if you don't, it will pull you into the depths and eat you there. What am I talking about ? a Kelpie.

Kelpies are water spirits in the form of a horse with a fish tail and are already known in Celtic mythology. They are powerful horses that serve the sea god and often appear as shape-shifters to hide their true nature. However, they prefer to appear as beautiful women who lure poor sailors and fishermen to their doom.

A Kelpie resting, by porcelianDoll 

There are many such water horses who are very similar to the kelpies in their actions. They are called nuggle in Orkney, shoopiltee/ njogel/ tangi in Shetland, Ceffyl dŵr in Wales, nökken in Norway or each uisge in Ireland. All water horses have the characteristic of attracting people, in this case sailors or fishermen, but especially children, to drown them in the water and eat them. The water horse encourages children to climb on its back, and once they have climbed on, they cannot get off because a sticky film on the beast's back prevents them from doing so. The kelpie drags the children to the bottom of the sea or lake and eats them there, except for the liver, which remains floating on the surface.

There seems to be no way to escape a kelpie, unless you manage to throw a veil or a bridle over it, in which case it must serve you.

The Pond, by Camelid 

But where does this myth come from, which is limited to the coastal regions and large lakes? As already mentioned, this myth dates back to the Celts, who liked to have pile dwellings on the shore or directly in the water in these regions. The clothing at that time consisted of thick wool to protect against the cold, but there was a danger that if someone fell into the water, the wool would fill up and pull the person down before they could save himself. Especially children and all those who worked near or with the water were affected by this and so the kelpie seems to have been a warning and thus a call for caution, which has survived to this day in numerous myths and legends.

[pinkiexneomorph277]

Seen Mlp friends doing MerMay art and my contribution is my version of a Hippocampus (basically a water horse )

[camiliar]

✨Kelpie✨

[mindthewitch]

I'd like to recommend this fuckin thing for Wet Beast Wednesday

[coelacat]

my blog seems so normal until i reblog water horse or rtvs or sonic drag. you guys should be grateful i didnt have tumblr in my human dog phase i wouldve been posting human dog all the time

[not-poignant]

Hi Pia

Has Augus's prey ever escaped him? And how?

Hi anon!

Yes, actually, because it's in the actual folklore for the Each Uisge.

The very first story I read about the Each Uisge goes something like this:

A young, beautiful maiden lives alone in a small farmhouse, with a small number of farm animals, including a striking white cow with red eyes that gives her the best milk around.

One day, it is late at night and storming very badly, blowing a gale, the farmhouse shuddering in the wind. She has the fire burning in the hearth, and is beginning to doze in her chair when she hears a great knock at the door. Startled, and frightened - who would be on her property at this time of night, during this storm? - she opens the door and sees the most handsome young man she's ever seen.

He has luscious, drenched, straight black hair. Shimmering green eyes. He leans against her doorway.

'Pray tell, will you offer some shelter to a man who got caught in this dreadful storm? I see you have a lovely warm hearth, and I only wish to warm myself by your fire a little, and then I'll be on my way.'

She's reluctant to let a strange man in, but he seems down on his luck, and he's in handsome clothes, so he doesn't seem like a person who will take advantage of her. Still, she feels a shiver go down her spine as she lets him in.

The man goes to the rug before the fire and sits before the fireside, staring into the flames. She goes back to her chair. They make almost no conversation, and he seems almost peaceful. Time goes by, and she relaxes.

But an hour goes by, and she realises that even though his clothes are nearly dry, and his arms, his long black hair is just as wet as ever, drip, drip, dripping onto the rug. As she watches, a curling horror unfolds within her. She has heard stories of a vicious monster - the each uisge - that eats young lads and maidens that lives in the idyllic lake nearby, that is often a malevolent waterhorse, but occasionally the most handsome and polite of men. But when he goes about as a man, his hair remains wet.

Another hour passes and she realises he means to eat her. Heart racing, she pretends at calm - his hair has never gotten closer to drying - and reaches for the hairbrush she keeps on the mantle. She knows one thing about the each uisge, he desires to be dry, despite never being able to be dry, and he desires the creature comforts of a home - including an open fireplace, despite living underwater.

'My lord,' she says, 'let me brush your hair for you. It is so very comely.'

He looks aside at her, and then smirks. 'Why, that would be lovely.'

So she takes a brush to his hair, in slow, soothing strokes. It fills her with dread to be so close to him, for this close she realises that he has not fingernails, but black claws at the tips of his fingers. His hair feels not like a human's in her hands, but a horse's mane. It takes every effort to pretend at calm. She is all alone, and no one will save her.

Eventually the each uisge's eyelids begin to droop, and he sags a little. She takes her chance:

'My lord, if you are feeling tired, perhaps just lie back here against the wooden armchair and rest. Would that suit you?'

'Yes. For you have a lovely fire here.'

He sighs, and she continues to brush and stroke his hair, and over time that green glimmer of his eyes disappears as he falls asleep. She stares down at him, trembling overtaking her, and then she springs up and darts out of the house as fast as she can into the storm.

At once, she hears a terrible, unearthly roar of rage. She's almost paralysed, but she flees as her legs burn and her heart pounds. She can hear horse hooves rapidly approaching, thundering closer, closer, closer-

Then, the sound of a white cow lowing, and she cannot turn and look behind her, because she is maddened by fear, and can only run.

The next morning she returns with the villagers to her farmhouse, telling them of her encounter. There is blood everywhere, and her beautiful white cow with red eyes - a good proper faerie cow - is nowhere to be seen.

They all go down to the lake and see nothing more than a perfect cow's liver resting on the shore.

The maiden weeps in gratitude and pain, for her perfect faerie cow saved her life, and gave hers in turn. The each uisge never returned to her home, and the maiden considered herself lucky to have the protection of the Seelie on her side.

---

Since I've included a lot of the each uisge's actual lore into Augus' character, I've definitely kept this experience in his history!

[blairstales]

Folklore of Scotland Map🧭👻

Do you have an interest in folklore and are traveling Scotland? If so, I have been building a map for you to use!

From spooky stories (like a water-horse shapeshifted into an old woman who kills a girl), to quirky ones (like a well where you toss cheese for the fairies), I am adding it all. All the locations will also link to posts with more information.

I hope it helps!

I will continuously add to it over time.

Note: I haven't tested it on mobile

[rainatheart]

[fenlock]

Hey, was just wondering if you knew anything about the waterhorses on the Shetland Isles and Orkney. As far as I can tell there is alot contradictions and overlapping between the two places and I don't know how much is down to translation errors. Like nuggle, shoopilte and tangie all being named as separate creatures and also being classed as different names for the same spirit.

You're definitely correct that there is a lot of of overlap between the three. Even in older folklore books, they often get lumped together or treated as regional names for the same being. I do believe there are enough differences to classify them as separate creatures, but again there's a ton of overlap and contradiction opinions.

I'll start with the tangie, as it has the most written lore that I've been able to find. Generally they're considered to be sea creatures, vs some other waterhorses that are found inland in rivers and lochs. They're also the only waterhorse known for taking on a merman form. Older stories describe them as being apple green, while later they're almost always described as being black with a rough coat. The most famous tangie was ridden by the sheep rustler Black Eric, so if you're looking for stories that's your best starting point.

Shoopiltee and nuggle are both far less known, and there's a lot less information on them. The shoopiltee is slightly more popular, from what I've found, but the two are almost always referred to as the same beings under different names. I have found a few differences though. Shoopiltee usually take the form of shetland ponies, much smaller than most waterhorses. While they are known for drowning people, there are also a few scattered tales of them being more mischievous than malevolent, or even friendly. There are also accounts of people sacrificing coins or alcohol to the shoopiltee in exchange for successful fishing.

The nuggle is the one I've found the least amount of written information about. Unlike the shoopiltee, they tend to appear as a full-sized horse, sometimes described as having hair that faces the wrong direction (forward toward the head). Most accounts have the nuggle inhabiting inland pools or lochs, again unlike the tangie and shoopiltee who seem to favor the sea.

[tearlessrain]

(also the each uisge IS the superior waterhorse)

[eachuisge-cc]

....... excuse I???