Reykjavík Grapevine - 27.06.2003, Blaðsíða 30

- the reykjavík grapevine -30 june 27th - july 10th, 2003
THE CAT FROM VÍKINGAVATN
F O L K S A G A S
by Björk Bjarnardóttir
Iceland is said to be the land of fire
and ice, pure nature and magnificent
landscape. But what many people
don’t know is that Iceland is also
the land of monsters, elves, trolls,
ghosts and little people. When the first
settlers came to Iceland about 1000
years ago, every hill and rock was
said to have been alive with all kinds
of creatures. Folklorists have traced
the roots of these Icelandic creatures
to Scandinavian and European folk
beliefs. However, in Iceland these
creatures have taken their own
distinctive shape, a shape that is not
to be found anywhere else in the world.
This uniqueness comes from the inner
mind of Icelandic people and is heavily
influenced by the nature that surrounds
the people and the creatures. Folktales
and legends are not always built on
reality, however, through the tales
one can read the attitude to morality
and the faith people had back then.
Icelandic nature plays a big role in
the Icelandic folktales. The harsh
environment and the unpredictability
of nature shaped many of the stories
along with the fear people have of the
unknown. As time passed the stories
were collected and moved from oral
tradition to large written collections
of Icelandic folktales First published
around the mid 19th century these
books continue to be in great demand
and I dare say that there is not a
person in Iceland that has not read
some of them at one time or another.
The creatures of the tales differ greatly
some of them have been known to be
very helpful to the Icelandic people, but
beware, they can also be vengeful and
dangerous if proper care and respect
is not shown in their presence or in
their habitat. When you travel around
Iceland, keep in mind that trolls inhabit
the mountains and most small hills
are the homes of the hidden people
or elves. The lakes and the sea are
home to various mythical beasts like
mermen, sea horses, sea monsters
and giant worms.
If you were to ask an Icelander today
if he believes that hidden people,
trolls or ghost really do exists, you
are unlikely to receive a straight
answer. An Icelander will very likely say
something like “ I believe that there is
something, I can’t say for sure because
I have never seen one but people talk
about these creatures so who am I to
say that they don’t exist?” People in
Iceland do not necessarily believe that
these creatures exist but they are very
unlikely to deny their existence either
as such a denial might anger the ones
that cannot be seen. There are many
people in Iceland that do believe that,
some if not all, of these creatures still
live in Iceland.
The modern era it has not been an
easy one for some of these creatures,
for like other things that belong to
nature, Man is constantly demanding
more space for his houses, factories
and infrastructure, which drive the
beings of nature to seek peace and
quiet somewhere else.
So please, when on your travels
around Iceland, take care not to drive
off the road and show respect to the
country, because you never know if
you might be in the presence of trolls,
ghosts or hidden people. Angering
these creatures of old might well incur
their wrath and then nothing can save
you aside from some very old magic
formulas that are known to precious
few living Icelandic people.
The Cat From Víkingavatn
Once, a long, long time ago, a cat
was to be put down at the farm of
Víkingavatn in the Kelduhverfi dis-
trict. One of the household took the
cat and threw it into a deep ravine
thinking that would surely finish it
off. Three years passed. Then one
day a monstrous cat crawled across
the living room floor of the farm at
Reykjahlíð near Lake Mývatn. The
cat was the size of a calf and its
eyes as big as saucers. A member
of the household happened to have
seen the Víkingavatn cat and recog-
nised this as one and the same. It
had travelled all the way from Kel-
duhverfi in a tunnel and had found
therein such nutritious food that it
had grown prodigiously. It was said
the eyes had grown so large in order
to see in the dark
If you were to ask an Icelander today if
he believes that hidden people, trolls or
ghosts really do exist, you are unlikely
to receive a straight answer.
Cover image of the book Myths and Monsters in Icelandic Folktales
Illustration by Guðrún Tryggvadóttir.
The cat with the big eyes
Illustration by Guðrún Tryggvadóttir.
The book Myths and Monsters
in Icelandic Folktales shows
you the other side of Iceland:
that aspect of the Folk-tales that
acquaints you with the mythical
beasts that inhabit and protect
Iceland. These stories have
been specially retold by Björk
Bjarnadóttir and illustrated by
Guðrún Tryggvadóttir. This
book is for the whole family and
gives a perfect insight into the
mythical hidden world that exists
in Iceland. Also in available
in German, Fabelwesen aus
isländischen Sagen.
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