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Huldra
For other uses of the word Succubus, see Succubus (disambiguation).
In Scandinavian folklore, the Huldra (in Norwegian culture, derived from a root meaning "covered" or "secret"), or the skogsrå or skogsfru/skovfrue (meaning "Lady (read, counterpart of a Lord) of the forest") or Tallemaja (pine tree Mary) in Swedish culture, is a seductive forest creature. Her name suggests that she is originally the same being as the völva Huld and the German Holda.[1] A male hulder is called a huldu, or in Norway a huldrekall.
The word huldra/huldri/hulderen is the definite form in Norwegian ("the hulder") – the indefinite form is en/ei hulder ("a hulder"). The plural indefinite form is huldre(r) ("hulders"), and the plural definite form is huldrene ("the hulders"). In the plural one could also use huldrefolk (indefinite) and huldrefolket (definite) meaning "the hulder people" to refer to all huldrer as a single entity. There is also an adjective connected, to be huldren, which can be interpreted as uncanny, or often "being under the hulder's spell" (i.e. suffering from inexplicable madness).
Male hulders do appear, called Huldrekall. This being is closely related to other subterrestrials, usually called tusser. Like the female counterpart, the huldrkall is a shapeshifter who often lures girls under a fair countenance (Glamour). Both male and female hulder could be revealed as rather ugly when the glamour was lifted from them.
Features
The huldra is a stunningly beautiful, sometimes naked woman with long hair; though from behind she is hollow like an old tree trunk, and has an animal's tail. In Norway, she has a cow's tail, and in Sweden she may have that of a cow or a fox. Further in the north of Sweden, the tail can be entirely omitted in favor of her hollow or bark-covered back.
In Norway, the huldra has often been described as a typical dairymaid, wearing the clothes of a regular farm girl, although somewhat more dazzling or prettier than most girls.
Folklore
The huldra is one of several rå (keeper, warden), including the aquatic Sjörå (or havsfru), later identified with a mermaid, and the bergsrå in caves and mines who made life tough for the poor miners.
More information can be found in the collected Norwegian folktales of Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe.
Relations with humans
The huldras were held to be kind to colliers, watching their charcoal kilns while they rested. Knowing that she would wake them if there were any problems, they were able to sleep, and in exchange they left provisions for her in a special place. A tale from Närke illustrates further how kind a huldra could be, especially if treated with respect (Hellström 1985:15).
A boy in Tiveden went fishing, but he had no luck. Then he met a beautiful lady, and she was so stunning that he felt he had to catch his breath. But, then he realized who she was, because he could see a fox's tail sticking out below the skirt. As he knew that it was forbidden to comment on the tail to the lady of the forest, if it were not done in the most polite manner, he bowed deeply and said with his softest voice, "Milady, I see that your petticoat shows below your skirt". The lady thanked him gracefully and hid her tail under her skirt, telling the boy to fish on the other side of the lake. That day, the boy had great luck with his fishing and he caught a fish every time he threw out the line. This was the huldra's recognition of his politeness.
In some traditions, the huldra lures men into the forest to have sexual intercourse with her, rewarding those who satisfy her and often killing those who do not. The Norwegian huldra is a lot less bloodthirsty and may simply kidnap a man or lure him into the underworld. She sometimes steals human infants and replaces them with her own ugly huldrebarn (changeling huldre children).
Sometimes she marries a local farm boy, but when this happens, the glamour leaves her when the priest lays his hand on her, or when she enters the church. Some legends tell of husbands who subsequently treat her badly. Some fairy tales leave out this feature, and only relate how a marriage to a Christian man will cause her to lose her tail, but not her looks, and let the couple live happily ever after. However if she is treated badly, she will remind him that she is far from weak, often by straightening out a horseshoe with her bare hands, sometimes while it is still glowing hot from the forge.
If betrayed, the huldra can punish the man severely, as in one case from Sigdal, when she avenged her pride on a young braggart she had sworn to marry, on the promise that he would not tell anybody of her. The boy instead bragged about his bride for a year, and when they met again, she beat him around the ears with her cow's tail. He lost his hearing and his wits for the rest of his life.
Hunting
The hulder has long been associated with hunting; she might blow down the barrel of a huntsman's rifle, causing it never thereafter to miss a shot. Some men are not so lucky, or perhaps skilled, and escape her only after surrendering their sanity.
Origins
Associated with Christianity, a tale recounts how a mother had washed only half of her children when God came to her cottage; ashamed of the dirty ones, she hid them. God decreed that those she had hidden from him would be hidden from mankind; they became the huldrer.[2]
One Legend
Once there was a married man, who was out looking for his cattle when he came upon a Huldra or skogsrå. Unable to withstand the temptation, he went with her and made love to her becoming obsessed by her. He would return and make love to her every evening after that.
Before long it began to be too much for him, draining him to the point where he collapsed. However, still he could not resist her. Eventually it got to be too much for him, the poor man became so exhausted that he could hardly walk.
He didn't know what to do, so on one of his visits he asked the Huldra or Skogsrå what he ought to do about a bull he had. He told her that the bull was a problem because it never did anything but mount the cows and wouldn't stop, so that both the bull and cows were completely worn out and the cows had stopped giving milk.
Her advice to him was to gather some Tibast, and vandelrot. (Tibast Daphne mezereum or February Daphne, and vandelrot Valeriana officinalis root herbs). So he obtained some tibast and vandelrot and pinned it to himself before going to meet her that evening. As soon as she saw him she cried, "Tibast and vandelrot is sure, fie on me for telling the cure!" And with that she turned around, so that he saw her from behind breaking the spell, and then disappeared.
The man in this legend narrowly escapes an obscure doom, which is the theme of the legends. These creatures, even when treated well, are reported to have evil, disruptive intentions, as their very presence fills one with foreboding. Quite a bit of folklore offers advice on how to avoid, conquer or escape from encounters with the Huldra or Skogsrå.
Toponyms
Huldremose (Huldra Bog) is a bog located on Djursland, Denmark famous for the discovery of the Huldremose Woman, a bog body from 55 BC.
Parallels
The huldra may be connected with the German holda. The huldra is also known in Finnish folklore.
Modern culture
The Norwegian municipality Lardal has a hulder in its coat of arms.
In modern day Iceland, stories still abound of the huldufólk. It is said that work crews building new roads will sometimes divert the road around particular boulders which are known to be the homes of the huldufólk.
In C. S. Lewis's The Silver Chair, the Lady of the Green Kirtle seduces Prince Rilian and lures him underground. However, although her behavior is similar to that of a huldra, she does not resemble a huldra in any other way.
Neil Gaiman's short story "Monarch of the Glen: An American Gods Novella" features a huldra as a main character.
In Frank Beddor's book Seeing Redd, it briefly mentions how as Queen Redd traveled throughout the world to build an Army she was thought of in one country as being part Troll and Part Huldra.
George MacDonald's book Phantastes includes a huldra-like monster, although she is never named as such, who lures the hero into her tree and entraps him so that the evil Oak can catch him. She is described as being very beautiful, but made of hollow wood from the back.
The European 2009 hit "Fairytale", by Alexander Rybak, was inspired by the huldra.
The music video for danish artist Ste van Holm's song 'Cloudberries' features Huldra roaming the Swedish forests.
In The Orphan's Tales: In the Cities of Coin and Spice by Catherynne M. Valente, a character named Oubliette is a huldra.
Notes
References
- Hellström, AnneMarie (1985). Jag vill så gärna berätta. ISBN 91-7908-002-2