Tangie

A tangie is a folkloric shapeshifting water spirit of Northern Scotland.[1]

Tangie is the name of a sea horse in the folklore of the Orkney and Shetland Islands in the British Isles. The name derives from the Danish word tang, meaning "seaweed". It is usually described as a rough-haired type of pony with seaweed or shells in its mane. A tangie can also look like a merman. It is known for terrorizing lonely travellers, especially young women on roads at night near the lochs, whom it will abduct and devour under the water.

Similar yet distinctive from the nogel, a tangie is able to cause derangement in humans and animals.[2]

The tangie plays a major role in the Shetland legend of Black Eric, a sheep rustler. The tangie he rode gave him supernatural assistance when he raided and harassed surrounding crofts. In his final battle with crofter Sandy Breamer, Black Eric fell to his death in the sea. The tangie then continued to terrorize the area, particularly the young women he was hoping to abduct.[3]

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Briggs (2002), p. 280
  2. ↑ Teit (1918), p. 187
  3. ↑ Lamont-Brown (1996), p. 84

Bibliography

  • Briggs, Katharine Mary (2002), Fairies in Tradition and Literature, Psychology Press, ISBN 978-0-415-28601-5
  • Lamont-Brown, Raymond (1996), Scottish Folklore, Birlinn, ISBN 978-1-874744-58-0
  • Teit, J. A. (1918), "Water-Beings in Shetlandic Folk-Lore", The Journal of American Folklore 31 (120), JSTOR 534874, (subscription required (help))

Further reading