Greetings all, I am pleased to be joining the Orcadia mailing list. I have a keen interest in the Orkney Islands, their history, and especially their folklore. As a mythologist, I have studied the classic myths, medieval myths and tribal myths from around the world and I am eager to learn more about the folklore of Orkney. It has some very interesting parallels to Icelandic customs. My grandparents were born in Orkney, and I am struck by how few customs and traditions have been passed on to my generation. I would love to hear any stories you know relating to Orkney folklore or customs. For example, I am intrigued by the idea of storm witches, that is women who control the weather, especially at sea. One of my relatives wrote about them in his collection of short stories. I visited Orkney many years ago, and my memories of visiting Skara Brae, the Standing Stones of Stenness and the Maeshowe Tomb are still vivid. Some places, such as the Queen Charlotte Islands (or Haida Gwaii) in BC, have legends that those who drink from waters at a sacred site will return evermore. I couldn't find Orkney's waters of return, so I have not been back. However, I would like to visit Orkney again, waters or not. Finally, I want to commend Sigurd Towrie for the folklore section on his excellent web-site, OrkneyJar. Great work, Sigurd! Linda Foubister

Hi Linda; I am here in Canada, and am interested in the Orkney/Hudson's Bay connection. I have seen your surname in the passage lists published by HBC archives. Stephen Davie On Tuesday, March 2, 2004, at 03:13 PM, Linda Foubister wrote: > Greetings all, > > > > I am pleased to be joining the Orcadia mailing list. I have a keen > interest in the Orkney Islands, their history, and especially their > folklore. As a mythologist, I have studied the classic myths, medieval > myths and tribal myths from around the world and I am eager to learn > more about the folklore of Orkney. It has some very interesting > parallels to Icelandic customs. > > > > My grandparents were born in Orkney, and I am struck by how few > customs and traditions have been passed on to my generation. I would > love to hear any stories you know relating to Orkney folklore or > customs. For example, I am intrigued by the idea of storm witches, > that is women who control the weather, especially at sea. One of my > relatives wrote about them in his collection of short stories. > > > > I visited Orkney many years ago, and my memories of visiting Skara > Brae, the Standing Stones of Stenness and the Maeshowe Tomb are still > vivid. Some places, such as the Queen Charlotte Islands (or Haida > Gwaii) in BC, have legends that those who drink from waters at a > sacred site will return evermore. I couldn't find Orkney's waters of > return, so I have not been back. However, I would like to visit Orkney > again, waters or not. > > > > Finally, I want to commend Sigurd Towrie for the folklore section on > his excellent web-site, OrkneyJar. Great work, Sigurd! > > > > Linda Foubister > > > ==== ORCADIA Mailing List ==== > To unsubscribe from the Orcadia mailing list, send an e-mail with the > word > 'unsubscribe' in the message body to orcadia-l-request@rootsweb.com >