Features / Finding your own ‘happy place’ with Wilder an da Nyuggle
ROALD Dahl once reminded us that “those who don’t believe in magic will never find it…. because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places,” writes Shetland News’ arts reviewer Alex Purbrick.
There are many magical creatures from Shetland folklore that are hiding in the most unlikely places.
For artist and writer Jane Cockayne it was in an unlikely place near her home in Scalloway she encountered one of Shetland’s most elusive mythical creatures, the nyuggle, inspiring her to write a beautiful children’s story book Wilder an da Nyuggle.
Published by the Shetland Bookshop and released on Saturday, Wilder an da Nyuggle weaves the old stories of the nyuggle into a positive modern context through a peerie boy, Wilder, who struggles at school, but with the help of a nyuggle called Halliget learns to understand his uniqueness seeing it as a gift rather than a problem.
But you may wonder, what exactly is a nyuggle?
Traditionally Shetland nyuggles are shapeshifting water horses, similar to the Scottish kelpie, who live in freshwater lochs near watermills, luring unsuspecting folks onto their backs, carrying them into the dark, watery depths, never to be seen again.
But for Jane, Halliget da nyuggle is not troublesome but kind and wise, who encourages Wilder to discover his true self.
Jane explained how the story was born during the Covid lockdown in 2020.
“My husband Tom and I often walked up the hill behind our house in Scalloway where there’s a sunken loch called Nyuggle’s Water. It’s actually called that on the OS Map! We loved going there and we felt we were the only people in the world alongside the hares, the heather, the curlews. It’s such a magical place.
“Whenever I went there, I always thought I could hear the nyuggle. I would expect to see something, but it felt like the nyuggle was hiding. I felt like it had something to say.”
A couple of years passed before Jane had the time and space to write the nyuggle’s story.
“The words all came out in the space of about a week. Any opportunity I had I would go on my laptop and write. It was so cathartic. I’ve never had that experience before.”
Jane works part-time as a freelance artist supporting young people’s wellbeing through creativity. She feels the struggles her character Wilder experiences at school are similar to stories she’s heard from friends and parents and young people who have difficulty being in certain learning environments.
Inspired by the late British educationalist Sir Ken Robinson’s philosophy that, “some people have got to move to think, some people have got to move to learn,” Jane applied this to Wilder who loves being outside and exploring nature but struggles in “the world of straight lines, sitting and school.”
Wilder is supported and loved by other characters such as his peerie friend Susan who accompanies him on his adventures, his stern teacher, Mr Elphinstone who becomes his greatest ally and his wise Granny Aert.
But it is Halliget who helps him realise his true self, by sharing his own story of being a young clumsy nyuggle on land, whose great tail kept tripping him up.
His wise grandfather nyuggle suggested he live in the water so his great tail would be a gift rather than a cause of shame. When Halliget went into the water he found his home, his happy place.
Ultimately for everyone to find their happy place is the hidden message within the book.
Jane expressed “this story is all about relationships and how understanding each other is key. If we understand ourselves that’s very powerful.
“We each have our own happy place and when we recognise where and what our happy place is, then we can grow and learn and find our unique form of expression.”
Having the freedom to express ourselves linguistically was also an important aspect in Jane’s decision to have a Shetland language version of the story included within the book.
Although she initially wrote the story in English, Bruce Eunson and Christine De Luca from Shetland ForWirds translated the words into Shaetlan with a helpful glossary of Shaetlan words in the middle of the book.
The English version has a front cover, and the Shetland version has its own front cover with both languages having equal pride of place which Jane, and Shetland ForWirds hope will nurture bi-lingualism amongst young folk of the isles as well as inspire readers to appreciate and learn the diversity of the Shaetlan language.
Accompanying this powerful story are stunning illustrations by Shetland artist Lauren Bulter, who hand drew the pictures using a digital programme.Lauren is a close friend of Jane and has worked with her on other creative collaborations.
Although she was initially in awe of the scale of illustrating a book such as this, she felt her and Jane “were on a similar wavelength.”
“Originally Jane had planned for eight illustrations, but when I read through the book there were far too many vivid ideas that we were struggling to narrow down,” Lauren said.
“So, I suggested we include all the ideas and illustrate them all.”
I’m so glad Jane and Lauren decided to illustrate and include all their ideas because it’s the small observations of nature that I love the most in this book.
A true honouring of Shetland’s wild and unique Aert from the peerie whaap to da shalders, da bonnie mayflooers, da moorit hentilaget, da horse-gock and of course the elusive nyuggle. The wild creatures and plants that make Shetland a special place for Wilder and for all bairns living here.
As we enter the deepest, darkest point of winter Wilder an da Nyuggle help us to open a door and enter a magical world where the beings of nature and folklore co-exist lightening our hearts and bringing a peerie sustenance to our souls.
Book launches:
Saturday 13 December @ The Shetland Library 3pm
Sunday 14 December @ The Scalloway Museum, 3pm
Author Jane Cockayne, Lauren Bulter (illustrator) and Bruce Eunson (Shetland FirWirds) will read short extracts from the story, answer questions and sign books.
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