A ‘heritage vacuum’ where imaginations have been ‘disneyfied’?
Folklorist Paul Moar and community artist Alex Purbrick are guests on the latest Sheeks Aboot Shetland – Episode 13
HAS SHETLAND been in a “heritage vacuum” since the oil industry arrived in this remote part of the world, as local amateur folklorist Paul Moar seems to think after four years of research into the stories surrounding the islands’ mythical characters culminating in his book Shetland’s Trolls and Giants that has been flying off the shelves so fast that its already on its third edition just two months after publication.
Paul told Jane and Pete on the latest Sheeks Aboot Shetland podcast that he got the bug to explore these ancient legends and stories after a visit to Faroe 30 years ago, where they had retained a connection with trolls and giants that Shetland seemed to have lost.
Bairns in these isles, as Jane remembered from her childhood, were only told about trows and Paul said he was shocked when he recently visited a school where the pupils did not even know about trowies.
Well…he is on a mission to change that, and he is hoping that his excellent book will help achieve his aim of waking people up to Shetland’s “amazing history and heritage”.
Community artist Alex Purbrick is on a similar mission and going about it in a more lively and less literary way than Paul, with her Shetland Arts-funded carnival Giants Dance in da Simmer Dim taking place on St Ninian’s Isle beach on Sunday afternoon (28 June, from 2-4pm) …weather permitting.
Alex has brought together more than 50 local people from throughout Shetland to create and then parade huge puppets of the legendary giants Gryla and Flukler along with other mythical beings including Nessa the Nyuggle and the Stoor Worm Jormangandr, serenaded by music composed and performed by the Bigton Band under the direction of Alice Ritch, and dancers choreographed by Shetland School of Community Ballet’s Matthew Lawrence.
Alex, who has been researching myths and legends from around the British Isles and further afield, bemoans the way young people’s imaginations have been “disneyfied” leading to a disconnection from the land where they live.
She hopes that her event will add to the flame Paul’s book has lit and encourage more people to dive into the rich ancient culture that resides in these islands, connecting them closely with our Norse neighbours in Faroe, Iceland and Norway.
Both said they have witnessed a real appetite for exploring these old myths that have lain forgotten on dusty shelves in the Lerwick library, an appetite that is only going to grow the more people explore these stories for themselves to feast on.
Paul’s book Shetland’s Trolls and Giants is published by The Shetland Bookshop where it can be purchased.
All episodes of The Shetland Podcast can be found here.
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