Folk Tales/Mother of the Waves

"Mother of the Waves" is a folk tale heard on Sharla’s path in the game Secret Paths to the Sea. It is narrated by Berglind Matthiasson. The story serves to illustrate for Sharla that even though her parents’ divorce resulted in her losing quality time with her dad, a separation can be what is best for both parents overall.

The Story
Mother of the Waves

In days long past, a young fisherman named Aina walked along a lonely beach. Soon, a strange, unearthly singing drew him toward a mysterious cave. There, piled on the rocks of the cave’s mouth, lay five discarded seal skins. Quickly, Aina grabbed the softest skin he could find, then he stole his way homeward and locked the seal skin tightly away in a dark, wooden trunk.

Aina returned the next morning, and there, just as he had hoped, sat a beautiful, young woman. She was a selkona, a magical creature both human and seal. Unable to slip back into her seal skin, the woman was now trapped on the land and yearning for home.

“Come. I will help you and love you. And we shall marry and live so happily. I promise to honor you well.” With no word, Elsa, the seal woman, accepted Aina’s sturdy hand. She hadn’t a choice.

As the months and years passed, Aina’s kindness softened Elsa’s fears, and she grew accustomed to life on the land. After time, they had children, seven in all, and together the family lived happily enough. But Elsa always gazed sadly toward the sea.

Their youngest daughter, Gaeda, was often puzzled by her mother’s heavy heart, for nothing she did could ease her mother’s pain. “There must be a way to find what she’s lost.” And so it was that Gaeda found the trunk’s tiny key. As she gathered the washing, her father’s nightshirt fell from her grasp, and out, onto the stones, dropped a bright, little key. As soon as she touched it, Gaeda knew it held her mother’s happiness.

She ran to Elsa’s loom. “Mama, look! Look what I found in Papa’s shirt!” Elsa’s face brightened like the sun as tears welled in her eyes. “Dear child, you may have found my skin! Now, quickly.”

The two ran to the trunk, and in a twinkling, the lock sprang open, and there lay the soft skin of a seal. Elsa gasped in delight. “Now you must be brave,” she said.

Then the two hurried to the water’s edge while the seal mother told Gaeda her story. “So you see, I was never able to return to my ocean home or to my seven children who swim there.” Elsa held Gaeda tightly. “Dear daughter, the sea is my true home, but I will always love and watch over you.” Then she kissed Gaeda gently, and she waded into the sea. Gracefully, Elsa pulled her seal skin up and over her body. Then she swam into the waves and disappeared from sight.

Soon, a smooth seal head bobbed to the surface, and Gaeda watched as seals from many nearby rocks joyfully plunged into the water where they barked and bobbed in happy reunion. Aina heard the commotion. He knew in his heart that the key had been found. But when he reached the shore, he could only watch as his wife swam away with her kin. From that day forward, Aina’s nets were always full, none in the family ever came to harm, and Gaeda was happy knowing that mother had found the precious thing she had lost.

Origins and Other Versions
The concept of animal brides in folk tales is worldwide; different cultures use different animals in their stories. Foxes, swans, seals, and spiders are just a few examples of the animal forms these brides can take. Selkies or seal folk are primarily found in Scottish mythology. One of the most famous legends of the seal bride is Kópakonan in the Faroe Islands.