Creatures of the Deep: Five Stories of the Sea

There are many folk and fairy tales about the creatures of the deep.  Some are well known and loved,  like The Little Mermaid and Jonah and the Whale.  Some stories which contain the mythological creatures of the sea are lesser known and contain a lesson for the reader.  Today I hope to share some of those stories with you.

The Fisherman, the Maiden, and the Sea Monster - A Korean Folktale

'In which an overlooked detail counts for everything.'

Destined for Valhalla by BAKART

    There was once a young fisherman who lived in a village by the sea and was engaged to marry a beautiful maiden.  The fisherman made a good living from the plentiful ocean and the couple hoped that their marriage would be long and happy.
    But one day a fierce sea monster appeared in the ocean and ate all of the fish.  The fishermen were unable to make their catch and the people went hungry.
    'What can we do?' the fishermen asked one another.
    'You must sacrifice a beautiful maiden to the sea monster!' an old man of the village answered.  'The sacrifice will satisfy the monster and it will leave.  Then you will be able to catch fish and the people will not go hungry.'  But the young fisherman was distraught for he would have to sacrifice the maiden he was soon to marry.
    'No!' The young fisherman cried.  'There must be another way!'
    'But how?' the other fishermen asked.
    'I will slay the monster!' the young fisherman told them.  'Then we will be able to fish once more and I will keep my bride.'
    'But what will happen if he fails?' the villagers asked the old man.
    'Then you must sacrifice the maiden!' the old man replied.
    So the young fisherman took to his boat and went to sea to slay the great sea monster.  He left in a boat with a white sail, but took two sails with him: one white and one red.  The young fisherman had told the people to await the return of his boat, for then they would know if he had succeeded by the colour of the sail.  'If I slay the monster, you will see a white sail.  But if it is red, I have failed.'
    The young fisherman soon found the sea monster, gorging itself on fish.  It was so engrossed that it failed to notice the approaching boat, giving the young fisherman the opportunity to strike first.  Swinging a great sword, the young fisherman decapitated the monster.  The sea monster's blood sprayed, soaking the young fisherman and his boat.  But all was well, for the sea monster was dead.
Elater, the fisherman sailed for home.
    The villagers awaited the return of the fisherman anxiously on the beach.  The fisherman's bride,

Waiting by quixoticbelle33

who was constantly searching the horizon for the sign of a white sail, suddenly scream and fell dead on the sand.  The villagers rushed over and, finding the maiden dead, cried out in anguish.
    The young fisherman made it to the shore and wondered why the people were crying.  'Where is my bride?' he asked.
    'She is dead.' the villagers replied.
    'But how can this be?  I killed the sea monster.  See, I am covered in its blood.'  Upon saying this, the fisherman turned and saw that his once white sail was stained with the blood of the sea monster, and the reason for his bride's death became clear.  She would have believed that he had failed at his task and had died of despair.
    So the village was saved and the people no longer went hungry.  But the young fisherman's bravery was not rewarded.  He lost his bride, who was buried on a hilltop overlooking the ocean. 
    'Even if you slay monsters, the little things that can still kill you... or the one you love.'


The Sea Monster Salt-Chuck Oluk - A Squamish Legend

'There is one vice that is absolutely unknown to the red man; he is born without it, and amongst all the deplorable things he has learned from the white races, this, at least, he has never aquired.  That is the vice of avarice.  That the Indian looks upon greed of gain, miserliness, avariciousness, and wealth accumulated above the head or his poorer neightbour as one of the lowest degradations he can fall to is perhaps more aptly illustrated than anything I could quote to demonstrate his horror at what he calls 'The white man's unkindness.''

    When the gold craze first came, many of the young men would act as guides to the white man, taking them far up the Fraser.  Always when they returned they would bring back tales of greed and murder.  The old people and women would shake their heads, saying that nothing but evil could come of it.  But all of the young men returned as they had left.  They continued to be kind to the poor and those that were without food, and would share whatever they had.
    But one man, a man called Shak-shak (the Hawk), came back with hoards of golden nuggets and chickimin.  He was rich like the white man and, like the white man, he kept his riches.  Everyday he counted his chickimin and his golden nuggets.  He would gloat over them, toss them in his hands, rest his head upon them as he slept, and kept them about him wherever he went.  He loved his riches more than food, more than his tillicums, more than his life.
    The tribe soon noticed and said that Shak-shak had the disease of greed.  To cure it, he would have to divide his riches, share them with the poor, the old, the sick, and those without food.  But Shak-shak just laughed at them and continued on as before, loving and gloating over his riches.

Sisiutl: Lake and Moon by Zelphyre

    The Sagalie Tyee spoke from the sky, saying, 'Shak-shak, you have made yourself into a loathsome thing.  You listen not to the cry of the hungry, nor to the call of the old and the sick.  You will not share you riches and have made yourself an outcast from your tribe by disobeying the ancient laws of your people.  Now I will make you loathed and hated by men, white and red.  You will have two heads, for your greed has two mouths to bite.  One bites the poor and one bites your own evil heart.  And the fangs of these mouths are poison which kills the hungry and the poor and it will kill your own manhood.  The one that pierces the evil heart which lies in the centre of your foul body will kill the disease of greed forever from amongst his people.'
    When the sun rose the next morning, the tribe saw a great sea serpent streching across the surface of the water.  One hideous head rested on the bluffs of Brockton Point, while the other rested on the rocks below the mission, on the western edge of North Vancouver.  The tribe were horrified.  They loathed this creature, hated it, feared it.  Day after day it lay there, its hideous heads raised above the water, its mile long body blocking the way.
    The chiefs made council, the medicine-men chanted and danced, but the Salt-Chuck Olak never moved for it could not.  It was the hated totem of what rules the white man's world - the love and greed of chickimin.  No one can hope to move the love of chickimin from the white man's heart and no one can force him to share it.
    After the chiefs and medicine men had done all they could and still the Salt-Chuck Olak lay there, a handsome boy of sixteen reminded them of the words of the Sagalie Tyee.  'The one who pierces the evil heart which lies in the centre of your foul body will kill the disease forever from amongst his people.'
    'Let me try to find his evil heart, oh great men of my tribe,' he cried.  'Let me try to rid my people of this pestilence.'  The boy was brave and the tribe called him Tenas Tyee (Little Chief).  They loved him for all the fish, furs, game and hykma which came to him, he shared with the boys who had none.  He hunted food for the old and gave to those in need.
    'Let him try!' cried the tribe.  'The unclean and greedy monster can only be destroyed with cleanliness and generosity.  Let him try!'  The chiefs and medicine-men listened to the people and consented .
    Tenas Tyee told his mother that he would be gone for four days.  'I shall swim all the time for I must be clean.  Put fresh furs on my bed everyday, even if I am not here to lie on them, for if my bed, my body, and my heart are clean, I can overcome the serpent.'  Then Tenas Tyee stripped and, taking only a hunting knife, jumped into the sea to go in search of the centre of the serpent, where its evil and selfish heart lay.
    After four days Tenas Tyee did not return.  Weeks passed, then months, but still Tenas Tyee searched.  The seasons passed, summer to winter, winter to summer and Tenas Tyee's mother did his bidding each day, laying clean furs upon his bed.  But it was four years before Tenas Tyee found the serpent's centre and plunged his knife into the great Salt-Chuck Olak's heart. 

swimming in your blood by yourxheartxache

    Salt-Chuck Olak writhed in agony through the Narrows, leaving behind it a trail of black.  It's massive body began to shrink until nothing was left but the bones of its back, which soon sank to the bottom of the ocean.  As Tenas Tyee swam for home, through the blackness left by the Salt-Chuck Olak, the waters became clean and blue, for the boy's cleanliness overcame even the serpent's trail of darkness.
    And so Tenas Tyee defeated not just the sea-serpent Salt-Chuck Olak, but the disease of greed and avarice.

The Fisherman and the Fish - A Russian Folktale

Golden Fish by amazoncanvas

    There was once an old man and his wife, who lived on the shore of the deep blue sea.  They were very poor and lived in an old mud hut.  The man made his living by fishing, while his wife spun cloth.  One day the man caught a small golden fish in his net.  'Please let me go, old man,' begged the fish, 'and I will reward you for your kindness by giving you anything you desire.'  The fisherman was both frightened and surprised.  He had never heard a fish speak before.  But he let the fish go, saying kindly, 'May God bless you, golden fish, but I need nothing from you.'
    So the fisherman went home and told his wife of the wonderful golden fish which he had set free.  But his wife cursed him, shouting, 'Go back to the fish, you old fool, and ask for a watering-trough, for ours is broken.'
    The old man returned to the shore and called to the golden fish.  She soon swam up and asked him, 'What is it you need, old man?'  The old man bowed his head and told her of how his wife had cursed him for a fool because she needed a new watering-trough.  The golden fish comforted the old man and promised to grant his wish.
    When the old man returned home a new watering-trough stood outside the hut.  But still the old man's wife cursed him.  'Go back to the fish you old fool and ask for a new house.  The man went back to the shore, where the water and sky had become cloudy and overcast.  He called to the golden fish, who swam to him and listened as the old man told the fish that his wife had cursed him for a fool for not asking for a new house.  Again, the golden fish comforted the old man and promised to grant his wish.
   The man returned and saw a beautiful new cottage with a gate.  But still his wife cursed him, only louder, shouting, 'Go back to the fish you old fool.  I don't want to be a peasant.  I want to be a noblewoman!'  So the poor old man returned again to the shore where the waves rose high and beat against the shore and the sky was not almost black.  He called out to the golden fish, who swam over and listened as the old man repeated what his wife had said.  'Please, Your Majesty Golden Fish, don't be angry.  My wife has gone crazy and wants to be a noblewoman.'  Again the fish comforted him.
The old man arrived home, only the cottage was gone to be replaced by a great house.  The man's wife was dressed in expensive clothing and jewellery made of pearls and gold.  Servants moved around her, doing her bidding, but the man's wife was cruel and beat them.  'Greetings Milady,' said the old man.  'I hope you are satisfied now.'  His wife didn't answer him, instead sending him to live in the stables.
    Weeks passed in this way and the old man's wife ordered him to go again to the sea.  'I'm nothing but a subject to those who rule.  I want to be the queen of all the land.'  By now the old man was frightened but he said, 'You must be crazy, old woman.  You have no idea of courtly manners.  The people will laugh at you.'  His wife flew into a rage, slapped him across the face and ordered him to follow her orders.

The Stormy Coast by Theophilia

    So the old man went again to the shore where the water roiled and the sky and sea were black.  He called to the golden fish,and bowed to her as she swam to him.  He told her of what his wife had said.  The golden fish once more comforted him and let him go home.
    When he reached home, the old man found a palace.  Inside he found his wife perched on a throne, surrounded by noblemen who acted as her servants and fierce looking guards.  By now the old man was terrified, but still he appraoched his wife  and said, 'Greetings Your Majesty.  I hope that you are satisfied now.'  But his wife didn't even deign to look his way and the old man was driven from the palace by the guards. 
    Many weeks passed until the queen called the old man before her.  She ordered him to return once more to the fish and to ask it to become her servant so she could become Empress of the Land and Sea.  The old man was so frightened that this time he didn't even protest, but submissively followed her orders.
    Giant waves crashed on the shore and a terrible storm raged.  The old man had to shout to be heard over the thunder and the golden fish rose out of the waves.  He told the fish of what his wife had demanded, only this time the golden fish did not reply.  It turned its back on the man and swam off into the ocean.  The old man waited in vain for an answer but none came and he was forced to turn for home.
    When the old man arrived, the palace was gone.  Instead, the fisherman found his old mud hut, his poor old wife and the old broken watering-trough.

Urashima Taro, The Fisher Lad - A Japanese Tale

Urashima Taro by thunderrainstorm

    Long, long ago there was a young fisherman named Urashima Taro.  He lived in the small fishing village, Mizu-no-ye in Japan.  Urashima Taro was the most skilled fisherman in the land and could catch more Bonito and Tai in a day than the others could catch in a week.  He was also known for his kindness and had, in his entire life, never harmed any creature whether it was great or small. 
    One summer evening Urashima Taro was returning home after a day of fishing when he saw a group of excited children and, when he drew nearer, he saw that they were mistreating a tortoise, pulling it this way and that and beating it with sticks and stones.
    Urashima felt very sorry for the tortoise and decided he would rescue it.  'That poor tortoise will die soon if you continue to treat it so badly,' he said to the boys.  The boys took no notice of Urashima and continued on as before.  One of the older boys turned and said, 'Who cares if it dies?'  And they carried on torturing it, only more so than before. 
    After a moments thought, Urashima said, 'I'm sure you're all good boys.  Won't you give the tortoise to me?  I would like it very much!'  But the boys refused.  'Why should we?  We caught it,' the boys said. 
    'That is true,' Urashima responded.  'But I will give you some money for it.  In other words the Ojisan [Uncle] will buy it from you.'  He held the money up, strung on a piece of string through a hole in the centre of each coin.  'You could buy anything you like and could do more with the money than with the tortoise.  See what good boys you are to listen to me.'  The boys, who weren't really bad but mischievous, were won over by Urashima's gentle words and gave him the tortoise.  'Very well, Ojisan.  We will give you the tortoise if you give us the money.'  So Urashima gave the boys the money and took the tortoise from them.
    The boys ran off and Urashima, stroking the tortoise's back, carried the creature back to the sea.  'You poor thing,' he said to the tortoise. 'You are safe now.  They say that a stork lives for a thousand years, but a tortoise for ten thousand years.  You are the longest lived of all creatures and were in great danger of having your life cut short.  Now I will take you back to the sea.  Do not let yourself get caught again, for there may be no one to save you next time.'  Reaching the sea shore, Urashima put the tortoise into the water and watched as the creature disappeared before returning home himself.
    The next morning Urashima went out to sea as he did each day.  He soon left the other fishing boats behind and drifted far out into the ocean.  On this day he felt unusually happy and couldn't help but wish that his life could be as long as that of the tortoise.  Suddenly Urashima was startled.  Someone was calling his name. 

Urashima Taro by JusticeVonBrandt

    He stood up and searched for the caller.  Surely another fishing boat must be nearby.  But all Urashima saw was the endless blue of the ocean.  Feeling confused, he looked in all directions until he spotted the tortoise floating beside his boat.  'Mr Tortoise, was it you that called my name?' 
    The tortoise nodded then said, 'Yes, it was me.  Yesterday in your honorable shadow my life was saved and I wish to offer my thanks to you and to tell you how much I appreciate your kindness.'
    'That is most polite of you. Do come into my boat.  I would offer you a smoke, but I don't believe that tortoise smoke,' Urashima said, laughing at his own joke.      The tortoise laughed along with him before telling Urashima that he didn't care for tobacco but that his favourite drink was sake.  'I'm sorry I have no sake to offer you, but you are welcome to come into my boat and dry your back in the sun - all tortoises enjoy that.'  So the tortoise was helped into the boat and asked, 'Have you ever seen Rin Gin, the Palace of the Dragon King of the Sea, Urashima?' 
    Urashima shook his head.  'No,' he replied.  'For many years the sea has been my home but, while I have heard of the Dragon King's realm beneath the sea, I have never laid eyes on that fabulous place. 
    It must be far away, if it exists at all.'  The tortoise seemed surprised.  'You have never seen the Sea King's Palace?' the creature asked.  'You have missed seeing the most wonderful of sights in the entire universe.  It is far away, but I could take you and we would soon reach it.  If you would like to, I will be your guide,' the tortoise offered.
    Of course, Urashima could not turn down such an offer and the tortoise told him to ride on its back.  'But how is it possible when your back is so small?' The tortoise laughed.  'It may seem absurd, but it can be done.  Try and you will see that it is not as impossible as you think.'  As the tortoise finished speaking, Urashima was astounded to see that the tortoise had grown so large that a man could easily ride on its back.
    Urashima climbed on and the strange pair set off.  They rose through the sea for a long time but Urashima never grew tired, nor did his clothes get wet.  At last they reached a magnificent gate and the sloping roofs of the palace could be seen on the horizon.  The tortoise told Urashima that this was the great gate of the Rin Gin Palace and that the sloping roofs were those of the Sea King's Palace.'
Here Urashima climbed off the tortoise's back and the tortoise spoke to the gatekeeper, a fish, who led Urashima through the gate.  Many fish came out to make courtly bows to welcome the stranger.   
    Soon they reached the palace, where Urashima met a beautiful princess, clothed in flowing garments of red and green threaded with gold.  Her sable hair streamed over her shoulders much like that of a king's daughter many hundreds of years ago and, when she spoke, her voice was like music over water.  Urashima was speechless but soon remembered that he ought to bow.  The Princess took him by the hand and led him into a beautiful hall, to the seat of honor, where she told him to sit.

Urashima Journeys to the Dragon Palace by nimirofox

    'It gives me the highest pleasure to welcome you to my father's kingdom, Urashima Taro,' the Princess said.  'Yesterday you freed a tortoise and I wished to thank you for saving my life, for I was that tortoise.  Now, if you wish, you may live here forever in the land of eternal youth, where summer never dies and sorrow never comes, and I will be your bride, if you wish it.'  Urashima was filled with wonder and joy, and of course he could think of nothing better than to spend forever in this wonderful place.
    A great wedding commenced, where a parade of fish brought all manner of delicacies.  The couple pledged themselves in the wedding cup of wine, three times three, music played and all rejoiced.  When the feast was done, the Princess took her bridegroom through the palace, which was made of coral and adorned with pearls.  Then they went to the gardens which Urashima thought more wonderful than the palace.  All at one time the scenery showed the four seasons: in the east were plum and cherry trees in bloom, where nightingales sang and butterflies flitted from flower to flower; to the south the trees were the green of summer; in the west the autumn maples were ablaze like the sun setting; and in the north the ground and trees were silvery white with snow.
    Each day brought new wonder to Urashima and he was so happy that he quite forgot everything from his old life: his home, his parents, his country.  Three days passed until he remembered who he was and that he did not belong here.  'I cannot stay,' he thought.  'How anxious my parents must have been when I didn't return.  I must return at once.'  So he prepared to leave before going to his wife, the Princess Otohime Sama.
    'I have been so happy with you, Otohime Sama,' he told her.  'But I must go back to my old parents.'
    'Is is not well with you here, Urashima, that you wish to leave me so soon?  Stay with me yet another day.'  But Urashima knew he could not. 
    'Let me go for one day,' he said.  'Then I will come back to you.'
Feeling much sorrow, the Princess said, 'If there is nothing to be done, I will send you back today to your parents.  But take hithis as a token of our love.'  And she gave him a beautiful lacquer box, tied with a silken cord with tassels of red silk.
    Urashima, though, felt that he should not take more from the Princess.  She had given him so much already.  'It doesn't seem right,' he told her, 'that I should take another gift from you after all you have done.  But as you wish it I will accept.  What is this box?'
    'This is a tamate-bako [Box of the Jewel Hand],' she told him.  'It contains something very precious but you must not open it, no matter what happens, for something dreadful will happen to you.  Promise you won't open it.'  Urashima promised and then, after saying goodbye, he found a large tortoise waiting to take him home.
    It took Urashima back to the bay and he stepped onto the shore.  But something was different.  While the shore and the hills remained the same, the faces of the people were different to those he had once known so well.  He walked quickly to him old home and even this seemed different.    'Father, I have returned,' Urashima called and was about to enter when a strange man walked out of the front door.
    'Excuse me,' he said to the man.  'My name is Urashima Taro and noly days ago I lived in this house.  Where are my parents?'  The stranger laughed, thinking this must be a joke.
    'You must not joke,' he said.  'It is true that a man named Urashima Taro once lived her, but that was three hundred years past.  He could not possibly be alive now.'  This frightened Urashima more than anything.
    'But I am Urashima Taro.  Please tell me what I want to know.'
    'You may or may not be who you say... I do not know.  Perhaps you are his spirit come to visit your old home?' 
    'Why do you mock me?' Urashima cried.  'I am Urashima Taro, a living man.  Do you not see my feet?' [Japanese ghosts have no feet]
    'But Urashima lived three hundred years ago and that is all I know,' said the stranger, finding himself unable to believe what this fisherman was saying.  Urashima felt bewildered and looked about himself.  Everything was different to how he remembered it.  It was like he was in some strange dream.  Could the three days he had spent at the Palace of the Sea King truly have been hundreds of years?  That would mean that his parents were dead along with all the people he had once known. 
    There was no point in staying here.  Urashima should return to his wife beyond the sea.  He made his way back to the shore, carrying the box in his hands.  But he didn't know the way and would never find the Palace on his own.

Urashima Taro by Uhheyguys

    He looked down at the tamate-bako and thought to himself, 'The Princess told me to never open it but now I have nothing.  I have lost everything that was once dear to me.  Surely if I open the box I will find something that might help me back to my Princess of the sea.'
    So Urashima allowed himself this one act of disobedience and untied the red silk before carefully lifing the life.  A beautiful cloud of purple rose from the box in three soft wisps and covered his face before floating away.  Up until this moment, Urashima was a strong and handsome man of twenty-four but, as the purple cloud dispersed, he suddenly became very, very old.  His back doubled up with age, his hair turned a silvery snowy white, his face became wrinkled and the fell dead upon the beach.
    Because of his disobedience, Urashima would never return to the Sea King's realm and his lovely Princess beyond the sea.  So, remember to never be disobedient to those who are wiser than you, for disobedience was the beginning of all the miseries and sorrows of life.

One Spared to the Sea - A Celtic Folktale

    One day, long ago, Willie Westness of Over-the-Watter was digging for lugworms on the island of Sanday.  By the time his pail was full, the tide had yet to turn and the trink was still safe to cross.  So Willie decided to search for driftwoord on the shore.  It was then that he head a cry comeing from the rocks, like the moan of a woman in pain.  The sound came from the geo, a small inlet which was hidden behind the rocks and covered at high tide. 

Selkie's by Victory-Girl

    Willie crept towards the geo where he first saw a seal in the water, just off the shore and he then found a large seal with a newborn pup.  The large seal quickly moved off into the water, but the newborn lay helpless.  Willie picked it up and it nuzzled at his hands.  Willie thought to take the seal home with him.  He could keep it in a small loach at Over-the-Water.  But the mother seal splashed about and sobbed in distress and, when Willie looked over, he saw the seal pull herself back onto land, where she lay moaning with tears in her eyes.  The pup also looked at him with blurred brown eyes and its head, sleek and round, reminded him of a child.
    'Ach, selkie, take thee bairn and be gone wi' ye!' Willie said aloud, putting the pup close to the water's edge.  He waited for the mother seal to reach her pup, then picked up his pail of lugworms and cross the trink where the tide was now turning.
    Nine years passed and Willie had a family of four.  One fine day the youngest three went wading for cockles in the little sandy bay.  They knew they must not cross the trink, where the water rushed in deep and fast when the tide turned.  But they had heard their father say that the cockles were better there than in the large bay and, after much discussion, the children crossed the trink. 
    'We won't stay long,' the eldest, Johnny, said.
    'We'll hurry back,' agreed his younger sister, Jeanie. 
    The cockles were plentiful across the trink and the children continued to gather them.  When their pail was almost full, they turned towards home.  The tide was coming in fast and the trink had widened.  'Hurry,' Johnny cried, but, despite their pulling and scolding, young Tam's fat little legs would not be hurried and the water deepened by the minute.  When the water lapped at their ankles, Jeanie and Tam began to cry and, clinging to one another, they backed into a corned made by the rocks.  Johnny called for help but no one came and the water continued to rise.

Selkie by Selina Fenech

   It was then that they heard a woman singing, the sound almost beside them.  Two grey cloaked women had come up behind them.  'Come away, bairns,' said the elder.  Her face was plump and friendly, and her brown eyes were kind.  'You must come away.  It will soon be too late,' the woman said, taking Tam and Jessie by the hand and leading them into the water, which now reached their knees.  Before long, the water reached their middles and then to their necks, but the woman held firm to their hands and they kept their footing.  Soon they were across safely and, looking back, they saw their brother being led by the smaller, slimmer woman, who had the bucket of cockles balanced on her head.
    'All's well,' the older woman said, looking at the children with her kind, brown eyes.  'Now take
thee father a word from me,' she said.  'Remember now, say to thee father, Willie Westness, to mind a day when he digged lugworm at the geo, nine summers gone.  And say to him that one spared to the sea is three spared to the land.'  She made them repeat the message until they remembered it word for word.  'One spared to the sea is three spared to the land.'
    'Now run hom, bairns,' she said.  'And dunno pass the trink again - I came for once only.  Run away home.'  The children ran obediently hom and, when the looked back, the tide poured through the trink, the water high over the rocks. 
    There were no grey-cloaked women in sight.  All they saw were the two seals which swam towards the point of Elsness.


Tigers in Disguise!  Wisdom for Living from Korean Folktales by Dongho Lee
The Sea Serpent Salt-Chuck Olak
Fisherman and the Fish
Urashima Taro, the Fisher Lad
One Spared to the Sea

Creatures of the Deep: Sea Serpents - Part Two

Sea Serpent by Julia-Aurora

Yesterday we learned about some of the sea serpents in mythology - the Leviathan, Midgard Serpent, Hydra and Master Stoorworm.  Today we are going to look at historical accounts of sea serpents from ancient to modern times.

The earliest account of sea serpents can be traced hack to the 4th century BC, in Aristotles 'Historia Animalium' or History of Animals.  This account tells us of mariner's experieces with sea serpents near Libya.

'In Libya, according to all accounts, the length of the serpents is something appalling; sailors spin a yarn to the effect that some crews once put ashore and saw the bones of a number of oxen, and that they were sure that the oxen had been decoured by serpents, for, just as the were putting out to sea, serpents came chasing their galleys at full speed and overturned one galley and set upon the crew.'

Great Norwegian Sea-Serpent in the Sea of Darkness, by Olaus Magnus, from his History of the Northern Peoples.

According to Olaus Magnus, in his Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus or Description of the Northern Peoples, which was printed in Rome in 1555, sea serpents of around 75ft were sighted by sailors of the North in 1522.

'There is also another serpent of an astonishing size in an island called Moos, in the diocese of Hammer: which portends a change in the Kingdom of Norway, as a comet does in the whole world, as it was seen, anno 1522, raising itself high above the surface of the water and circling like a spire.  Seen from afar this serpent was estimated by conjecture to be fifty cubits long; this event was followed by the banishment of King Christiernus and by a great persecution of the Bishops; and it also showed the destruction of the country, as Isidorus tells us of the birds of Diomedes.'

Great Sea Serpent and the Maelstrom by Olaus Magnus.

Another account from the same literature tells us of sighting near Norway, where the serpent was some 200ft in length.  Note how, in both accounts, the sighting of the sea serpent is linked with the occurrence of death or banishment of royalty or the start of war. 

'They who, either to trade, or to fish, sail along the shores of Norway, relate with concurring evidence a truly admirable story, namely that a very large serpent of a length upwards of 200 feet, and 20 feet in diameter lives in rocks and holes near the shore of Bergen; it comes out of its caverns only on summernights and in fine weather to devour calves, lambs and hogs, or goes into the sea to eat cuttles, lobsters and all kinds of sea-crabs.  It has a row of hairs of two feet in length, langing from the neck, sharp scales of a dark colour, and brilliant flaming eyes.  It attacks boats, and snatches away the men, by raising itself high out of the water, and devours them: and commonly this does not happen without a terrible event in the Kingdom, without a change being at hand, either that the princes will die or will be banished, or that a war will soon break out.'

In John Josselyn's An Account of Two Voyages to New England, printed in 1674, with the voyage sighting occurring during the first voyage of 1638, we are told the following:

June the Six and twentieth day... where amongst variety of discourse they told me... of a Sea-Serpent of Snake, that lay quoiled up like a Cable upon a Rock at Cap-Ann: a Boat passing by with English aboard, and two Indians, they would have shot the Serpent, but the Indians disswaded them, saying, that if he were not kill'd out-right, they would be all in danger of their lives.'

Sea Serpents off Maine Coast

A similar reference was by Obadiah Turner, writing from Lyon, Massachusettes in September 1641, where we are told 'some being on ye great beache... did spy a most wonderful serpent a shorte way off from ye shore.  He was as big round in ye thickest part as a wine pipe; and they do affirme he was fifteen fathome of more in length...  Wee have likewise heard yt at Cape Ann ye people have seene a monster like unto this which did there come out of the sea and coil himself upon the land.'

This sea serpent later became known as Gloucester's Sea Serpent, named after a harbor just north of Boston, with sightings continuing through the 18th and 19th centuries.

In 1722, Hans Egede, known for his work as a missionary in Greenland, wrote a report to the Bergen Comapany, which was published in 1729 as Det gamle Gronlands nye perlustration or A Description of Greenland.  Here he wrote of 'an enormous huge serpent and when it dived again underwater, it plunged backwards into the sea, and so raised its tail alopf, which seemed a whole ship's length distant from the bulkiest part of the body.' 

Sea serpent reported by Hans Egede

Another account of Hans Egede's encounter appears in A Full and Particular Relation of his voyage to Greenland, as a Missionary, on the year 1734, published at Kopenhagen in 1740.

'Anno 1734, July.  On the 6th, appeared a very terrible sea-animal, which raised itself so high above the water, that its head reached above out main-top.  It had a long sharp snout, and blew like a whale, had broad, large flappers, and the body was, as it were, covered with a hard skin, and it was very wrinkled and uneven on its skin; moreover on the lower part it was formed like a snake, and when it went under water again, it cast itself backwards and in so doing it raised its tail above the water, a whole ship-length from its body.'

Maned sea serpent from Bishop Erik Pontoppidan's 1755 work Natural History of Norway.

In a Natural History of Norway, Bishop Pontoppidan relates the following encounter with a huge maned sea serpent, which he had heard from Captain de Ferry:

'The latter end of August, in the year 1746... it happened when we arrived with my vessel within six English miles of the aforesaid Molde... I heard a kind of murmuring voice from amongst the men at the oars, who were eight in number, and observed that the man at the helm kept off from land.  Upon this I enquired what was the matter; and was informed that there was a Sea-Snake before us.  I then ordered the man at the helm to keep to the land again, and to come up with this creature, of which I had heard so many stories...  In the mean time this Sea-Snake passed by us...  As the Snake swam farther than we could row, I took my gun... and fire at it: on this he immediately plunged under the water...  The head of this Snake, which it held more than two feet above the surface of the water, resembled that of a horse.  It was of a greyish colour, and the mouth was quite black, and very large.  It had black eyes, and a long white mane, that hung down from the neck to the surface of the water.  Besides the head and neck, we saw seven or eight folds or coils of this Snake, which were very thick, and, as far as we could guess, there was about a fathom distance between each fold.'

Of the many sea serpent sightings and accounts from the 19th century, the most interesting comes from August 1848, when the Officer of Watch, aboard the Royal Navy Frigate HMS Daedalus spotted what he believed to be a sea serpent.  The following letter from Captain McQuhae recounts the experience.

The sea serpent spotted by the crew of HMS Daedalus in 1848.

H.M.S Daedalus
Hamoaze, Oct. 11.
Sir - In reply to your letter of this day's date, requiring information as to the truth of a statement published in the Times nespaper, of a sea-serpent of extraordinary dimensions having been seen from Her Majesty's ship Daedalus, under my command, on her passage from the East Indies, I have the honour to acquaint you, for the information of my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, that at 5 o'clock PM. on the 6th of August last, in latitude 24° 44´ S. and longitude 9° 22´ E, the weather dark and cloudy, wind fresh from the N.W., with a long ocean swell from the S.W., the ship on the port tack, heading N.E. by N., something very unusual was seen by Mr. Sartoris, midshipman, rapidly approaching the ship from before the beam.  The circumstance was immediately reported by him to the officer of the watch, Lieutenant Edgar Drummond, with who and Mr. William Barrett, the master, I was at the time walking the quarter-deck.  The ships' company were at supper.

Another of the original illustrations of the HMS Daedalus encounter

On our attention being called to the object, it was discovered to be an enormous serpent, with head and shoulders kept about four feet constantly above the surface of the sea; and as nearly as we could approximate by comparing it with the length of what our main topsail-yard would show in the water, there was at the very least sixty feet of the animal à fleur d’eau, no portion of which was, in our perception, used in propelling it through the water, either by verticle or horizontal undulation.  It passed rapidly, but so close under our lee quarter that had it been a man of my acquaintance I should have easily recognized his features with the naked eye, and it did not, either in approaching the ship or after it had passed our wake, deviate in the slightest degree from its course to the S.W., which it held on at the pace of from twelve to fifteen miles per hour, apparently on some determined purpose.  The diameter of the serpent was about fifteen or sixteen inches behind the head, which was, without any doubt, that of a snake; and it was never, during the twenty minutes that it continued in sight of our glasses, once below the surface of the ater; its colour, a dark brown with yellowish white about the throat.  It had no fins, but something like the mane of a horse, or rather a bunch of sea-weed, washed about its back.  It was seen by the quarter-master, the boatswain's mate, and the man at the wheel, in addition to myself and officers above mentioned.
I am having a drawing of the serpent made from a sketch taken immediately after it was seen, which I hope to have ready for transmission to my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty by to-morrow's post.
I have, &c.,
PETER M‘QUAHŒ, Capt.
To Admiral Sir W. H. Gage, G.C.B.
Devonport

'Caddy' the sea serpent was first sighted in 1892, with the following account having been printed in Port Townsend newpaper and in Key City Graphic originally:

Cadborosaurus AKA Caddy by Timothy Donald Morris

    Yesterday morning, while the steamer Monticello was coming from Angeles to this city, and when almost directly opposite Dungeness, Captain Oliver says he saw the water in the Straits lashed into foam.  Drawing near, to the surprise of the captain and all on board, a huge sea serpent, wrestling about in the waters as if fighting with an unseen enemy, was seen. It soon quieted down and lay at full length on the surface of the water. Captain Oliver estimates it to be about fifty feet in length and not less than four feet in circumference of the body. Its head was projecting from the water about four feet. He says it was a terrible looking object. It had viciously sparkling eyes and a large head. Fins were seen, seemingly sufficiently large to assist the snake through the water. The body was dark brown in color and was uniform all along. From what he says it would be capable of crushing a yawl boat and its occupants.
    As the steamer passed on its course, the snake was seen disporting itself in the water. At the time the Straits were calm, and there could have been no mistake in recognizing the object.
            Found here

In 1933 'Caddy' was given the scientific name Cadborosaurus willsi after British Columbia's Cadboro Bay, where repeated sightings had been made.  In Amphipacifica Journal of Systematic Biology, Dr. Paul H. LeBlond and Dr. Edward L. Bousfield stated that the many historical sightings and accounts of this this serpent provided sufficient evidence to conclude 'the animal is real and merits formal taxonomic description,' and gave Caddy its name.

The Sea Serpent by by Aaron-Radney

Please check out some of the awesome artists for the art on these blog posts (just follow the link below the artwork) and, if your interested in sea serpents and want more information, the following blog post is definitely worth a look.
New Page Books: Creature of the Month The Sinuous Sea-Serpent by Oberon Zell Ravenheart


 







Useful Links
The History of Animals (Historia Animalium) by Aristotle
The Natural History of Norway by Erich Pontoppidan
An Account of Two Voyages to New-England: made during the years 1638 & 1663 by John Josselyn
A Description of Greenland by Hans Egede, who was a missionary in that coutry for twenty-five years
Creatures in the Mist: Little People, Wild Men and Spirit Beings Around the World by Gary R. Varner
The New England Mariner Tradition by Robert A. Geake
The Great Sea Serpent by Antoon Cornelis Oudermans
10 Sensational Sea Serpent Sightings by Lance David Leclaire

Creatures of the Deep: Sea Serpents: Part One

The sea serpent is a mythological and legendary marine animal which most often resembles a giant snake and is widespread in the beliefs of ancient people.  Today we're going to learn about some of the different sea serpents of mythology and legend within different cultures.

The Leviathan
The Leviathan is probably one of the oldest sea serpents in existence.  It can be found in Babylonian and Phoenician mythology.  Its name means 'Coiled'.  In Canaanite mythology, leviathan is referred to as Lotan, the sea dragon or crooked serpent with seven heads.

Leviathan by Vyrilien

When you (Baal) smote Lotan the ancient dragon,
Destroyed the crooked serpent,
Shilyat with the seven heads,
Then the heavens withered and drooped
Like the hoops of your garment.

The Hebrew Old Testament, or Tanakh written between around 1200BC and 165BC, makes several mentions of the leviathan.  Here Leviathan is the chaos dragon created on the fifth day, referred to by Isaiah as the 'crooked serpent' and said to be three hundred miles long with the capability to eat a whale a day.

Leviathan by ourlak

Job 41, however, gives us a description rich in details.  We are told that Leviathan is strong and graceful, with 'rows of shields, tightly sealed together' on its back.  It is said to be so strong that 'the mighty are terrified'.  It has a 'chest as hard as rock' and 'makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron'.  Leviathan breathes fire, much like a dragon.  'Flames stream from its mouth, sparks of fire shoot out.  Smoke pours from its nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.  Its breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from its mouth.'  Human made weapons seem no match for Leviathan: 'Iron it treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood.  Arrows do not make it flee, slingstones are like chaff to it.  A club seems to it but a piece of straw; it laughs at the rattling of the lance.'  Overall, according to this description, Leviathan has no equal, it is 'a creature without fear.'

 Apocalyptic writings, such as the Book of Epoch, also make mention of Leviathan as well as the Behemoth, with the Leviathan being female and the Behemoth being male.  'And on that day were two monsters parted, a female monster named Leviathan, to dwell in the 8 abysses of the ocean over the fountains of the waters.  But the male is named Behemoth, who occupied with his breast a waste wilderness named Duidain, on the east of the garden where the elect and righteous dwell...'  Leviathan's jaws are sometimes regarded as the gates of hell, especially within demonology.

Jörmungandr
Jörmungandr, the Midgard Serpent of Norse mythology, was the offspring of Loki, the fire-giant.  'Loki had yet more children.  A giantess in Jotunheim, hight Angerboda.  With her he begat three children.  The first was the Fenris-wold, the second, Jörmungandr, that is, the Midgard-serpent, and the third Hel.  When the gods knew that these three children were being fostered in Jotunheim, and were aware of the prophecies that much woe and misfortune would thence come to them,... Alfather sent some of the gods to take the children and bring them to him.  When they came to him he threw the serpent into the deep sea which surrounds all lands.  There waxed the serpent so that he lies in the midst of the ocean, surrounds all the earth, and bites his own tail.' 

The world serpent by SigbjornPedersen

We are later told of Thor's first meeting with the Midgard Serpent when he is on a mission to retrieve a cauldron from the giant Hymir.

   '...Thor took the ox-head on board, sat down in the stern and rowed.  Hymir thought they made rapid progress from his rowing.  Hymir sat in the bow, and together they rowed until they came to the place where Hymir was accustomed to sit and catch flat fish.  Thor said he wanted to row much farther out, and they had another bout of fast rowing.  Then Hymir said that they had come so far out that it would be dangerous to sit there on account of the Midgard Serpent. 
   Thor, however, declared his intention of rowing for a bit yet, and di so, and Hymir was not at all pleased at that.  When Thor shipped his oars, he made ready a very strong line and a large hook.  He baited the hook with the ox-head and flung it overboard.
   The Midgard Serpent snapped at the ox-head, and the hook stuck fast in the roof of its mouth.  It jerked away so hard that both Thor's fists knocked against the gunwale.  Then Thor grew angry and, exerting all his divine strength, dug in his heels so hard that both legs went through the boat until he was digging his heels in on the sea bottom.
   He drew the serpent up on board, staring straight at it.  The serpent glared back, belching poison.  The giant Hymir turned pale with fear when he saw the serpent and the sea tembling in and out of the vessel too.  At the very moment that Thor gripped his hammer and raised it aloft, the giant fumbled for his bait knife and cut Thor's line off at the gunwale.
   The serpent sank back into the sea.  Thor flung his hammer after it and people say that this struck its head off in the waves; but the truth is that the Midgard Serpent is still alive and lying in the ocean.'

The rise of Jormungander by VampirePrincess007

We next encounter the Midgard Serpent in the prophecy of Ragnarok or Fate of the Gods.  Here Thor battles against the Midgard Serpent, eventually defeating it.  However, the prophecy also states that this too will be the end of Thor.

Ragnarok by MoshYong

'The shall come to pass these tidings also: all the earth shall tremble so, and the crags, that trees shall be torn up from the earth, and the crags fall to ruin; and all fetters and bonds shall be broken and rent.  Then shall Fenris-Wolf get loos; then the sea shall gush forth upon the land, because the Midgard Serpent stirs in giant wrath and advances up onto the land...  The Midgard Serpent shall blow venom so that he shall sprinkle all the air and water, and he is very terrible, and shall be on one side of the Wolf...  Thor shall put to death the Midgard Serpent, and shall stride away nine paces from that spot; then shall he fall dead to the earth, because of the venom which the Snake has blown at him.'

Lemean Hydra

Hydra by brianvadell

In Greek mythology we find the Lernean Hydra, which forms the second labour of Hercules.  The Lernean Hydra is described as 'a water-snake with nine heads, of which one was immortal, and therefore could not possibly be killed.  It was so very poisonous that even the air from the marshes which it haunted often killed people.'  This water-snake was the offspring of Echidna and Typhon and was later trained by Hera to kill Hercules.  It was said to live near the Fountain of Amymone, preventing the pheasants from using the water in the fountain.  In the Second Labour of Hercules we are told of the battle between Hercules and the Lernean Hydra, in which Hera sends a crab to help defeat Hercules. 





'After a long, dusty walk over the country roads, Hercules  and Iolatus reached the Fountain of Amymone; and there, the first thing that they saw, was the hydra, stretching its nine heads out of its den, and hissing an angry warning with every head.

-Hydra- by arvalis

   A few arrows sent buzzing against it brought the snake out into the marsh, and then Hercules set to work cutting off its heads with his sword.  But for every head he cut off, two new ones grew, and the new heads began hissing and biting even more fiercely than the heads that had been cut off.  Then, while the fight was going on, a crab came out and seized Hercules by the heel.  This was altogether too much to contend with.  Hercules saw that he must try a different plan.  So he called to Iolatus to set fire to a grove of young trees that grew near the swamp, and to keep him supplied with burning brands.  Iolatus did so.
   Then Hercules, as he cut off a head, burned it up, until only one was left.  This one, being the immortal head, would not burn.  Hercules had cut it off, but as it lay in the grass, it spit venom more fiercely than ever.  So Hercules rolled a huge rock over it, and thus prevented it from doing any more harm.'

Stoor worm as portrayed by Maud Hunt Squire

Mester Stoorworm
According to Scandinavian and Celtic legend, Mester Stoorworm was the first and largest of all sea serpents, with a length that stretched halfway across the globe.  His breath was so poisonous it could kill every living creature and wither every single plant.  It was said to resemble a huge mountain, with eyes that glowed like fire and a forked tongue thousands of miles long with which it could sweep entire towns, forests, and hills into the ocean.  It was said that, as he died, his teeth became the Faroes, Orkneys, and Shetland Islands; his tongest entangled itself on the moon; and his body hardened to become Iceland.

The Legend of Master Stoorworm
   Master Stoorworm was a giant sea serpent who resided in the sea near a coastal town.  Master Stoorworm had a great appetite, and each morning he would yawn seven times.  With each great yawn his mouth would open wider and wider.  On the seventh yawn, his mouth would open widest and his long, snake-like tongue would roll out and pull in seven things for him to eat: cattle, chickens, cows, men, women, children, dogs, cats, and so on.  It mattered not to Master Stoorworm.
   King Harald finally got fed up with the sea serpent's marauding ways, and he called a meeting to decide what should be done.  The consensus was to appease the beast by offering him seven maidens on a certain schedule, in the hopes that he would leave them along for the rest of the time and hunt for himself in the seas.  But King Harald did not want to sacrifice his people to the beast.  He wanted the dragon dead, and so he promised his daughter's hand in marriage to the one who slew Master Stoorworm.  Many answered the call, but most were scared away by the serpent's vile breath.  After many failures and with the dragon still on the rampage, the King ordered a boat to be made so that he could go to battle for himself, for he would rather do that than force the sacrifice of his subjects.
   In this town was a young boy who was small, yet exceedingly courageous.  After all the warriors who had come to the king's challenge were either scared away or dead, the boy planned to venture out and try his luck against the beast.  During the night he snuck out carrying an iron pot full of peat.  He made his way to the docks and there stole the King's boat, rowing out to sea to wait for Master Stoorworm to awaken.  With the sea serpent's first great yawn, the boat was swept down his gullet.     The boy paddled down into the beast's body until he reached the liver.  There he used his peat pot to set the liver on fire.  As the dragon writhed in agony, the boy travelled back up the body and out the mouth.
   Master Stoorworm struggled and writhed.  As he flailed about, his teeth started falling out.  These dragon teeth eventually formed Orkney, Shetland, and Faroe Islands.  After Stoorworm died, his carcass shrivelled up and floated away to later become Iceland.

Assipattle and the Sea-Serpent

That's all for today.  Next time we will look at the historical accounts and sightings of sea serpents around the world.

Useful Resources
Encyclopedia of Demons in World Religions and Cultures by Theresa Bane
The Book of Epoch
The Old Enemy: Satan and the Combat Myth by Neil Forsyth
Satanism Today by James R. Lewis
Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic: Essays in the History of the Religion of Israel by Frank Moore
The Younger Edda
The Prose Edda of Snorri Sturlason
Ancient Greek Beliefs by Perry L. Westmoreland
Favourite Greek Myths by Lilian Stoughton Hyde
Dragonlore: From the Archives of the Grey School of Wizardry by Ash Dekirk and Oberon Zell-Ravenheart