From Ambassador (The legend of Kópakonan (the Seal Woman))
2024/7/30
It is still widely believed that fairies and trolls exist in Iceland, and there are many folk tales and traditions of this kind.
I recently spent a weekend visiting some of the most famous scenic spots in southern Iceland by car. We went to Reynisfjara, a tourist attraction famous for its stunning basalt column formations and black sand beach, where we found a sign board about the legend of the seal woman whose fur was stolen and she could not return to the sea.
According to the legend, once a year, seals gather in a cave in the area, shed their pelts, revert back to their original human female form, and spend all night dancing.
Then one year, a fisherman who happened to be there picked up one of the shed pelts and took it home. The Seal Woman, having lost her pelt, was unable to return to the sea, and eventually married the fisherman and had seven children, but one day she finally found the hidden pelt, put it back on, and returned to the sea.
Actually, seals are often seen on this beach.
I have yet to see a seal myself, but I hope that when you visit this area, you will remember the legend of the seal lady and look out for seals peeking out from the waves.
Note: A similar legend also exists in Iceland's “neighbor” country, the Faroe Islands, where a bronze statue of a seal-woman has been built.
I recently spent a weekend visiting some of the most famous scenic spots in southern Iceland by car. We went to Reynisfjara, a tourist attraction famous for its stunning basalt column formations and black sand beach, where we found a sign board about the legend of the seal woman whose fur was stolen and she could not return to the sea.
According to the legend, once a year, seals gather in a cave in the area, shed their pelts, revert back to their original human female form, and spend all night dancing.
Then one year, a fisherman who happened to be there picked up one of the shed pelts and took it home. The Seal Woman, having lost her pelt, was unable to return to the sea, and eventually married the fisherman and had seven children, but one day she finally found the hidden pelt, put it back on, and returned to the sea.
Actually, seals are often seen on this beach.
I have yet to see a seal myself, but I hope that when you visit this area, you will remember the legend of the seal lady and look out for seals peeking out from the waves.
Note: A similar legend also exists in Iceland's “neighbor” country, the Faroe Islands, where a bronze statue of a seal-woman has been built.