21/03/2021
In Orkney at the Spring Equinox, it is known as the time of the Vore tullye - the Spring Struggle.
At this time it is common for gales, storms and tumultuous seas.
A tale that tells of the one of the oldest of beings in Orkney Folklore is that of the 'Mither o the Sea' (Mother of the Sea) and 'Teran'.
In Orkney the sea Mither was the benign spirit of Summer who calmed the stilled the storms, brought warmth and teeming life to the waters. Her eternal counterpart was Teran (Furious anger), the Winter Spirit. Every spring around the Vernal Equinox, they fought for supremacy of the sea in a terrible struggle called the' vore tullye' (Spring struggle). Teran's voice could be heard in the roaring March gales and his anger in the savage waves. With the subsiding of the winter storms it was known that Teran had been overcome and was now bound and helpless at the oceans bottom where, now and again he gave a convulsive struggle, this struggling manifested as rough summer seas and unseasonable storms. There Teran remained all summer whilst the Sea Mither continued her beneficent reign.
With the coming of Autumnal Equinox Teran's struggles became fiercer until he escaped his fetters and renewed his battle with the sea Mither. The fight accompanied by fierce shrieking winds and tattered sky's was known as the 'gore vellye' (Autumn tumult). The sea Mither was banished to land and every living being had to submit to Teran's monsterous rule. But everyone knew that come the Spring, the sea Mither would once again triumph This struggle between the two beings will continue till the ends of time.
There may be elements of Norse mythology entwined in this folkloric tale. The ‘ran’ element in Teran might possibly be connected with the Norse sea Goddess Rán and the tale may then reflect the different perceived aspects of the benevolent Goddess in summer and her change in temperament in the winter. The struggling of Teran against his summer bonds causing rough seas and storms in the summer may also echo the the violent convulsions of Loki in his bonds that were created as punishment by the Æsir. Loki’s struggles causing earthquakes and tumult.
Sources:
Dennison, W. T. (1995) Orkney Folklore & Sea Legends, Kirkwall, The Orkney Press
Marwick, E. (2000) The Folklore of Orkney and Shetland, Birlinn, Edinburgh
Muir, T. (2016) Orkney Folk Tales, Stroud, The History Press
Snorri Sturluson The Prose Edda, Translated and edited by Byock, J. L. (2005)
