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  • Granddad Became a Seal March 21, 2017

    Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern , trackback

    Busy day here as the students are to be crucified in a ritual quiz. Here is a curious seal story from Ireland; there are, Beach thinks, other British or Irish story of humans becoming animals at death, but he can’t find them. Can anyone help? drbeachcombing At yahoo DOT com

    I don’t exactly know whether it was in this Poulnashanthana, but it was in one of the caves that are found between Downpatrick and Kilcummin Heads, and which can only be entered when the tide is out, and then you must use lights, and at all times it is fearfully dangerous, for there is a terrible swell even in the greatest calm, and if the wind was in the least to rise with a point to north or north-west, they  and their boat would be ground to atoms. Well, on a calm fine evening, two young fellows had urged  their curraghs [tiny boats] into a cave where the seals were known  to breed, and they had brought besides poles to knock  down the creatures, plenty of dry bog fir to keep up  a blaze, and having got far in, the place was alive  with seals, and the poor things were toddling about  amongst the round stones at the end, and the boys  were busy enough striking them on the head, and  all they could reach were finished off and ready  to be brought out, when in the farthest end of the  cavern, and sitting up on its bent tail in a corner,  just as you may suppose a tailor would sit on his  board, there sat a fellow, his head as round as  a man’s, and it looked white, shining, and bare,  with a flat nose and two grey eyes just like an  old fellow who was laid up past his labour in the  chimney corner. So one of the boys was just making  up to him to strike him down with his pole, when the  seal cried out in a squeaking, snivelling, supplicating  voice, ‘Och, boys! och, ma bouchals! spare your old  grandfather Darby O’Dowd,’ You may suppose that  the BOYS were not a little astonished and frightened  when they heard a seal speak; but one of them  plucking up courage, accosted the creature and said,  ‘Now, that is all a joke, you’re no grandfather of ours, for Darby O’Dowd is long ago, long ago in his grave,  and God be merciful to him, he lies in Dunfeeny  churchyard.’ ‘You may say that, and thrue it is  for you, grandson Tim. It’s thrue I was dead and  dacently buried, but here I am for my sins, turned  into a sale, as other sinners are and will be. See what  comes of selling mangy sheep for sound bastes, and  a wearing away before a coort a neighbour’s good  name; and Heaven is just, and here I am making  my purgathory as a sale, and if you put an end to  me and skin me, as I see you are for, maybe it’s  worser I’ll be, and go into a shark or a porpoise, or  some fish that will never have the honour or glory of  sitting as I do now on firm land. Mind my bidding  then, boys avick; lave your ould forefather where he is, to live out his time as a sale. Maybe for your  own sakes, for they say every dog has his day, you  will ever hereafter leave off following and parsecuting  and murthering sales, who may be nearer to yourselves  nor you think.’ It may be supposed that the young  seal hunters gave up their occupation and left their  grandfather alone; at all events, let there be what  foundation for the story there may, it is universally  believed, and on the strength of it the people have  given up seal hunting.

    Anything else from British or Irish folklore of people becoming animals postmortem?! drbeachcombing At yahoo DOT com Of course, there is an Irish tradition of seals becoming men but that is not the same thing…

    WDR writes, 30 Mar 2017: In the 1993 book The Folklore of Birds, Laura C. Martin writes, concerning the Atlantic Puffin: “The Irish, however, did not eat puffins, as it was believed that the reincarnated spirits of monks lived within these birds.”  (No source is given.) A brief internet search turned up no new information on this belief, only a few passing mentions.  I did, however, come across a site (http://www.iansimages.com/IcelandicPuffins.html) that claims: “King Arthur was reincarnated as a raven, chough or puffin according to Cornish folk-lore, and he is said to frequent his favourite haunts in Cornwall in one of these forms.”

    Leif, 30 Mar 2017: Dr. Beachcombing wishes to know of British or Irish folklore of people becoming animals postmortem. Christopher Moreman’s paper gives a number of examples of birds embodying spirits of the dead. These come from many countries, including Britain and Ireland.  See pp 9-10. Leif. Christopher Moreman, On the Relationship between Birds and Spirits of the Dead Society & Animals, 1-22, 2014.

    Southern Man, 29 Sep 2017:  This is from Andrews, Ulster Folklore.