The Statue of Kopakonan. ‘The Seal woman.

The Statue of Kopakonan. ‘The Seal woman’. Faroe Islands.

The legend of Kópakonan (the Seal Woman) is one of the best-known folktales in the Faroe Islands.

The myth goes: Seals were believed to be former human beings who voluntarily sought death in the ocean. Once a year, on the Thirteenth night, they were allowed to come on land, strip off their skins and amuse themselves as human beings, dancing and enjoying themselves.

If their seal skin is hidden or stolen, they are unable to return to the sea.

The Seal Woman commemorates a particularly well known story about a beautiful Selkie (Selkies are a variation on the mermaid concept in Scottish, Irish, Icelandic and Faroese folklore) trapped by a fisherman on the island of Kalsoy, who hides her seal skin while she is on land one night. Trapped, she becomes his wife and they have 2 children.

One day however, he goes fishing and she finds her seal skin hidden in a chest in their home. She escapes back to her Selkie family after ensuring the children are cared for until the fisherman's return.

She leaves behind a message to not follow her and to not harm her Selkie family. The fishermen however ignore the warning and end up killing both her Selkie husband and Selkie children.

In revenge she curses the men of the island to die in frequent accidents until as many have perished as can link arms around the whole island.

The 9 ft bronze and stainless steel statue of Kópakonan (The Seal Wife) was created by Hans Pauli Olsen and was installed in the Mikladalur Harbor on Kalsoy, one of the Faroe Islands, on August 1st, 2014.