#noa names

[lailoken]

There is an old Scottish rhyme on the Fae that I wanted to very briefly highlight here. It describes the taboo of true names, where the Gloaming Folk are concerned, and the importance of using Noa-Names when making reference to Them. It is transcribed by Robert Chambers in his 1890 ‘Popular Rhymes of Scotland’ as follows:

“Gin ye ca' me imp or elf,

I rede ye look weel to yourself;

Gin ye ca' me fairy,

I'll work ye muckle tarrie;

Gin gude neibour ye ca' me,

Then gude neibour I will be;

But gin ye call' me seelie wicht,

I'll be your freend baith day and nicht.”

Based on what I know about Scots, and the Faerie Faith of the day, a fairly straightforward translation of the meaning behind these verses into English could read as:

“If you call me 'Imp' or 'Elf,'

I warn you to watch yourself;

If you call me 'Faery,'

I will work you much trouble;

If 'Good Neighbor' you call me,

Then good neighbor will I be;

But if you call me 'Blessed Wight,'

I'll be your friend both day and night."

A folkloric specimen such as this one does a great job concisely underscoring the importance of such epithets when dealing with the denizens of Faerie, as well as offering a couple titles that help to exemplify such epithets.

[thoughts-of-a-heathen]

The weasel in Scandinavian folklore

Weasels were not to be killed or harmed. If you hurt a weasel in any way, your farm would lose all of its luck and fortune. And, according to some people, hundreds of the dead weasel's friends would appear and blow "vessleblåst" on you (or your cattle) . Vessleblåst was a disease that caused pain and swelling.

The bite of the weasel was thought to be lethal. Some even believed that the weasel had venomous saliva.

Weasels could also crawl into the ears of your livestock, causing all kinds of [health] issues.

Given its dangerousness, people avoided mentioning the weasel by its proper name. Instead, they used noa names such as "den lilla sköna" ('the little beauty'), "jungfrun" ('the maiden', 'the virgin').

Most people didn't make any distinction between the stoat and the common weasel; both are referred to as "vessla."

Sources:

Eva Wigström, Djurlifvet i folkets tro och sägner

Ebbe Schön, Folktrons ABC

[thoughts-of-a-heathen]

Some of my favourite noa-worda for animals:

Wolves

Tasse (paw-er)

Gråben (gray legs)

Gråfot (gray foot)

Den grå (the gray one)

Gullegrå (cutie-gray)

Gullfot (either cute foot or gold foot)

Bears

Tolv man stark (as strong as twelve men)

Myrtass (ant paw)

Bamsefar (something like "hefty father")

Skogskisse (forest pussy-cat)

Nalle (it now translates into 'teddy', but this wasn't always the case)

Styggnacke (nasty back of the neck)

Seals

Fisk (fish)