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- Huldra is also the name of a witch in Sheri S. Tepper's The True Game series of novels.
In Scandinavian folklore, the huldra (Norwegian, derived from a root meaning encovered or secret) (plural huldre or huldrefolk) is a seductive forest creature. Other names include the Swedish skogsrå or skogsfru (meaning "lady (ruler) of the forest") and Tallemaja (pine tree Mary).
Features
Seen from the front she is a stunningly beautiful, often naked woman with long hair; from behind she is hollow like an old tree trunk. In Norway she has a cow's tail, and in Sweden she may have that of a cow or a fox. The huldra lures men into the forest to have sex with her, rewarding those who satisfy her and often killing those who don't. She often steals human infants and replaces them with her own ugly huldrebarn (changeling Huldre children). She has long been associated with hunting; she might blow down the barrel of a huntsman's rifle, causing it never thereafter to miss a shot. Some are not so lucky, or perhaps skilled, and escape her only after surrendering their sanity. A male huldre is called a huldu.Folklore
There is a story of a huldra being kind to a collier, watching his charcoal kiln while he took a much needed rest. Knowing that she would wake him if there were any problems, he was able to sleep, and in exchange left provisions for her in a special place. A tale from Närke illustrates further how kind hulda could be, especially if treated with respect (Hellström 1985:15).- A boy in Tiveden went fishing, but he had no luck. Then he met a beautiful lady, and she was so stunning that he felt he had to catch his breath. But, then he realized who she was, because he could see a fox' tail stick out below the skirt. As, he knew that it was forbidden to comment on the tail to the lady of the forest, if it was not done in the most polite manner, he bowed deeply and said with his softest voice: Milady, I see that you petticoat shows below your skirt. The lady thanked him gracefully and hid her tail under her skirt, telling the boy to fish on the other side of the lake. That day, the boy had great luck with his fishing and he caught a fish every time he threw out the line. This was the Huldra's recognition of his politeness.
Huldra would also sometimes try to marry human men, keeping their identity secret until marriage; only that blessing could rid them of their tails. If mistreated, a huldra would visit terrible vengeance upon her husband.
After the introduction of Christianity in Scandinavia, the main occupation of the old sky god Odin came to be to chase down and kill as many huldra as possible in the Wild Hunt. The rationale behind this antipathy is never clearly explained in the accounts. The Wild Hunt was alien to Norse tradition and was imported from southern Germanic traditions. Inferrably, Odin's Wild Hunt connoted a violent storm where much lightning struck the wild forests where the huldras lived. This storm suggested Odin's berserker rage against his rivals, being the trolls, including huldras. (Before Christianity, the storm god Thor was credited with lightning strikes against the giant trolls, in the form of his hammer.)
In modern day Iceland, stories still abound of the Huldrefolk. It is said that work crews building new roads will sometimes divert the road around particular boulders which are known to be the homes of the Huldre.
The huldra is one of several rå (keeper, warden), including the aquatic sjörå (or havsfru), later identified with a mermaid, and the bergsrå in caves and mines who made life tough for the poor miners.
The huldra may be connected with the German Holda.
The Norwegian county Lardal has a Hulder in their countyweapon.
More information can be found in the collected Norwegian folktales of Peder Christian Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe.
See also
References
Hellström, AnneMarie (1985). Jag vill så gärna berätta. ISBN 91-7908-002-2
"Huldra"