Tobar an Dualchais - Kist O Riches

Title - Tradition about the Finn folk; Norse place-names and the set...
Contributors - George Gear
Reporters - Prof. Michael Jones; Venke Olsen

Summary - Tradition about the Finn folk; Norse place-names and the settlement of Shetland.

Although the Shetland dialect has almost disappeared, most place-names are of Norse origin. Practically every knowe [hillock] in the landscape has a Norse name.

Geordie Gear had a croft not far from Eswick called Finnister that was said to be connected to the Finns. The Finns were supposed to come to Shetland by kayak a long time ago, probably before the Norse settlement, which was about the seventh century. The Norwegian settlers grew in number till they were even raiding Norway, only to be subdued by King Harald Fairhair.


Track Duration (h:m:s) - 00:01:32
Date Recorded - 1986.05.23
Language - English, Scots
Genre - Information
Collection - School of Scottish Studies

Track ID - 55205
Original Tape ID - SA1986.035
Original Track ID - SA1986.35.AG
Audio Quality - Good
Audio Format - R2R



Recording Location:
  County - Shetland
  Parish - Nesting
  Island - Shetland Mainland
  Village - Eswick


Item Location:
  County - Shetland
  Parish - Nesting
  Island - Shetland Mainland
  Village - Finnister

Item Notes - During the Little Ice Age of the late 17th century, some Eskimo kayaks are known to have been driven off course and to have reached the Northern Isles. These became associated with traditions, inherited from Scandinavia, of the mysterious Finns.
See:
'Antiquity' 28:110 (Ian Whitaker, 'The Scottish Kayaks and the "Finn-men"', 1954) pp. 99-104

Permanent Link - http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/fullrecord/55205/1

Segments:
Play part 1 (00:01:32)
Play part 2 (00:00:45)


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