Stamps Wiki:EUROPA2022/2

Åland

Europa - Stories & Myths

9 May 2022

The Åland stamp shows the "sjörå", a female water spirit according to Åland folklore.

The stamp motif is largely based on stories recorded in the 1890s in Åland. A "rå" is a keeper of a specific area. Stories about the water nymph, however, are told in all the Nordic countries. The "sjörå", also known as mistress of the sea, is closely related to the mermaid. She rules the sea and the lakes and, also, predict deaths and bad weather.

Considered a beauty, her good looks only extend to the front. From behind, she is a hollow rotten stump. She likes showing herself to humans and is fond of young men, awarding he who joins her with good hunting and fishing luck. She keeps a pike as a pet and also her own livestock. The water nymph has her own pots and pans of glittering copper that she scrubs by the lake shore.

Her manatees can be seen grazing among human livestock and even mating with them.