Anuggle,njuggle, orneugle, is a mythicalwater horse of primarilyShetland folklore where it is also referred to as ashoepultie orshoopiltee on some parts of the islands. A nocturnal creature that is always of a male gender, there are occasional fleeting mentions of him connected with theOrkney islands but he is more frequently associated with the rivers, streams and lochs of Shetland. He is easily recognised by his distinctive wheel-like tail and, unlike his evil counterparts theeach-uisge or thenuckelavee, has a fairly gentle disposition being more prone to playingpranks and making mischief rather than having malicious intents.
Norsemen, predominantly from the west coast ofNorway, began to settle in Shetland around the beginning of the 9th century;[1]Norn, the primary language spoken by islanders from then until the late 17th century[2] – or as late as the mid-18th century[3] – was heavily influenced by the settlers and, like the folklore of the islands, blended Norse and Scottish characteristics.[3] The Norsemen's impact on the folklore of the Orkney and Shetland islands was to a much higher degree than that fused through the lore of the Highlands.[4]
TheScottish National Dictionary attributesneugle and its variant spellings –ni(o)gle,nyogle,nyugl etc. – as coming from theOld Englishnicor, theOld Norsenykr, theMiddle Low German or theMiddle Dutch water demon,necker.[5] The same publication givesshoopiltee and its spelling variations as adaptations of the Old Norsesjó andpiltr meaning sea added to boy or lad.[6]
InAn Etymological Glossary of the Shetland and Orkney Dialect Thomas Edmondston lists the creature as aniogle crediting aGothic derivation fromgner for horse andel for water; he also recordsshoupiltin but merely catalogues it as atriton from Shetland.[7]
Nuggles werewater spirits that inhabited the rivers, streams and smalllochs of the Shetland islands;[8] they were known as the shoopiltee[8] or the shoepultie in some areas of Shetland[9] particularly in the northernmost islands.[10]Karl Blind, a 19th-centuryfolklorist who regularly wrote about the lore of Shetland,[11] asserts that after extensive enquiries he had only ever heard of the nuggle being in Shetland;[12] there may however be tentative references to it around the lochs and watercourses ofHoy[13] and atMuckle Water onRousay which are both part of the Orkneyarchipelago.[14] Tales ofnuggles were never recorded on the islands ofYell andFetlar, parts of the Shetland archipelago.[15] The creatures were also found besidewatermills[16] and never strayed very far from water.[12]The entity was capable of assuming many disguises but generally favoured the form of an attractive horse;[8] he never assumed a human form.[17] Nuggles were always malewater horses or ponies and were never portrayed asmares.[12] His overall proportions were like those of a generously fed and well-conditionedShetland pony or horse.[10] The colour of his sleek coat ranged from a deep bluish-grey[18] through to a very light, almost white, grey.[10]
Similarequine type creatures are: the evilEach-uisge from theGaelic folklore of theScottish Highlands;[19] theTangies that haunt the coastline and sea shores but reside in the ocean depths;[20] and the Norwegian nøkk.[8] FolkloristErnest Marwick considers the demonicNuckelavee, which features inOrcadian folk tales, to also be a relative of the nuggle.[8] Among the characteristics distinguishing the nuggle from his counterparts was his tail which resembled a wheel.[8] The trademark tail made him easily recognisable[21] despite his attempts to hide it between his hind legs[8] so he tended to stay out of sight except at night or just as the sun set in the twilight hours.[21] Additionally, unlike other corresponding creatures, he was of a gentle disposition, more likely to instil fear rather than attacking islanders although some tales suggest otherwise;[21] according to the author and folkloristJessie Saxby "he was a more feeble sort".[20] He liked playing practical jokes and making mischief[21] but was deceitful and not very brave.[12] Spitefulness was not a part of his character and his pranks were tempered with a degree of mercy.[9]
Only magical beings called Finns[a] were able to ride a nuggle without coming to any harm.[23] If the nuggle had successfully tricked an unsuspecting passer-by into mounting him, usually by pretending to be tame and standing tranquilly at the side of a path, he would immediately make for the nearest deep water.[21]
Saxby suggests fear of the nuggle prevented children venturing too close to deep water or watermills and that parents embellished the tale by adding the creature was capable of producing a pleasant tune providing a child stood well away from the water.[16] John Spence, a resident ofLerwick and author of the 1899 publicationShetland Folk-lore,[24] agrees many of the legendary tales of spirits were told as a precaution to keep children out of danger; he further explains the tales originated in bygone times when oral traditions were passed down the generations by grandparents retelling the stories.[25] Writing in theJournal of American Folklore during 1918 the anthropologistJames Teit hypothesises that, as is common with most supernatural creatures,nuggles were thought to befallen angels.[26]
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