67: Seafaring Finns, floating islands, seamonsters, Chiloé, “The Straight Road” and related points / Website articles 56-69

67: Seafaring Finns, floating islands, seamonsters, Chiloé, “The Straight Road” and related points

Written and published by Linden Alexander Pentecost, published on the 22nd of July 2025 and only on this website (www.bookofdunbarra.co.uk). Final updates were added on the 23rd of July 2025. This article is not the same as nor does it contain the same content and discussions and information as any of my other articles or books. This article contains a lot of unique information and covers many topics, most of the finer topics or information are not knowable from the article's title nor its sub section titles alone. Although this article discusses various topics, some of which I have in different ways, with different information, discussed in other publications; note that this article in front of you contains unique information and is not the same or equivalent to any of my other publications about these topics - all of my publications about these topics are unique and each gives a picture and discussion of different aspects of the puzzle. This article is completely unique and my other work on these subjects will not be complete without this article, which is important; nor is my work on these subjects complete nor gives a complete overview without each and every of my other publications. I have for example written books dedicated to different aspects of these topics, but this article in front of you is equally important. This article contains some in-text links, citations and quotes, most notably a longish quote from a story by Jonas Lie - note however that this article would be significantly long in itself without the quote, and that the quote is extensively discussed. No AI was used in the creation of this article nor in any of my publications in any way. This article contains 4027 words making it one of the longest on this website (www.bookofdunbarra.co.uk). This article contains the following sub-sections (not including this paragraph, the title & the contents below):

1. Mythological (Seafaring) Finns, floating islands and discussion on the story "Finn Blood" (note that I have discussed other aspects to this story in detail in other publications), and the question of whether these islands are in some way "biological"

2. On cryptids that resemble floating islands, related topics, and connections between Finland, Scotland and Chile in relation to this
3. Seafaring Finns and water horses in Shetland and Chiloé, and "The Straight Road" and connections (and final notes)

As I have discussed many times before, parts of Northern Europe that are not Finland, especially Northern Norway and the Shetland Islands, but also many other parts of Northern and Western Europe - have mythology and legends that refer to Finns, Finn-men etc, and other names too with the word “Finn”; divine ancestors connected to the sea. In the Shetland Islands they are referred to as Finn-men, where they are described as good-natured towards people, as magical healers, and having an immense knowledge of magic and spells. I have discussed this many times previously, and how it could fit into Finnish mythology, other ancient cultures, linguistics etc. But in this article I would like to discuss a particularly unusual aspect to this - the floating islands associated with the Seafaring Finns, and something on the sea monsters that may well be associated with these islands. I have discussed a little on this before but in this article I will with more details.
These mythological, Seafaring Finn ancestors, are implied to have, and to have had, a definite physical and indigenous presence in for example Iceland, Norway, the Shetland Islands, Donegal in Ireland, and elsewhere. But in terms of where these mythical ancestors also resided, and perhaps where they came to reside - there is without doubt a strong implication that they sometimes lived on, and sometimes live on, magical, mysterious islands, that only appear in certain circumstances. This theme is also associated with other divine ancestral peoples, and even with King Arthur sometimes; and of course the legend of Utrøst off the Lofoten Islands, the legend of Cantre’s Gwaelod off the coast of Wales, and many other examples which I have discussed previously; another being the legend of Rocabarraigh associated with the Outer Hebrides, which I have written about elsewhere (and will again in the future).

In the story Finn Blood, by Jonas Lie, set in the north of Norway, we are introduced to what appears to be a floating island in the following description, which describes when the main male character, Eilert, is visited by a draug that seems to hold onto his boat, and then suddenly comes across an island. I have quoted the relevant parts of the story below, as quoted from Nisbet Bain's translation of Jonas Lie's original "Finn Blood", the English translation being published in the book under the title: Weird Tales from Northern Seas, translated in 1893 from Jonas Lie's original stories in Norwegian.:

(discussion and rest of article continue after the section of story below)

….but it seemed to Eilert as if the sea-fog lifted a bit; the sea had all at once grown

quite calm (at least, there was now only a gentle swell); and right in

front of him lay a little low grey island, towards which the boat was

slowly drifting.

The skerry was wet, as if the sea had only recently been flowing over

it, and on it he saw a pale girl with such lovely eyes. She wore a green

kirtle, and round her body a broad silver girdle with figures upon it,

such as the Finns use. Her bodice was of tar-brown skin, and beneath her

stay-laces, which seemed to be of green sea-grass, was a foam-white

chemise, like the feathery breast of a sea-bird.

When the boat came drifting on to the island, she came down to him and

said, as if she knew him quite well, "So you're come at last, Eilert;

I've been waiting for you so long!"

It seemed to Eilert as if an icy cold shudder ran through his body when

he took the hand which helped him ashore; but it was only for the

moment, and he forgot it instantly.

In the midst of the island there was an opening with a brazen flight of

steps leading down to a splendid cabin. Whilst he stood there thinking

things over a bit, he saw two heavy dog-fish swimming close by--they

were, at least, twelve to fourteen ells long.

As they descended, the dog-fish sank down too, each on one side of the

brazen steps. Oddly enough, it looked as if the island was transparent.

When the girl perceived that he was frightened, she told him that they

were only two of her father's bodyguard, and shortly afterwards they

disappeared. She then said that she wanted to take him to her father,

who was waiting for them. She added that, if he didn't find the old

gentleman precisely as handsome as he might expect, he had,

nevertheless, no need to be frightened, nor was he to be astonished too

much at what he saw…

The part of the story quoted above takes place when Eilert and Zilla (The Finn Girl) are becoming re-equainted when they are 16 or perhaps when they are young adults, the way it is described that Eilert feels a chill down his spine, and the way that Zilla waits for him on the island, is a little akin to the Norse story of Rán taking sailors into her hall in the deep ocean (this I have discussed elsewhere), and there are possibly connections here. But the main aspect of this section that I wanted to discuss are the comments about the island, being described as a “little low grey island”, and the part: “The skerry was wet, as if the sea had only recently been flowing over it, and on it he saw a pale girl with such lovely eyes.” Well, the way that Zilla is described is both haunting and otherworldly in general, but what interests me a lot here is the way the island or skerry is described as wet. Does this imply that the tide receded, exposing the skerry, or that the skerry somehow rose out of the sea, like a living being? It is later described that: “As they descended, the dog-fish sank down too, each on one side of the brazen steps. Oddly enough, it looked as if the island was transparent.” The island being transparent here, and the fact that they access the sea floor from beneath the island, seem to imply that this island is floating in some way; its transparentness is (as I have mentioned elsewhere) akin to the symbolism of a lighthouse - but also I will mention here that it seems like what is being described could also be something like a jellyfish, with a semi-transparent body, only appearing as an island. Keep this is in mind further down the article. Note that I have described different aspects to this story in many publications but differently to how I have done here.

I have also seen it described that the Finn-men known in Shetland folklore are also associated with living on floating islands, although I cannot find an original historic source for this information; it is however written in the book: Shetland Folk Tales by Lawrence Tulloch, illustrated by Alexa Fitzgibbon. The comment about Finn-men and living on floating islands can be found on page 13 of the book, in the chapter titled "The Fetlar Finnman". I have referenced this page in some of my other publications too.

2. On cryptids that resemble floating islands, related topics, and connections between Finland, Scotland and Chile in relation to this

There are cryptids, and beings reported in mythology that also resemble an island or a floating mass of some kind. For example, the Näkki in Finnish mythology has been sometimes described as being a being completely made of seaweed, although I would argue that perhaps its tentacle-like nature only resembles seaweed.
And this leads us onto the subject of the kraken in Norse mythology, a being that was sometimes described as being so big, that it was mistaken for an island. I have discussed the kraken a fair bit in other publications, but what I want to focus on here is the way in which these islands associated with the Seafaring Finns, floating islands, or transparent islands, and mysterious islands in general - seem to connect in some way to colossal sea cryptids like the kraken. Sometimes these mysterious islands seem living, like floating entities, and one has to ask, precisely where does the topic of Seafaring Finns and their floating or transparent islands, coincide with the topic of colossal sea beings, that can appear like islands? There is also a clear association between this and the drauger in Northern Norwegian mythology, who are also associated with the Seafaring Finns - this I have discussed a lot elsewhere (for example, some drauger being described as having seaweed instead of a head, Rán being described as having seaweed for hair, the Finnish näkki being described as like a mass of seaweed) - all of these things seem connected somehow.

Various sources talk about how the Kraken would sometimes appear out of the sea as a group of islands, sometimes three islands, which is an interesting similarity to the island of Trenyken in Røst, Lofoten. In a wider sense, the tales of strange islands that appear and disappear off Norway, seem intimately tied into the concept of the Kraken. The Kraken, as I have discussed elsewhere, has also been sometimes described as akin to a crab with claws, and it seems that Krabben “The Crab” was another name that was sometimes used to refer to it. The “islands” that appear when the Kraken surfaces are sometimes described as being like horns, keep this in mind when I talk about Iku-Turso briefly in this article. The way in which the Kraken surfaces is also akin to how the island described in Finn Blood seems to have surfaced.

The hafgufa is another entity connected to the Northern Atlantic, sometimes described as being like a whale, but so large that it is mistaken for an island. The Lyngbakr or Lyngbakur is a similar creature, more akin to a whale than to a crab or a cephalopod, described in Icelandic literature. Note I have discussed other Icelandic cryptids in other publications, including in some recent publications, such as my article on my Clwàideac-na-Cuinne website (note the website you are currently on), titled: 2-n. More on the Icelandic, Trøndersk & Aure Nordic languages, the web-address to which is: https://www.clwaideac-na-cuinne.co.uk/articles-about-nordic-and-pre-nordic-languages-1-n-to-20-n/2-n-more-on-the-icelandic-troendersk-aure-nordic-languages . I will also have an unrelated Silly Linguistics article published this or next month pertaining to Iceland, where I discuss again more on the tilberi, which is itself a kind of cryptid, although I would perhaps not myself count it as one. This idea of supernatural whales also extends into the subject of “atmospheric beasts” or “atmospheric cryptids”, some of which are described as looking like giant, flying whales, yet with somewhat different features to marine whales. Another example of a whale cryptid is Giglioli’s whale, which resembled a possible physical whale, just with attributes that make it different from already catalogued species. Strangely, it has been sighted in both Chile and in Scotland. Keep this in mind with regard to information further into this article regarding Chile, Scotland and Finns. Note that I discuss a little on atmospheric beasts elsewhere, including briefly in an article published only on archive.org, titled: Ancient Stone Steps And A Northern English Dialect (only Published On Archive.org), available at the following link: https://archive.org/details/ancient-stone-steps-and-a-northern-english-dialect-only-published-on-arch

Also there is Iku-Turso, a legendary being from Finnish mythology that I have discussed in detail elsewhere, described as a giant, tentacled or horned being. I discuss its etymology in various places, including new aspects of its etymology in the article titled: 1-etym. New interesting etymologies, noticed July 2025 which is on my Clwàideac-na-Cuinne website (not the website you are currently on), the web address of the aforementioned article is: https://www.clwaideac-na-cuinne.co.uk/articles-focusing-on-etymologies-from-july-2025-onwards-pages-1-etym-to-28-etym/1-etym-new-interesting-etymologies-noticed-july-2025 . I also discuss this being elsewhere a lot including in my series of Silly Linguistics articles published last year, and titled: The mystical nature of Finnish & of language in Finland (article series has three parts), as well as in other publications where I have discussed other aspects of Iku-Turso. Iku-Turso also bares some resemblances to the näkki in Finnish mythology. It is curious how the etymology of näkki connects it to waterhorse-type beings in Germanic languages, yet the Finnish word describes a being made of seaweed, more akin to some kind of colony, floating island, or cephalopod-crab like the Kraken.

In continuation of this subject of Chile, Scotland and the Finns in this article, in relation to Gioglioli’s Whale, there is another very interesting cryptid known from Chile, known as El Cuero, which is described, in many ways, very similarly to the näkki in Finnish mythology. El Cuero is described like a floating hide found in the sea, rivers and lakes of Chile, although there appear to be no references as such to this being being described as tentacled or sea-weed like, exactly. Again however there are striking similarities, and one can also imagine how El Cuero could be connected to the idea of mysterious, floating islands.

3. Seafaring Finns and water horses in Shetland and Chiloé, and "The Straight Road" and connections (and final notes)

There appears also to be a connection between these beings & the water-horse type beings known as njuggle in Shetland, (e.g. the etymological links between Finnish näkki and Swedish näcken for instance). Perhaps our ancestors were not able to fully see what they saw; was what they saw in a sense non euclidian? Keeping Chile & South America in general in mind, yet again, it is interesting how the Finn-men of Shetland, ancestors with magical powers, are said to be the only ones who can ride the Shetland njuggle, the water-horse type being known from lakes in Shetland. Meanwhile, the island of Chiloé off Chile was also connected in the past to divine wizard ancestors, who were also the only ones who could ride a caballo marino de Chiloé, a water horse of Chiloé. Considering the large amount of work I have done on linguistic similarities between Uralic (especially Finnish) and South American indigenous languages, particularly those of the Andes and western South America; these things about sea beings, divine ancestors and water horses might be linked in some way I think.

I have published these Finnish - south American language connections and other connections with South American languages and cognate similarities generally across different publications, with different examples in each publication, some are in entire books dedicated to these possible cognates whilst others are published across other books and articles - several of both have also been published by me this year, including recently, each with separate examples. One example (not by any means the most recent though) is my print only book, titled: Similarities in Quechua and Finnish language words newly noticed in March 2025 and not previously published, and other connected topics not previously published; book published only in print format and not in other formats; book published in the UK. More recently I have included other examples of such similarities to different extents in other articles and books, keeping in mind that the examples of similarities in each are different. I will publish more in the near future. I have also recently, for example, published some examples of Finnish and Quechua similarities in articles on my Clwàideac-na-Cuinne website (not the website you are currently on). Another publication focusing on again different Quechua - Finnish similarities I published some months ago, is published only on archive.org, and titled: A discussion on 7 more potential Finnish and Quechuan word similarities found in April 2025 and published in April 2023 and which were not published in my recent print-only book that was published in March 2025 (this April 2025 article includes 7 main Finnish words discussed with 7 possibly related Quechua words and discussions), published only on archive.org, published in the UK; the link to which is: https://archive.org/details/a-discussion-on-7-more-potential-finnish-and-quechuan-word-similarities-found-in-April-2025-and . Again, all of these publications contain separate similarities, in other words, all of the publications are necessary to see the whole picture, including this article currently in front of you.

Lastly - on the location of these islands and these Seafaring Finn spirit peoples. Some might say another dimension. But that to me is too vague an answer, although I might have thought it once. Perhaps, the fictional writings of J.R.R. Tolkien might give us a glimpse into how we can understand this real world mystery. If I understand the writings of Tolkien correctly, Valinor, the realm of the Valar and Elves - keeping in mind also that Quenya Elvish is partially based on Finnish - can be accessed by “The Straight Road”, a path to Valinor that is somehow is exempt from, and deviates from the Earth’s curvature. This, if I understand J.R.R. Tolkien’s correctly, can only be accomplished by humans who have permission to visit, and who use special Elvish ships. Was Tolkien to some extent basing his fictional books upon a real, ancient idea, of peoples in some other realm and speaking a Finnish-like language? Similar ships are mentioned in Finnish and Egyptian mythologies, and others. The boats can also be seen as akin to the water-horses and caballos marinos de Chiloé that the Finn-men/wizards can ride; and as akin to the way in which some of these gods can transform into fish and such and walk on water (which I have wrote about extensively elsewhere). This idea I think relates in some way to the idea that the sky, and sea, are two dimensions of the same water, and that somehow certain beings of a high spiritual nature exist “across” this water, in realms which are not subject to time in the same way that we experience time. The legend of Utrøst follows this same idea - only when the man in the story sails the right way, at the right time, does he reach Utrøst, perhaps reminiscent of leaving our realm of “curvature” and of “time” and “space” as we experience them. In a print only book I wish to publish in the near future, I will also mention this, but with different aspects to those discussed here and in other publications. This article in front of you is also different to any of my other articles and books discussing these subjects which are already published - all of my works contain unique insights and discussions of different aspects of these complex pictures (different aspects to the same thing with different examples and points published across many publications). This concept of a cosmic sea beyond time, that was accessed by following a certain path through our seas - maybe helps to answer part of the question of where these mythical seafaring ancestors came from and went, and why for example Finnish and Quechua and many other languages have very similar words for "boat". This is even perhaps, not intentionally, represented in Tolkien's Quenya Elvish term for boat, which I have commented elsewhere in different places, is both akin to the Finnish and Quechua words for "boat", and other words for "boat", and connections between gods who travelled by or over water.

Final notes: I have discussed Valinor somewhat and more on other Tolkien topics elsewhere, including in my articles series published last year and only available in Silly Linguistics, titled: The mystical nature of Finnish & of language in Finland. Note also that I have published many other articles recently that have some connection to Finns and to Finnish, including on this website, but also my new recently published article available on my Clwàideac-na-Cuinne website (not the website you are currently looking at), the aforementioned article being titled: 2-f. The Kuusamo Dialect and discussions, the URL to which is: https://www.clwaideac-na-cuinne.co.uk/articles-about-the-finnish-language-its-dialects-1-f-to-20-f/2-f-the-kuusamo-dialect-and-discussions . The web address of the article currently in front of you (article number 67 (the page you are currently on) on my BookofDunBarra website, the website you are currently on, is, for reference purposes: https://www.bookofdunbarra.co.uk/website-articles-56-69/67-seafaring-finns-floating-islands-seamonsters-chiloe-the-straight-road-and-related-points . As I also mentioned, I plan to publish a new print-only book in the near future which will expand upon a few of the things discussed in this article, but in a different way. The book will be about Nordic and Northern European mythology and will talk a little about some of these connections to other places, I have not yet decided upon the title; the aforementioned print-only book will focus on the folklore of Scandinavia and will not discuss many things I have discussed previously (most of the info will cover new topics), and the things I have discussed previously being discussed somewhat in the book, will be discussed anew in the book covering different aspects to those things and not including those discussed in the article on this page you are currently on, and in other publications; in other words the publication of this future book will still mean that my other publications (including the article on this page) will remain very important for understanding the whole picture. I will also reference this article (on this page) in the new print-only book. Note that my previous article on this website, number 66 is indeed shorter than the article you are reading currently, but is still long, and is unrelated to the article on this page. Thanks for reading this article (on the page you are on currently). And may the Great Spirit bless the Seafaring Finns and the ancient and mysterious lands, cryptids and islands of their universe. May the Great Spirit bless my readers and all spirits and I hope that this article inspires peoples' curiosity about the mysteries of our World.