Estonian werewolf legends collected from the island of Saaremaa
Estonian werewolf legends collected from the island of Saaremaa
There are around 1400 texts about werewolves in the Estonian Folklore Archives; very few of these are published. This chapter focuses on the written werewolf material from the largest island in Estonia – Saaremaa. There about 100 texts collected and written down from this island. While some of the legend types that are connected with male werewolves in Western Europe are connected with female werewolves in Estonia, in Saaremaa even some of those werewolf legends that are connected with male werewolves in Estonia are connected with female werewolves. This chapter discusses the peculiar characteristics and popularity of female werewolf tales on Saaremaa and analyses the reasons for the preference for female werewolves, and identifies social and religious context for the tales.
Keywords: Estonia, Saaremaa, Folklore, Werewolves
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