skip to main navigation

Storytelling

Douglas Sinclair and the late Elma Johnson, two of Shetland's most experienced and popular storytellers Douglas Sinclair and the late Elma Johnson, two of Shetland's most experienced and popular storytellers The art of storytelling is surely almost as old as language itself and the storyteller has for untold generations played the entertainer and historian for our ancestors. From the sweeping majesty of myths and sagas to the most commonplace of anecdotes, stories have played a formative part of our culture and have assisted in the preservation of our dialect.

Much of our early education takes the form of stories told by parents, grandparents and teachers and even in this age of technology many still receive their first knowledge of their culture and heritage through the medium of the human voice telling a story.

The use of dialect in storytelling is of vital importance if the true character and unique cultural diversity of our stories is to be preserved and added to for future generations. These pages represent a small selection from a very rich resource  (slightly "trow heavy" but many of our best stories relate to the “guid fock”)  and will be added to as time progresses.

In This Section

  • Da Backstane
  • Da Missin Brunnie
  • Da tree yells
  • Da Unsained Bairns
  • Captured by French warships
  • Joen Tait and da Bear
  • Merran Windwick
  • Raisin da wind
  • Tilta's Curse
  • Winyadepla
back on top