Shetland Folk-Lore
those who were supposed to be skilled in the Black Art, were spoken of as Norway Finns. And a person whose odd, eccentric appearance and actions would lead to the supposition that “they could dö mair dan maet demsels,” was termed a Hjokfinnie body—i.e., a buried Finn up again.
The words or charms that were used by persons who professed the healing art, such as “telling oot” toothache or ringworm, casting the aaba knot or tying the wrestin treed, sometimes had reference to Finns, e.g.:
“A Finn cam ow’r frae Noraway
Ta pit töthake awa,
Oot o’ da flesh an’ oot o’ da bane,
Oot o’ da sinin an’ inta da skin,
Oot o’ da skin an’ inta da stane,
An’ dere may du remain.”
These are a few of the Finn legends found in Shetlandic story, and it is difficult to understand how such stories came to exist unless a people called Finns had had a long-standing connection with the
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