Nix
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Nix (also known as Näcken, Nøkken or Nixe) is a water creature in German and Scandinavian folklore, usually shown in human form. The name is akin to Anglo-Saxon nicor, and Old High German nihus, all designating some kind of water fiend.
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Näcken
The Scandinavian näcken or nøkken was a male water spirit who lured women and children to drown in lakes or streams, while playing enchanted songs on the violin.
It is strenuous to describe the actual appearance of the nix, as one of his central attributes was thought to be shape shifting. Perhaps he was not really seen as to have any "true shape." He could show himself as a young, naked man, playing the violin in brooks and waterfalls, but also as dead things such as treasures or various floating objects, as well as animals – most commonly in the form of a "brook horse" (see below). The modern Scandinavian names are derived from an Old Norse nykr, meaning "river horse." Thus, likely the brook horse preceded the personification of the nix as the "man in the rapids".
The enthralling music of the nix was most dangerous to women and children (especially to pregnant women and unbaptized children). He was thought to be most active during Midsummer's Night, on Christmas Eve and on Thursdays.
If you brought the nix a treat of three drops of blood, a black animal, some brännvin (Scandinavian vodka) or snus (wet snuff) dropped into the water, he would teach you this enchanting form of music.
He could also be an omen for drowning accidents. He would scream at a particular spot in a lake or river, in a way reminiscent of the loon, and at that spot, the fatality was later to take place.
However, some stories also tell of how the nix sings about his solitude and his longing for salvation (which he purportedly never shall receive, as he is not "a child of God"). In a poem by Swedish poet E. J. Stagnelius, a little boy pities the fate of the nix, and so saves his own life.
In Scandinavia, water lilies are called "nix roses" (näckrosor/nøkkeroser).
Bäckahästen
Bäckahästen (translated as the brook horse) is a mythological horse of Swedish folklore, it also has close parallels in Norway and a more remote one in the Scottish kelpie.
It was often described as a majestic white horse that would appear near rivers, in particular when it was foggy. Anyone who climbed onto its back would not be able to get off again, and the horse would jump into the river, drowning the rider.
Apart from being an incarnation of the nix, the brook horse was also claimed to be the steed of the Grim Reaper, and that its true appearance is not that of a beautiful white horse, but of a black, flaming horse.
Nixe
The German Nixe is a kind of riverine mermaid who lures men to drown, akin to the Celtic Melusine.
They are water spirits who try to lure people into the water. The males can assume many different shapes, including that of a human, fish, and snake. The females are beautiful women with the tail of a fish. When they are in human forms they can be recognized by the wet hem of their clothes. The Nixes are considered as malignant in some quarters, but as harmless and friendly in others.
See also
nix is a common abbreviation for the German word "nichts", which means "nothing", and may also be used as a verb to indicate the exclusion of something.
External links
- "Näck" (http://runeberg.org/nfbt/0176.html), an article on Näcken from Nordisk Familjebok.
- A summary (http://www.hf.uio.no/iks/ariadne/kulturhistorie/framesettogm.htm?teori_og_metode/teoribruk/nokken.htm) in Norwegian of Jochum Stattin's dissertation Näcken : spelman eller gränsvakt? (ISBN 9138612801).
- An article (http://stud.hsh.no/lu/norsk/vidsteen/segner/teoritun/vette/tema14.htm) on Nøkken from Høgskolen Stord/Haugesund in Norwegian, with sources.
- Näcken (http://www.stagnelius.se/dikter.html), a poem by Stagnelius (in Swedish).
- The Watersprite (http://www.morion.com/morion/wood/english/eng_nacken_stagnelius.html), an amateur translation (no rhyme, no meter) of Stagnelius's poem.de:Nixe