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The blue men of the Minch, also known as storm kelpies or in Scottish Gaelic as ''na fir ghorma'', ''fear gorm'' or ''sruth nam fear gorm'', are mythological creatures inhabiting the stretch of water between the northern Outer Hebrides and mainland Scotland, looking for sailors to drown and stricken boats to sink. They appear to be localised to the Minch and surrounding areas, unknown in other parts of Scotland and without counterparts in the rest of the world. Apart from their blue colour, the mythical creatures look much like humans, and are about the same size. They have the power to create storms, but when the weather is fine they float sleeping on or just below the surface of the water. The blue men swim with their torsos raised out of the sea, twisting and diving as porpoises do. They are able to speak, and when a group approaches a ship its chief may shout two lines of poetry to the master of the vessel and challenge him to complete the verse. If the skipper fails in that task then the blue men will attempt to overturn the ship and capsize it. Suggestions to explain the mythical blue men include that they may be a personification of the sea, or originate with the Picts, whose painted bodies may have given the impression of men raising themselves out of the water if they were seen crossing the sea in boats that might have resembled kayaks. The genesis of the blue men may alternatively lie with the North African slaves the Vikings took with them to Scotland, where they spent the winter months close to the Shiant Isles in the Minch. ==Etymology== The Minch, a strait that separates the northwest Highlands of Scotland and the northern Inner Hebrides from the northern Outer Hebrides, is home to the blue men. According to lexicographer Edward Dwelly, in the Scottish Gaelic terms for the blue men – ''na fir ghorma'', ''fear gorm'' and ''sruth nam fear gorm'' – the word ''gorm'' refers to any shade of blue and ''fear'' can be translated as "man", ''na fir'' representing the plural "the men". The blue men are also styled as storm kelpies. The most common water spirits in Scottish folklore, kelpies are usually described as powerful horses, but the name is attributed to several different forms and fables throughout the country. The name ''kelpie'' may be derived from the Scottish Gaelic ''calpa'' or ''cailpeach'', meaning "heifer" or "colt". 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Blue men of the Minch」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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