Myths from northern areas often have a person, god, or creature with a normal appearance on the front side, but are hollowed out from the back. I saw this heavily in some Eskimo legends, it’s in Nordic legend, and others. What is the point of all these creatures being scooped out? I’m looking for somebody to explain it, not speculate please.
Woodwives, or ellefolk, are supposed to be spirits of the forest whose physical forms are shaped from the outer bark of trees. They’re hollow because that’s the shape a slab of bark has when it’s removed from the tree in a large piece. Woodwives are said to seduce human men, then leave them forlorn, so it also symbolizes that they’re hollow creatures, with no souls or heart.
It’s a lesson in perception/deception: don’t believe everything you see.
Could I also just note that the first time I heard of Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl”, for a brief few seconds I wondered why she was singing about a Danish fairy and why it was so popular a song…
I was wondering if the hollow back had something to do with peeled off bark. I didn’t know the the form come from the woodwives or ellefolk originally. Being the that those bark forms were used by soulless and often evil creatures, a hollow backed being starts to mean that without saying it. Thanks jayjay for the help. Anybody else that wants to add something feel free to continue.
This is interesting – I’m a big mythology fan, but I’m not familiar with a Northern tradition of hollow-backed creatures. I’ll have to look into this.
by way of analogy, classical Greeks and Romans fashioned masks out of tree bark (among other things) which they hung in the trees. The official reason was that these were hung up during festivals of Bacchus and the like:
My thesis is that these were primitive scarecrows (I note that oscillae were explicitly stated to be hung in the branches of olive trees, grape vines, and pine trees – all of which have fruits that humans would like to keep birds away from). The point of making the masks out of tree back, or wool or wax is that it’s light, and can move easily in the breeze. It’s later that you get marble or terra cotta oscillae for decoration around your house garden.
You’re going to have a hard time if you want “facts” and refuse to let people speculate. I’m not aware of anything within the tradition that specifically accounts for the hollow backs other than what has been stated (but I’m not a Scandinavianist). I will add that the concept is pretty much world-wide if you adjust the definition to include “beautiful beings that look like people until you catch the one physically monstrous feature: hollow back, chicken leg, cloven hoof, tail, etc…”
From the motif-index of folk literature:
F 232.1 Fairies have hollow backs, with refs. to “ellefolk” and “ellepige,” mostly Scandinavian.
F 232.1.1 Fairies have hugehole in each armpit.
F 232.1.2 Fairy has back rough like pine cone.
F 232.2 Fairies have breasts long enough to throw over their shoulder (also ellefolk)
F 232.3 Fairies with unusually large ears
F 232.7 Elves have only half a thumb.
F 232.8 Fairies have a long tail.
F 233.1.1 Fairy has one side green.
F 233.3.1 Fairy has red eyes.
There are lots and lots of these. Part of the answer to “why a hollow back” is “because fairies tend to have something not at first noticeable but definitely non-human.” As to why the back, I’d suggest because it’s not readily apparent when you’re facing the beautiful creature, as well as the metaphorical / symbolic connotations. Why hollow? Well, partly, what else can you do to a back? They usually have to be beautiful so “hunchback” is out. But these are all comparative speculation. Within the tradition, I think the answer given above is the best you’ll get.
I’m quite well read in mythology and folk lore, and living in Scandinavia, but I wouldn’t say the motif of hollow back was in any means “common”. The only being I know which had a hollow back is the skogsrå (but more commonly a fox’ tail or tree bark, according to my own layman’s studies in the nineties).
Her Norwegian sister appearantly has an article on wikipedia.org, search “huldra”.