The Tilberi: Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft
My best friend just returned from Iceland — one place I haven’t traveled to yet, but would love to visit. She brought me witchy souvenirs from the Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft. This woolly creature (that I’m hoping actually has a rib bone inside of it) loves nipples. Also, I thought it was interesting that most of the witches killed during the 16th and 17th century “Burning Times” in Iceland were men, not women.
“The Tilberi is a strange creature from Icelandic folklore.
If a woman wants to create a tilberi she has to dig up a human rib in a graveyard early on Whitsunday, wrap it in grey wool and preserve it between her breasts. The next three Sundays at communion she has to spit the holy wine on the bundle which will then come alive. Then the woman has to carve a nipple inside her thigh on which the tilberi will hang on and nourish itself. When it is fully grown the woman can send it into the neighbouring pastures to steal milk from cows and sheep.
When the woman becomes old the tilberi becomes a burden and the only way she can get rid of it, is to order it to gather all the sheep-dropping in three high-land pastures. Eager to get back on the nipple the tilberi will overexert itself and explode, leaving only a human rib beside the heap of droppings.
The milk-stealing tilberi is the only magic in Icelandic folklore that can only be performed by women. A fully grown tilberi could lie across a sheep´s back and suck two tits at the same time and when it would roll back to its farm it would spew the milk into its mother churn. The butter made from the milk would fall into little pieces if the magical sign smjörhnútur (butterknot) was drawn on it.”
Browse Timeline
Comments ( 2 )
That seems like of effort to go through for milk. Especially the thigh-nipple-carving bit.
X added these pithy words on
Jun 03 12 at
5:15 PM
“Don’t hate the player, hate the game.” — Tilberi everywhere!
Alison added these pithy words on
Jun 03 12 at
9:27 PM
