Gólta, or Sáharían Sirens

This article is adapted from the entry for góltal in The Sâryan Encyclopedia, Cárshǒhl University Press, 22nd edition (716).

A gólta is a mythological creature which especially features in Ároáshe folklore, though it is known to most coastal Sáharíans and similar monsters are told of in some parts of Shêlan. They are known for stealing away sailors during storms, seldom to be seen again, though góltal are not exactly malicious.

Summary

Góltal are imagined to be reclusive creatures, dwelling alone in sea-caves. The only people who are ever said to see them are those caught out at sea in a storm. Shy as they are, góltal fear the chaos of storms even more, and will seek out seafarers to keep them company in their dens until the storm ceases, often wreaking their boats in the process. Unfortunately, góltal do not understand that humans need to breathe air; their victims are drowned. While a gólta is often considered something that cannot be fought by humans, naturally there are nonetheless strategies sailors employ to attempt to escape góltal should they be caught in a storm. The most common of these is to take some material—frequently a fishing net, though larger vessels have been known to use canvas or bedding—roll and tie it so that it has a vaguely human form, then to cast it into the ocean for any nearby gólta to take instead of a person.

Variations & Mutation

There are a few variations on the usual tale in which the gólta lures sailors to their deaths instead of snatching them. In some of these, the victim is lured off the boat so that the gólta can grab them, while in others the gólta attempts to lure people to its cave, since it is too afraid to go out into the storm—in the latter variant, the gólta’s absence leads to the victim drowning. How exactly góltal do this luring also varies; it is frequently phrased as the “call” of a gólta, but what exactly this entailed is generally unclear, or even if it is a real sound, or just something that the affected hears or senses within their own mind. In any case, the emphasis is laid on how irrefusable the gólta’s call is.

Cultural Reception

The idea of the gólta is pervasive in the culture of the fishing villages of northern Sáharía, and is often used to refer to dangerous storms or drowning at sea. The region’s euphemism for “to be lost at sea after a storm” is “to be comforting a gólta” (gólta linsón). Similarly, “to ignore a gólta” (gólta sú yálonar) means “to lack judgement in sailing”, implying that the person described is reckless and pays insufficient heed to the weather, and so is likely to fall victim to a storm or gólta.

In Art

Representations of góltal are rare; when they are depicted in art, it is most often as a pair of eyes peering out from storm-tossed waves. Occasionally, spindly, branch-like arms will also be visible, reaching up or out towards the viewer or sailors in the scene with long fingers.

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