Witte Aaland

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The Witte Aaland ("White Eiland") is a fictional island country in the Frisian region. In a work by the Frisian author Berend de Vries (born December 31, 1883 in Emden ; † November 25, 1959 ibid) the legend "De Fahrt na't Witte Aland" can be found. It cannot be determined with certainty whether it is based on an old folk tradition.

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Witte Aaland is said to be an island of the dead, to which every New Year's Eve the souls of all the dead are transferred. It is not far from Borkum , but can only be approached by a selected fisherman with his boat. This fisherman is asked to do so by a mysterious stranger once a year (that was the day when the sun comes so late and goes as early as no other ... ).

He was a short, stocky man, he wore a coat of yellow cloth with silver buttons under which black velvet breeches were visible, plus silk stockings and buckled shoes that were so bare as if they hadn't stepped through the soft dress. In his right hand he had a yellow walking stick with a gold button and in his left a handkerchief.

With the words: "Wi mutten all na't Witte Aaland [...] ... för dreetusend souls!" He forces the fisherman to take the souls of those who died last year to the mysterious island. For the crossing the fisherman receives a crooked steert (2 pfennigs) per head , but can never see the dead, only notices that his boat is deeper and deeper in the water when they get on.

So he steered his ship until Witte Aaland appeared before him. He pulled in the sails and put up. He still saw no one. Suddenly, however, the stranger's voice sounded through the silence.

The boat also becomes lighter again when you disembark at Witte Aaland. He consoles himself over the horror of the journey with the words: “We all have to go !” (We all have to go there!)

The legend is known everywhere in the Frisian region, including the Dutch province of Friesland :

"... up here this island. Dor, what de Dook is stretching, you can't see! "- Jan steent:" Up Witte Aaland? "- Dat Keerlke grient ...
(" ... here on this island. Where the pigeon flies, you can see! ”- Jan is amazed:“ On the Witte Aaland? ”- The guy grins ... ')

literature

  • Wilhelmine Siefkes (ed.): East Frisian legends and legendary stories (=  individual writings . No. 7 ). Verlag Ostfriesische Landschaft, Leer 1963, OCLC 25841567 (271 p., Limited preview in the Google book search).
  • Werner Schuder , Joseph Kürschner: Kürschner's German literature calendar . "De Fahrt na't Witte Aaland". tape 59 . Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 1984, ISBN 3-11-009677-3 ( limited preview in the Google book search).

radio play

  • Radio play: De Fahrt na't Witte Aaland ( NDR , December 11, 1953)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Berend de Vries: De Fahrt na't Witte Aland. Publishing house of the Fehrs-Gilde, Hamburg-Wellingsbüttel 1958.
  2. ↑ Folkert Saueressig: Death on board ... Witte Aaland , on fotocommunity.de.
  3. ^ Wilhelmine Siefkes: East Frisian Legends and Legendary Stories , p. 79.
  4. ↑ Tjaard Wiebo Renzo de Haan: Nederlandse volksverhalen: herkomst en geschiedenis . Kruseman, The Hague 1976, ISBN 90-233-0334-2 , pp. 154 (Dutch, 223 p., Limited preview in Google Book search).