The Story of Tehi-Tegi
Tehi-Tegi, the latest single from HEISK, is inspired by a witch from Manx Folklore. Her story, often told through the male gaze, depicts the powerful witch as an enchantress. The single ‘Tehi-Tegi’ celebrates her power in a different light and is a homage to all the magical women in our lives.
Who was Tehi-Tegi?
Tehi-Tegi has been called many things in Manx Folklore. A buitçh (witch in Manx Gaelic), ferrish (fa*ry for the non-superstitious!) and an enchantress. One version of her story, which was collected and then published in Sophia Morrison’s ‘Manx Fairy Tales’, recounts a tale of an enchantress who bewitched the men of the Isle of Man with her beauty. They neglected all of their responsibilities to follow her, and the island descended into disrepair and ruin. Folklore speaks of how Tehi-Tegi led them to a river, where she used her magic to play a trick. Thinking that the river was shallow, the men waded through the water in pursuit of her. The spell was lifted, and the river swallowed them.
Tehi-Tegi’s story is often told as a cautionary tale -
“From that time the wise men of the island made their women go on foot and follow their husbands wherever they should lead” (Manx Fairy Tales, 1911)
HEISK’s exploration of Tehi-Tegi revisits her story in a different light. The patriarchal message that ‘women should follow their husbands to prevent similar disasters’ calls into question the perspective from which her story has been told. Who was Tehi-Tegi? What was her power, beyond her ‘enchanting beauty’? What was her story, beyond a cautionary tale warning against a woman’s agency and power? Listen to ‘Tehi-Tegi’ here and decide for yourselves!
The tale of Tehi-Tegi, as published in Sophia Morrison’s collection, describes how, after drowning the men, she transformed herself into a bat, never to be seen again. Other versions connect her story with the Manx tradition of Hunt the Wren, and recount how Tehi-Tegi was banished from the Island by Mannanan, the Manx Sea God, only to return as a wren bird once a year. You can listen to this version of the folklore tale, as told by David Fisher.
If you’d like to find out more about Tehi-Tegi, Sophia Morrison or the history of witches on the Isle of Man, visit Culture Vannin.