Estonian dialects give the shipboard kotermann many names

The kotermann, a spirit believed to guard ships and warn of danger by appearing or making noise, has many regional names and stories in Estonian folklore, ERR reported in a Vikerraadio language segment by Mari-Liis Kalvik.

The spirit is known in countries around the Baltic and North seas. According to the Sea Dictionary, it reached Estonia through sailors from German Hanseatic towns. Its name comes from the German Klabautermann, which the Upper German Loanwords Dictionary traces to Kalfatermann, meaning a ship’s carpenter, and the verb kalfatern, meaning to caulk.

The word kotermann is recorded in the Kuusalu, Mustjala and Anseküla dialects, but potermann is more widespread. It is used in the dialects of Saaremaa, Muhu and Häädemeeste. The forms putermann occur in the Hiiumaa and Risti dialects, while Kihnu has potõrmann and putõrmann. Häädemeeste also has the distinct form klapermann; Jämaja has poterpüks, and Haljala has putterpüks.

In the Emmaste area, people described the kotermann as a small man with a grey beard who untangled the ship’s chains and adjusted ropes high in the mast. In Pühalepa, people said the spirit came aboard with the keel timber and left before a shipwreck. On Muhu, a kotermann appearing aboard was said to mean the ship would sink within three days. In Pühalepa, seeing or hearing one was believed to foretell trouble.

The spirit was also seen as a ship’s guardian and caretaker. A saying from the Püha dialect says that the potermann knocked on ships. Stories tell of kotermanns arguing over a ship, including a report from Rist where putermanns quarrelled in the hold. In Karja, one story has a kotermann recognise that the captain’s course would bring trouble and turn the helm.

In Häädemeeste, older men sometimes played a trick on younger ones by placing a saw or another rattling object against a wall to make a noise. Though generally benevolent, the kotermann could cause mischief: the expression “there is a kotermann in it” means that something has caused confusion.