Fern Flower
Published on November 6, 2018

Clubauterman

Regions of expansion

Germany 1
Germany

Description

Klabauterman (German: Klabautermann, according to one version, the name comes from n.-German. klabastern — "beat, make noise") in the beliefs of Baltic sailors — the ship's spirit in the form of a small, gnome-sized sailor with a pipe.

Helps sailors by warning them of danger, indicating the course, etc.

In the folklore of the peoples of Western Europe, spirits inhabiting the bow figures of sailing ships. 

They appear before people before a storm or shipwreck, usually in human form (about a meter high, in boots, red hats and white sailor trousers), but sometimes also take the form of a dog, squirrel or cat. They remain invisible most of the time, so meeting with him is more often interpreted as an unkind sign.

Clubauterman in popular culture