Talk:Nixie (folklore)

Sanskrit correction

It is related to Sanskrit nḗkēkti ("wash")

The correct form of the word is nenekti, "he washes", from the verbal root nij*. The particular diacritics used here are redundant, as far as the word doesn't appear in a particular hymn, in which case they would signify pitch and the such. The word appears for example in the Vaikhanasa-Grhya-Sutra of the Black Yajur-Veda in the context of a morning purification ceremony. --Baba Bom (talk) 23:43, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

The typo has been corrected.--Berig (talk) 14:51, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

Unsourced claim

There is a section that reads: "Apart from being an incarnation of the nix, the brook horse has also been said to be the steed of the Grim Reaper It has also been said that the true appearance of the brook horse is not that of a beautiful white horse, but of a black, flaming horse."

This was recently marked as a comment so it wouldn;t show up in the article, with a further comment: "I'd like references for the following piece of information: " added to the beginning.

I personally think it should be removed completely except for the talk page and then not return it to the page, commentedout or otherwise, without a reputable reference.

DreamGuy 01:09, August 8, 2005 (UTC)

Removed.--Wiglaf 21:20, 8 August 2005 (UTC)

Cleanup tag added

I wasn't sure which one(s) of them to use, there should be a "hodgepodge" tag... I think this article is starting to suffer from far too many authors not trying to make their content match. I'd say it's in need of re-structuring to be accessible to people not familiar with the folklore — I mean, just from the "appearance" paragraph the article now seems to say that the Nix was most commonly a shape shifter, a naked man, a clothed man, and a horse, all of these actually being the oldest and/or most common belief. It's becoming clumsy to read, if nothing else.

My suggestions to sort the article out would involve a re-structuring making clear what the folklore has been like in different places and times, since it's clearly shifted over Scandinavia. The "Näcken"/"Bäckahästen" headings don't seem to be enough. It would also involve actual references for the various claims about folklore that are here right now: I wondered about the references to pre-Christian myth that was just added since I'd not heard about much folklore that old having survived, but then again, the article doesn't seperate later actual folk beliefs and the romantic revival of folklore that occured in the 19th century very well either. There are almost no references in the text at all, the external links are third-hand sources as well, and the one book listed with its ISBN is fiction.

I could find a fair deal of folklore (and the beliefs in different parts of the country) for Sweden, in the collections of Ebbe Schön if nothing else, and I'll get back to that when I get time if no one else does first. I don't know much about the Norwegian side of things, though. Fossegrim and Nøkken do not appear to be quite the same thing in Norway? Amphis 18:35, 5 March 2006 (UTC)

I can assure you that the book listed with its ISBN is not fiction, but a very real book that I have in my book shelf. When you look for a book by using the ISBN, be aware of the fact that all ISBN databases don't have all the books. If you had tried the Swedish Royal Library's database, you would have found this and you won't have needed to accuse other editors of making up fictional books.--Berig 11:23, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

I did indeed look up Jag vill så gärna berätta... by IBSN, and that's how I found out that it's fiction, i.e. filed as imaginiative literature or skönlitteratur in Swedish, which makes it shaky to use as a reference on a page attempting to present traditional beliefs about the Nix. Even more so concerning the page one year ago (when I wrote that comment), which was worse when it came to unsourced claims and mixing of traditional/late romantic/modern ideas of the Nix.

Had I wanted to say the book was fictional or nonexistent, that's what I would have said. Check the word choice and you won't need to accuse other editors of accusing other editors of making things up. :) Amphis 22:14, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

True, it is filed as fiction because it is a collection of stories from real life and local legends made by a radio talker. However, as far as local folklore is concerned, I consider it to be a relevant and legitimate source.--Berig 06:29, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

Hushicho's Claims

Hushicho’s Clams are totally “made up”. No specific source is available. His alleged edit: (Some clarifications about Fossegrim and the fact that much of the information listed here is post-Christianization of Scandinavia, despite the beings' origin being far before that period.) is inappropriate to an encyclopedia. It might be true (since the inexistence of sources is not evidence of the inexistence of sources), but simultaneity contradicts the actual view of the subject and the purpose of the article, the actual definition of Fossegrim like we know it today. It might be more accurate to simply creating an extra bit of article about “pre Christian version”, and this time, properly backed up. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Pt kamen (talk • contribs) 01:37, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

I agree. These additions should remain deleted until he can provide some sort of citations. Shikino 23:46, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

Moon of Pluto

Shouldn't the link to Nix (moon) be at the top of the page in italics, since it's spelled exactly the same? --Age234 21:36, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

Nix means also an german form for "nothing" Nix = Nichts (nothing)

Rhinemaidens and Stromkarl and Näcken, Nøkken

I don't know if Rhinemaidens it should be one word or two (Rhine maiden). The article varies, I will need help sourcing. In addition I'd really like to see the sources identified for the (important) Skandic sections. Goldenrowley 06:19, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

Redirects

I am developing an article called Wagner's Rhinemaidens. It seems to me that the proper redirect from "Rhinemaidens" should be to the Wagner article rather than to here, which is concerned with a much broader mythology. I have therefore changed the redirect, but with a See also tag to Nix on the Wagner article, and a the reverse tag on Nix. Please contact me if you think this will cause problems. The alternative is a disambiguation page, but I wonder whether that is necessary. Brianboulton (talk) 17:00, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

Your solution looks fine, but the best solution might be a full Rhinemaiden article, which has Nix as a main article and this one as a subordinate one.--Berig (talk) 18:28, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

See also

This topic is (ISTM) clearly closely related to Melusine, so I have added a See also tag. --Thnidu (talk) 18:37, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

REDIRECT

REDIRECTED Nix to Nix (disambiguation), instead of Neck (water spirit) - a more logical choice, I think. Edited Nix (disambiguation) to reflect the change. Compinfo (talk) 12:34, 15 May 2010 (UTC)

Please don't do that without prior discussion. Lots of articles link to "Nix", assuming it to be the water spirit, and those links break when you change the redirect. Favonian (talk) 12:12, 15 May 2010 (UTC)

OK, noted! What if I make appropriate changes to all linked articles first (link 'em to Neck (water spirit) directly) and ONLY THEN REDIRECT Nix to Nix (disambiguation) - a more logical choice, I truly believe. Compinfo (talk) 12:34, 15 May 2010 (UTC)

I think we should let it "simmer" for a while, one week would be the typical choice, just see if there's any opposition. On closer scrutiny, most of the links come from the use ("transclusion" is the technical term) of two templates: {{Fairies}} and {{Scandinavian folklore}}. I have modified these so that they link directly to the water creature article, though the effect won't be immediately visible. Should we decide to change the redirect, the amount of editing will be considerably reduced. Favonian (talk) 12:40, 15 May 2010 (UTC)

Nykur

The nykur (nykr) still appears in Iceland as a grey horse, which looks exactly like other horses except that its hooves are backwards. It appears near lakes and are similar to the bäckahäst as the rider would get stuck and the nykur then jump into the lake, drowning the rider. It was, however, possible to escape if you knew his other name, "nennir" because he couldn't stand it. The following story shows this: A girl was sent between farms to get something. She was very lazy, so when she saw a grey horse she jumped on its back. Now the trip was going way better. But when the horse turned towards a lake, the girl said "Æ, nú nenni ég þessu ekki lengur" which roughly translates to "I don't feel like doing this anymore" As the verb "að nenna" (feel like doing something, being bothered by something) sounds similar to the nykurs other name "Nennir", the girl escaped and could finish her trip without problems.

                                                              Hafsteinn, an Icelander.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.30.222.172 (talk) 11:53, 11 June 2011 (UTC) 

Nyk,noks,nukwo

Strange because in Sanskrit "nek" means night like "nuks" in Antient greek [[1]]. These beings are inspired from low german and derived from Rusalkas. These beings come out of the water at night. So they should be smth like nigh dweller. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nix1129 (talk • contribs) 10:17, 16 June 2012 (UTC)

the plural is wrong

the plural of nøkken isnt nøkken, nøkken translates to the nøk, it is used as a specific one not plural, or atleast it is where i live in norway — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.167.100.196 (talk) 05:36, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Thanks for fixing the grammar but the definite form is info for wiktionary, not here. — LlywelynII 01:53, 6 August 2014 (UTC)

Title

I agree that I'm much more familiar with nixie and nicor is what the other Anglo-Saxon paganism pages are using. That said, until the page moves (ideally backed up with some research into relative frequency of the terms in context), we should start with the name of the page: "Neck". — LlywelynII 01:53, 6 August 2014 (UTC)

Move/Rename Suggestion?

I suggest that this page be renamed *Nixie (Water Spirit)*. The term Nixie is more common, it gives the article more clarification in search results especially when typing in *Water Nixie*, and it's more unique and thought up than "Neck". Can we start a discussion please? --Vaati the Wind Demon (talk) 18:52, 27 May 2015 (UTC)

• Support, it seems a far better name, and a much more likely search term at that. More particularly, both Andrew Lang and the Nuttall Encyclopedia used "Nixie", and American usage too prefers the term, probably through German immigrants a century or two ago. Chiswick Chap (talk) 12:52, 10 April 2016 (UTC)
• Support. "Neck" meaning water spirit is not a word in English, while "nixie" is. DBlomgren (talk) 15:44, 16 November 2019 (UTC)
• I have been bold and moved it to Nixie, which by far seems to be a more common name.--Berig (talk) 07:00, 2 March 2021 (UTC)
  • Berig, would you be able to move the Nixie (disambiguation) back to Nixie? I have no opinions on the choice of name for the water spirit article, but I don't see a primary topic for "Nixie" (the tubes, for example, are also commonly called just "nixies"). A change to a well-established topic structure would probably need an RM anyway. – Uanfala (talk) 14:51, 2 March 2021 (UTC)
    • @Uanfala:. This is not my preferred name in any way. I actually don't like it at all (I would like to see it called "Näcken", if it was up to me). I just don't think article names should have parentheses, if it can possibly be avoided. Moreover, I think disambiguation pages are best called "Name (disambiguation)". However, if a consensus emerges here that it should be moved according to your suggestion, I will absolutely abide by it, and move it.--Berig (talk) 14:56, 2 March 2021 (UTC)
      • The title of a disambiguation page contains "(disambiguation)" only if it's not the primary topic (WP:DABNAME). Avoiding a parenthetical disambiguator for an article is feasible only if it's the primary topic. In the discussion here I see support for a title like Nixie (water spirit), but I don't see any arguments for a move to the primary title. And generally, consensus is needed for a change in the status quo, not for reverting a bold change to that status quo. – Uanfala (talk) 15:03, 2 March 2021 (UTC)
        • The reason why I suggested Nixie (Water Sprite) including the brackets was because I didn't know whether Nixie on it's own was used for anything else. Is it alright if we include the brackets version in the Title Page? That way, we can give more clear indications! --Vaati the Wind Demon (talk) 15:17, 2 March 2021 (UTC)
          • Alright, it can always be moved again, if the consensus changes.--Berig (talk) 16:08, 2 March 2021 (UTC)
            • Perfect, thank you SO much!!! --Vaati the Wind Demon (talk) 18:57, 2 March 2021 (UTC)

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Never appears in the undetermined kasus in Swedish

There are no written nor rumoured accounts of anything but a specific Näcken, in Swedish culture and history. It is not a creature called "näck" - it is one naked creatured therefore only called "Näcken" - the naked guy (kasus in the masculine). Arcsoda (talk) 07:34, 3 December 2022 (UTC)

Etymology of "Näcken"

The statement in the article that the Swedish name of this evil water being, "Näcken", should mean "nude" is clearly incorrect. The etymology of "Näck" is discussed in the reference (Hellquist) and in the etymology section of the article. "Nude" or "naked" in Swedish is "naken" and colloquially the form "näck" is sometimes used. This word similarity has lead to a widespread folk etymology that "Näcken" has something with this to do, which is of course wrong. DEm (talk) 18:57, 16 December 2023 (UTC)

Japanese folklore Kappa

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kappa_(folklore) Iota~fiwiki (talk) 13:00, 12 March 2024 (UTC)