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retransmission In reply to undefinedreference [2020-01-22 18:34:23 +0000 UTC]

The Little people is a really good name for them. In Slavic culture there are no fairies, gnomes or lepricons, it all came from Western culture. Most people here think that they are funny and kind creatures, but I was interested in this topic, in particular folklore stories dedicated to the little people, and I don’t think that they are so harmless. it's good that they do not live in our forests

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undefinedreference In reply to retransmission [2020-01-25 16:59:28 +0000 UTC]

Culture and tradition can be treacherous though. I learned just yesterday that Santa Claus as we know him was invented by Coca Cola! Before they mobilized him for one of their ad campaigns in the 1920s there was no fixed image of Father Christmas. He could even appear as a gnome:  gb.fotolibra.com/images/previe… . Native Americans also had their "little people" according to this page:  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_p… . They seem fairly harmless though, and good to kids. The English wiki page doesn't mention it, but what I've been told is that the sighting of a leprechain was a sign that someone in the family was about to die, that's why people were so scared of them. Or maybe I'm mixing a few things up here. And of course the interpretations of the same "phenomenon" may vary across different regions of the country, in fact they could even differ between two neighboring villages. It's these local subtleties that often escape folklorists, which causes them to create a "canon" where there is none.

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retransmission In reply to undefinedreference [2020-02-01 09:12:57 +0000 UTC]

Many years ago, I made a picture dedicated to the Little People in the Iroquois culture. Of course in my personal interpretation. They certainly don't look like gnomes



If you are interested, read the legend "The Gifts of the Little People "in the description to this picture.

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undefinedreference In reply to retransmission [2020-02-01 10:52:45 +0000 UTC]

Wow, that story is a bit of a tear jerker too What I find interesting is what is omitted. A European version of the story would have mentioned the boy's perseverance and how he patiently underwent his fate, but to the Iroquois listener those things apparently would have been crystal clear. There is also little explicit moralization, which European fairy tales (and Russian ones definitely included!) brim with. And a European version would have placed much more emphasis on the magic nature of his encounter with the Little People, but to Iroquois people such encounters were perhaps just another day at the office And his return to the village seems a bit underwhelming, no triumphant parade or big show. Also, if all the stories they told to their children were like this one, I'm happy for them, that they apparently didn't try to scare the hell out of them all the time, like our  ancestors did (although some scary creep factor can also serve to spice up things a little!). I do find it a bit difficult to read, it leaves my European brain feeling that some kind of framework is missing, and probably some bombast as well. If you know what I mean

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retransmission In reply to deadheart82 [2020-01-26 18:41:37 +0000 UTC]

Glad you like this series!

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