LP's Around The World

[Guest guest]

In my unrelenting research of all things that are dwarfism related,

I've compiled a list of some (not all) names that Little People are

known by around the world. The challenge is to make this a more

complete list.

AFRICA

abatwa: Tiny, shy people who live peacefully with ants in southern

Africa. Very elusive, they are only seen by children, pregnant women and

magicians.

Tokolush: Small, baboon-like spirit from South Africa who is covered by

black

hair. He lives near streams and frightens travelers.

yumboes, Bakhna Rakhna, the Good People: Small, silver-haired people of

Senegal who dance in the moonlight.

AUSTRALIA

mimis: Tiny, long-limbed spirits who live in rock crevices. Yams and

roots form their staple diet, but they sometimes eat humans.

CHINA

hu hsien (fox spirits): Powerful shape-shifting nature spirits who are

harmful and can pass through solid matter. Their elements are air, water

and earth.

DENMARK

Ellerkonge: The elf king.

EASTERN EUROPE

ieles: Malevolent cat fairies who attack humans at crossroads and drain

their blood.

FINLAND

the Tomtra: Male brownie who plays the fiddle and will only live in a

tidy human home.

FRANCE

Corrigan: Malevolent Breton nature spirit.

feés, sprites: Fairies.

gobelin, goblins: Ugly, mischevious spirits.

grimelin, gremlins: Mischevious little people.

GERMANY

dwarves: Old-looking Little People who live underground, where they mine

for gems and precious metals.

Erlkonig: King of the elves.

kobolds: Mine fairies.

nixies: River spirits who ripple the water.

wichtlein: Goblins.

Weisse Frau: Water fairy who protects children

GREAT BRITAIN

bean-nighe: ish banshees, who wash bloodstained clothes.

bendith y mamau: Welsh fairies.

blue men of the Minch: Shipwreck-causing water fairies of the ish

islands.

bodach: ish brownie

bogles: Goblins who only harm liars and murderers

brownies, silkies: Helpful household fairies.

bwca, bwbachod: Welsh brownie

coblynau koblernigh: Welsh mine fairies.

ellyllon: Welsh elves.

the fach: ish Highland fairies.

the Fendoree: A Manx brownie.

the ferrishyn: Manx fairy tribe.

fireesin, the harvesters: Solitary Manx fairies who help farmers.

Guillyn Veggey, the little boys: Manx fairies

Gwragedd Annwn: Beautiful Welsh water fairies who somtimes take human

husbands.

gwyllion: Malevolent Welsh mountain fairies.

hillmen, hogmen: Manx fairies, who are greatly feared. They may be seen

on November 11, when they move their homes.

hyter sprites: East Anglian fairies who shapeshift into birds.

knockers, buccas: Cornish mine fairies.

kelpie: ish water fairies who often take the shape of ponies.

people of the hills: English green mound fairies.

pechs, pehts: ish fairies who build castles.

pixies, piskies, pigseys, pigsies, urchins: Green hedgehog fairies from

Cornwall and Devon whose bells are heard across the moors. They dance

near stones and steal horses. Pixies are usually mischevious.

portunes: farm fairies

Redcap: Malicious ish fairy.

Seelie Court: The fairy aristocracy, who ride in Fairy Rades.

selkies: ish seal fairies. Female selkies sometimes marry humans.

Male selkies create storms and overturn boats in revenge for

seal-hunting.

coat: ish water bogey.

sluagh: Highland fairies who are associated with death.

trows: Shetland trolls.

tylwyth teg: Welsh fairies who bestow gifts, dance in fairy rings and

kidnap children with long golden hair.

trooping fairies: ish elves who dance in groups.

Unseelie Court, sluagh, The Host: Malicious ish fairies who live in

dark places and sometimes kidnap people.

urisks: Ugly, friendly fairies from Scotland.

GRECO-ROMAN:

dryads: Tree nymphs.

naiads; naiades: River and spring nymphs.

nereids: Sea nymphs.

nymphs: Female tree and water fairies.

sylphs; sylphids: Air spirits, usually female; immature sylph.

undines: Female water sprites.

HAWAII

Menehune: the original and genuine Brownies are referred to as an

industrious race. It was their alleged power to perform a marvelous

amount of labor in a short space of time that has fixed them in the

minds of Hawaiians, many of whom point to certain traces of their work

in various parts of the islands to substantiate the traditional claims

of their existence.

ICELAND

illes: Hairy trolls who can take beautiful human forms for short

periods.

INDIA

devas (m), devis (f): Plant spirits who manifest as golden auras around

healthy plants. They guide humans to medicinal plants.

nagas: Beautiful earth and water spirits who have magical powers and

live in underground cities. They are shape-shifters who often take the

hybrid form of snakes and humans, sometimes with many heads.

IRAN

peris: Tree fairies, the descendants of fallen angels.

IRELAND

ballybogs: Small fairies associated with bogs, who may be helpful or

harmful.

banshees, bean si, bean sidhe (woman of the fairies): Wailing female

death spirits with long, flowing hair; remnants of the Tuatha de Danann.

Banshees live in sparkling fairy heavens beneath grassy hills, wear gray

cloaks and green dresses. A banshee may attach herself to a particular

family and wail eerily whenever one of them is about to die.

cluricauns: Drunken leprecauns who come out at night.

the daoine sidhe: Underground Fairy Court of the dispossessed Tuatha de

Danann. Finvarra, their king, has never been beaten at chess by a human.

fir darrigs: Fat, ugly fairies who decended from the Fomorians.

the Gentry: Large, very noble fairies.

the Green Lady of Caerphilly: Ivy fairy.

leprechauns: Cunning Irish fairies who make shoes and own pots of gold.

They are always seen alone.

Phooka: Shape-shifting goblin who takes the form of a pony to abduct

travelers.

roane: Irish seal fairies.

sidhe: Beauty-loving fairies who detest cheapness and are attracted to

luxurious places.

ICELAND

fylgiars: Guardian fairies of people born with cauls over their faces.

vardogls: Small fairies who dance when the moon is full.

ITALY

folletti, grandinilli: Nearly invisible weather fairies whose toes point

backwards.

JAPAN

kappa: Harmful water spirits who capture swimmers in lakes and rivers.

tengu: Winged woodland fairies.

MEXICO and CENTRAL AMERICA

jimaninos, jimaninas: Winged, childlike fairies of the seasons.

zips: Shy, thin male fairies.

MIDDLE EAST

afreet (m), afreeta (f): Strong, cunning spirit that may be good or

evil, a kind of djinn often found near ruins. They are made of smoke,

have wings, can be very large and sometimes marry humans. Magick is the

only weapon effective against them.

djinn (m), Djinna (f); jinn/jinna (genies): Invisible, shape-shifting

elementals who predate humans and may be helpful or harmful. They are

usually said to live underground, but Egyptian folklore insists it is

impossible to enter a bathroom without stepping on them. Djinna

sometimes take human husbands, who keep them locked away. There are

three classes of djinn: afreet, si'la and ghul (ghouls). Air and fire

are their elements. Their city, Irem of the Pillars (City of the Old

Ones), is located in Rub al Khali (the Empty Quarter). You must achieve

an altered state of consciousness to enter it.

ghul (m), ghulla (f): Desert spirits who are insatiable but only eat

humans when they have to.

lilitu: Female wind spirits associated with Lilith, Adam's first wife.

mazikeen, shideem, shehireem: Winged Jewish fairies who were born of the

union of Adam and Eve with spirits. They are shape-shifters with the

powers of magic, divination and enchantment.

si'la: Harmful spirits, a kind of djinn who cannot change their shape.

uttuku: Assyrian banshees.

NETHERLANDS

alven: Nearly invisible fairies who come out ay night.

NORTH AMERICA

bokwus (Native American): Malevolent forest spirit who drowns fishermen.

He has warpaint on his face and is often seen near rushing water.

Bugalademujs (Mic-Mac Indian): Little People of the mountains.

Kul (Inuit): Arctic water spirit who helps fisherfolk.

manitou (Algonquin Indian): These fairy folk of eastern North America

are tricksters with antlers or horns who make magic by drumming.

mekumwasuck (Passamaquoddy Indian): Little People of the woods with

ugly, hairy faces. They dress outlandishly and bring sickness or death

to anyone they look directly at.

nagumwasuck (Passamaquoddy Indian): Ugly, helpful spirits

ADDITIONAL NAMES

imp, gnome, midget, pygmy

In Love And Service,

D. Kline, aka DwarfStar

http://www.dwarfism.org