A selection from the recently released book on the folklore of sacred waters, Water of Life--Water of Death: The Folklore and Mythology of Sacred.

Faeries. Do we simply regard them all as products of the universal unconscious mind—a mind that stretches between cultures, times and geographic location? Or do we assign a possibility that they may be based on reality, or at least a reality that co-exists within our own sense of reality?

This question is not a new one by any means. Douglas Hyde, President of the Gaelic League at the turn of the 20th century, wrote “the problem we have to deal with is a startling one…Are these beings of the spirit world real beings, having a veritable existence of their own, or are they only the creation of the imagination of…informants, and the tradition of bygone centuries?…Is not the Mermaid to be found in Greece, and is not the Lorelei as Germanic as the Kelpy is Caledonian. If we grant that all these are creatures of primitive folk-belief, then how they come to be so ceases to be a Celtic problem, it becomes a world problem.” (1)

A world “problem” indeed! I haven’t an answer to this question and can only provide more related folk-lore for consideration.

When we think of Faery lore we normally connect with Ireland. But the Faery appears in the folklore of most every culture and on every continent. The similarities are striking and it would seem reasonable to think that a common source memory exists or existed among all people at one time. This is a memory of a race, which may no longer exist, but which had some peculiar characteristics and powers. John Rhys advanced this theory at the beginning of the 20th century. Rhys thought that the lore of the Faery were stories about the original races resident in Britain. Called the “Corannians” in Wales, Rhys believed that the name was derived from the word cor which meant “dwarf”.

What is the connection between the Faery and water? Many Faeries live near or in sacred wells, springs and lakes and, according to Beck, mermaids and Faeries may have a common origin. Mermaids “seem to be related to the Celtic faeries through their coloring, the name—Marie Morgane—and their underwater cities, love of music and ability to grant gifts.” (2)

In the folklore of Tobago the mermaids are male and live in the deep sea but they mate with “fairymaids” that live in the rivers and “secret mountain pools”. These fairymaids are described as beautiful with long lush hair and one foot shaped like a deer’s hoof. The fairymaid are said to live in caves behind waterfalls, near waterwheels and under bridges over deep rivers. The fairymaids of Tobogo appear to have many similar traits to the river mermaids of American Indian lore.
Faeries, according to Rhys, lived mostly around ancient and sacred sites, normally underground, and practiced cannibalism. Rhys suspected that the common theme of child abduction by the Faery grew out of the real events of children being stolen to be eaten.

According to Rhys, “we should have accordingly to suppose the old race to have survived so long and in such numbers, that the Celtic lords of southern Britain called the people of that area by a name meaning dwarfs.” (3)

The safest method to do away with these evil dwarfs was to “bruise” certain insects in water and to sprinkle the water on the Corannians—they were sure to die while humans in the area would remain unharmed.

The Cherokee believed that the Falls of Tallulah, in northeastern Georgia, were inhabited by a race of tiny people who lived in the rocks and grottos under the waterfalls. Known as the Nûñnĕ’hĭ, or the “immortals”, they were thought to be no larger than children but were well formed with hair reaching to their feet. The tiny people exhibited a dual nature, being both helpful to humans as well as hostile—should anyone see the Immortals at their work they would die. Because of this hostility, the Cherokee hunters and fishers avoided the falls. Mooney reported that just a few years prior the turn of the 20th century “two hunters from Raventown, going behind the high fall near the head of the Oconaluftee on the East Cherokee reservation, found there a cave with fresh footprints of the Little People all over the floor” (4) This inherent hostility of the Faery toward humans is not restricted to those in the Americas. Spence noted in his book, Legends and Romances of Brittany, “as a rule they are by no means friendly or even humane”. (5) The fay of Brittany, according to Spence, are “cold and hostile, they hold aloof from human converse, and, should they encounter man, vent their displeasure at the interruption in the most vindictive manner.” (6)

There seem to be two types of Faeries, those that are mean spirited and those that are helpful. In New Zealand there are the Sea-fairies, or Ponaturi, who are more goblin than Faery. They were said to be at enmity with man. They are much like the Nûñnĕ’hĭ of Cherokee legend. But there were also helpful Faery among the Native Americans. Called Yûñwĭ Tsunsdi’, or the “Little People”, they were known to help lost children, the ill and wounded, and would help the Indians with their work at night. The Cherokee fishermen would pray to the Water-dwellers, a type of Faery that lived in the water. Hunters also had Faery people, called the Tsăwa’sĭ, to pray to for guidance. They were tiny, well formed people with hair to the ground and had great power over game animals.

Among the Native Americans of California the Faery were called “Water Babies” or "Rock Babies". Described as small, dwarf-like men in traditional Indian dress with long hair, the Water Babies were regarded as unusually potent spirit helpers, which lived along streams and water holes. The Water Baby was believed to enhance the power of the shaman. Archaeologist David S. Whitley remarked that “the sighting of Water Baby was believed to result in death—a metaphor, in fact, for entering or being in an altered state of consciousness.” (7)

In the Owens Valley of California and Nevada is a place called Red Canyon. Here an unusual stone slab is found which is covered with small, engraved human-like footprints said to be those of the Water Baby. Next to the Water Baby tracks are engraved bear tracks, which appear to be walking in the same direction. Bears, as will be discussed later, were important spiritual beings among California Indian tribes and are also associated with water sites. Similar, infant size footprints have been found painted on rock shelters in Baja California. (8) One set of footprints in particular, located at Cueva Huellitas, are unusual in that they are “positive prints” meaning that the feet had been dipped in wet pigment and applied to the rock surface. At the time of their discovery, 1977, the significance of the foot prints were unknown but it would now appear that they do, in fact, represent the prints of the Water Baby. Cueva Huellitas is located on the side of a large arroyo, which is also on the side of a volcanic hill. Obviously this is a place of power.

In New Brunswick, Canada the Little People are called Geow-lud-mo-sis-eg. There are two types of these creatures, one are Healers and the others Tricksters. The Healers are said to “some super marvelous things for a person who may be stricken or inflicted with some kind of physical ailment”. The Tricksters, as their name implies, play pranks and tricks on people that are more annoying than they are dangerous. Both types of Faery are closely linked to water sites such as lakeshores, rivers, brooks and marshes. (9)

Dora Van Gelder wrote The Real World of Fairies describing her childhood in the early 20th century when she discovered the “real world” of the Faery. To her these mythical beings were, and are, real. She describes the Water Babies looking as “fat, round human babies” with two vague “flipper like hands” and hair “of baby fluff” with “faint knobs of ears.” These Water Babies, according to Van Gelder, live in the sea. (10) Other water Faeries live in the streams, waterfalls and lakes and are more human in appearance being 8 to 12 inches high (for those living in the waterfalls) and two to three feet in height for those living in the streams and other larger bodies of freshwater. The majority of fresh water Faeries are, as Van Gelder says, interested in humans and are friendly towards us. They also love to watch us. Van Gelder describes her Faeries in the popular Victorian fashion, which is contrary to the descriptions found in the indigenous folklore around the world. Van Gelder says that the number of Faeries is much less these days due to the polluted nature of the earth’s oceans and waters.

Whitley believes that the worldwide prevalence of “little people” may be the effect of certain hallucinogens, which temporarily change the optic nerve. When this happens, according to Whitley, an unusual “Lilliputian hallucination” takes place that makes everything appear much smaller than it is in “reality”. This is an interesting hypothesis however not convincing in itself. The thousands of legends from around the world of Faery and Water Babies have not been sourced from shamans alone. It would also seem logical that if a hallucinogen were responsible then stories of other diminutive creatures (deer, birds, etc) and landscapes would also be contained in the mythic literature—and they simply aren’t.

Much of the rock art located in certain areas are said to be the work of these Rock Babies who actually live within the rock surfaces—normally also near water sources. The Kawaiisu, living in the area around the southern Sierra Nevadas in California and Nevada, call the Rock Baby “uwani azi” which is derive from “uwa uwa” which is said to reflect the sound of a baby crying. Ethnologist Maurice Zigmond reported that the Rock Baby are believed to be responsible for many of the pictographs in the Kawaiisu territory and are never finished working on them—as indicated by the changing patterns of the rock art. The pictographs of the Rock Baby are characterized by the use of at least five colors rather than the one or two colors used by humans. “Both the Rock Baby and his pictographs are ‘out of bounds’ for people”, says Zigmond, “the paintings may be looked at without danger, but touching them will lead to quick disaster. One who puts his fingers on them and then rubs his eyes will not sleep again but will die in three days.” (11)

Described as looking just like a baby, with short black hair, the Rock Baby is seldom seen and more commonly heard. To see one is to court disaster. Like the Faery the Rock Baby is also capable of stealing human babies and exchanging them for non-human lookalikes.

Like the Kawaiisu, the Mono Indians living around the Mono Lake area also believed in a water-spirit similar to the Water or Rock Baby. Called Pauwiha, they live in springs and rivers and can cause illness. According to Mono Indian Gaylen D. Lee, "Pauwiha has long, very shiny hair, sometimes blond, sometimes black, but it is never seen, because it jumps back into the spring when someone approaches…if, by chance, Pauwiha is glimpsed, only its hair and body are seen, never its face. If the face is seen…the person becomes 'sick, many different ways'". (12) Rock art sites were also out-of-bounds with the Mono as well. "Don't go near there", Mr. Lee was told, "because they're places of power." (13)

Similar beings are those called chaneques, which have been part of Olmec culture since 1500 BCE. These creatures, similar to Water Babies, are still believed in today and are described as “old dwarfs with faces of children.” (14) The chaneques live in waterfalls, dominate wild animals and fish, and are truly wild in nature. They will cause illnesses, forsee rain and are said to eat the brains of humans. To buy their good behavior it is a practice to provide the chaneques with buckets of water, which is regarded as “the magic food”. (15)

The Araucanians living along the coast of Chile call the God of water Sompallwe. Sompallwe is an “elemental lake spirit”, a shape-shifter “who sometimes takes on the shape of a tiny manikin (‘Tom Thumb’) with dark skin and curly hair, and is more feared than reverenced.” (16)

“Fairies and spirits of the surrounding nature (water, forest) were also revered” (17) among the Mordvin people in Eastern Europe. These Faeries, however, are thought to be related to ancestors of the Mordvin people and could interact both with the dead and the living.

Over one hundred years ago James Bonwick wrote that the river God of “Esthonia” would appear to the local inhabitants “as a little man with blue-and-white stockings”. (18) While Bonewick recorded many of the folk traditions of the 19th century it would appear more plausible that he was describing the Estonian Faery rather than the Estonian river God.

Faery were also a common theme in Polynesian mythology. Among the Maori the Faery are described as fair-skinned with light or reddish hair, they eat only raw, uncooked food, never age, are fond of dancing and music (but disliked singing after dark), and traverse between our world and the spirit world through a magical fountain. The Faery of Hawaii, it is said, are “so small and industrious (that) any task undertaken must be finished in a single night.” (19) All of the characteristics noted for the Polynesian Faery are commonly recorded throughout the world in other folklore accounts of the Faery.

An 1844 edition of Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine noted that in Ireland “it is near fountains that the Korrigans (Faeries) are oftenest met with; especially near such as rise in the neighborhood of dolmens. For in the sequestered spots whence the Virgin Mary, who is held for their chief foe, has not yet driven them, they still preside over the fountains.” (20)

Bodies of water could also be used to neutralize Faery, even those who were kind and helpful. The following account is given in the November 9, 1850 Notes and Queries:

“Twyn Pwcca—Many years ago, there existed in a certain part of Monmouthshire a Pwcca, or fairy, which, like a faithful English Brownie, performed innumerable services for the farmers and householders in its neighborhood…until at length some officious person, considering such practices as unchristian proceedings, laid the kindly spirit for three generations, banishing him to that common receptacle for such beings—the Red Sea. The spot in which he disappeared obtained the name of Twyn Pwcca (Fairy’s nose); and as the three generations have nearly passed away, the approaching return of the Pwcca is anxiously looked forward to in its vicinity, as an earnest of the ‘good time coming’.” (21)

Faeries in Corsica are not considered benevolent by any means. They are believed to be "wild creatures" and "water sprites" which live in caves near water and, although they are described as being beautiful, they are "dangerous to mortal man." (22)
According to Dorothy Carrington in her wonderful book, The Dream Hunters of Corsica, "the fairies, who lived by streams, confirmed the Corsican belief in the evil quality of water. They were beautiful; they seduced mortal men." (23)

This belief that water is inherently evil is probably due to the heavy Christian presence, which actively condemned Pagan traditions—turning the quality of water from a life giving, home of spirits and Gods into a source of fear and evil. Carrington succinctly addresses the Inquisition presence in Corsica stating that the "main object of trials and condemnations was to 'terrorize' the people so as to ensure public order, without regards to the individuals." (24) Evidently the Inquisition was successful in its pursuit.

Our discussion of the Faery would be incomplete unless we also include the Egyptian deity Bes. Bes was a stranger in Egypt until he arrived from the Sudan in the Twelfth Dynasty. Bes is always shown as a grimacing, in fact hideous, dwarf or pygmy. He has many of the characteristics of the other Faeries of lore in that he is fun loving and loves to dance while he plays a small drum, harp or lyre. He was regarded as the protector of the home and women and children in particular. In fact he helped in childbirth and was believed to protect newborn babies. In many ways Bes shared many of the qualities of the Great Goddess in that he helped in birth and comforted the dead, was the friend of women and children and was protector of the family. (25)

Nature spirits, normally described as miniature people but not necessarily the same as Faery, are common throughout most third-world societies. This is not a judgment of those cultures only an observation that the more “developed” and “western” societies have lost this connection with nature. The Gururumba, a New Guinea people, believe in certain nature spirits, some who live in the forests and others who live in the reeds along the riverbanks. Other than the location of territory there is little difference between the two forms of nature spirit. The Gururumba say that these spirits are seldom seen because even though they in our world, in our reality, they appear as mist or smoke. They are always male which is a characteristic of the Water Baby as well. While generally ambivalent to the humans who live in the area the spirits will attack anyone who stumbles into their territory. Ethnologist Philip L. Newman, who researched the Gururumba, writes “each spirit has its own dwelling place—a certain clump of reeds, a particular configuration of boulders along the river, or the exposed roots of some tree. Anyone wandering into one of these sanctuaries is attacked by the spirit which may cause him illness or even death.” (26)

The Gururumba have created a cooperative arrangement with many of the nature spirits by providing a small dome-shaped house (about two feet in diameter) in an enclosure in the family garden. The Gururumba provide housing, food and information to the nature spirit in exchange for the spirit’s protection of the garden and care for the Gururumba’s pig herds.

Spirits called “Good Beings” were associated with the sea and sky by the people of the Indonesian island of Alor. The Good Beings look human and it was commonly believed that children or adults who mysteriously disappeared from villages were thought to be Good Beings who had come among the people and then suddenly left. The Good Beings advised the Alor in ritual and daily work. They almost always came from the sea and were considered good although they would cause illness should one failed to observe food taboos. (27)

Not only the Faery but also “water cannibals” live at the bottom of rivers, springs and lakes. Some American Indian tribes called them “River Mermaids”, spirits who lure unsuspecting individuals to the waters edge and then pull them down to their deaths. Cherokee mythology places this creature at the bottom of deep rivers where they await the chance to sneak out to find someone, preferably children, asleep. They then “shoot him with their invisible arrows and carry the dead body down under water to feast upon it.” (28) Like the elves they leave a changeling, or “shade” in the persons place, which acts like a human but withers and dies within seven days.

According to Schoolcraft, the Faery of the Algonquin “comprise two classes, into which they are divided according as the location of their haunts is either on the land, or in the water. The favorite residence of their land fairies is the vicinity of promontories and water-falls, and in solemn groves. Besides furnishing a habitation for its appropriate class of fairies, the water is supposed to be the residence of an animal called nibau-auba, which has its counterpart, except as to sex, in the mermaid. The Indian word indicates a male.” (29)

More nature spirits than Faery, the Australian Aborigines have myths of water-spirits, also referred to as “Good Spirits”, who reside in streams and other water sources. Smith records that these water spirits “dwell in the form of tiny bubbles that cling closely together in the limpid pools and make the surface look as white as snow.” (30)

Over time Faeries lost their pre-Christian characteristics and became “angels”. The transference of the powers of the Faery to those of Christianity’s angels is a rather interesting one. While early Christian missionaries have regarded Faeries as the “devils children” or as “fallen angels” they have also been transformed into “God’s children”. One such example of this is the “Hill of Angels” on Iona. Christian missionary Colum Cille, a contemporary of St. Patrick, is said to have gone to this high place to pray. While he stood on the hill “…holy angels, the citizens of the heavenly country, clad in white robes and flying with wonderful speed, began to stand around the saint while he prayed; and after a short converse with the blessed man…flew speedily back again to the highest heavens…”. (31)

What is interesting though is that this Hill of Angels is marked on old maps as Sithean mór, which means “great fairy mound”. (32)

While Faeries are normally said to inhabit places of water such as wells, fountains, rivers, etc. water may also act as a protective obstacle between humans and Faeries. Evans-Wentz noted a common belief in the early 20th century that “when out on a dark night, if pursued by fairies or ghosts one is considered quite safe if one can get over some stream.” (33)

There are many stories of offerings made to the Faery. Evans-Wentz records one person who recalled that some people “would milk in the fields about here and spill milk on the ground for the good people; and pots of potatoes would be put out for the good people at night.” (34) Sophia Morrison, Secretary of the Manx Language Society, wrote almost a century ago that, “to my knowledge, two old ladies of the better class yet leave out cakes and water for the fairies every night.” (35) This is similar to a very ancient practice of pouring milk and placing cakes in newly furrowed land as offerings to the Great Mother. Can we assume that the continuation of this practice, albeit made to the Faery, is associated directly to Goddess Worship? God, in a plea to Jeremiah in the Old Testament to convert the Canaanites, said “the children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.” The “queen of heaven” in this verse is the Goddess Astarte.

Offering food items to the Faery is a common tradition all over the world. The Faery would extract all of the nutritional essences from the food but it would remain, looking as if untouched, the next day. No man or animal was allowed to eat it however as only the shell was thought to remain.

The folklore surrounding Faeries is universal. Are they simply a part of our collective consciousness or are they, in fact, a race that has always lived amongst us and still do?

References

1. Hyde, Douglas. “Taking of Evidence in Ireland” in The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries. Mineola: Dover Publications Inc. 2002. pgs 25, 28. A reprint of the 1911 edition published by Henry Frowde, London.

2. Beck, Horace. Folklore and the Sea. Mystic: Mystic Seaport Museum, Incorporated 1973, 265

3. Rhys, John. Celtic Folklore: Welsh and Manx. New York: Gordon Press 1974. A reprint of the 1901 edition published in Oxford. , 675

4. Mooney, James, Myths of the Cherokee. New York: Dover Publications 1995, 321. A reprint of the 1900 publication “Nineteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1897-98, 329-330

5. Spence, Lewis. The Legends and Romances of Brittany. Mineola: Dover Publications 1997, 54

6. Ibid, 55-56

7. Whitley, David S. A Guide to Rock Art Sites: Southern California and Southern Nevada. Missoula: Mountain Press Publishing Company 1996, 79

8. Ritter, Eric W. et al. “The Pictographs of Cueva Huellitas, Baja California Sur” in Pacific Coast Archaeological Society Quarterly, Vol. 15, No.1, January 1979, pg. 32-44

9. Paul, Pat. “Little People: Geow-Lud-Mo-Sis-Eg”. ramseyc.nbnet.nb.ca

10. Van Gelder, Dora. The Real World of Fairies. Wheaton: The Theosophical Publishing House 1977, 83

11. Zigmond, op cit.

12. Lee, Gaylen D. Walking where we lived: Memoirs of a Mono Indian Family.
Norman: University of Oklahoma Press 1998, 36

13. Ibid., 39

14. Berrnal, Ignacio. The Olmec World. Berkeley: University of California Press 1969, 100

15. Ibid.

16. Krickeberg, Walter & et al. Pre-Columbian American Religions. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston 1968, 264

17. Deviatkina, Tatiana. “Some Aspects of Mordvin Mythology”, in Folklore Vol17, Tartu 2001, 98

18. Bonewick, James. Irish Druids and Old Irish Religions. New York: Barnes & Noble Books 1996, 242. A reprint of the 1894 edition

19. Andersen, Johannes C. Myths and Legends of the Polynesians. Rutland: Charles E. Tuttle Company: Publishers 1969, 137

20. Anon, “Traditions and Tales of Upper Lusatia: No. 1: The Fairies’ Sabbath”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. LV, June 1844 ,666

21. Seleucus. Notes and Queries, Vol. 2, Number 54, Nov. 9, 1850, 389

22. Carrington, Dorothy. The Dream Hunters of Corsica. London: Phoenix 1995, 48

23. Ibid., 174

24. Ibid. 116

25. Ions, Veronica. Egyptian Mythology. Middlesex: The Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd. 1968, 110-111

26. Newman, Philip L. Knowing the Gururumba. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston Case Studies in Cultural Anthropology 1965, 63

27. DuBois, Cora. The People of Alor: A Social-Psychological Study of an East Indian Island. New York: Harper & Brothers 1961, 326

28. Mooney, op cit. 349

29. Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe. History of the Indian Tribes of the United States: Their Present Condition and Prospects, and a Sketch of their Ancient Status. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. 1857, 662

30. Smith, William Ramsay. Aborigine Myths and Legends. London: Senate 1996, 112. A reprint of the 1930 edition, Myths & Legends of the Australian Aborigines published by George G. Harrap, London.

31. Low, Mary. Celtic Christianity and Nature: Early Irish and Hebridean Traditions. Edinburgh: Polygon 1996, 47

32. Ibid, 48

33. Evans-Wentz, W.Y. The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries. Mineola: Dover Publications Inc. 2002, 38

34. Ibid, 36-37

35. Morrison, Sophia. “Taking of Evidence in Man” in The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries, op cit., 117