Fairy thread? I can never find good reference books on different types of fay. Most are cursory coffee table books that focus more on art than information, and its very hard to browse a site like wikipedia without knowing exactly what I'm looking for, if they even have an article on certain type of fairy at all.
>>17702339
Here's some stuff to start you off.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuatha_D%C3%A9_Danann
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tylwyth_Teg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changeling
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixie
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprite_%28creature%29
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spriggan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobgoblin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobold
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_deity
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aos_S%C3%AD
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%BAca
>>17702339
i want to visit the mirror kingdom were i can find a fairy to show me the realm of the Queen fairy?
>>17702339
Sounds like your trying to pigeonhole specifics out of oral traditions. That's not going to work. The best you can do is look for overlapping themes.
>>17702376
Thanks, that's super helpful. I was also hoping for some kind of reference book I could browse through to help find things I wouldn't have thought to look up, or for super obscure stuff. The internet is nice, but with reference sites, it's hard to find stuff I didn't even know existed. Like if I didn't know what selkies, or merrow were, I don't think I would have found out about them even through all those links. Especially since I read so much fiction, it's hard separating what actually comes from myth vs. what the author invented.
Much of the folklore about fairies revolves around protection from their malice. Although in modern culture they are often depicted as young, sometimes winged, humanoids of small stature, they originally were depicted quite differently: tall, radiant, angelic beings or short, wizened trolls being two of the commonly mentioned forms.
One common theme found among the Celtic nations describes a race of diminutive people who had been driven into hiding by invading humans. When considered as beings that a person might actually encounter, fairies were noted for their mischief and malice. Fairies are generally described as human in appearance and having magical powers.
Folklorists have suggested that their actual origin lies in a conquered race living in hiding, or in religious beliefs that lost currency with the advent of religion. These explanations are not necessarily incompatible, and they may be traceable to multiple sources. Much of the folklore about fairies revolves around protection from their malice, by such means as cold iron (iron is like poison to fairies, and they will not go near it) or charms of rowan and herbs, or avoiding offense by shunning locations known to be theirs.
In particular, folklore describes how to prevent the fairies from stealing babies and substituting changelings, and abducting older people as well. Many folktales are told of fairies, and they appear as characters in stories from medieval tales of chivalry, to Victorian fairy tales, and up to the present day in modern literature. Diminutive fairies of one kind or another have been recorded for centuries, but occur alongside the human-sized beings; these have been depicted as ranging in size from very tiny up to the size of a human child.
The Persian myths referred to creatures such as "Peris," or "Peri," which are described as creatures that have come from the sky. After seeing the pale-skinned peoples of the north, perhaps the Persians saw the Nordic and the Slavic as Peri. This might also be true for the reverse. The Vikings speak of the "Feen" or the "Feinin," roughly translating to "Fair Ones." Then there is also the Sidhe, the "Hill People." The Sidhe, in some accounts, were also referred to as the Picts. So if you are in any way curious to know where the term "faery" or "pixie" even began to take fruit, you might start there.
The Tuath(a) Dé Danann (usually translated as “people(s)/tribe(s) of the goddess Danu”), also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé (“tribe of the gods”), are a race of supernaturally-gifted people in Irish mythology. They are thought to represent the main deities of pre-Christian Gaelic Ireland.
The Tuatha Dé Danann were descended from Nemed, leader of a previous wave of inhabitants of Ireland. They came from four cities to the north of Ireland–Falias, Gorias, Murias and Finias–where they acquired their magical skills and attributes. According to Lebor Gabála Érenn, they came to Ireland “in dark clouds” and “landed on the mountains of [the] Conmaicne Rein in Connachta; and they brought a darkness over the sun for three days and three nights”. According to a later version of the story, they arrived in ships on the coast of the Conmaicne Mara’s territory (modern Connemara). They immediately burnt the ships “so that they should not think of retreating to them; and the smoke and the mist that came from the vessels filled the neighbouring land and air. Therefore it was conceived that they had arrived in clouds of mist”.
>>17702434
So, do only Indo-european people have fae, or are there fairies in african, mezoamerican or asian cultures?
>>17702440
Africa has the Aziza. Living in the forest, they provide good magic for hunters although they can be quite shy at time. They are also known to have given practical and spiritual knowledge to people (including knowledge of the use of fire). They are described as little hairy people and are said to live in anthills and silk-cotton trees.
>>17702376
also, this guy's research
https://umbra.academia.edu/simonyoung
he's doing research on folklore and runs the latest fairy survey as a tribute to Fairy Investigation Society
>>17702440
The Duende is a fairy- or goblin-like mythological creature from Iberian, Latin American and Filipino folklore.
>>17702339
Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries is the best book on fairies in Britain and french coast
>>17702449
Soooo, they are promethean, hairy house elves that live in forrests?
anyone remember that guy from few years ago who was pissed at gnomes in his garden? good thread
>>17702440
China has the Mogwai, said to be demons with violent intentions toward wanderers in the wilderness.
>>17702440
That depends a lot on how you define 'fairy' which is why I (the OP, not the guy you're asking) am having so much trouble researching. Japan has kappas and other yokai, which are closer to demons but very similar to fairies. Those genies that try to twist wishes are also very similar. And even things like Krampus and Baba Yaga are conceptually similar.
I figured the easiest way for me not to get overwhelmed is focusing specifically on the Irish literal fairies of the Aos Si. But even that's tough due to the age of these stories. They've evolved, changed, been intertwined with pop culture, and mixed with dozens of other cultures. It's especially difficult separating academic and historical fact from beliefs. But then agian, since these are myths that all originated from a belief, where is the line where something turns from a random, single superstition to where something is accepted into the fairy canon, so to speak?
>>17702440
Jogah are small spirit-folk (similar to faeries) in Iroquois mythology. They represent aspects of nature, and are split into various groups based on their relation to the world: the Gahonga are the jogah of rocks and rivers, the Gandayah make the Earth fertile and the Odhows control the spirits of the underworld, preventing them from rising to the surface of the Earth.
>>17702440
In Hawaiian mythology, the Menehune are said to be a people, sometimes described as dwarfs in size, who live in the deep forests and hidden valleys of the Hawaiian Islands, far from the eyes of normal humans. Their favorite food is the maiʻa (banana), and they also like fish.
>>17702485
>>17702480
>>17702474
>>17702449
Thanks, guys! They all have a familiar ring to them. So, can fairies also be considered a part of the Monomyth?
>>17702511
I believe so. Small, hidden people with secret natural knowledge seem to be a very common archetype.
Irish lad here.
When I was younger,I use to like to check out the local ring forts and Fairy forts.Common folk tale is that if one were to fall asleep in one the fairy's would take them away to an unknown realm.
So after I had heard that I was quite scared of visiting them but I was always intrigued by the stories.
The Hell Fire Club in South (?) Dublin was built atop a fairy fort or a court cairn in the 16th century I believe,soon it was run down and became a popular place for Satanist activities.
One of the most famous stories from the Hell Fire Club is of a teenage farmer who went up there to look for missing animals only to be summoned to the club by Fairy's.
He was missing for the night,and in the morning he had lost his sight and hearing.
Even to this day there is strange happenings in the area.
>>17702411
>I was also hoping for some kind of reference book
This is your most important source.
>>17702411
Another one that should be on your reading list.
