Duendes are mythological fey creatures from European folklore, being used as an umbrella term to refer to foreign terms such as goblin, sprite, yokai, and elves. The Spanish term originated as a contraction of the phrase owner of the house or duende de casa, originally considered a mischievous spirit that inhabited the house.
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Behavior[]
Some they are puckish, mischiveous and pranksters who enjoy moving human things around to have fun for hours watching how they look for something that was within their reach until a moment ago, but they can also be perverse and malevolent.
Portugal[]
The word is used in Portuguese folklore to describe goblins, pixies, brownies, and Leprechauns. They are believed to be of small stature and wear larger hats, whistling a mystical song as they walk in the forest. It is believed that they use their talents to lure young girls and boys into the woods to get lost on their way home.
Latin America[]
On the contrary, in some Latin American cultures, elves are believed to help people who get lost in the woods get back to their homes. In the folklore of the Central American country of Belize, especially among Creoles and Garífunas, leprechauns are considered a forest spirit called "Tata Duende" who has no thumbs.[1]
In the Hispanic folklore of Mexico and the American Southwest, goblins are creatures similar to gnomes that live inside the walls of houses, especially in the bedrooms of small children. They attempt to cut the nails of scruffy children, sometimes mistakenly leading to the complete removal of the fingers.[2] The belief in duendes remains among the Mixtecs and Zapotecs of Oaxaca, saying that they are frequently found in the cloud forests of the state's mountain ranges.
Philippines and Mariana Islands[]
The Chamorro in the Mariana Islands tell legends of taotaomonas, goblins, and other spirits. The duende is a type of dwarf, a mischievous spirit that hides or takes things from small children.
Some Filipinos believe in dwende, which usually lives in rocks and caves, old trees and dark, abandoned areas of houses or anthills, where they are called nuno sa punso (old man of the mound). They are grouped into good or bad according to their color, white or black, respectively, sometimes playing with the children.
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