FOG BLOG MYSTERIOUS NORTH AMERICA LOG: 'THE LITTLE PEOPLE' AND EVIDENCE!

THERE ARE A LOT OF YARNS AND TALL TALES ABOUT DWARFS , LITTLE PEOPLE ETC. AND NONE MORE THAN IN NOVA SCOTIA AND EVEN FAIRIES!.........Na Sìthichean |The Fairies .When the Gaels came to Nova Scotia, they brought with them many very old beliefs, one of these being the belief in Fairies. Fairies in Gaelic culture are not like those that you see in Disney movies - they don't have wings and they're certainly not pretty! On the contrary, gaelic fairies are short, homely and are sometimes recorded as wearing red hats. They are known for being particularly mischievous and can sometimes even be dangerous! Fairies live in a "sithean" or "fairy hill". Did you know that the name of town of Inverness on Cape Breton was actually "The Fairy Hill"? There are many stories of the people hearing beautiful music coming from the fairy hill. Inside the fairy hill there is lots of music and dancing and time seems to stand still - what seems like a day will actually be a year.

The fairies sometimes bestow gifts of musical talent on people .........THE CHEROKEE LEGEND OF THE LITTLE PEOPLE...Cultures from around the world tell about small humanoids with magical powers. Gnomes, fairies, elves and hobgoblins share similarities with little people tales of the North American Indians. However, the little people are believed by many of these native people to be more than myth or legend.

Especially to tribal medicine men who are powerless without their guidance. James Mooney in “Myths of the Cherokee,” published in the Nineteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1897-98, describes these little people as, “hardly reaching up to a man’s knee, but well-shaped and handsome, with long hair falling almost to the ground.” More than 100 years later, this magical race of little people is very real to those who learned the legend form their elders.

Much of Mooney’s research involved Cherokee from their original homeland of North Carolina. He learned that due to forced migration the Cherokee of Oklahoma became estranged from their original customs and beliefs. Traditions handed down throughout generations became tainted by the white man’s education and culture. However, many Cherokee legends did endure the cultural transition. One example is the belief in a race of small, magical beings called the Yunwi Tsunsdi.

Betty J. Lombardi elaborated on Mooney’s findings with additional research of her own in the spring, 1984 issue of Mid-American Folklore, published by the Ozark State Folklore Society and the Regional Culture Center, Arkansas College. Her article, “Comments on the Little People Stories Collected from the Cherokee Indians of Northeast Oklahoma,” revealed these delightful accounts.

The little people of Cherokee folklore were capable of doing good deeds for people who treated them with respect. However, to look upon one was bad luck, potentially resulting in premature death. Such was the case with people lost in the woods who were rescued by these mystical beings. After finding their way home, they told of their strange encounters and then died. Usually, those who encounter the little people are warned by them not to tell others. It is also considered bad luck to even speak of the little people. Instead, they are more safely referred to as a “skill’li,” which means witch or ghost.

Sometimes humans build their homes near the habitat of the Yunwi Tsunsdi. It is important to leave food for them and not to block any of their paths. If the little beings were pleased, they did chores at night, like plowing fields and harvesting crops. Sometimes the people in the house hear the work being done, but know not to look outside.

Lombardi also found contradictory stories about humans who owned little people, experiencing no ill effects. She recounts a tale from an 81-year-old man named Henry Swing, who swore his belief in the beings. He said he knew Wilson Angle, who kept two of them, a boy and a girl, to protect his property from being stolen. Swing said Angle kept them in stone milk jars out east of his house and fed them nothing but “straight water corn bread.” When their host passed away, the pair went to live with another Indian named Buster Stone, who lived in the same neighborhood.

The little people are known to attach themselves to certain areas. This was the case with a 90-year-old woman, considered a witch or medicine doctor. She claimed that the tiny beings made a path on the west side of her house. They used to come nightly to her house for food, until a waterline was installed, blocking their path and putting an end to their visits. This story illustrates one consistent aspect of the little people legend that crosses tribal cultures; their association with medicine men and other people of a spiritual nature. RECENTLY THERE HAVE BEEN A DISCOVERY IN NORTH AMERICA OF TINY TOOLS FOR DIGGING AND HUNTING THOUGHT TO BELONG TO A RACE OF HUMANOIDS MAYBE 3 FT TALL AND HAVING A BRAIN THE SIZE OF A GRAPEFRUIT............THERE IS A LOT WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT OUR MYSTERIOUS NORTH AMERICA!