In Dutch mythology and Dutch folklore, kabouters are tiny men who live underground, in mushrooms, or else are household spirits helping in the home.
They belong to the gnomes family and are akin to the Scandinavian Tomte and the German kobold.
Description
The males have long, full beards (unlike dwarves, who don't always have full beards) and wear tall, pointed red hats. They are generally shy of humans.
Story
In the Legend of the Wooden Shoes, an old Dutch folktale, the kabouter teaches the Dutch man how to make piles and how to make wooden shoes.[1]
Art/Fiction
The Dutch illustrator Rien Poortvliet played an important part in Kabouter lore with his publication of "Leven en werken van de Kabouter" (English title "Lives and works of the Gnome"), later translated into English and published as "Gnomes".[2]
Notes
- 1. ^ Legend of the Wooden Shoes, as retold by William Elliott Griffis in Dutch Fairy Tales For Young Folks. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1918. (English). Available online by SurLaLane Fairy Tales.
- 2. ^ (1977) Gnomes, Harry N. Abrams Inc., ISBN 0-8109-0965-0 (20th Anniv.) ISBN 0-8109-5498-2 (30th Anniv.)