They are also a part of folklore in the Faroe Islands. In Faroese folk tales, Huldufólk are said to be "large in build, their clothes are all grey, and their hair black. Their dwellings are in mounds, and they are also called Elves." They also dislike crosses, churches and electricity.
Terminology
The term huldufólk was taken as a synonym of álfar (elves) in 19th century Icelandic folklore. Jón Árnason found that the terms are synonymous, except álfar is a pejorative term. Konrad von Maurer contends that huldufólk originates as a euphemism to avoid calling the álfar by their real name.There is, however, some evidence, that the two terms have come to be taken as referring to two distinct sets of supernatural beings in contemporary Iceland. Katrin Sontag (2007) found that some people do not differentiate elves from hidden people, while others do. She also cites the preliminary results of a 2006 survey by Terry Gunnell, which finds that "54.6% of 639 persons said that they would not distinguish between álfar and huldufólk, 20.0% said they would and 25.4% were not sure."
Those who have seen the "huldufæolk" would describe them as,"Glowing, light white, attractive".
Origins
Precursors to elves/hidden people can be found in the writings of Snorri Sturluson and in skaldic verse. Elves were also mentioned in eddaic poems, and appear to be connected to fertility.
Official opposition to dancing may have begun in Iceland as early as the 12th-century, and the association of dancing with elves can be seen as early as the 15th-century. One folktale shows the elves siding with the common people and taking revenge on a sheriff who banned dance parties. Guðmundsdóttir concludes that these legends "show that Icelanders missed dancing".
In the 13th and 14th centuries, books from mainland Europe reached Iceland, and may have influenced folktales about elves.
Sveinsson writes: "Round about 1600 sources for hidden folk become so voluminous that we can readily define the beliefs and legends about them, and after that there is one source after another about them right down into the twentieth century." According to Árni Björnsson, belief in hidden people grew during the 17th and 18th centuries when Iceland was facing tough times.
Holidays
There are four Icelandic holidays considered to have a special connection with hidden people: New Year's Eve, Twelfth Night (January 6), Midsummer Night and Christmas night. Elf bonfires (álfabrennur) are a common part of the holiday festivities on Twelfth Night (January 6). There are many Icelandic folktales about elves and hidden people invading Icelandic farmhouses during Christmas and holding wild parties. It is customary in Iceland to clean the house before Christmas, and to leave food for the huldufólk on Christmas. On New Year's Eve, it is believed that the elves move to new locations, and Icelanders leave candles to help them find their way. On Midsummer Night, folklore states that if you sit at a crossroads, elves will attempt to seduce you with food and gifts; there are grave consequences for being seduced by their offers, but great rewards for resisting.Icelandic folklore
Several scholars have commented on the connections between hidden people and the Icelandic natural environment.
Ólina Thorvarðardóttir writes: "Oral tales concerning Icelandic elves and trolls no doubt served as warning fables. They prevented many children from wandering away from human habitations, taught Iceland's topographical history, and instilled fear and respect for the harsh powers of nature."
Michael Strmiska writes: "The Huldufólk are... not so much supernatural as ultranatural, representing not an overcoming of nature in the hope of a better deal beyond but a deep reverence for the land and the mysterious powers able to cause fertility or famine." Alan Boucher writes: "Thus the Icelander's ambivalent attitude towards nature, the enemy and the provider, is clearly expressed in these stories, which preserve a good deal of popular -- and in some cases probably pre-christian -- belief."
Anna Pietrzkiewicz contends that the huldufólk symbolize idealized Icelandic identity and society, the key elements of which are seeing the "past as a source of pride and nature as unique and pure."
Contemporary Iceland
Surveys
Árni Björnsson, the former director of the ethnological department of the National Museum of Iceland, did a study of Icelanders born between 1870 and 1920. He was disappointed to find that only 10% believed in supernatural beings.According to a 1975 survey by psychologist Erlendur Haraldsson, Icelanders’ level of belief in hidden people and fairies can be broken down into the following percentages:
- Impossible, 10%
- Unlikely, 18%
- Possible, 33%
- Probable, 15%
- Certain, 7%
- No opinion, 17%
| # | Question | Total | Men | Women | Age 30-39 | Age 40-49 | Age 50-59 | Age 60-70 | Education: Primary | Education: Secondary | Education: College | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Percentage of Respondents Claiming Various Types of Psychic Experiences: Fairies or "hidden folks" |
5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 0 | |||
| 41 | Attitudes Towards Paranormal Phenomena Etc.: "Hidden Folks" and fairies |
|||||||||||||
| impossible | 10 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 24 | ||||
| unlikely | 18 | 19 | 16 | 18 | 21 | 14 | 16 | 10 | 18 | 38 | ||||
| possible | 33 | 31 | 34 | 28 | 33 | 38 | 33 | 35 | 32 | 26 | ||||
| probable | 15 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 21 | 14 | 5 | ||||
| certain | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 10 | 8 | 0 | ||||
| no opinion | 17 | 15 | 19 | 18 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 17 | 18 | 17 |
There was also a 1995 survey by Pétur Pétursson, which only looked at people interested in alternative belief systems and alternative medicine rather than the general population. According to the survey, among the people this group, belief in elves broke down as follows: 70% believed in their existence, 6% did not believe in their existence, 23% were unsure, and 1% would not answer.
A July 1998 survey by Dagblaðið Vísir found that 54.4% of Icelanders surveyed claimed to believe in elves, while 45.6% did not. This survey has been criticized for only allowing yes or no responses rather than more nuanced answers. Notably, it also showed that supporters of Framsóknarflokkur (the Progressive Party) believed in elves more than other political parties.
A 2006 survey by folklorist Terry Gunnell found that "There is a little bit more doubt than there used to be, but generally the figures were much the same as they were." Sontag writes: "According to the preliminary results of this survey, 8.0% of 650 persons who answered this question were certain about the existence of huldufólk and álfar, 16.5% thought it was likely they existed, 31.0% assumed it was possible, 21.5% thought it was unlikely, 13.5% thought it was impossible and 8.5% did not have an opinion on this."
Anthropologist Kirsten Hastrup found that different ways of asking Icelanders about Huldufólk could elicit very different responses. Similarly, Folklore professor Terry Gunnell has said: "Very few will say immediately that they 'believe' in such, but they won't deny it either."
Icelandic communities in other countries may have lower levels of belief in huldufólk. Daisy L. Neijmann claims that among Icelanders in Canada, "Belief in these creatures... was geographically bound seeing that they were part of the Icelandic landscape, and therefore they could not, ultimately, survive among Icelandic Canadians."
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