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In Nordic folklore, including the Northern Isles, hidden-folk (Faroese language and Icelandic: huldufólk; Norwegian: huldrefolk), mound-folk (, ), mountain-folk (, ; ), subterraneans (, ; Gutnish: di sma undar jordi, "the small underground"; , roughly "grounders"), among other names (, Insular Scots: trow, drow), are collective names for a loose race or conglomeration of elf, , brownies (Nordic: nisse), , and thereof. They are supernatural beings that live in nature. They look and behave similarly to humans, but live in a parallel world. They can make themselves visible at will. italic=no cites a 19th-century Icelandic source claiming that the only visible difference between normal people and outwardly human-appearing italic=yes is, the latter have a convex rather than concave philtrum () below their noses. An analog myth are the being discerned by their large noses.
In Faroese folk tales,See:
hidden people are said to be "large in build, their clothes are all grey, and their hair black (the same description is also given for Dreygur in Faroese folklore). Their dwellings are in mounds, and they are also called Elves."
Some Icelandic folk tales caution against throwing stones, as it may hit the hidden people.
The term italic=yes was taken as a synonym of italic=yes (elves) in 19th-century Icelandic folklore. Jón Árnason found that the terms are synonymous, except italic=yes is a pejorative term. italic=no contends that italic=yes originates as a euphemism to avoid calling the italic=yes 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 found that some people do not differentiate elves from hidden people, while others do. A 2006 survey found that "54% of respondents did not distinguish between elves and hidden people, 20% did and 26% said they were not sure."
Related terms includes hulder, a related entity, and in Old Norse poetry, related forms can also be found in huldarhǫttr (, ) and huliðshjalmr, "hat-" and "helmet of invisibility" respectively. In Huldar saga, Huldr is the name of a witch.
Many terms are based around the term väki, such as hiidenväki ("underworld folk, graveyard folk"), maan väki ("ground folk"), maanalusväki ("underground folk"), manhon väki ("world folk"?), metsän väki ("folk of the forrest"), vuoren väki ("folk of the mountain"), and veden väki ("folk of the water). In Northern Finland, the terms vanha väki ("old folk") and vanhaset ("the old ones") have been used, and for Forest Finns, the term moanpitävät ("keepers of the land").
Some terms also compound hiisi, such as metsähiisi ("forrest being") and vesihiisi ("water being"), or simply the word hiisi can refer to maahiset as well.
Precursors to elves/hidden people can be found in the writings of italic=no and in skaldic verse. Elves were also mentioned in Poetic Edda, and appear to be connected to fertility.
The Christianization of Iceland in the 11th century brought with it new religious concepts. According to one Christian folk tale, the origins of the hidden people can be traced to Adam and Eve. Eve hid her dirty, unwashed children from God, and lied about their existence. God then declared: "What man hides from God, God will hide from man." Other Christian folktales claim that hidden people originate from Lilith, or are fallen angels condemned to live between heaven and hell. (2026). 9789979329558, italic=no. ISBN 9789979329558
In succession of Christianization, 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. italic=no 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.Einar Ólafur Sveinsson (2026). 9780903521536, Viking Society For Northern Research. . ISBN 9780903521536
italic=no 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."Einar Ólafur Sveinsson (2026). 9780903521536, Viking Society For Northern Research. . ISBN 9780903521536 According to Árni Björnsson, belief in hidden people grew during the 17th and 18th centuries when Iceland was facing tough times.
According to Davide Finco Genoa, elves have existed in religious context as far back as the Stone age. He uses Swedish elf offering cups, known as "alvkvarnar," as an example.
Ólina Thorvarðardóttir writes:
Michael Strmiska writes:
Robert Anderson writes that syncretism
Terry Gunnell notes that hidden people legends recorded in the 18th and 19th centuries showed them to be
italic=no contends that the hidden people 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."
Hidden people often appear in the dreams of Icelanders. They are usually described as wearing 19th century Icelandic clothing, (2026). 9789979329558, Mál og menning. ISBN 9789979329558 and are often described as wearing green.
In one version of modern Faroese folklore, the hidden people vanished in the 1950s when electricity was brought to the island.
"The Elf Maiden" is a Norse folklore about a young man who marries an elf woman. As their marriage progresses, the elf maiden begins to periodically, miraculously disappear from his sight. The elf maiden finally tells her husband that she will eventually disappear, permanently, and that the only way to prevent it is by hammering a nail into a threshold
According to Scandinavian Author Ármann Jakobsson,
In her book, Icelandic Folktales and Legends, Jacqueline Simpson provides two origins stories for the Huldufolk:
Several modern surveys have been made showing a surprising number of believers. Around 7–8% claim to be certain that elves exist, and around 45% claim it is likely or possible.
These surveys have been criticized as being misrepresentative, as journalists have claimed that they show that a majority of Icelanders believe in elves, despite belief not being that serious. Folklore professor Terry Gunnell has said: "Very few will say immediately that they 'believe' in such, but they won't deny it either." Different ways of asking could elicit very different responses.
Árni Björnsson claims the beliefs are simplified and exaggerated for the entertainment of children and tourists, and that it is a somewhat misrepresentative yet harmless trick used by the tourism industry to entice visitors. The stories of elves may have been fun tales rather than beliefs.
italic=no offers a "Hidden Worlds tour", a guided walk of about 90 minutes. It includes a stroll through italic=no Park, where the paths wind through a lava field planted with tall trees and potted bonsai trees in summer, and said to be peopled with the town's largest elf colony.
italic=no has the Icelandic Wonders museum, where "Museum guests will walk into a world of the Icelandic elves and hidden people and get a glimpse of their life."
Information boards at Dverghamrar state that the local variety of dwarf is 20–30 cm tall.
In 1982, 150 Icelanders went to the NATO base in italic=no to look for "elves who might be endangered by American Phantom jets and AWACS reconnaissance planes." In 2004, Alcoa had to have a government expert certify that their chosen building site was free of archaeological sites, including ones related to huldufólk folklore, before they could build an aluminium smelter in Iceland. In 2011, elves/huldufólk were believed by some to be responsible for an incident in italic=no where rocks rained down on residential streets.
In 2013, proposed road construction from the italic=no peninsula to the italic=no suburb of italic=no, was stopped because elf supporters and environmental groups protested, stating that the road would destroy the habitat of elves and local cultural beliefs. According to G Pétur Matthíasson, head of communication at the Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration, "one was interested in this one big rock that was in the line of the road. We then look at it, not through believing in elves, but believing that elves or hidden people are part of our cultural heritage. We looked at this big rock formation and saw that it was unique, and decided that because we could move the, we would try to do that.”
In 2013, in Reykjavik, construction on a road was halted because a group of protesters showed up, including people who believed that the construction would "disturb the habitat of elves that live among the rocks."
In Snorri Sturluson's The Prose Edda, the story of "The Beluiling of Gylfi," Elves are described as being either Dark or Light, both in manner and appearance: "That which is called Alfheimer is one, where dwell the peoples called Light Elves; but the Dark-Elves dwell down in the earth, and they are unlike in appearance, but are far more unlike in nature. The Light-Elves are fairer to look upon than the sun, but the Dark-Elves are blacker than pitch."
Terry Gunnel argues that the Eddic poem, Völundarkviða, presents elves as having a "Dangerous, supernatural 'otherness'" to them.
In a BBC Ideas Youtube Video, Icelandic residents are interviewed on their beliefs on the Huldufolk. Within the video, Storyteller, Sigurbjörg Karlsdóttir argues that "whether you believe it or not, these stories about the elves and these creatures, they teach us to respect nature." Student, Helga Osterby Thordardottir, argues similarly, saying that "Maybe the Huldifolk is giving Nature a voice."
In a Youtube film by Julia Laird titled, "Hidden People," politician and resident of the Icelandic town of Hafnarfjörður, Ragnhildur Jónsdóttir, claims that she can speak to the Huldufolk. Jónsdóttir argues that "Some are farmers, some are fishermen, you know just living their regular life like we do." She also says that the Huldufolk are "Willing to help everyone in need, and it does not matter what color, or where they come from or what faith ... If someone is in need, they are willing to help."
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