Duende
In Spanish, duende originated as a contraction of the phrase dueñ(o) de casa, effectively "master of the house", or alternatively, derived from some similar mythical being of the Visigoth or Swabian culture given its comparable looks with the “Tomte” of the Swedish language conceptualized as a mischievous spirit inhabiting a dwelling.
[1] Spanish folklore is rich in tales and legends about various types of duendes: Anjanas, Busgosos, Diaños, Enanos, Elfos, Hadas, Nomos, Nuberus, Tentirujus, Trasgos/Trasgus, Trastolillus, Trentis, Tronantes, Ventolines and others.
Anjanas in Cantabria, Xanas in Asturias, and Janas in Castille and Leon are duendes similar to the nymphs of Ancient Greece.
[2] Diaños are mischievous duendes that adopt the figure of horses, cows, rams or any other domestic animal, even a human baby.
Enanos (dwarfs in English) are diminutive beings that toil night and day in the forests, guard the immense riches that the subterranean world hides, and, mockingly, tempt the greed of peasants by offering him gold combs, bags full of silver, which later become piles of withered fern leaves and white pebbles.
[2] Elfos (elves in English) are probably not pre-Roman mythological beings of the Iberian Peninsula but instead were brought in by Germanic tribes (Vandals, Suevi and Visigoths) that settled into Spain during Roman period and after the fall of Rome.
Nuberos may be good or malignant duendes in the form of clouds said to have the ability to make it rain, hail, and snow.
[2] Tentirujus are small malignant duendes that dress in red and turn obedient and good children (particularly girls) into bad and disobedient ones.
Castilian duendes usually take the form of Martinicos, diaños, trasgos, gnomes, enchanted women, fairies, and elves.
[4] The first to deal extensively with goblins was the demonologist Fray Antonio de Fuentelapeña in The Elucidated Entity: Unique New Discourse That Shows That There Are Invisible Irrational Animals In Nature (1676).
Later, in the eighteenth century, the pre-enlightened Benedictine Father Benito Jerónimo Feijoo engaged in an all-out fight against these superstitions in his Universal Critical Theater[citation needed].
[5] Duende also appear in Portuguese folklore, described as beings of small stature wearing big hats, whistling a mystical song, often walking in the forest.
Variously rendered in English as "goblins", "pixies", "brownies", "elves", or "leprechauns", the duende use their talents to lure young children to the forest, who lose their way home.
[6] The Yucatec Maya of Belize and Southeast Mexico have duendes such as Alux and Nukux Tat which are seen as guardian spirits of the forest.
[7] Belief in duendes still exists among the Mixtecs and Zapotecs of Oaxaca and it is said that they are most commonly found in the mossy cloud forests of the state's mountain ranges.
Filipinos believe in dwende, which often dwell in rocks and caves, old trees, unvisited and dark parts of houses, or in anthills and termite mounds.
Offending a nunò sa punsó is taboo; people who step on them are believed to be cursed by the angered dwende within.
A duende, according to the Chamorro-English Dictionary by Donald Topping, Pedro Ogo and Bernadita Dungca, is a goblin, elf, ghost or spook in the form of a dwarf, a mischievous spirit which hides or takes small children.
