The ''Fänggen'' are female wood sprites in

German folklore German folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in Germany over a number of centuries. Seeing as Germany was divided into numerous polities for most of its history, this term might both refer to the folklore of Germany proper and of all ...

exclusively found in

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

. The singular term is ''Fangga'', ''Fanggin'', Wilhelm Mannhardt: ''Wald- und Feldkulte: Band I''. 2005, p. 89. or ''Fängge''. Bäschlin: ''Fängge''. In: Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer: ''Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens: Band 2 C.M.B.-Frautragen''. Berlin/New York 2000, p. 1184. Plural terms are ''Fanggen'', ''Fänggen'', Bäschlin: ''Fängge''. In: Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer: ''Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens: Band 2 C.M.B.-Frautragen''. Berlin/New York 2000, p. 1185. ''Wildfanggen'' (''wild'' = wild), ''wilde Wiber'' Bäschlin: ''Fängge''. In: Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer: ''Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens: Band 2 C.M.B.-Frautragen''. Berlin/New York 2000, p. 1188. or ''wilde Weiber'' (both: wild women).

Background

The life of the ''Fänggen'' is bound to the trees of the forest, with a special affinity to large and old trees. If such a tree is felled or dies, then the respective ''Fangga'' has to die. If the whole forest is logged, the ''Fänggen'' disappear altogether. Their connection to trees and forest life is mirrored in personal names such as ''Stutzfärche'', ''Stutzferche'' Paul Zaunert: ''Deutsche Natursagen: I. Von Holden und Unholden''. Paderborn 2012, p. 66. or ''Stutzforche'' (all: Falling-

Pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

), ''Rauhrinde'', ''Rohrinta'' or ''Rohrinde'' (all: Rough-Bark), ''Hochrinta'' or ''Hoachrinta'' (both: High-Bark), Wilhelm Mannhardt: ''Wald- und Feldkulte: Band I''. 2005, p. 90. and ''Stutzemutze'' or ''Stutzamutza'' (both: Falling-Cat). The ''Fänggen'' are terrifying

giantess Giantesses are imaginary, gigantic women. They are widely believed to be mythological by the humans of modern-day, since the term "giantess" is so generic, it seems possible to describe female giants not native to Earth which fall under the very ...

es, as tall as an average tree. Their bodies are hairy and bristly.Paul Zaunert: ''Deutsche Natursagen: I. Von Holden und Unholden''. Paderborn 2012, p. 67. Their head hair is filled with tree bast fibers and long gray

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

s and tree moss. Their mouth reaches from one ear to the other and their voices are deep. Some have beards and only wear the pelts of

wildcat The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...

s. Their aprons are made from wildcat

pelt A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...

s, their jackets from

tree bark Bark is the outermost layer of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines, and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consist ...

. The ''Fänggen'' are man-eaters preferring the flesh of children (which is why children should never leave the house in the evening) but eating adult men, too. They also steal children or women who have recently given birth. They further exchange

newborn In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to Juvenile (orga ...

children for

changeling A changeling, also historically referred to as an auf or oaf, is a human-like creature found throughout much of European folklore. According to folklore, a changeling was a substitute left by a supernatural being when kidnapping a human being. ...

s. Boys they specifically grate to dust on a tree trunk or snuff them downright like a pinch of snuff. ''Fänggen'' are always female, their husbands being the ''Waldriesen'' (forest

giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''wiktionary:gigas, gigas'', cognate wiktionary:giga-, giga-) are beings of humanoid appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''gia ...

s; sg. ''Waldriese''), ''wilde Männer'' (

wild men The wild man, wild man of the woods, woodwose or wodewose is a mythical figure and motif that appears in the art and literature of medieval Europe, comparable to the satyr or faun type in classical mythology and to '' Silvanus'', the Roman god of ...

; sg. ''wilder Mann'') or ''Waldmänner'' (forest men; sg. ''Waldmann'').Paul Zaunert: ''Deutsche Natursagen: I. Von Holden und Unholden''. Paderborn 2012, p. 68. Those giants are a danger to their own offspring, though, which is why the ''Fänggen'' give their daughters away to human farms for them to serve there as

maid A maid, housemaid, or maidservant is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era, domestic service was the second-largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maids a ...

s. Such a ''Fangga''-maid will never take on the

Christian faith Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

and will return to the woods as soon as she hears that one of her kind has died. The

chamois The chamois (; ) (''Rupicapra rupicapra'') or Alpine chamois is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope native to the mountains in Southern Europe, from the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Apennines, the Dinarides, the Tatra Mountains, Tatra to the Carpa ...

are the herds of the ''Fänggen'' which is why the ''Fänggen'' are a threat to

hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

s chasing chamois. The chamois are identified as

cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are called co ...

s by the ''Fänggen''.

Literature

* Bäschlin: ''Fängge''. In: Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer: ''Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens: Band 2 C.M.B.-Frautragen''. Berlin 1930. (reprint: Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/New York 2000, ) * M. Beth: ''Kinderraub''. In: Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer: ''Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens: Band 4 Hieb- und stichfest-Knistern''. Berlin 1932. (reprint: Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/New York 2000, ) * Jungbauer: ''Kleid''. In: Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer: ''Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens: Band 4 Hieb- und stichfest-Knistern''. Berlin 1932. (reprint: Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/New York 2000, ) * Wilhelm Mannhardt: ''Wald- und Feldkulte: Band I''. Berlin 1904. (reprint: Elibron Classics, 2005, ) * Pehl: ''Menschenfresser''. In: Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer: ''Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens: Band 6 Mauer-Pflugbrot''. Berlin 1935. (reprint: Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/New York 2000, ) * Paul Zaunert: ''Deutsche Natursagen: I. Von Holden und Unholden''.

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

1921. (reprint: Salzwasser Verlag,

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn (district), Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pade ...

2012, )

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fanggen German legendary creatures Female legendary creatures Giants Mythological anthropophages Forest spirits Sprites (folklore) Tyrolean culture Wild men