In Breton

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

, a Korrigan () is a

fairy A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...

dwarf Dwarf, dwarfs or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a supernatural being from Germanic folklore * Dwarf, a human or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a sh ...

-like spirit. The word ''korrigan'' means in Breton "small-dwarf" (''korr'' means dwarf, ''ig'' is a

diminutive A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...

and the

suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns and adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can ca ...

''an'' is a hypocoristic). It is closely related to the Cornish word ''korrik'' which means '' gnome''. The name changes according to the place. Among the other names, there are ''korrig'', ''korred'', ''korrs'', ''kores'', ''couril'', ''crion'', ''goric'',Theresa Bane, ''Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology'', p205, 2013,

McFarland & Company McFarland & Company, Inc., is an American independent book publisher based in Jefferson, North Carolina, that specializes in academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tert ...

, ''kornandon'', ''ozigan'', ''nozigan'', ''teuz'', ''torrigan'', ''viltañs'', ''poulpikan'', ''poulpiquet'', and ''paotred ar sabad''.

As fairies and dwarves

The term is used variously by writers on Breton folklore. Théodore de Villemarqué in '' Barzaz Breiz'' uses the term interchangeably with "fairy" and distinguishes them from dwarves ("nains"). In contrast Walter Evans-Wentz in ''The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries'' argued that in the mythology of

Morbihan The Morbihan ( , ; ) is a departments of France, department in the administrative region of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Gulf of Morbihan, Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton ...

there is no clear distinction between korrigans and nains: "Very often corrigans regarded as nains, equally with all kinds of '' lutins'', are believed to be evil spirits or demons condemned to live here on earth in a penitential state for an indefinite time." They like to dance around fountains. However, they give themselves away when they cannot enumerate the full list of the days of the week (because of the sacredness of the full week).

As siren water-sprites

Other authors use the term only to refer to siren-like female fairies who inhabit springs and rivers, "lovely lustful golden-haired women who tried to lure men into their beds – and into a watery death".Patricia Monaghan, ''The encyclopedia of Celtic mythology and folklore'', Infobase Publishing, 2004, p.275. These creatures are very beautiful when seen at dusk or night, but by day their eyes are red, their hair white, and their skin wrinkled; thus they try to avoid being seen by day. Korrigans have beautiful

hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...

and red flashing eyes. They are sometimes described as important princesses or druidesses who were opposed to

Christianity 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 ...

when the Apostles came to convert

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

. They hate priests, churches, and especially the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. They can predict the future, change shape, and move at lightning speed. Like sirens and mermaids, they sing and comb their long hair, and they haunt fountains and

water well A well is an excavation or structure created on the earth by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

s. They have the power of making men fall in love with them, but they then kill the ones who do. In many popular tales, they are eager to deceive the imprudent mortals who see them dancing or looking after a treasure, and fond of stealing human children, substituting them with changelings. On the night of 31 October (

Samhain Samhain ( , , , ) or () is a Gaels, Gaelic festival on 1 November marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or the "Celtic calendar#Medieval Irish and Welsh calendars, darker half" of the year.Dáithí Ó hÓgáin, Ó hÓ ...

), they are said to be lurking near

dolmen A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...

s, waiting for victims. According to the Breton poem " Ar rannoù", there are 9 korrigans, "who dance, with flowers in their hair, and robes of white wool, around the fountain, by the light of the full moon."Keightley, 2000, pp. 420–422.

References

* Keightley, Thomas (1870).
The Fairy Mythology, Illustrative of the Romance and Superstition of Various Countries
', chapter "Lord Nann and the Korrigan". * Keightley, Thomas (reprint edition 2000) ''The World of Fairies, Elves, and Other Little People'', pp 420–422.

Songs

*Korrigan, CD "Tu es la" by the breton band STETRICE, www.stetrice.com {{Fairies Breton legendary creatures French folklore Female legendary creatures Water spirits

As fairies and dwarves

As siren water-sprites

See also

References

Songs