The Tréo-Fall, also known as ''danserien-noz'', are

lutin A () is a type of hobgoblin (an amusing goblin) in French folklore and fairy tales. Female lutins are called (). A ''lutin'' (varieties include the '' Nain Rouge'' or "red dwarf") plays a similar role in the folklore of Normandy to househo ...

-like creatures from the

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 ...

Lower Brittany Lower Brittany (; ) denotes the parts of Brittany west of Ploërmel, where the Breton language has been traditionally spoken, and where the culture associated with this language is most prolific. The name is in distinction to Upper Brittany, th ...

. Under this first name, they are specific to the island of

Ushant Ushant (; , ; , ) is a French island at the southwestern end of the English Channel which marks the westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and in medieval times, Léon. In lower tiers of government, it is a commune in t ...

, where traditions about them were collected by

François-Marie Luzel François-Marie Luzel (6 June 1821 – 26 February 1895), often known by his Breton language, Breton name ''Fañch an Uhel'',He signed his name as ''Francès-Mary an Uhel'' in the ''Les Chants de l'épée'' (1856), although Joseph Ollivier, in his ...

. The Tréo-Fall are said to gather at the top of

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff or rock face is an area of Rock (geology), rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. ...

s to dance in the

moonlight Moonlight consists of mostly sunlight (with little earthlight) reflected from the parts of the Moon's surface where the Sun's light strikes. History The ancient Greek philosopher Anaxagoras was aware that "''the sun provides the moon with its ...

, promising treasures to humans who cross their path. Two tales about "night dancers" were collected in

Plouaret Plouaret (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. Plouaret-Trégor station has rail connections to Brest, Rennes, Lannion, Guingamp and Paris. Population Inhabitants of Plouaret are called ''plouar ...

in January 1869. These goblins reward humans who join in their dance, and punish those who insult them.

Etymology and terminology

The name "Tréo-Fall" is found only on the island of Ouessant.

and

Françoise Morvan Françoise Morvan (born 1958 in Rostrenen, Côtes-d'Armor) is a French writer who specialises in Breton history and culture. She studied literature in Colombes, then at the Sorbonne. Her doctoral thesis was in French literature, discussing the ...

see the Tréo-Fall as a particular variety of

Korrigan In Breton folklore, a Korrigan () is a fairy or dwarf-like spirit. The word ''korrigan'' means in Breton "small-dwarf" (''korr'' means dwarf, ''ig'' is a diminutive and the suffix ''an'' is a hypocoristic). It is closely related to the Cornish ...

s, linked to a local use of the knife on the island of Ouessant. The more widespread name ''danserien-noz'' (original version, or ''dañserion-noz'' in unified Breton) means "night dancer" in Breton. According to Divi Kervella, it's a nickname given to the Korrigans, rather than the name of a specific creature. It's commonly used in

Finistère Finistère (, ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. Its prefecture is Quimper and its largest city is Brest, France, Brest. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.Côtes-d'Armor The Côtes-d'Armor ( , ; ; , ), formerly known as Côtes-du-Nord until 1990 (, ), is a department in the north of Brittany, in northwestern France. In 2019, it had a population of 600,582.

Description

The Tréo-Fall gather at night in the moonlight on the cliffs of the Ushant island, to dance. According to

Paul Sébillot Paul Sébillot (6 February 1843 in Matignon, Côtes-d'Armor, France – 23 April 1918 in Paris) was a French folklorist, painter, and writer. Many of his works are about his native province, Brittany. Early life and art Sébillot came from a ...

, the descriptions are vague, but emphasize their small size. They invite humans to join in their dance, promising them treasures. However, this is a trap, as these unfortunate dancers often end up with broken

kidney In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organ (anatomy), organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and rig ...

s. The only way to escape is to stick a knife in the ground, then graze it at each dance circle. If the dancer succeeds in fulfilling this condition, the Tréo-Fall will grant his or her request, whatever it may be. According to Paul-Yves Sébillot, they wear round hats and dance around a copper basin.

Collections

The first known mention of the Tréo-Fall comes from the travel notes of

, in March 1873. He collected his information from the Ushant Island Justice of the Peace, who revealed to him the belief in these evil goblins. Luzel published this information several times. He also collected two versions of a tale about "night dancers" in

, in the western

Côtes-d'Armor The Côtes-d'Armor ( , ; ; , ), formerly known as Côtes-du-Nord until 1990 (, ), is a department in the north of Brittany, in northwestern France. In 2019, it had a population of 600,582.Plouaret Plouaret (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. Plouaret-Trégor station has rail connections to Brest, Rennes, Lannion, Guingamp and Paris. Population Inhabitants of Plouaret are called ''plouar ...

, the Night Dancers could be seen. Anyone who happened to pass by while they were making their rounds in the moonlight, and didn't want to dance with them, fell victim to their evil tricks. The lady of Guernaour knowingly sent the pretty girl she hated down this road. At the Croaz-ann-neud crossroads, she saw a crowd of little men inviting her to dance, and accepted. They lavished her with gifts. The stepmother, seeing this, sent Margot the bad girl down the road. But when she saw the little men inviting her to dance, she insulted them, so they

curse A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, ...

d her. The second version is very similar, except that it mentions seven dwarfs in large hats (instead of a crowd): six dancing and one not. When the good girl agrees to dance with them, the six dwarfs who danced

kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

her to thank her, and the seventh refrains.

Popular culture

The fourth comic book in the '' Le Torte'' series, scripted by Pierre Dubois and drawn by

Lucien Rollin Lucien is a male given name. It is the French form of Luciano or Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of Lucius. People Given name *Lucien, 3rd Prince Murat (1803–1878), French politician and Prince of Pontecorvo *Lucien, Lord of Monaco (1487–1 ...

, is entitled ''Tréo-Fall''. It appeared in July 1992, and was reissued in January 1999. Dubois, Pierre; Rollin, Lucien, ''Tréo-Fall'' (in French), Glénat, January, 1999,

References

Bibliography