Iceland, The Hidden People

It is hard to believe, hard too accept. But there is an entire country of people that believe that fairies, elves and such are real and live amongst us. I never thought the major religions could be beaten in the league of crazy but i was wrong....so very wrong. Realize christianity never took a great hold on iceland and so this religion survived.

www.seattlepi.com...

"There are all sorts of beings beneath our stones," said Brynjolfur Snorrason, a folklorist often asked to advise contractors on how best to avoid the lairs of Iceland's elves and other seldom-seen creatures whose presence nonetheless still seems to permeate this far northern island nation.

Highway engineers in recent years have been forced to reroute roads around supposed elf dwellings. Similarly, builders of the country's first shopping mall took care to lay electrical cables and other underground installations well away from suspected abodes of gnomes and fairies. Couples planning a new house will sometimes hire "elf-spotters" to ensure the lot is free of spirit folk.

In Iceland, such precautions are seen as simple prudence.

"It can be a strange country," said Arni Bjornsson, head of ethnological studies at the National Museum of Iceland. "Even hard-headed engineers, who say they don't hold with superstition, will build a road around a certain hill or boulder rather than take the risk of offending elves."

www.gonomad.com...

Icelandic elves, for example, can have long, spindly legs, big ears, or crazy hair but they don’t wear pointed hats or shoes. Such garb is found on an Icelandic dwarf, perhaps, but he could just as well be wearing a long cloak or a beard.

Hidden people are dressed like old-time, country folk, even though these same hidden people have been known to label us regular mortals as the "primitive" ones. In fact, there are so many variations that an entire flora has been described: 13 types of elves, 3 kinds of hidden people (including the Blue People), 4 varieties of gnomes, 2 forms of trolls, and 3 types of fairies.

Today, 54% of Icelanders believe in elves and hidden people and a full 90% of the population "takes notice" of this shadow community, which is said to number anywhere from 7000 to 20,000 inhabitants

it's odd that none of the icelandics have ever been able to snap a picture of their gnomes, elves or fairies.

I think this is cool, this is how to conduct a religion
S&F
At least they keep it to themselves.
They don't ram it down anyone's throats, they don't wage war in the name of fairies, and they don't knock on doors trying to convert the vulnerable.

Icelandic people are the GREATEST people on earth, so if they believe it it must be true!

Is this any stranger than people who claim to have knowledge of a dozen or more species of intelligent extra- terrestrial, and have pictures of them all?

Something one rarely sees is a discussion as to why a number of people have chosen to reject the desert religions in the West and try to make their way back to various pagan religions. Perhaps the Icelanders have at least spared themselves the initial desert brainwashing. Good on them for keeping their beliefs, however bizarre they may sound
to others.

Careful; she's painfully adorable.

"There's a very good reason why we don't piss off the elves, isn't it?"

Well how does Iceland's economy fare compared to the rest of the world? Do they have as many social problems as other countries? If not, maybe there is something to their belief that others can not perceive.

reply to post by MaryStillToe


The country was actually one of the first to go completely belly-up, along with Greece. The króna is kind of worthless right now. it has less to do with a belief in magical fairies than it did with a belief in the magical invisible hand of the market.

...Well, okay, kinda the same thing, but you get what I'm saying.

reply to post by TheWalkingFox

Careful; she's painfully adorable.

Yep.

I believe in Icelandic elves now. I'll even fight you about them.

Originally posted by TheWalkingFox

Careful; she's painfully adorable.

"There's a very good reason why we don't piss off the elves, isn't it?"

I think i could quite easily believe anything she told me.

reply to post by TheWalkingFox


Okay, anyone can have their currency and economy collapsed by the invisible hand. How about social problems? Are they a happy, law abiding, peaceful people? LOL

Back in the old country, Norway, many people believe the same, especially if you get away from places like Oslo and Bergen.

Is it really any more absurd than believing in angels / demons / aliens, etc? Ok, absurd is possibly a contentious word and should possibly be replaced with 'leap of faith'.

Im not sure myself, but did Iceland ever really get christianised? The vikings that settled Iceland and Greenland were eventually brought under the authority of the church but that was more to do with raising taxes for the scandinavian contribution to the crusades (or so i have been led to believe by various sources - may be wrong on that). Therefore, weren't they really always pagan.

Plus, hate to say it to all the christians out there, but christianity is just a bastardization of various forms of paganism. There is too much evidence for this to be even slightly disputed - just go search for it. I suggest starting with the ancient egpytians and the high priest class cult of amen-ra and then look at random pagan beliefs around the world.......christianity is basically an extension of this into social order and control of the population.

Not saying that this is bad thing or a good thing or whether it should affect people's beliefs or not, simply stating that the truth is out there if you can be bothered to look.

I don't know why many people treat them as something spiritual though. Sure, there is a possibility creatures like elves exist and have some form of magic, but there's a possibility for almost everything. It's not like you can find them the same way as spirits. They need to eat, drink, and take a dump. They should also have skeletons. All that can still be hidden, especially if they're a community, with their own homes, they probably have their own toilet so don't expect feces on the surface.

I think I just found my religion.

EDIT: I wish I had more to add, its very interesting and all but what more can you say? I don't want to make fun of these people, even though I think its silly at least there happy and not hurting anyone.

RP 2012

Fairies, elves yeah thats crazy!

Talking snakes, human sacrifice, wafers turning into the flesh of a god? thats totally normal.............