The Mystery of Elves' Existence: Do Elves Really Exist in Nature?

In Norse mythology, elves were transformed from maggots on giant Imil. In Christianity, there is another legend about the origin of elves. According to Icelandic legend, one day Eve bathed her child with water by the river. God saw it and came to talk to Eve. Out of fear of God, Eve hid the unwashed child. God asked Eve if all her children were here, and Eve answered yes, so God said, "Eve hid her children in front of me, so those hidden children must also hide in front of people and can no longer live among humans." So those children became elves and lived in Scandinavian countries, and their descendants became new shadow families.

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On Devon Island, people think that elves are the souls of unbapted children. In other places, some people think that the elves are fallen angels, or that after the death of some pagans, their good deeds are not enough to send them to heaven, but their sins are not enough to find a place to live in hell, so they settle down in between and become elves. However, most of the above statements appeared after Christianity was introduced to the West. However, various legends about elves began to spread long before Christianity was introduced to the west, so the earliest legends about the origin of elves are not verifiable.

fairy tales

The works of early Irish novelists show that fairy tribes are not whimsical about mythical figures, but a group with supernatural power. Although the records of elf tribes are scattered, they have obviously been passed down to this day and proved to be legends in ancient Celtic myths and legends (such as King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table).

In the latter fairy tale, most of these elves are extremely short, men are only 4 feet, and women are even shorter. They usually wear green clothes, and men sometimes wear conical little red riding hood. Elves generally live in mounds between green hills and forests. When their "house" is stepped on, they even appear and look around. And it will show human "gratitude" or "tooth for tooth". These elves like to show luxury, and their clothes are often gorgeous and vulgar. It is generally believed that elves make a living by using stone arrows, especially in the blacksmith and textile industry. They make good use of hammers and anvils, but it is puzzling that although they have excellent textile skills, they steal wool and borrow looms to work. In fact, these elves often steal and commit some minor crimes.

It has always been considered as strong evidence that in some special areas of the archipelago, such as the main habitats of indigenous people (Ireland, Wales and Scottish Highlands), local people generally believe in evil people in fairy tales, thinking that they will harm livestock and make children sick, so they will use mythical figures to solve problems. These mythical figures will store some small bullets, thunder stones and the like. But now it is difficult to find a direct relationship between the two, because the local aborigines, as pure ethnic groups, have basically disappeared.

Lapland people once believed that there was an elf living in the deep mountains, and they called it Sevo-Valle. This kind of elf life is very similar to theirs, but the difference is that these elves have reached a more perfect realm and their lives are happier. They are gorgeous, luxurious and proficient in magic. In contrast, Lapland people think that they are poor and have a humble fate and need their guidance and help. Some Lapland people have had contact with these elves, and they were warmly treated by them, drinking, singing and dancing with them. Some people even got together with the elves for several weeks, really met the legendary characters, and accepted their suggestions and admonitions. When Lapland grew up, he couldn't wait to enter those mountains in order to get the protection and help of the elves. They marked the place where the elves might live with primitive stones and wood, making it a holy place. During holidays or disasters, they will hold ceremonies, dress up in costumes, offer sacrifices, worship or beg for the protection of elves. These marks or "holy places" can be seen everywhere, and some people think that these gods of San Wowei are not sacred, but only the beautified ancestors of Lapland people.

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Fairy tales mostly come from folklore, and almost all of them are handed down orally. Over time, people with different narrative habits and different memory abilities have added a lot to them according to their own imagination. According to these legends that may not be confirmed, it is naturally difficult to sum up the true facts.

fairyland

Fairyland is far away, but sometimes it is close at your feet. Although the elves will continue to migrate, there are also some periods when people think that fairy tales and fairyland have a practical position in geography. For example, the Welsh believe that Wonderland was originally located in the north of their mountains, then moved to the mysterious and foggy West Peninsula in Pembrokeshire, and finally moved to the islands near the Irish Channel. Sailors have witnessed fairyland several times and even set foot on it, but fairyland always disappears suddenly and strangely. However, fairyland elves occasionally disguise themselves as customers and appear in the urban centers of Larne and Milford Port.

The Irish call Phantom Island "Hybresil". The British think that the Isle of Man is a fairyland, and it is indeed an island full of myths, legends and documents. The legendary Avalon may also be an elf island. King Arthur, described by the poet John Lydgate as the "crowned king of elves" in the17th century, was fatally wounded and taken to Avalon after being guarded by four elves. Legend has it that King Arthur is still sleeping in the Elf Valley with his Round Table Warrior, and will wake up when he needs his strength to rule the British Isles again.

Do elves exist or not?

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A very famous British scholar said that he "completely believes in their existence. They are a race shorter than the Celts." They are all over Britain. "All scholars study these legendary elves from the perspective of ethnology and archaeology. Some scholars associate them with non-Aryan races. They are also short, know textile processing and can make tools. They also believe that they will live an equally happy life in the "grave" after death. Some scholars (such as Campbell) finally come to the conclusion that there are more reasons to believe that these elves are real human beings than "pure imagination" through the connection between elves and ancient "dwarfs", such as body, geographical distribution and handicraft level. Their existence is also very real and concrete, not what people call flickering and inaccessible ghosts. "

From the perspective of empirical science, it is reasonable for these scholars to draw the above views, but the biggest problem they encounter is "insufficient information". Under this inadequate premise, using modern scientific thinking methods to draw a "scientific conclusion" can only convince the "modern scientific mind", but it may not be able to find a truly correct answer.

There are also many scholars who believe that elves only represent the fabrication and beautification of the previous generation or ancient people. But they suffer from the fact that neither side can find sufficient evidence. There is no evidence that elves are pure fiction, and we cannot convince them that they really exist. But through archaeology and comparison with other events, they still tend to think that elves were created out of thin air only in the confrontation between man and nature.

In fact, what has been described in fairy tales for a long time may be true, but because people who have been circulated have created a lot out of thin air based on these stories, they will find it difficult to argue whether it is true or not, and will forcibly prove that all this is untrue with modern people's scientific and technological thinking. Space is extremely complex. Perhaps there may be a life slightly higher than human beings in this space or another space. If they have unpredictable skills, it may be what we call a myth.