List of beings referred to as fairies
Encyclopedia
The word fairy
came into use in Western Europe to refer to certain kinds of folkloric beings. This term has been used to translate into English the folkloric creatures of many cultures that are more or less analogous to the Western European fairy.
This is a list of beings referred to as fairies that are not so called in their native folklore.
Fairy
A fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term...
came into use in Western Europe to refer to certain kinds of folkloric beings. This term has been used to translate into English the folkloric creatures of many cultures that are more or less analogous to the Western European fairy.
This is a list of beings referred to as fairies that are not so called in their native folklore.
- The Aziza are a beneficent fairy race from Africa, specifically Dahomey.
- An aluxAluxAn alux is the name given to a type of sprite or spirit in the mythological tradition of certain Maya peoples from the Yucatán Peninsula and Guatemala. Aluxob are conceived of as being small, only about knee-high, and in appearance resembling miniature traditionally dressed Maya people...
is a type of sprite or spirit in the mythological tradition of certain Maya peoples from the Yucatán Peninsula. - The Aos SíAos SíThe aos sí are a supernatural race in Irish mythology and Scottish mythology are comparable to the fairies or elves. They are said to live underground in the fairy mounds, across the western sea, or in an invisible world that coexists with the world of humans...
or sídhe are a powerful, supernatural race in Irish mythologyIrish mythologyThe mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...
. - The CurupiraCurupiraCurupira is also a genus of tree in South America .The Curupira or Curupura, or even Caipora is a male supernatural being who guards the forest in the Tupi mythology in Brazil....
is a male supernatural being which guards the forest in Tupi mythology. - The duendeDuende (mythology)A duende is a fairy- or goblin-like mythological creature from Iberian, Latin American and Filipino folklore. While its nature varies throughout Spain, Portugal, Spanish and Portuguese-speaking America and the Philippines, analogues from other cultures include the Danish-Norwegian Nisse, the...
refers to a fairy- or goblin-like mythological character. While its nature varies throughout Spain, Portugal, the Philippines, and Latin America, in many cases its closest equivalents known in the Anglophone world are the Irish leprechaun and the Scottish brownie. - ElvesElfAn elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind...
are a supernatural race from Germanic mythologyGermanic mythologyGermanic mythology is a comprehensive term for myths associated with historical Germanic paganism, including Norse mythology, Anglo-Saxon mythology, Continental Germanic mythology, and other versions of the mythologies of the Germanic peoples...
. - EncantadoEncantadoEncantado is a word in Portuguese roughly translating as "enchanted one", and is also a commonly used greeting in Spanish meaning "enchanted", as in "enchanted to meet you". The Brazilian term is used for creatures who come from a paradisiacal underwater realm called the Encante...
, in Brazilian Portuguese, is creatures who come from a paradisaical underwater realm called the Encante. It may refer to spirit beings or shapeshifting snakes, or most often dolphins with the ability to turn into humans. - The ErlkingErlkingThe Erlking is depicted in a number of German poems and ballads as a malevolent creature who haunts forests and carries off travellers to their deaths. The name is an 18th-century mistranslation of the original Danish word elverkonge, "elf-king"...
is a malevolent creature that is said to lure children away from safety and kill them. - Cajun Fairies (The Feufollet in French) are an American legend that emerged along the bayou as early as the 1920s with a light (a ball of fire) that shot out into the sky, likely derived from the same natural phenomena as the will o' the wispWill o' the wispA will-o'-the-wisp or ignis fatuus , also called a "will-o'-wisp", "jack-o'-lantern" , "hinkypunk", "corpse candle", "ghost-light", "spook-light", "fairy light", "friar's lantern", "hobby lantern", "ghost orb", or simply "wisp", is a ghostly light or lights sometimes seen at night or twilight over...
. The lights were known as fairies, spirits and sometimes the ghosts of loved ones. - JogahJogahJogah are small spirit-folk in Iroquois mythology. They represent aspects of nature, and are split into various groups based on their relation to the world: the Gahonga are the jogah of rocks and rivers, the Gandayah make the Earth fertile and the Odhows control the spirits of the underworld,...
are small spirit-folk in Iroquois mythology. - MenehuneMenehuneIn Hawaiian mythology, the Menehune [pronounced meh-neh-HOO-neh] are said to be a people, sometimes described as dwarfs in size, who live in the deep forests and hidden valleys of the Hawaiian Islands, far from the eyes of normal humans. Their favorite food is the maia , but they also like...
(pl./s.)/Menehunes (pl.): Hawaiian Forest Spirits that are said to be about three feet tall, though are almost never seen. They can be heard by a quiet solitary visitor to the forest, giggling, laughing bubbling joyful childlike laughter, over in the next clearing, sometimes surrounding a clearing in which the solitary visitor is located. Known to exist on Kauai; not known how widespread they are in the Hawaiian Islands. - Mogwai are, according to Chinese tradition, a breed of fairy-folk that possess superpowers, which they often use to inflict harm on humans.
- Nymphs are female nature spirits from Greek mythologyGreek mythologyGreek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
. SatyrSatyrIn Greek mythology, satyrs are a troop of male companions of Pan and Dionysus — "satyresses" were a late invention of poets — that roamed the woods and mountains. In myths they are often associated with pipe-playing....
s are their male counterparts. - In Malays, 'pari-pari' (Malaysian) or 'peri' (Indonesian) are often looked as motherly figure helpful creatures who will help those who have good heart. Malay Fairys also love any fruit and like nature.
- PeriPeriIn Persian mythology, which constitutes the mythology of not just Persians but all Iranian peoples, peris are descended from fallen angels who have been denied paradise until they have done penance. In earlier sources they are described as agents of evil; later, they are benevolent...
s, found in Persian mythology, are descended from fallen angels who have been denied paradise until they have done penance. - Slavic fairiesSlavic fairiesFairies in Slavic mythology come in several forms and their names are spelled differently based on the specific language. Among the ones listed below there were also khovanets , dolia , polyovyk or polevoi , perelesnyk , lesovyk or leshyi , blud , mara Fairies in Slavic mythology come in several...
come in several forms and their names are spelled differently based on the specific language. - Tylwyth TegTylwyth tegThe Tylwyth Teg is the common term in Wales for fairies. A synonym, Bendith y Mamau, means "Blessing of the Mothers". Until the early 19th century it was commonly believed that the Tylwyth Teg, described as ethereal, beautiful and fair-haired, dwelt in a number of places in Wales as genii loci...
or Bendith y Mamau is the traditional name for fairies or fairy-like creatures of the OtherworldOtherworldOtherworld, or the Celtic Otherworld, is a concept in Celtic mythology that refers to the home of the deities or spirits, or a realm of the dead.Otherworld may also refer to:In film and television:...
in Welsh folklore and mythologyWelsh mythologyWelsh mythology, the remnants of the mythology of the pre-Christian Britons, has come down to us in much altered form in medieval Welsh manuscripts such as the Red Book of Hergest, the White Book of Rhydderch, the Book of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin....
. - TienTienTien may refer to:*Tien Shinhan, a character in Dragon Ball media*Tien , a Dutch television channel*Tien or T'ien, now generally spelled Tian, the Chinese religious idea of God or heaven-People with the surname:...
are heavenly beings variously translated as Immortals, Spirits, Angels and Fairies in Vietnamese folklore. - The XanaXanaThe xana is a character found in Asturian mythology. Always female, she is a fairy nymph of extraordinary beauty believed to live in fountains, rivers, waterfalls or forested regions with pure water. She is usually described as small or slender with long blonde or light brown hair , which she tends...
is a character found in Asturian mythology. - YakshaYakshaYaksha is the name of a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, who are caretakers of the natural treasures hidden in the earth and tree roots. They appear in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist mythology. The feminine form of the word is ' or Yakshini .In Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist mythology,...
are creatures often with dual personalities, found in HinduHindu mythologyHindu religious literature is the large body of traditional narratives related to Hinduism, notably as contained in Sanskrit literature, such as the Sanskrit epics and the Puranas. As such, it is a subset of Nepali and Indian culture...
and BuddhistBuddhist mythologyBuddhist mythology operates within the Buddhist belief system. It is a relatively broad mythology, as it was adopted and influenced by several diverse cultures such as Gandhara which was the capital of Bactria. Later on, it also came to incorporate aspects from countries such as China and Japan...
mythology. On the one hand, a Yaksha may be an inoffensive nature-fairy, associated with woods and mountains; but there is a much darker version of the Yaksha, which is a kind of cannibalistic ogre, ghost or demon that haunts the wilderness and waylays and devours travelers. - ZânăZânaZână is the Romanian equivalent of the Greek Charites. They are the opposite of monsters like Muma Padurii. These characters make positive appearances in fairy tales and reside mostly in the woods...
(plural Zane) is the Romanian equivalent of the Greek Charites. These characters make positive appearances in fairy tales and reside mostly in the woods. They can also be considered the Romanian equivalent of fairies.