The people in the village in which I lived when I was in the Peace Corps believed strongly in a number of beings we might class as "fairies", mostly spirit-beings that inhabited certain trees, or parts of the river. What interested me is that these beings were discussed not in the hushed and fearful tones appropriate to, say, a vengeful God, but as perfectly normal features of the landscape, with well-known idiosyncrasies and personalities. Potentially dangerous if offended, in some cases, but in no way hostile. They spoke of them not as supernatural beings, but as entirely natural ones.
I never saw one myself, or any evidence that they actually did exist, so I can't say I believe in them, but neither do I disbelieve. |
