Kotitonttu
Tonttu
Tonttu = Elf (or Gnome depending on which you are referring to. Santa's Elf is actually a Tonttu, and has nothing to do with the elves popularized by modern fantasy novels.) The word "tonttu" comes from the Swedish word "tomte".
(In Nordic lore, "maahinen" or "maan väki". (swe.: vittra, old norse: vættr). Elves, dwarves and frost giants are all types of gnome.)
Elves, or tonttu are important characters in the Nordic mythology. The one pictured above is a house elf of the Nordic mythology, and no, Dobby is not a Nordic house elf, he looks more like Gollum.
A house elf is the protector of a dwelling, but he may be quick to anger if not treated well. Being a magical creature, he can cast a spell on you if you are not careful and treat yours with a proper respect.
In Selma Lagerlöf's The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, she describes a house elf (swe. tomte, fin. tonttu), and how the mischevous protagonist Nils, after disrespecting his father's house's guardian by trying to capture him in a net, gets transformed into a "house elf" himself.
(I seriously recommend reading the book, I don't want to give out spoilers.)
Tonttu appears often also in old Finnish literature. There are many other kinds of tonttu in the Nordic lore:
- kotitonttu (house elf, the home guardian)
- saunatonttu (sauna elf)
- metsätonttu (forest elf)
- riihitonttu (the elf of grain drying and threshing cabins)
- tallitonttu (stable elf)
- navettatonttu (cowshed elf)
- aittatonttu (barn elf)
- myllytonttu (mill elf)
The tonttu acted as the guardians of the places they lived in.
Joulutonttu is the Christmas Elf, or Santa's Elf.
In the past, joulutonttu delivered the presents independently from Santa, but these days we almost unanimously think of them as Santa's helpers who both prepare the gifts and check up on kids to see whether they've been naughty or nice.
I sourced some of the above from Wikipedia.
I could write more about Finnish mythology if you guys think it'd be cool.
See ya!
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