Real-Life Pygmies and Fairy Legend

Fairies have always had a pervasive presence in myths, legends and folklore throughout the world. In the modern day, fairy encounters have become akin to UFO sightings: persistently reported, often by credible witnesses, but nearly impossible to verify. Regardless of this dearth of evidence, many people remain convinced of the reality of the Little People. In many areas of Europe, this belief is so profound that people are averse to traveling in - or disturbing - places that are reputed to be fairy "haunts".

There have been attempts to relate the wealth of fairy lore and tales with what is known of authentic diminutive peoples in our world, both in ancient times and in the present day. Pygmies are generally defined as people who attain a height of no more than 150 centimeters and who do not mingle (i.e., breed) with neighboring peoples. The word comes from the Greek pygme, a word that refers to the length of the forearm. The pygmies in Greek mythology were a tribe of diminutive humans, often depicted bearing spears and slings and riding on the backs of goats. The ancient Egyptians venerated a race of pygmies from the African rainforest, who they referred to as "god-dancers" and from whom they learned the worship of the goddess Bes.

Do fairies, in fact, represent races from mankind's primitive past?

Smaller versions of humans have existed in far-flung areas of our world, from the Australian bush to several countries in Africa (the Agogue of Tanzania and the Sehite of Ivory Coast, who grew no taller than 4 feet), from the jungles of Malaysia to South and Central America (the Maricoxi were small, hairy humans who dwelt in areas of Brazil; the long-armed and hairy Dwendis live in the Belize forests of Central America). Some scientists have postulated that the term "wee folk" in old folklore might refer to Australopithecus, a forerunner of modern man who was similar to us in build, and walked upright, but stood no taller than 4 feet.

In Flores, Indonesia, in 2004, scientists discovered the bones of what was thought to be an unknown species of early humans - affectionately nicknamed "Hobbits" after J.R.R. Tolkien's creation. A team later concluded that these were the remains of ancestors of the human pygmies who live on the island in the modern day.

In Cambridge Bay, on Victoria Island (Canada) the inhabitants have persistent tales of a tribe of Little People who reportedly roam the High Arctic. They are about 3 feet tall and wear caribou skins and tote bows and arrows. Folks have reported seeing these little people hunting the tundra; and campsites with small weapons and utensils have been discovered.

In 1932, in the Pedro Mountains in Wyoming, a mummified little man was discovered in a cave, propped up in a sitting position on a ledge. He had wrinkled, dark brown skin, a flat nose and low forehead, and small pointed teeth. X-rays confirmed that this little being had human skeletal structure. Scientists estimated that he was 65 years old at the time of death.

A wealth of fairy lore comes to us from Britain and Ireland, however, and no archaeological evidence supports the idea that dwarf races ever inhabited these areas. There have been other inexplicable finds, though, like tiny arrowheads, scrapers, crescent knives and borers, all of them less than ½ inch in length, turning up in Britain.

However one wants to approach the question of fairies - whether they are another order of spiritual being or the racial memory of diminutive representatives of humanity from the distant past - the fact remains that the more one delves the more one may come to the conclusion that there will always be an air of mystery surrounding much of what we consider reality and the world of facts.