Tomte/Nisse/Tonttu [Nordic Mythological Being]

[Szyvágr]

EDIT:

On Christmas Eve (December 24th in Norway. In some countries it's on December 25th, so hence me putting this down just for clarification) a family member and I was travelling by car, when the radio station host came around to the topic of the fjosnisse (or Tomte), and it was indeed a topical and very relevant given that it was Christmas Eve. Porridge is an important tradition and aspect linked closely to Christmas Eve, and it was a tradition for our ancestors to leave out a bowl of porridge for the Tomte on Christmas Eve back in the old days, because if you forgot about him (or to give him that bowl of porridge) "he could do pranks or mischief".

Source: https://forskning.no/historie-jul-landb ... en/1274544 Retrieved January 24 2020

"The fjosnisse wore grey/gray knikkers and were dressed in garments that people used to wear back in the old days. The fjosnisse did pranks and mischief, and do or bring harm to humans and animals."

Source: Radio station P5 Fosen. Heard on December 24 2019.

So that really makes me catious when it comes to living fjosnisse or Tomte entities, to put it mildly. And if I am ever to encounter one I will be sure to treat it with the utmost respect, and will be sure to not do anything that will anger or annoy it.

[Aurum]

Yeah, I recently read some old stories from around Finland and it turns out there are quite a few horror stories about tonttus.

There was one where a house tonttu (kotitonttu) or a saunatonttu was slighted somehow and the next day the master of the house was found skinned, and his skin was hanging from the barn.

And there was another where a grumpy saunatonttu wanted to go to sauna by himself, but one time someone else went there and the tonttu took his scalp.

It would be a good idea to treat them with respect, but then again that goes with any spirit. And I suppose in spirit form they are probably less likely to cause any harm.

[Szyvágr]

It would be a good idea to treat them with respect, but then again that goes with any spirit. And I suppose in spirit form they are probably less likely to cause any harm.

Our spirits absolutely needs to be treated with respect, I just weren't that sure if Tomte spirits are as mischevious as when they lived as entities, or if they could harm people and animals in the same way, as they as entities, if people acted disrespectfully or did something, that, the Tomte, as an living, found to be disrespectful towards them. So that is why I didn't say Tomte entities and spirits, really. But when I looked up the Tomte in the CH Encyclopedia, it says this:

"They are creatures who appear as small, elderly men with full beards whose soul purpose is to protect families. They are invisible, shape-shifters who possess an uncanny amount of strength. They are benevolent and malevolent and are fiercely loyal to their Keeper. They do perform fun-spirited pranks which can be annoying at times but when properly treated Tomtes are pranksters with love."

Source: https://www.creepyhollows.com/faq/index ... ight=tomte

So it seems that they are just as capable of being malevolent in spirit as they are when they were alive, but I could be wrong as I neither have any experience with Tomte or fjosnisse entities or spirits, and just as to avoid any future misunderstandings; in saying "so it seems that they are just as capable of being malevolent in spirit as they are when they were alive" I was referring to unbound spirits and unbound, living entities, and not any prebounds or custom conjures from any one practitioner or sellers. I have no right to speak of their work, so I don't and won't. Just want to clear that up really, so that people won't think that I was talking about conjurations or prebound from practitioners or sellers. And also out of respect for any sellers or practitioners seeing this, so that they know that I am talking about unbound spirits and entities, and not prebound or custom conjured spirits and entities. Since I am really not looking to get in trouble with anyone.

Yeah, I recently read some old stories from around Finland and it turns out there are quite a few horror stories about tonttus.

There was one where a house tonttu (kotitonttu) or a saunatonttu was slighted somehow and the next day the master of the house was found skinned, and his skin was hanging from the barn.

And there was another where a grumpy saunatonttu wanted to go to sauna by himself, but one time someone else went there and the tonttu took his scalp.

Oh dear, there have been some terrible stories in the Norwegian folklore where the fjosnisse has felt slighted by the head of household who were a farmer, but nothing this extreme - at least not to humans. But then again, I haven't actually read or come across any folklore stories from Norway where the farmer, the farmer's family, or servants, have been physically hurt or injured in any manner by the fjosnisse or Tomte. Just distressing stories of animals getting killed in the worst manner possible, by the fjosnisse or Tomte.

Here is more on the Norwegian fjosnisse or Tomte:

"A small human-like creature in Nordic folklore that lives near rural farms and homes and watches over its inhabitants; brownie, gnome. [1] In the Norwegian tradition nissen replaced the Norse gardevorden, a supernatural spirit that guarded the farm. The other names that gardevorden or nissen went by could also be "tuft, tuftkall, tomt, gardsbonde, godbonde, haugebonde, gardrud, rudkall or rundbonde". In addition to the Eastern Norwegian "fjøsnissen" skipsnisse, kirkenisse also existed. All associated with Yule or Christmas".

"In Norway the fjøsnisse was often described as a small man "not bigger than the head of horse" with a long beard and grey/gray clothes and a red nissehat[2], like most farmers wore back in the old days (and that lives on in the Scandinavian men's bunad). He could be useful or make himself useful on the farm, i. e. tending to and caring for the farm animals, especially if he was treated to good food and beverage on the night of Christmas Eve. The fjøsnisse was the most common among all of the nissene. A fjøsnisse lives in the stable or barn[3], as the nisser have done since Medieval times. The animals he cared for the most, were horses, pigs and goats".

"Fjøsnissen could also be capricious[4] and unpredictable and could do pranks and mischief and harm people and animals if he wasn't treated well. It has also been said that a maiden on the farm had put a piece of butter in the bottom of the the enlongated bowl carved out of wood and the porridge on the top of it. Nissen, expecting the butter eye (or piece of butter) on his porridge got so mad, that he killed the best milking cow on the farm with his bare fists. When the nissen had eaten all of porridge and found the piece of butter, he regretted it and went and brought with him the best milking cow from the neigboring farm".

"There was another time when the farmer found himself in a dire situation and had to steal hay from the neighboring farm. As he went and took the hay with him, he saw a grey/gray tuftekall with a red topplue, that was moving some hay. The farmer told that that small amount of hay, wasn't really all that much. However, what the farmer didn't know was that that little bale of hay would result in something far bigger. But this angered the nissen and the next day all of the hay in the barn was gone. The farmer understood right there and then that this was the nissen's way of punishing him, by dragging all of the hay to the neigboring farm and storing it in the neigboring farm's barn".

"(It was thought by some that) nissen possessed supernatural powers and that the red top hat was grey/gray on the inside. If the nissen wore his hat on the inside out/backwards, then he turned invisible. Up until the 19th century it was unusual that people believed in the existence of nisser and for that reason bore the nisse in mind in everyday life on the farm. Because of this it was a custom around in several places in Norway to not only bring and leave a bowl of porridge for the nissen on Christmas night, but also to leave any of leftovers of the Christmas on the table for the nissen to help himself to. Equally any unexplainable phenomena were often met with the explanation of that the nissen stopped by for a visit".

"There are multiple story accounts about songs and Norwegian proverbs about the farmer that wanted to flee and leave the evil nissen behind, packing all of his belongings to move away to somewhere else, but that instead of being able to run away from him "the nissen followed with him in the move" or got "nissen med på lasset". This has often become an expression for people who try run away from their problems".[5] (My own translation, with the exception of words with footnote numbers directly behind or right next to them (sources for these words cited down below in the footnotes), punctuations, commas and structuring)

Sources:
[1] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tomte Retrieved January 26 2020
[2] https://forum.kvinneguiden.no/topic/262 ... 5-engelsk/ Retrieved January 26 2020
[3] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fj%C3%B8s Retrieved January 26 2020
[4] "lunefull." K Dictionaries. 2013. K Dictionaries Ltd and partners https://no.thefreedictionary.com/lunefull Retrieved January 26 2020
[5] https://sognafaret.blogspot.com/2015/12/nisser.html Retrieved January 26 2020

[Szyvágr]

Speaking of house tonttu, here is some on the Norwegian equivalent:

The husnisse (the house nisse or house Tomte)

"Husnissene lived in the attic of humans' houses and sleep in old shoes or woolen mits. They loved to do pranks.[1] When the humans are away, they spend their days playing hide and seek in the kitchen, climbing house plants, and rooking pendulum inside the grandfather clock back and forth. In our day and age the husnissene are mostly invisible. My grandmother have experienced someone that had been and made a straight up mess of the carded[2] wool as well as the yarn she was spinning in her spinning wheel[3] at the time. As she had to excuse herself to use the outside loo. Now the nisse have paid me a visit, she said and shook her head. She sat down and spun (the yarn) up in the attic. Nobody had been up there, not even the cats. In our days the husnissene are mostly invisible, but it happens that they do make themselves known or visible on dark winter nights".[4] [My own translation with the exception of the words with numbers behind or next to them. Sources cited in the footnotes. My parenthesis and filling out the missing word, for explanatory purposes.

As well as other nisser from the Scandinavian folklore:

The kirkenisse (Church nisse or church Tomte)

The kirkenisse also a part of the smånisser. Back in the old days most churches were inhabited by nisser. They either lived inside a hole on the left side of the church's entrance or in the church tower. The kirkenissene often slept in the bell-ringer's[5][6] old shoes. Every Saturday they dust all the church benches and chairs, sweep the floor and remove all the cobweb and chase away all the mice. The kirkenisse sit right next to the church gate when people come to the church to attend the sermon and nod at those who walk passed him."[7]

The skogsnisse (The forest nisse)

Out of all the nisser the most of those who exist are skogsnisser. They live out in the free and usually inhabit a hollow treetrunk or the root(s) of the tree. During the fall or autumn the skognisser collect nuts, wild berries, fruits and roots for to store and prepare for the winter. De often have a kitchen garden right nearby their house. They carry branches with them home to use for firewood and gather water from the brook or creek.[8] When it rains they usually take the path through bregneskogen (literally: the fern forest) or use toadstools as an umbrella. They just as much a prankster as the fjøsnissen".[9] [My parenthesis and translation (with the exception of words with numbers behind or next to them. Cited sources down below in the footnotes)]

Sources:

[1] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ableg%C3%B8ye Retrieved January 27 2020
[2] https://nb.glosbe.com/nb/en/karding Retrieved January 27 2020
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinning_wheel Retrieved January 27 2020
[4] https://sognafaret.blogspot.com/2015/12/nisser.html Retrieved January 27 2020
[5] https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klokker Retrieved January 27 2020
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell-ringer Retrieved January 27 2020
[7] https://sognafaret.blogspot.com/2015/12/nisser.html Retrieved January 27 2020
[8] https://vgd.no/index.php/kultur-og-frit ... /17453257/ Retrieved January 27 2020
[9] https://sognafaret.blogspot.com/2015/12/nisser.html Retrieved January 27 2020

[Szyvágr]

EDIT:

The kirkenisse (Church nisse or church Tomte)

The kirkenisse also a part of the smånisser. Back in the old days most churches were inhabited by nisser. They either lived inside a hole on the left side of the church's entrance or in the church tower. The kirkenissene often slept in the bell-ringer's[5][6] old shoes. Every Saturday they dust all the church benches and chairs, sweep the floor and remove all the cobweb and chase away all the mice. The kirkenisse sit right next to the church gate when people come to the church to attend the sermon and nod at those who walk passed him."[7] [My translation (with the exception of words with numbers behind or next to them. Cited sources down below in the footnotes)]

Sources:

[5] https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klokker Retrieved January 27 2020
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell-ringer Retrieved January 27 2020
[7] https://sognafaret.blogspot.com/2015/12/nisser.html Retrieved January 27 2020

[Szyvágr]

EDIT:

They often have a kitchen garden right nearby their house.
--
The kirkenisse also considered a part of the group of smånisser.
--
They are just as much of a prankster as the fjøsnissen.

[Szyvágr]

Found some more interesting reading material on the nisse, and I love to learn more about my own country's folklore which consists of different stories about these creatures from different parts all over Norway. Because it really helps to understand and learn more about the creatures themselves, and just how the presence of these creatures that influenced and/or affected our ancestors and the choices they made and their actions in everyday life. And given that this also is a thread on the Tomte/Nisse/Tonttu in the Folklore and Legends forum, I also wanted to share this here for anyone who may be interested in reading it and/or learning about this part of the Norwegian folklore on the Nisse.

"THE NISSE

The nisse, or nis, is a small but powerful subterranean creature that is to be found in local legends, rather than the folktales. He typically wears a red woollen hat, as do a great many people in the folklore of the period, but we have a more detailed physical description in “An Evening Hour in the District Governor’s Kitchen.” He is said to be furry, at least on his hands, he has four fingers on each hand (no thumbs), and eyes that shine.

The word “nisse” comes from the given name Nils, which itself is derived from the Greek Nikolaos, suggesting a connection to the gift-giving saint of the same name. In fact, Santa Claus is called Julenissen (the Christmas nisse) in Norwegian.

Although he helps around the house, or the farm, he does not partake of the Christmas spirit. Some legends, such as those embedded in “An Evening at the Neighbouring Farm” (forthcoming), describe the immense strength of the nisse: “Gudbrand was so strong that he could lift a horse, and carry four barrels of rye, but the nisse was stronger; it was like wrestling a sauna wall, said Gudbrand, and however he wrestled, he was no good to move him from the spot.”

If he is pleased, the nisse will help on the farm. A legend in “On the Alexandrian Height” tells of a nisse, “a little fellow with a load of hay as large and as huge as a horse-load,” that can bring it dry into the barn, even though the rain is pouring down.

The theology student who remarks this questions the nisse concerning his purpose. He asks him first how long he has been at the farm. “For three lifetimes,” the nisse answers. Then the student asks him how many souls he has gained there on the farm. “I have got seven,” says the nisse, “and I’ll soon have two more.”

If the nisse is dissatisfied, then he can cause a lot of trouble before stealing the souls of his household. The first rule of keeping a nisse happy is good porridge. A girl in “An Old-fashioned Christmas Eve” offends him, by offering him oats and milk in a trough on Thursday evening, instead of sour-cream porridge. He takes his revenge by dancing a Halling with her all night, “and when some people came to the barn in the morning, she was more dead than alive.”

Making sure he is not disturbed too early in the morning is another way of keeping him happy. In another legend in the same text, he protests being woken too early by knocking all the plates together and throwing them on the floor. After this incident, the kitchen girls persuade him to move, and he is much happier at his new place with the coppersmith: “It was quieter there, for they went to bed at nine o’clock every evening.” The presence of the nisse brings wealth to the coppersmith, “for people said that the wife there put some porridge in the loft for him every Thursday evening.”


ENDNOTES

[2] There is a common idea that trolls turn to stone in the sunlight, and Tolkein’s (literary) trolls certainly did, but I have yet to find a folk narrative in which the troll turns to stone. Such a narrative may well be Out There Somewhere, but as yet, I have not read it." [I left out the other endnotes since only they were not relevant to this text, but only copy-pasted the endnote that was included in the copy-pasted text above]


Source: https://folklorethursday.com/folktales/6576/ Retrieved January 27 2020

--------

Corrections:

I just weren't that sure if Tomte spirits are as mischievous as when they lived as entities[...] "In Norway the fjøsnisse was often described as a small man "not bigger than the head of a horse". [...] the best dairy cow[1][2] on the farm with his bare fists. When the nissen had eaten all of porridge and found the piece of butter, he regretted it and went and brought with him the best dairy cow from the neigboring farm". [...] This has often become an expression for people who try to run away from their problems". [...] "(It was thought by some that) nissen possessed supernatural powers and that the red woollen top hat[3] was grey/gray on the inside." [My translation, with the exception of words with numbers in [] next to or behind the words.]

Sources:

[1] https://nn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mj%C3%B8lkeku Retrieved January 27 2020
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dairy_cattle Retrieved January 27 2020
[3] https://folklorethursday.com/folktales/6576/ Retrieved January 27 2020

[Szyvágr]

Correction:

"Up until the 19th century it was not unusual that people believed in the existence of nisser and because of that people bore the nisse in mind in the day-to-day life on the farm."

Sorry, making a lot of mistakes when translating from Norwegian to English it seems!

[Szyvágr]

This describes the similarities between the Nisse (Norwgian) and Tomte (Swedish) for those of us who might be confused about who the Nisse and Tomte are, lol. A very educational and interesting read all in all. So if you are wondering about the differences OR similarities between the two, you will surely find that info below. Please enjoy!

"A nisse (usually Norwegian) and a tomte (usually Swedish) are similar characters. They are both solitary, mischievous domestic sprites responsible for the protection and welfare of the farmstead and its buildings. Tomte literally means “homestead man” and is derived from the word tomt which means homestead or building lot. Nisse is derived from the name Nils which is the Scandinavian form of Nicholas.

The Tomten and the Fox by Astrid Lindgren...Click for the beloved Tomte books by Astrid Lindgren
A tomte is described as an older, little man about the size of a young child. He wears old often ragged clothes, usually gray or navy, and sports a bright red cap on his head. He resides in the pantry or barn and watches over the household and farm. He is responsible for the care of the farm animals, especially the horses. The tomte or nisse has an enormous capacity for work but will not tolerate anyone’s interference. It is believed that a clean and orderly home or farm is an indication that this domestic sprite resides there.

Tomtar and nisser require very little of the humans they work for. They demand only the respect and trust of the farmer and a bowl of julegrøt (Christmas porridge) with butter on Christmas Eve. These spirits will not remain in a home where respect is lacking and thus the farm will not thrive and the farmer will be reduced to poverty.

Julnisse with porridge
A nisse considers porridge his due and is greedy for butter. The legend When the Nisse Got No Butter on His Christmas Porridge illustrates the consequences of tampering with his porridge.

One Christmas Eve a servant girl decided she would play a trick on the nisse. She hid the butter for his grøt at the bottom of the bowl. When the nisse saw there was no butter on his Christmas porridge, he went to the shed and killed the best cow. He wanted to show them he did not appreciate them begrudging him a little bit of butter. He returned to the barn to eat the porridge anyway. When he discovered the butter at the bottom of the bowl, he felt so bad that he walked to the neighbor’s farm, took their best cow, and led her back to the stall of the cow he had killed.

According to legend, domestic spirits often steal from a neighbor to increase the prosperity of the farm where they make their home. This is demonstrated in the legend The Nisse Who Stole Fodder:

Jultomte and horse
There once was a farmer who had no hay left for his farm animals. He sat one day and complained about it when he heard a voice say, “I will help you." The farmer looked around but couldn’t find where the voice came from. After a few days he noticed his animals were thriving although they had no food. One day the farmer decided he would take his chances and cross the ice to a neighboring village to buy some hay. When he was in the middle of the ice a small man appeared and asked where he was going. The farmer replied that he was going to buy hay. The little man said not to worry because he would help him so the farmer returned home. One night the farmer noticed by moonlight a little man leading one of his cows across the ice to a neighbor’s farm. When they returned the cow was loaded down with hay. Then the farmer realized the little man was a nisse and he had been fetching hay for the animals.

The present day version of the julenisse is very different form the legends of the domestic tomte or nisse. The julenisse is portrayed as an older, good natured, adult-sized man (not surprisingly the size of an uncle or father) with a long white beard and a red hat and suit. He carries a sack of toys on his back, visits children in their homes on Christmas Eve and always asks, “Are there any good children here?” (“Er det noen snille barn her?”) Many Scandinavian children also believe he lives at the North Pole where he has a workshop.

The Norwegian julenisse is very much like the American Santa Claus and is based upon the German legend of St. Nicholas (nisse is a derivative of Nicholas), who was the patron saint of children and seamen. He was known for his many kind acts toward children.

JulbockIn Sweden the jultomte is accompanied by the Christmas goat who pulls his sleigh as he delivers gifts to the children’s homes. In pagan times, the god Thor was believed to ride across the sky in a chariot pulled by two goats. Christians adopted the goat as a Christmas symbol. The chained figure of a buck is a representation of Lucifer who was conquered by the good Saint Nicholas and is destined to accompany his master on his journey to distribute gifts to the children. Today the goat is a benign straw figure but still a very well-known Christmas symbol.


Legends of the domestic nisse and tomte meet the modern day version of the julenisse or jultomte in the tradition of leaving a bowl of julegrøt with butter out in the barn or in the house for them on Christmas Eve. This tradition is still practiced in Scandinavian homes."[1]

And why was butter in the porridge considered that precious or important ingridient on the porridge back in the old days in Norway? This excepts from different website might just help shed some light on the butter's role as the important ingridient it was, and still is to this day - though today's it is more because modern-day Norwegians have grown up with placing a piece of butter in the middle of their sour cream and rice porridges, and not so much to do with superstitious reasons, or for the same reason as why our ancestors had for having butter in their porridge way back when.

"Today, the Norwegians typically eat porridge with a layer of sugar and cinnamon on top – and a chunk of butter in the middle, melting and blending in. According to old beliefs: a lump of butter shaped like a cross, protects against evil powers."[2]

This text was originally in Norwegian and so I did my best here to translate it to English, though I won't promise that it is free of any errors (but I do try!):

"Something as natural as butter, was regarded as a high luxury goods or item back in the old days as a kilo of butter cost nearly as much as a worker's daily wage. Much of the goods were purchased directly from the farmers. Fresh milk was a rare beverage. The children were given watered-down sour milk, it was even common to serve them coffee. For breakfast and supper they made and served porridge made out of wheat or barley. Sugar and sour milk were were commonly used on/with or served along with the porridge."[3]

So hence maybe why this precious piece of butter was so coveted by the Tomte and Nisse, and why our ancestors felt it so important to produce, or get ahold of, that very precious piece of butter, to put on top of the porridge for to give to the Tomte or Nisse - lest something bad were to happen to their livestock or themselves, for not giving the Tomte or Nisse that he felt was his due, seeing that how much that this less than common luxury goods or item cost back in the old days, monetarily. And you can then see why it was oh, so very important to make that the Tomte or Nisse got his due bowl of porridge with the piece of butter on (the top of) it.

Sources:

[1] https://www.ingebretsens.com/culture/tr ... -and-tomte Retrieved January 29 2020
[2] https://talknorway.no/food-history-a-na ... ge-norway/ Retrieved January 29 2020
[3] https://haugalandmuseet.no/undervisning ... ene/maten/ Retrieved 29 2020

[Runa]

It's interesting to see that Tontu and Nisse are a real phenomenon because previously I had no idea. All that I have heard about them was their play in the Netflix Original kids television series, HILDA. I loved them in the show and now I am more inclined to read further.