The mischievous Tata Duende of Belize

 In the jungles of Belize a TATA DUENDE. TATA is the Mayan word for “old man” or “grandfather” and DUENDE, Spanish for “dwarf.”

                                   

                                       Tata Duende Postage stamp of Belize (1991)

He is described as a short man, three feet in height, with an ugly old face, wearing a large red hat, sometimes wearing animal skins, often carrying a machete or knotted stick, missing both thumbs, and with feet facing backward to throw people off his trail.

He is often sighted when it rains, and during Lent, especially around Good Friday. Almost all Tata sightings occur at night. When Tata approaches, a whistling sound can be heard, if the sound is loud and close, Tata is quite the trickster. It is time to worry only when the whistle is distant because that means he is actually close by.

The Tata Duende is the traditional guardian of all animals and people of the forest. A kind creature by nature, he is often said to feed, protect, and cure people hurt or lost in the forest. He is a close friend to the animals and punishes hunters that kill more game than they need.

The Garifuna call him DUENDU and say he is also the guardian of hidden treasures. If someone wants a meeting with him to reveal his treasures, they only need to carve a message to him in pine wood. Meetings generally occur at noon, and those wishing to find the treasure must bring a white rooster and a white sheet on which to make the offering. To further persuade him, one can promise Tata they're firstborn as part of the deal.

Tata does not have thumbs. It is said Tata has a strong desire to steal anyone’s thumbs he encounters. The only way to stop him is to hide your thumbs in the palms of your hands as soon as you see him. If you are quick and hide your thumbs, Tata takes an immediate liking to you. If Tata likes you, he will teach you to play his silver guitar or any other musical instrument you wish to learn.

When Tata is vexed, he can make anyone who sees him or is seen by him immobile, speechless, and fever-ridden for many days after their encounter. Tata’s mean streak comes out when anyone attempts to imitate his whistle. He is feared by hunters because if Tata sees them carrying a gun or a shovel in the forest on Fridays, he will chop off their heads and use them to decorate his own home.

He also enjoys braiding horse manes, as well as, little girls’ hair.

Fairy Lore is in many parts of the world. In Nova Scotia, it has for centuries. The Gaels, Acadians, and Mi'kmaq all have stories to tell about small, human-like creatures that dwell in nature.

And these stories explain that there is more to fairies than what we have seen in movies and heard in bedtime stories.

                                              Artist depiction of a Lutin

In Acadian folklore, it's believed that the lutins take the horses out at night and braid their manes to use them as stirrups.

Fairy-locks (or elf-locks) are the result of fairies tangling and knotting the hairs of sleeping children and the manes of horses as the fairies play in and out of their hair at night. I find it intriguing that a cultures across the globe speak of the same phenomenon, yet they are thousands of miles away from each other. 

Sources

https://ldfieldjournal.wordpress.com/2011/11/09/belize-folklore-tata-duende/

https://www.academia.edu/3819433/The_urban_folklore_of_Otherworldly_horse_mane_braiding_and_the_persistence_of_superstition_regarding_witch_knots_in_horses_manes_from_Shakespeare_to_Spiritual_Warfare

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/behind-the-fairy-door-documentary-1.6574769

What is haunting the Lakes of Killarney?

 

In 2003, Scientists discovered a massive creature the size of a house - in a tranquil Irish lake. A hydro-acoustic study of Muckcross, one of the Killarney lakes in Co Kerry, has thrown up a baffling image of "Muckie". It was the first time the lake, also known as the Middle Lake and among the deepest in Ireland, has been properly surveyed. 

The study was being carried out by the Irish Arctic Char Conservation group with international scientists. River Monitoring Technology fisheries consultant Andrew Long said the researchers expected small signals from individual fish. Much to their surprise, on the southeastern side of the lake they got something much bigger.

Mr. Long said they had been unable to identify what exactly the image is but it was not a computer or logging error as the sonar equipment was functioning normally. It was only when they began analyzing the data that the truly mysterious nature of the thing became apparent. Loch Ness and Muckross have a lot in common. They are big and deep with similar fish species including Arctic char. Scientific advisor to the Irish Char Conservation Group Dr. Fran Igoe said Muckross was up to 70 meters deep, making it and sister lake Lough Leane, the deepest in Ireland. 

He added: "What we do know is that the fish fauna in Muckross is very ancient. 

"We have confirmed the presence of a good population of Arctic char, and the lake is known to hold ferox trout which are ordinary trout, Atlantic salmon, and lamprey species of eel, all of which attest to the ancient origins of this lake." 

The scientist said the discovery was "very exciting" and the group was keen to continue their investigations in the area. It served as a reminder of the hidden mysteries still lurking in Muckross and other ancient ice-age lakes in Co Kerry. Dr. Igoe added that Scottish fisheries expert and monster hunter Ron Greer, who has written extensively on the giant Scottish ferox trout, is to lead a study of the lake.

He said there was a serious side to the surveys by the Irish Char Conservation Group. Many of the lakes had not been surveyed before, yet Ireland was losing genetically unique populations of species, without fully understanding what was happening. 

The find has also welcomed Mr. Paddy O'Sullivan, regional manager of Duchas heritage service. He said whatever it turns out to be it would be given full protection as the lake in the heart of the Killarney National Park was part of a Special Area of Conservation. He was delighted the ancient fish population was, at last, being studied.

On September 17, 2009 a mysterious creature lurking beneath one of the deepest lakes in Ireland was captured on video. Jonathan Downes, spotted the object while on holiday in The Lakes of Killarney, Co Kerry with his wife Corinna Downes, Max Blake and Tony `Doc` Shiels. They were just above Lady's View in Co Kerry, Eire. It overlooks the three lakes of Killarney, and on the upper lake. 

The mystery comes just a few years after bizarre sonar recordings showing a large similarly unidentified body were made in the 250ft deep Muckross Lake, one of the three adjoining lakes. Along with his wife and friends who also had cameras, Mr. Downes, managed to capture the ambiguous shapes moving across part of the lake - after viewing the water from a nearby hill for about an hour.

the most intriguing pieces of footage of unknown aquatic animals to date showing not one anomaly but in total three creatures. One anomaly seems to swiftly torpedo into the water. I have never seen any type of waterfowl dive into the water with such great speed. During another segment of the footage, two large creatures are swimming (one diagonally behind the other). Being that high up on a bluff overlooking this lake was a fantastic vantage point. What is haunting the Lakes of Killarney?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5gvg8-jsbE&t=372s