The Sottai [French-Belgian folklore]
Few folklore traditions are as common throughout Europe as the supposed existence of a race of tiny, dwarf-like creatures. Usually hidden from human society, these beings are usually not evil or malicious but do tend to be tricksters.
The Sottai, also called Sotê or Sotai, is a species of tiny leprechaun-like creatures living in Vosges and Lorraine, in France, and also near the Amblève river in Wallonia (Belgium). Specifically, in Belgium they are said to inhabit the caverns of Remouchamps.
The Sottais are characterized by their laziness and absolutely detest physical labour, but they are nevertheless helpful and usually willing to help out people in need. Indeed, there are stories about Sottais helping out workers and farmers and only demanding food in return.
It is known that these little creatures greatly enjoy parties and festivities, and they happen to be excellent dancers as well. Though not particularly dangerous or malicious, they are also exceptionally skilled archers. As a local story from the Ardennes goes, emperor Charlemagne of the Carolingian Empire was greeted by a troupe of Sottais when he was travelling through the Ardennes. Impressed by their archery skills, he invited them to become a part of his royal entourage, but the creatures refused and returned to their homes.
The name ‘Sottai’ might have been derived from ‘sot’ (silly or foolish) or ‘les sottes gens’ which means something like ‘the silly people’. This implies they were known as tricksters and jokers.
The Sottais, however, are all gone today, as they have all been killed by soldiers from Luxembourg. The soldiers collected bundles of dry wood and lit them on fire at the entrances of the cave system which the little folk inhabited. After being smoked out of their homes like foxes in a hunt, the Sottais were slaughtered. Those who managed to escape found out that the military men were being aided by the local population, which the Sottais had always helped out. Shocked by this betrayal and the cruelty of humans, the little folk left forever.
One Sottai remained, however: a local legend from Wallonia tells of Glawenn, a young Sottai with curly hair, the only one who stayed behind. He did not leave with his brethren, because he was hopelessly in love with a human girl named Garite. The tiny Sottai had been friends with the girl since they were little, and he would often bring her gifts which he had crafted with great skill. Garite eventually married a farmer named Thomas, and though it pained Glawenn, he accepted his fate and told Garite that ‘everything I do for you, I would gladly do for your husband and children’.
As the story goes, Thomas had sown rye on his field, but he had rotten luck and nothing would grow on his lands, even though the fields of his neighbours were full of life. One day, in a fit of rage and frustration, Thomas yelled ‘the devil may have this field and everything in it!’
Unexpectedly, a strange whispering sound came floating on the wind and it sounded a lot like someone saying ‘thank you’. Thomas was chilled to his very bones when he looked at his fields and realized that Pierre, his 4-year-old son, was playing there. He understood now that he had given his own child to the devil, albeit unintentionally.
Uncertain what to do, he told everything to his wife Garite. Garite, in turn, went to the cave where the last Sottai lived, hoping that her childhood friend could help them out. Meanwhile, the rye was growing very well, and her son Pierre had grown tall and strong as well.
When the time came for Thomas to harvest his crops, a strange man emerged from a nearby shrub. He was ugly, tall and thin, and wore a strange costume that didn’t resemble anything the locals wore. The man stopped Thomas, and told him that the crops rightfully belonged to him, as did his son Pierre. Thomas had, after all, given him his land and everything in it.
But Thomas was brave and argued that the devil did not have the right to take these things based solely on a loose promise made in anger. The devil retorted that Thomas had indeed given him these things, and it was because of the devil that the crops had grown tall. And so the two argued back and forth until the devil came with a proposal. The next morning, they would play a game, and the winner would receive both the land and the boy.
For the first round, both Thomas and the devil had to bring one animal: their opponent had to guess which species it belonged to. In the second round, both players had to come up with a task – something doable and natural – that the other had to complete.
Thomas told the entire story to his wife, who yelled at him for being a complete idiot. She went to see Glawenn again, and the little leprechaun told her “tell Thomas to show up half an hour early, and to do everything I tell him to. I will help him win this contest.”
The next morning, Thomas saw the strangest animal he had ever seen: it was about 60 cm (2 feet) high, had 4 legs, and was covered in colourful feathers. In truth, this was Glawenn, hunched over and covered in feathers. Sure enough, the devil showed up and he could not guess what strange animal Thomas had brought. But he himself had an even weirder creature, the likes of which Thomas had never seen. Luckily, Glawenn saw through the fiendish ruse and understood that it was nothing more than a goat in a fancy disguise. He whispered ‘it is a goat!’ to Thomas and so they had won the first round.
For the second game, Thomas gave the devil some of Glawenn’s unnaturally curly hair, and told him to straighten it. But try as he might, even the devil himself was unable to accomplish this.
Realizing he was defeated, the devil retaliated and told Thomas ‘for your task, you will throw this leprechaun in the Adseux river, and if you refuse, I will have both your son and your land.’
The past few weeks had seen heavy rainfall, and so the Adseux was wild and deep. There was no way Glawenn could possibly survive this. But Glawenn accepted his fate and, with his hand on his heart, proclaimed his love for Garite one final time before jumping to his demise. Mercifully, death came quickly, for the tiny man was smashed against the sharp rocks almost immediately. The river carried his remains to the cavern of Remouchamps, where he was born. Defeated, the devil disappeared.
And so the last Sottai died.
Sources:
La Garde, M., 1865, Le val de l’Amblève. Histoires et scènes ardennaises, 2ième édition, Ve Parent & Fils, 468 pp., p. 237-251.
Méchin, C., 2010, Petit dicionnaire des mythes et légendes en Ardenne, édition 2010 revue et augmentée, The Book Edition, 250 pp., p. 227.
Institut Archéologique Liégeois, 1852, Bulletin de l’Institut Archéologique Liégeois, Volumes 1-2, Maison Curtius, 568 pp., p. 273-274.
(image source 1: Victor Prouvé)
(image 2: a 1923 poster advertising the caverns of Remouchamps, where the Sottais supposedly lived. Image taken from ClassicPosterGallery)
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Is it important to mention how many pets I have?Most of them are in Utah, but some of them are at camp.Most of them live in a house.I built-in the forest for them.Anyways these are the ones who live in utah
Tiger Lion Elephant LeopardPanther Cheetah Wolf JaguarHyena Giraffe Deer ZebraGorilla Monkey Chimpanzee BearWild Boar Hippopotamus Kangaroo RhinocerosCrocodile Panda Squirrel MongoosePorcupine Koala Bear Wombat MeerkatOtter Hedgehog Possum ChipmunkSquirrel Raccoon Jackal HareMole Rabbit Alligator Monitor LizardOryx Elk Badger DinosaurPangolin Mole Okapi CamelWild cat Coyote Bison African ElephantAardvark Antelope Alpine Goat Komodo DragonBearded Dragon Royal Bengal Tiger Flying Squirrel EmuEagle Eel Asiatic Lion ArmadilloBeaver Emperor Penguin Baboon BatChameleon Bull Giant Panda ChihuahuaOrangutan Chinchillas Hawk IguanaIbis Ibex King Cobra JellyfishGoose Walrus Seal SkinkMarkhor Falcon Bull Shark Arctic WolfOwl Bulbul Bobcat Guinea PigYak Reindeer Moose PumaOkapi Marten Squirrel Monkey Caracal
And these are the ones that live a camp, but not all of them.This is only a few
My frog's Robert Kella And mayI have my spider.Her name is Lila.I have my other spider xavier he's a wolf spiderI have my two cats alice and coralI have my blue jay Hemlock My raven taro. My robin AvaI have my Dear Arana. My other dear sotaI have my dog snicker noodleI have my armadillo Sienna.I have my Bunny maya and my other bunny Sia My other Other Bunny MeredithMy fish ivy my other fish Sunflower I have like a ton more.I have a total of 102 Pets at camp. They're all very well. Behaved, I have all the paperwork for them, and I've had them since I was 9 so they're all trained and none of them have hurt me yet so everyone will be fine.
uhhhhh i don’t think you can have 102 pets at camp… i’ll ask Chiron i guess.
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I think it's important that I mention how many animals I have.So most of them live in the forest in a little cabin thing.I built them, but the rest are back in Utah at my house.All the ones that I'm gonna tell you guys.The name of are at camp, but the ones.We're not gonna be saying the name of our back in my helmet utah
Tiger Lion Elephant LeopardPanther Cheetah Wolf JaguarHyena Giraffe Deer ZebraGorilla Monkey Chimpanzee BearWild Boar Hippopotamus Kangaroo RhinocerosCrocodile Panda Squirrel MongoosePorcupine Koala Bear Wombat MeerkatOtter Hedgehog Possum ChipmunkSquirrel Raccoon Jackal HareMole Rabbit Alligator Monitor LizardOryx Elk Badger DinosaurPangolin Mole Okapi CamelWild cat Coyote Bison African ElephantAardvark Antelope Alpine Goat Komodo DragonBearded Dragon Royal Bengal Tiger Flying Squirrel EmuEagle Eel Asiatic Lion ArmadilloBeaver Emperor Penguin Baboon BatChameleon Bull Giant Panda ChihuahuaOrangutan Chinchillas Hawk IguanaIbis Ibex King Cobra JellyfishGoose Walrus Seal SkinkMarkhor Falcon Bull Shark Arctic WolfOwl Bulbul Bobcat Guinea PigYak Reindeer Moose PumaOkapi Marten Squirrel Monkey Caracal
These are my camp animals.
My frog's Robert Kella And mayI have my spider.Her name is Lila.I have my other spider xavier he's a wolf spiderI have my two cats alice and coralI have my blue jay Hemlock My raven taro. My robin AvaI have my Dear Arana. My other dear sotaI have my dog snicker noodleI have my armadillo Sienna.I have my Bunny maya and my other bunny Sia My other Other Bunny MeredithMy fish ivy my other fish Sunflower
Look sis I mean this in the kindest way possible but you and your pets are a danger to yourself and others with their sheer multitude
Ma’am, it may be time to join Petaholics Anonymous.
(and where have you been hiding them?? seriously—I’ve never seen a single one. Do you smuggle them in through a pocket dimension or something?)
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Hi, I realized it's really important to mention how many animals I have my dearest nephew so most of them live back at Utah but a decent few of them live.At camp, I'm not gonna be saying all the ones who live at camp.Because that's kind of take too long.Anyways these are the ones I have back at utah
Tiger Lion Elephant LeopardPanther Cheetah Wolf JaguarHyena Giraffe Deer ZebraGorilla Monkey Chimpanzee BearWild Boar Hippopotamus Kangaroo RhinocerosCrocodile Panda Squirrel MongoosePorcupine Koala Bear Wombat MeerkatOtter Hedgehog Possum ChipmunkSquirrel Raccoon Jackal HareMole Rabbit Alligator Monitor LizardOryx Elk Badger DinosaurPangolin Mole Okapi CamelWild cat Coyote Bison African ElephantAardvark Antelope Alpine Goat Komodo DragonBearded Dragon Royal Bengal Tiger Flying Squirrel EmuEagle Eel Asiatic Lion ArmadilloBeaver Emperor Penguin Baboon BatChameleon Bull Giant Panda ChihuahuaOrangutan Chinchillas Hawk IguanaIbis Ibex King Cobra JellyfishGoose Walrus Seal SkinkMarkhor Falcon Bull Shark Arctic WolfOwl Bulbul Bobcat Guinea PigYak Reindeer Moose PumaOkapi Marten Squirrel Monkey Caracal
And these are the ones I have that camp
My frog's Robert Kella And mayI have my spider.Her name is Lila.I have my other spider xavier he's a wolf spiderI have my two cats alice and coralI have my blue jay Hemlock My raven taro. My robin AvaI have my Dear Arana. My other dear sotaI have my dog snicker noodleI have my armadillo Sienna.I have my Bunny maya and my other bunny Sia My other Other Bunny MeredithMy fish ivy my other fish Sunflower This is obviously not all of my camp animals, but I'm not gonna List them all off. From your aunt
HOW DO YOU HAVE TBAT MANY???? congrats I Think
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Hey , here's a list of all the animals I have at camp and Back at my house In Utah. The ones with the names written down are the ones I have a camp.
Tiger Lion Elephant LeopardPanther Cheetah Wolf JaguarHyena Giraffe Deer ZebraGorilla Monkey Chimpanzee BearWild Boar Hippopotamus Kangaroo RhinocerosCrocodile Panda Squirrel MongoosePorcupine Koala Bear Wombat MeerkatOtter Hedgehog Possum ChipmunkSquirrel Raccoon Jackal HareMole Rabbit Alligator Monitor LizardOryx Elk Badger DinosaurPangolin Mole Okapi CamelWild cat Coyote Bison African ElephantAardvark Antelope Alpine Goat Komodo DragonBearded Dragon Royal Bengal Tiger Flying Squirrel EmuEagle Eel Asiatic Lion ArmadilloBeaver Emperor Penguin Baboon BatChameleon Bull Giant Panda ChihuahuaOrangutan Chinchillas Hawk IguanaIbis Ibex King Cobra JellyfishGoose Walrus Seal SkinkMarkhor Falcon Bull Shark Arctic WolfOwl Bulbul Bobcat Guinea PigYak Reindeer Moose PumaOkapi Marten Squirrel Monkey Caracal And these are my camp.Animals that live at camp.Some of them live in a little house.I built in the forest and some live in our cabin
My frog's Robert Kella And mayI have my spider.Her name is Lila.I have my other spider xavier he's a wolf spiderI have my two cats alice and coralI have my blue jay Hemlock My raven taro. My robin AvaI have my Dear Arana. My other dear sotaI have my dog snicker noodleI have my armadillo Sienna.I have my Bunny maya and my other bunny Sia My other Other Bunny MeredithMy fish ivy my other fish Sunflower
Help I’ve never even heard of some of these
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