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''Huldufólk'' (Icelandic hidden people〔(huldu·fólk )〕 from ''huldu-'' "pertaining to secrecy" and ''fólk'' "people", "folk") are elves in Icelandic folklore. Building projects in Iceland are sometimes altered to prevent damaging the rocks where they are believed to live. According to these Icelandic folk beliefs, one should never throw stones because of the possibility of hitting the huldufólk. President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson has explained the existence of huldufólk tales by saying: "Icelanders are few in number, so in the old times we doubled our population with tales of elves and fairies." They are also a part of folklore in the Faroe Islands. In Faroese folk tales, Huldufólk are said to be "large in build, their clothes are all grey, and their hair black. Their dwellings are in mounds, and they are also called Elves." They also dislike crosses, churches and electricity. ==Terminology== The term ''huldufólk'' was taken as a synonym of ''álfar'' (elves) in 19th century Icelandic folklore. Jón Árnason found that the terms are synonymous, except álfar is a pejorative term. Konrad von Maurer contends that ''huldufólk'' originates as a euphemism to avoid calling the álfar by their real name. There is, however, some evidence that the two terms have come to be taken as referring to two distinct sets of supernatural beings in contemporary Iceland. Katrin Sontag found that some people do not differentiate elves from hidden people, while others do. A 2006 survey by Erlendur Haraldsson found that "54% of respondents did not distinguish between elves and hidden people, 20% did and 26% said they were not sure."〔Erlendur Haraldsson, 'Psychic Experiences a Third of a Century Apart: Two Representative Surveys in Iceland with an International Comparison', ''Journal of the Society for Psychical Research'', 75 (2011), 88. (Notendur.hi.is ).〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Huldufólk」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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