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Cultural Identity in Contemporary Icelandic Elf-Tradition
The fairy faith, once so widespread and well attested in Europe, is generally thought to be extinct (Christiansen 1975, 95). The usual concessions are made for the odd believer on the fringe of society in Ireland (Ballard 1991; Bourke 1996; Christiansen 1975; Lysaght 1991), Wales (Gwyndaf 1991 and 1994), and even Newfoundland (Butler 1991; Narváez 1991; Rieti 1991). If I am not mis- taken, however, these socially marginal survivals are only taken to reinforce the notion of the fairies' farewell. However, not all the fairies have said their last good-byes: elves are alive and frisky in modern day Iceland. Though Iceland's position is peripheral by most standards, elf beliefs can most certainly not be considered marginal in Icelandic society. An opinion poll, taken in July 1998, suggests that a majority of Icelanders put stock in the existence of elves. More than nine out of ten persons polled replied when asked, "Do you believe in elves?" Of these, 54.4 % said yes, while only 45.6 % answered in the negative1. A more detailed and extensive survey from 1975 is probably more representative of the various degrees of conviction on the scale between belief and disbelief (Haraldsson 1978)2. The results indicate that, at least then, a fairly narrow margin separated the number of people who considered elves likely (15 %) or certain (7 %) to exist from those that deemed their existence unlikely (18 %) or impos- sible (10 %). A third of the sample entertained the possibility of their existence (33 %), neither affirming nor denying it, while one out of six pronounced no opinion on the matter (17 %) (Haraldsson 1978, 27)3.
In this article I will address the contemporary tradition about elves - the beliefs, narratives and experiences associated with tfypm. My focus is on the construction of alterity by tradition participants and the concerns about identity and change that crystallize in this construction4. The data are in the first instance from fieldwork I conducted in 1995 and 1996 with 35 elf-harried roadworkers and other participants in projects with which elves are supposed to have inter- fered. In addition to my fieldwork, I make use of files archived in the National Museum of Iceland, Department of Ethnology. The...