[Woodcarver] woodspirit history

[Phill Pittman]

MessageHi AL,

The woodspirit history has multiple similar beginnings. I almost every culture trees played such an important role in mans life that they were give an enormous amount of respect and credit for good things that happened. Different cultures in Europe, Asia, Africa and Americas all have roughly similar origins.

Even the modern carpenters still do top-out parties after building a new structure to it's tallest point by placing a sapling on top of the structure and serving a " feast". ( more often a beer keg and wings from wing stop in these times).

The German version of the wood spirit is called "Kobold". I am very familiar with these as they were my primary product for two and a half years. We produced over 5,000 of them in different incarnations. Our main product was a birdhouse with an exaggerated nose that the birds entered through.The Kobold is said to leave the tree when it is cut. It wanders as long as it can stand it until it finds the need to be housed again. If you paint, carve, or otherwise place an image of a Kobold on you gable, it invites the Kobolds to live in your house. If they arrive by invitation they are credited with all types of good happenings. They are credited with keeping your thatch from mildewing, keep you tinder dry and keep vermin from your garden. If they have to " squat" without invitation and stay they are considered mischievous. Not malicious, just making life interesting. Credited with hens not laying, spilled/spoiled milk and roof leaks. This is corrected by adding the face to your structure.

When researching this for marketing a few years ago, we found similar stories in almost every early culture. They are heavy in planting folklore also, gardens and forestry are filled with stories.

A few varied Google searches will add a lot of interesting variations.

Good carving, Phill


Phill Pittman
digicarve at verizon.net
www.masterwerkes.com


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Al & Sue Pilsl 
  To: [Woodcarver] 
  Sent: Saturday, June 19, 2004 11:58 AM
  Subject: [Woodcarver] woodspirit history


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  Hello Everyone,

  Am giving a cottonwood bark woodspirit/housespirit to a friend as a gift, and thought it would be nice to include a short history/explanation of them.  Can anyone point me in the right direction to find a concise explanation of woodspirits?  Have tried a Google search, but didn't come up with anything that seemed appropriate.

  Thank you very much for any and all answers.

  Al Pilsl
  From Beautiful Hancock, WI
  pilsl at uniontel.net


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