Douens- French? Really? Are we sure?

This is a painting from A Codallo, a Trinidadian Artist long past. To the right under the tree is a picture of a DOUEN, a childlike creature with a large hat, whose feet are turned backwards.

Now since we were small, we have been told that these creatures were of French origin, and thats the story we stuck to and repeated to our little ones. But I find it intriguing the the Latin American countries have a creature called "Duendes" which varies in appearance depending on the country.

I am not making any conclusions, but there must be a link, the names are too similar. Maybe the creature is of Spanish origin and the French adopted the name?

The reason I am questioning is that I once sat back and traced an online thread about the Pierrot, right back to Italy...apparently, the character's origins came from Italian street drama, and the French picked it up in their street plays. Mind you, this was no aristocracy here...this was street art......and it became on of our leading Carnival Characters.

This lead me to question a lot of things about our "heritage" But I'll get to that some other time.

Why is this important?

Because we are working with energies in Magick. The energies of the Fae folk on the land in which you live shows the relationship that the people have with the land. Where did the Fae originate? And why, on this island in the Caribbean are the fae so hostile? Or were they originally friendly, and became hostile by what we were told? I question this again, because of what I read about the Silk Cotton Tree in another book about African Plant healing.

Silk Cotton Trees were seen as spiritual holy places, a place to meditate, pray and connect to the ancestors. Which is the total opposite to the fearful stories that we were introduced to about the trees.

Everything we have that is indigineous is attached to fear. Could that be why we as a people feel so fearful of new experiences? Fearful of explorations of the Spirit? Fearful of our own country?

Could be that the colonialists did more damage to our psyche than we care to admit. Or than we want to know.......

The Silk Cotton Tree

As a child you wouldn't dare to be near a silk cotton tree on a full moon night. As a matter of fact, you wouldn't dare be near one at all. Malicious spirits of all types roamed under this tree......so you could understand why a child's imagination would see it as evil.

When did this begin to be taught to our youngsters. I ask why, because in West Africa, Puerto Rico,and other places where the Silk Cotton Tree plays a part in the spiritual Heritage of the African Diaspora, the Silk Cotton tree is seen as a link between the spiritual world ans ours. It is not placed in the "evil" file. Rather, it is seen as a place where one can commune with spirits of old, and seek their wisdom. Offering up gifts to the ancestors for wisdom, or connecting with nature for healing is what the tree represents for most.

When did Jamaica (Duppy Tree) and Trinidad start seeing it as evil, and disconnecting from its healing energies? This me chooses to ponder....hmmmmmmmmm.