In the photo: Koropokkura figurine.
In many cultures, such an interesting element as stories and legends about the "little people" - fairies, elves, gnomes and others, endowed with various names, but having one important common feature - is very often found - small stature
Moreover, these, quite important, sometimes elements of folklore arose at the very dawn of history consistently around the world. On the Japanese island of Hokkaido, in the cold northern regions of the archipelago, the Ainu people also have their own ancient legends about tiny dwarfs who, according to their stories, inhabited these lands long before people appeared here.
The Ainu call these creatures Koropokkuru or Tsuchigumo. The name Koropokkuru translates as "people who live under the leaves of burdock" and reflects the miniature growth of creatures. Some dwarf stories tell that an entire family could fit under a 4-foot-wide burdock leaf (1 foot is about 12 inches). The size of the dwarfs actually varies greatly in stories and they range in height from 2-3 feet to several inches. Koropokkuru are described as rather rude and primitive creatures with large heads, prominent eyebrows and a flat nose.
Sometimes they describe their red skin and talk about their extreme hairiness. Despite the primitiveness in the legends, it is reported that the koropokkuru owned scrapers, made stone knives and other simple tools, and were also very skillful in ceramics. They lived in dugouts or simply in holes, for which they are sometimes called "inhabitants of the pits".
They knew how to communicate, but according to legend, the dwarfs did not like to show themselves to people, which was attributed to their shyness. Sometimes they exchanged goods with people, mostly at night and these operations were very fast, so that the dwarfs themselves rarely could be clearly seen. In fact, they generally tried to stay away from people.
At first, dwarfs and Ainu lived peacefully alongside each other. But then some kind of conflict broke out and the dwarfs were expelled or even completely destroyed by people.
Could these stories be based on real events? As a result of archaeological excavations, archaeologists have discovered strange earth structures throughout Japan. The Ainu never built such huts; the dugouts were attributed only to Koropokkur. In the pits, the remains of stone tools were found, also uncharacteristic for the Ainu culture, and their size was small enough for an ordinary human hand.
In 1877, archaeologist Edward Morse discovered numerous traces of pottery on Omori Hill, which cannot be attributed to any known Japanese culture and which, according to Morse, belonged to an unknown Neolithic culture prior to the Ainu.
Morse's student Tsuboi Shogoro, a founding member of the Anthropological Society and later professor of anthropology at Tokyo Imperial University discovered stories about koropokkura in the Ainu culture and was struck by the similarity of what was described in them and the finds during excavations. He suggested that it was Koropokkuru who were the creators of the found ceramics and the builders of dugouts, because everything pointed to them, and not to the Ainu.
Other anthropologists and scholars also came to similar conclusions, which most likely would have contributed to the introduction of Koropokkuru into the academic reference book, but these ideas were highly controversial and fiercely discussed at the time.
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If there really existed in ancient Japan some kind of ancient dwarf race that created tools and pottery and lived in earthen houses, then who are they and where did they come from?
One possible answer is that the Koropokkuru is a type of race of dwarf people, like pygmies. Pygmies are fairly widespread in the world and have many ethnic groups. These peoples are classified as pygmies if their average height is less than 150cm (4ft 11in). Pygmies live in Africa, the Malacca Peninsula, the Andaman Islands, New Guinea and the Philippines. Many of these distant groups share similar characteristics, such as certain physical traits and social customs, which indicate that they are perhaps more prevalent in the past and may have a common origin. If the pygmies were able to spread over such distances, and inhabited various islands and continents, then there is nothing strange that one of their groups at some point went to Japan. Although many characteristics of koropokkuru,in particular, their rudeness and cruelty suggest that these gnomes may be something completely different from the usually peaceful pygmies.
Pygmies
In many cultures around the world, there is a small creature covered with hair. Cryptozoologists call these small hominids “proto-pygmies” (a term coined by cryptozoologist Sanderson). “Proto-pygmies are usually described as bipedal and human-like, only covered with hair, sometimes of varying lengths, and also possessing rough features, frowning eyebrows and short, thick noses.
The possibility of the existence of such seemingly fantastic creatures got a chance with the discovery of the remains of miniature humanoid creatures found on the island of Flores in the Indonesian archipelago. Skeleton remains and other artifacts were discovered at Liang Bau Cave in 2003 and were first described in 2004.
The creatures became known as Homo floresiensis, or "hobbits". Studies of the relatively complete female skeleton of the "hobbit" showed that this already adult person was no more than 106 cm tall. In addition, it was found that these creatures were not just another group of dwarf people, but were representatives of a completely new kind of man … At the same time, the remains date back from 90,000 to 18,000 years, which means that they existed simultaneously with modern man. It is believed that these "hobbits" may have become extinct only 12 thousand years ago. These creatures appeared to have a high level of intelligence and rather sophisticated technology. Among the skeletal remains found in the cave were stone tools. If some of these creatures could survive,then that would give us a real basis for the many legends about hairy dwarfs.
Moreover, the local population of Flores has enough legends about the dwarfs Ebu Gogo, who were described as small, hairy and lived in caves. In Indonesia, there are also stories about the creature Orang Pendek, a small, hairy hominid that also looks remarkably like a "hobbit."
All these stories suggest that the "hobbits" of Flores lived long enough with the man and remained in his memory. And maybe they are still preserved in the virgin jungle …
By the way, on other islands of Indonesia, tools similar to those of the "hobbits" were found. They date back from 840 to 750 thousand years ago, which is much older than modern man arrived there (about 40 thousand years ago.). The whole question is, where did these "hobbits" come from?
Flores has long been an isolated island, not connected to the mainland or other islands. Even when the ocean was at its lowest, Flores was still 24 kilometers from land. Could it be that the "hobbits" were also good navigators and sailed to Flores on rafts or boats? The idea of 'hobbits' sea ancestors opens up a whole world of new possibilities for proto-pygmies outside of Flores, and even Indonesia.
In fact, tales of hairy little people are scattered throughout Oceania. In Hawaii, there are stories of hominids 2–3 feet tall, with strong, muscular bodies, low foreheads, and reddish faces. Surprisingly, this is almost an accurate description of Koropokkuru! In Ceylon, dwarfs are 3 feet tall, hairy, and known as Nittaewo. In Fiji, there are also stories of hairy two-foot men. On the island of Palau, dwarf remains have been found dating back only 900 - 2800 years ago. Australia has long been considered the home of a tribe of miniature hairy men known as Junjdy. These creatures are said to be half the size of regular Australian aborigines. It is possible that these are "hobbits" or their descendants.
It is possible that they also reached the shores of Japan at one time. Painfully well fit "hobbits" in the story of koropokkuru. It is believed that the "hobbits" were able to speak and they could well communicate and trade with people. And yet the riddle of Koropokkuru remains unsolved.