maa-alused

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In Estonian folk religion, mysterious elves living under the earth.

These small folk had suitably tiny possessions, and their world was differently oriented from the mortal world above them (up was down and right was left). People came in contact with them either by chance or at the elves' wish. Legends tell of distraught elves seeking help from humans in cases of difficult childbirth or illness. A human could marry an elf, but such marriages eventually dissolved. In Finland, such elves were called maahiset.

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maa-alused - in Estonian folk religion, mysterious elflike small folk living under the earth. Corresponding to these are the Finnish maahiset and Lude muahiset, which refer both to the spirits and to an illness caused by them.

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