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The Wisconsin Gnomelore Database
The Tomte Nisse
"One old farmer set aside in his fields each year a small fenced enclosure where he planted wheat and vegetables for the use of the fairy folk."
From There Be Hodags, by C.A. McAllister:
The tomte nisser (singular: tomte nisse) are a type of little people from Scandinavia who appeared as small, bearded men with pointed hats and tippet capes. They served as household spirits, washing dishes, sweeping the kitchen, minding the fireplace, and even helping out with barn chores. In exchange, the household’s humans would set out a bowl of porridge or other food as an offering to their tomte nisse. In the 1930's, it was documented that Scandinavian immigrants in Wisconsin were still observing this practice of leaving out food for the tomte nisser. One old farmer was even known to set aside a small, fenced plot of wheat and vegetables exclusively for use by his tomte nisse.
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Some Scandinavian folk stories claim that a tomte nisse possesses only one eye. While none of the Wisconsin legends on the tomte nisse make this claim, this presents an interesting contrast with the lutin, a French gnome which is said in Wisconsin lore to possess only one eye, but which is said to have two eyes back in mainland France. In modern Scandinavia, the tomte nisser have become associated with the winter solstice and Christmas, which interestingly gives them similarities to the kobolders, creatures from German-Wisconsinite folklore which were explicitly said to be a relative to the tomte nisser, and which made toys for children on St. Nicholas’ Day.
From Federal Writer's Project Records, 1936-1939, recorded by Westby:
Among the interesting beliefs and stories which the Norwegians have brought to Wisconsin from the homeland are those which tell of the tomte nisse, household dwarfs. These small, bearded men wearing tippet capes are supposed to assist in work about the peasant home. At night it is customary to set out a bowl of porridge or other food for the household elf on the doorstep or in the kitchen. In return for this kindness they wash thye dishes, sweep the kitchen, mind the fires, and perform other useful tasks for the housewife. Someetimes they also assist the husbandman about the barn.
One old farmer set aside in his fields each year a small fenced enclosure where he planted wheat and vegetables for the use of the fairy folk.
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