Wendish Folklore Portfolio 10. LUTKI - Little People
10. LUTKI - Little People
Translated by Elmer Hohle
According to the preconceived notion of our ancestors, Lutki were small, friendly creatures who looked like little people. They live in the
forest in hollow places under trees, always hidden in the ground. There they carried on their homemaking, cooking in little pots and pans made of
thick clay, and baking bread.
It is probable that our ancestors began to think that any urns they found buried in the ground were the little pots used by the Lutki. The
Lutki spoke their own language in which everything was expressed in the negative. We do NOT want your non-baking trough.
In earlier times they lived above ground. But when the church bells in Lusatia began to ring, they couldn't tolerate the hard clanging sound. They
fled underground and finally moved there. The Lutki borrowed the baking trough. In olden times, the villagers baked their bread by
themselves. Next to their houses stood their baking ovens built with stone and a mud mound. The forest supplied the fuel. The dough was prepared in a
round, wooden baking trough. Then it was shaped in baking dishes made of woven straw. Next it was placed in the heated earthen dome of the oven and
baked into nourishing farmer's bread.
The Lutki once lived in the forest on the road from Jamjelice (Jämlitz) toward Gablenz (Jabłońca). They came to
(Mȇtowym) Niert’s house and eagerly wanted to bake. They said: "We do not want your non-baking trough. We do not want your non-baking
shoving tool; and, for that we do not want to bring you our freshly baked non-bread.
Naturally, they were given the baking trough and the bread shover. It didn't take long before they brought everything back. Out of gratitude they also
brought one of their little loaves of bread. It was always very delicious!
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