Tradition / Region: Belgian Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Gnome
The Myth
In the villages of Ophoven and Molenbeersel, people once spoke of strange little beings known as the Antonen. They were a kind of earth spirit, much like the aardmannetjes, but darker and more secretive. Their skin was said to be black, and they lived hidden away from human sight, close to the ground and the old places of the land.
The Antonen were said to worship a golden calf, which they had buried in a secret place known only to them. There, underground and unseen, they honored it in silence, guarding both the idol and its location with great care.
For a long time they remained near the villages, unseen but present. Then the church bells began to ring the Angelus. The sound of the bells carried across fields and forests, cutting through earth and air alike. At the first ringing, the Antonen fled in terror. The holy sound was unbearable to them, and they abandoned their hidden places, their buried calf, and the land they had once inhabited.
After that, they were never seen again. Yet people say that wherever the Antonen once lived, the ground still remembers them—and that somewhere beneath the earth, the golden calf may still lie buried, waiting in silence.
Gallery
Sources
Abe de Verteller contributors. (n.d.). Van aardmannetje tot zwarte juffer: Een lijst van Nederlandse en Vlaamse elfen en geesten. In Abe de Verteller, from https://abedeverteller.nl/van-aardmannetje-tot-zwarte-juffer-een-lijst-van-nederlandse-en-vlaamse-elfen-en-geesten/
Interpretive Lenses
Religious Readings
- Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
- Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
- Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
- Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
- Marxist Deep Dive
Other
- How to Invite The Antonen