Le Petit Mineur
Location: 16ter Rue de la Mine, 35131 Pont-Péan, France
Fairies / Fae
by @anton
The Little Miner was a mine spirit said to dwell in the former lead mines of Pont-Péan, near Rennes. Regarded as the protector of the miners, he warned them of danger by sending hailstorms when they ventured into unsafe areas. He also knocked on the walls of the mine to signal impending cave-ins and was even said to call miners by their first names to give them instructions.
The sound of his pick striking the rock was believed to reveal rich, previously unknown ore veins.
On the eve of Saint Barbara's Day (December 4th), the patron saint of miners, the workers gathered for a traditional ceremony in which each miner lit a candle. The Little Miner was said to blow out the candles of those who would not survive the coming year.
This tradition was recorded in the testimony of Yvon Le Goff, a former miner from Pont-Péan.
Source : ORAIN, Adolphe (texte) ; TICTIC, Frédéric (ill.). Le Petit Mineur de la mine argentifère de Pont-Péan : un conte de l'Ille-et-Vilaine dit par Yvon Le Goff, mineur à la mine de Pont-Péan. Pont-Péan : En Voiture Jeunesse, 2009