Kabouter is the Dutch

Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

/Afrikaans

Afrikaans

Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...

 word for gnome

Gnome

A gnome is a diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature...

 or leprechaun

Leprechaun

A leprechaun is a type of fairy in Irish folklore, usually taking the form of an old man, clad in a red or green coat, who enjoys partaking in mischief. Like other fairy creatures, leprechauns have been linked to the Tuatha Dé Danann of Irish mythology...

. In folklore, the Dutch Kabouters are akin to the Irish Leprechaun

Leprechaun

A leprechaun is a type of fairy in Irish folklore, usually taking the form of an old man, clad in a red or green coat, who enjoys partaking in mischief. Like other fairy creatures, leprechauns have been linked to the Tuatha Dé Danann of Irish mythology...

, Scandinavian Tomte

Tomte

A tomte , nisse or tonttu is a mythical creature of Scandinavian folklore. The tomte or nisse was believed to take care of a farmer's home and children and protect them from misfortune, in particular at night, when the housefolk were asleep...

, the English Hob

Hob (folklore)

A hob is a type of small mythological household spirit found in the north and midlands of England, but especially on the Anglo-Scottish border, according to traditional folklore of those regions. They could live inside the house or outdoors. They are said to work in farmyards and thus could be...

 or Brownie

Brownie (folklore)

A brownie/brounie or urisk or brùnaidh, ùruisg, or gruagach is a legendary creature popular in folklore around Scotland and England...

 and the German Klabauter

Klabautermann

A Klabautermann is a water kobold who assists sailors and fishermen on the Baltic and North Sea in their duties. He is a merry and diligent creature, with an expert understanding of most watercraft, and an unsupressable musical talent. He also rescues sailors washed overboard. The name comes from...

 or kobold

Kobold

The kobold is a sprite stemming from Germanic mythology and surviving into modern times in German folklore. Although usually invisible, a kobold can materialise in the form of an animal, fire, a human being, and a candle. The most common depictions of kobolds show them as humanlike figures the size...

. The term kabouter was also adopted by a 1970s hippie

Hippie

The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...

 movement in Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

 that sprang from the Provo movement. One of its best known representatives is Roel van Duijn

Roel van Duijn

Roeland Gerrit Hugo van Duijn is a Dutch politician, political activist and writer. He was a founder of Provo and the Kabouterbeweging. He was alderman for the Political Party of Radicals and currently is wardcouncillor for the GreenLeft.-Biography:Van Duijn was born into an anthroposophical...

.

In the folklore of the Low Countries

Folklore of the Low Countries

Folklore of the Low Countries, often just referred to as Dutch folklore, includes the epics, legends, fairy tales and oral traditions of the people of the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium...

, kabouters are tiny men who live underground or in mushrooms, or spirits who help in the home. The males have long, full beards (unlike dwarves, who do not always have full beards) and wear tall, pointed red hats. They are generally shy of humans.

There is a theory that their appearance, little red pointy hats running through the forest, can be attributed to hallucinations from eating mushrooms. Though not associated with narcotics by the general public, they appear in the iconography

Iconography

Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...

 of smart shop

Smart shop

A smart shop is a retail establishment that specializes in the sales of psychoactive substances, usually including psychedelics, as well as related literature and paraphernalia...

s.

In the Legend of the Wooden Shoes, an old Dutch folktale, a kabouter teaches a Dutch man how to make piles

Deep foundation

A deep foundation is a type of foundation distinguished from shallow foundations by the depth they are embedded into the ground. There are many reasons a geotechnical engineer would recommend a deep foundation over a shallow foundation, but some of the common reasons are very large design loads, a...

 and how to make wooden shoes.

The Dutch illustrator Rien Poortvliet

Rien Poortvliet

Rien Poortvliet was a Dutch draughtsman and painter.Born in Schiedam, he was best known for his of animals and for "Gnomes" in the famous series of books by Wil Huygen and published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc. of New York City.Being a plasterer's son from Schiedam, making a living as an artist did...

 played an important part in modern Kabouter lore with his publication of "Leven en werken van de Kabouter" (English title "Lives and works of the Gnome"), later translated into English and published as "Gnomes".

In popular culture today, the business Travelocity

Travelocity

Travelocity is an online travel agency and wholly owned subsidiary of Sabre Holdings Corporation, which was a publicly traded company until taken private by Silver Lake Partners and Texas Pacific Group in March 2007...

uses a Rien Poortvliet-style statue of a Kabouter for commercials. They call him the Travelocity Roaming Gnome.