Duende are crypto-zoological creatures. Crypto-zoological animals are those unrecognized by mainstream science. They may or may not exist, since science discovers new animals every day. Cryptids, or hidden animals, once included seven gibbon species in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia which mainstream science dismissed as cryptids until western scientists saw them. In the same manner, native peoples knew that a tiny frog with a big voice lived in their forests in Papua New Guinea and scientists dismissed it as an old wives tale. Duende are primates, possibly related to Homo sapiens. They are small hominids, which may live in the forests in Belize, Honduras, Chile, Argentina and other parts of South America. Some people believe that they could be living in the untouched temperate forest in Patagonia. Whether Duende are actually living today, are a race memory, or belong to indigenous people’s folklore. It could be that they are a race memory of a proto-pygmy species, which once lived alongside indigenous peoples, and which has mixed with folklore, although some people claim to have seen them alive today.

The name, Duende, comes from old Castilian (Spanish) meaning the real owner of the house. In some parts of South America, some indigenous peoples refer to duende as Tata duende, Tata means grandfather. There are small hominids in other areas in South America with different names, which may be the same species as duende. For example in Mexico, the aluxob are also a small hominid race. Some people equate them with stories of gnomes and leprechauns, however others claim to have heard and seen them. Duende may be related to other small cryptid hominids, such as the smaller Australian Yowie, and skunk apes. Some people speculate that Duende are Homo habilis, either a remnant population, living today or a race memory, homo habilis lived alongside early humans. An old map, drawn in 1775, marks part of a peninsula as being Del duende, of the dwarf, it does not appear in a later map, but the place name survives and still appears on maps.

Duende are three to four feet tall. Some claiming to have seen them say that they are very hairy being covered in long red hair, others say they are not hairy at all and that the only difference between duende and modern Homo sapiens is their eyes. Some claim that denude have paler skin than Mayan tribes’ people do. Most witnesses agree that duende have heavy shoulders and long arms.

Some claim that the duende can hypnotize people, but perhaps the feeling comes more from shock and surprise. However, it is quite possible that ancient humans had telepathic ability, which most Homo sapiens lost when they gained the ability to communicate with one another using speech. Some people claim that denude roar loudly, cry, chatter, squeak and cackle. People claim that duende wear skins, others that they wear rags and most agree that they wear large hats made from banana leaves or straw.

Duende live deep in forests. When people see them they rarely see females, this would connect with an ancient lifestyle, where males ventured far afield hunting and females stayed closer to camp gathering seeds, fruits and roots. Some believe that they are nocturnal and naturally inquisitive. People also believe they whistle and make music.

Duende are crypto-zoological creatures, which may or may not exist today. They may be a race memory of members of the human family that lived some time ago. They may simply be a figment of over-active imaginations. They may simply be undiscovered indigenous pygmy tribes living deep in South American forests. They may simply be a tribe with an inherent genetic abnormality. They could be past or present populations of Homo habilis. No one can be certain as to whether they exist or not, and some believe they are simply fairy tale creatures. They may simply be a species of oran utan, or a hitherto unknown primate species. Duende may be related to the Indonesian “hobbits” of Flores (Homo floresiensis). It is impossible to say definitively yet what Duende are or are not. Greater research may alter that view.