In the rich Celtic mythological tales of Brittany, the Korrigans form a group of female entities who are associated with rivers and wells. Sometimes they are described as fairy like creatures with beautiful golden hair. They are seen in some tales as changelings who can alter their shape.
In the 1911 seminal work “The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries” by W.Y. Evans-Wentz, the author describes the origins of the Korrigan myth: “In lower Brittany, which is the genuinely Celtic part of Amorica (Breton Peninsula) instead of finding a widespread folk-belief in fairies of the kind existing in Wales, Ireland and Scotland we find a widespread belief in the existence of the dead, and to a less extent in that of the Korrigan tribes. It is the Korrigan race, more than fairies, (which) forms a large part of the invisible inhabitants of Brittany”.
From a folklore tale cited by Evans-Wentz, we have a window into the rich oral tradition of Celtic myth in Brittany:
Towards midnight I was awakened by a terrible uproar; there were a hundred Korrigans dancing around the fountain. I overheard one of them say to the others; I have news to report to you , I have cast an evil spell upon the daughter of the King and no mortal will ever be able to cure her, and yet in order to cure her, nothing more would be needed than a drop of water form this fountain.
