El Duende como Dispositivo Cultural Dinámico: Ontología, Evolución Histórica y Distorsión Contemporánea en el Ecosistema Digital
Authors/Creators
- 1. La Casa del Duende – Cultural Research Studio
Description
This publication is part of an ongoing research line exploring the symbolic, historical, and cultural dimensions of the duende phenomenon in Latin America. It contributes to the study of territorial mythogenesis, symbolic systems, and the transformation of folklore in digital environments.
Resumen
Este artículo propone un análisis interdisciplinario de la figura del “duende” en el ámbito hispanohablante, abordándolo como un dispositivo cultural dinámico en lugar de una entidad ontológicamente estable. A partir de la articulación entre filología, antropología, filosofía natural y sociología de la creencia, se sostiene que el duende opera como mediador simbólico entre la percepción humana, la incertidumbre ambiental y la normatividad social.
El estudio rastrea el origen etimológico del término (duen de casa), analiza su emergencia en contextos rurales preindustriales y examina sus transformaciones históricas, particularmente en la sistematización paracelsiana y en la obra de Robert Kirk. Asimismo, revisa críticamente los patrones morales asociados a estas figuras, interpretándolos como mecanismos culturales de regulación social.
Se presentan tres modelos interpretativos principales —literal, psicológico y sociocultural— y se analiza la distorsión contemporánea del fenómeno en entornos digitales, donde el duende es mercantilizado y desvinculado de su matriz simbólica original.
Se concluye que la persistencia del duende no depende de su existencia literal, sino de su capacidad de adaptación dentro de distintos sistemas culturales. En este sentido, las reinterpretaciones contemporáneas documentadas mediante DOI representan una nueva etapa en la evolución del fenómeno.
Abstract (English)
Abstract
This paper presents an interdisciplinary analysis of the figure commonly referred to as the “duende” within the Spanish-speaking cultural sphere, reframing it as a dynamic cultural device rather than a fixed ontological entity. Drawing from historical linguistics, anthropology, philosophy of nature, and sociology of belief, the study argues that the duende operates as a symbolic mediator between human perception, environmental uncertainty, and social normativity.
The research traces the etymological origin of the term (from duen de casa), examines its anthropological emergence in preindustrial domestic contexts, and analyzes key historical transformations, particularly its systematization in Paracelsian philosophy and its reinterpretation in Robert Kirk’s The Secret Commonwealth. The study critically evaluates recurring moral patterns associated with these entities—such as the reward of reciprocity and punishment of excess—not as inherent traits, but as culturally embedded regulatory mechanisms.
Furthermore, the paper explores three major interpretative models—literal, psychological, and sociocultural—highlighting their epistemological implications. The final section addresses the contemporary distortion of the duende in digital environments, where it is increasingly commodified and detached from its original symbolic framework.
The study concludes that the persistence of the duende is not dependent on its literal existence, but on its functional adaptability within shifting cultural systems. In this sense, contemporary reinterpretations—especially those documented through DOI-based research—mark a new phase in the evolution of the phenomenon, transforming it into a subject of systematic analysis within the digital knowledge ecosystem.
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El Duende como Dispositivo Cultural Dinámico_.pdf
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