If you grew up in a local Yoruba community like I did. Oh yes, I grew up in the heart of Ibadan, downloading and savoring every bit of the good, the bad and ugly side of the undiluted Yoruba culture which includes the sporadic movement of the mouth especially when there is an opportunity to shower abusive words on people. So, if you are very lucky to have had a similar upbringing, the word 'EGBERE' ((Diminutive Gnome) should not be strange to you. Egbere is often used as a curse, abusive and demeaning word by Yoruba people to describe a troublesome person or to refer to a short person just to rub in the fact that they are small and mischievous and sometimes used to describe a child who would not stop crying.
However, the origin of the word can to be traced to a small mystical man like creature, with a pointed hat, who lives under the ground, guard gold and precious things. Egbere is a malevolent spirit that inhabits woods and is seen at night. It is a malevolent spirit with a short stature, and claims to owns a mat of wealth, that whoever took it from him will be rich beyond imagination .
Egbere (Diminutive Gnome) is essentially an African version of the leprechauns. Reputed to carry a mat that if stolen, would make the bearer extremely rich, (same way the Irish dreamed of stealing the leprechauns pot of riches) always crying like a baby.
It is said to be a malevolent spirit with a small stature, Known for carrying a mat of wealth wherever it goes, and the mat is carved by diminutive Gnome, which is said to take months or years to carve and it is believed to be a unique one. The Yoruba people believe is that if you steal the mat, the spirit of the gnome will follow you around for days, wailing to give back the mat you stole, but if you can ignore and stand all that for the said period of time you become very rich, that's part of the myth.
Habitually they use to be in remote forest, where only strong hunters can reach. There are a lot of stories and tales shared by folks who claim to have encountered one of these mysterious beings. Some people claim they are naturally peaceful and go about their crying business without paying attention to any other thing apart from their short mat. Some claim they have been given a fight and chase of their lives while trying to dispossess these creatures of their most priced procession in a quest to be wealthy claims have it.
The Questions now are these;
Do these creatures really do exist?
How can someone locate them?
Are they Male or Female?
What currencies does the mat pay in?
Have you encountered one?
Do you know anyone who has encountered one?
If you have an answer to any of these questions, kindly reply in the comment session.
Sources ; A vocabulary of The Yoruba Language
Wikipedia
Heritage Tv

I met one ...in Colorado

https://www.nairaland.com/2811672/does-diminutive-gnome-mat-eni

https://www.nairaland.com/808767/question-yorubas-what-egbere

https://www.nairaland.com/3414381/almighty-bush-baby-galago-photos/2

https://www.nairaland.com/3414381/almighty-bush-baby-galago-photos

Cyclic things from ages past.

I dont know if these current nlers (internet generation) are creating memories for themsleves or just endlessly recycling other people's own.