Het Volk Van Laaf (People Of Laaf)

Het Volk Van Laaf

The Efteling is home to a special group of people – the Laafs. All over Laafland you can see the Laafs go about their daily business. They go to school, make music and uhm… like to take naps! The bakers are busy baking their bread, but oh dear... watch out! There’s one hanging onto the windmill’s sail!

Why not take a walk through Laafland to discover more of these interesting creatures, or alternatively, get a bird’s eye view from the Monorail above.

The People of Laaf moved to the Efteling in 1990 and were invented by Ton van Veen. The Monorail takes visitors on over and across Laafland. The 450 metres of rail take you past all of the sights in this quaint little place.

360 Panorama View
360 Panorama View

1. Lonkhuys (Oglehouse):
This is the first house you see when you walk into the Laven Laar.
From this house you have a good overview of the town square.
(You also pass through here on the monorail)

2. Lot’s Kraamhuys (Lot's Maternity House):
In the Maternity House, the small Laven are reared by Ancient Mother Lot.
There she also draws the lots of the elderly population of Laaf, so they can continue to live peacefully again.
There is also an old Laaf, you can tell by his belly how often his lot was drawn.
Did you know that there are two Laven with the same name?

3. Lal’s Brouwhuys (Lal's Brewing House):
This is the brewery of the Laven.
They make the tastiest drinks like Lal: Laafse Lurk, Lebber and Lime.
Outside a Laaf is sleeping quietly.

4. Lurk en Limoenhuys (Lurk and Lime House):
Formerly a kind of cafe where the visitor could enjoy all Laafse delicacies.
Now an eternal 'work in progress'

5. Leunhuys (Lean House):
This is also one of the houses the monorail passes through.
Sitting on top of a bar are a few Laafjes.
when one of the small Laven turns on the power to the lamp, the Laaf that’s holding the lamp will get a jolt.

6. Loof en Eerhuys (Praise and Honour house):
This is where the Laven came out of the ground in 1990 NC.
You can see the hole they came out of and the stairs they used to come out.
On the other side of the building is the statue of Father Laaf,
who at the beginning of the long journey kicked the great bucket.

7. Lijn’s Zweefhuys (Lijn's Floating House):
A Floating House, that really floats above the water.
On both sides you can use a sort of rope bridge to enter the Floating Huys.

8. Lavelhuys (LavelHouse):
This is also one of the houses the monorail passes through. In the house you see some typical Laven stuff.

9. Leerhuys (Learning House):
Laven also go to school. In Learninghouse teacher Lavi teaches the Laven.

Image Source: Laaf.nl

10. Glijhuys (SlidingHuys):
Besides learning there is also time for fun, in the Sliding house there are a number of slides.
On the roof a busy chimney sweep is sweeping clean the chimney.

11. Loerhuys (Looking House):
In the Looking House you will see a well that tells the story of The People of Laaf. The story is told by Wieteke van Dort.

12. Lariekoek Huys (Humbug House):
Every village has a bakery, so this one does too.
You can see the bakers make their bread and Humbugs.
Above the balcony is a Laaf who is angry at another Laaf who is stuck in the sails of the windmill.

13. Lach Huys (Laugh House):
This cottage has a special staircase,
every step has a unique sound.

14. Leed Huys (House of Pain):
The name says it all, you come here if you have suffered,
it is therefore a first aid post.

15. Slakkenhuys (Snails House):
This is the start / end point of the monorail.

Relive the experience in this 360 VR POV!

Translation

This dialogue is continuously played in the Loerhuys (Looking House) in the Dutch language. Please find below a translation for your benefit.

A long time ago, millions of years ago, there lived a merry little folk in the North Pole. For where now it is freezing cold, back then it was nice and warm. This nation consisted of Great Father Laaf, Great Mother Lot and their children, the Laven. They called themselves the People of Laaf.

One bad day, a very bad day, they were struck by a great disaster because suddenly it was terribly cold and that is exactly the one thing Laven cannot stand. Freezing rain came down from the heavens day and night. Everything died! Naturally, this danger also threatened the Laven for without heat they cannot live. Then they would irrevocably die! Then they die the big death! Of course Laven sometimes just die, but then, like at birth, Mother Lot taps them on their laaf navel to give them life and they go on living happily ever after.

But when the cold air kept getting icier they had to do something. Father Laaf thought deeply. So deeply you could almost hear him thinking: "I have it!” he suddenly shouted. "Laven we will go travel, go deep into the bosom of mother earth, because there it is warm". The Laven began to dig and dig. They dug day and night as if their lives depended on it. Of course it did: “This is our only chance! In the depths of mother earth we can survive!”. The hole grew deeper and deeper.

The deep, dark polar night wrapped itself around the land of the Laven and the Laven disappeared into the big hole. They would never see their own dear land again but they were saved. Before they closed the big hole everyone was counted to make sure everyone was inside.

No! Father Laaf was not in the hole. A few very brave Laven crawled up to the edge of the large hole to look for him. Oh! And there was Father Laaf, frozen stiff! He had been searching for Mother Lot because he did not know she was already safely down in the hole. Great Father Laaf had died the big death! The death from which he will never awaken.

As happy as the Laven were about their salvation, they were terribly sad about the tragic lot of Father Laaf. For the first time in their long lives, the Laven cried. It was the day of great sorrow. The suffering of Great Mother Lot was so great that the Laven made a plan to comfort her. They created a beautiful golden statue of Father Laaf.

The statue of Father Laaf gave Mother Lot courage again and gave her people new strength. They could move forward and begin their long journey through the depths of the earth...searching for a new land.

On their thousand year search they came across all sorts of things. Remains of past lives, large animals, animals so big that the curious Laven needed ladders to carve them out. They made beautiful drawings of these animals to capture what it was like back then.

The Laven crossed the great oil sea, a sticky mess that stunk badly and where you should be very careful with fire.

Image Source: Efteling Facebook

And everywhere they went they dug a tunnel up to the surface of the earth, to see if the land above was pleasant enough for them to live there forever. This is how the volcanoes were created, from which lava still often spouts. But no matter how far they travelled or how often they came up to look, what they sought they could not find.

Until one day something strange happened. High above their heads sounded joyous music and suddenly they heard the loud cry "Alaaf! Alaaf!".

Now you should know that “Alaaf” is actually the collective cry of the Laven. They could not wait and rushed to dig a tunnel and what they saw exceeded their wildest expectations. Colourfully dressed people who sang and danced as if their lives were about nothing but fun. This was their new home land.

The Laven observed how people built their houses and copied it in their own way. The people of Laaf built their village here in the Efteling and they called it, The Lavenlaar.

Take a good look at how they live. They look a bit like us, and who knows, they have learned some things from us maybe we can learn something from them.