Goblins

We are talking about a different breed of being. Dealings between wizards and goblins have been fraught for centuries ... There has been fault on both sides, I would never claim that wizards have been innocent. However, there is a belief among some goblins, and those at Gringotts are perhaps most prone to it, that wizards cannot be trusted in matters of gold and treasure, that they have no respect for goblin ownership.

—Bill Weasley, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Goblins are a highly intelligent race of small hominids with long fingers and feet that coexist with wizards. Their diet consists of meat, roots and fungi. Goblins converse in a language known as Gobbledegook, are adept magical engineers and metalsmiths, and are notable for their silverwork; they even mint coins for wizarding currency. Due to their access to valuable ores and skill with arithmancy, money and finances, they control many wizarding economies to a large extent and run Gringotts Wizarding Bank.

Goblins have their own type of magic and can do magic without a wand. They are represented by the Goblin Liaison Office of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures in the Ministry of Magic. Goblins are considered to be inferior by many wizards, who foolishly believe that the goblins are comfortable with that arrangement.

Parts of this page compiled from Goblin at the Harry Potter Wiki].

Species

European Goblin

European Goblins are short and fair-skinned, as they spend very little time outside. They have very long fingers and feet, and some have pointed beards. Some have dark, slanted eyes, and some goblins even wear pointed hats.

Intelligence

Goblins are extremely clever and over the years have dealt with wizard-kind effectively. They are still subservient in the minds of most wizards, but they have established themselves as a vital part of wizarding society. The goblins run Gringotts, the wizarding bank. Therefore, they control the wizarding economy to a large extent. Goblins are extremely clever and more than able to stand up to wizards. The fact that the wizarding population treats them poorly is evidence of the severe injustice built into wizard culture.

Apart from their cleverness with money and finances, goblins are also very capable metalsmiths. Their silverwork is well known and prized. Goblins actually mint the Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts used in the Wizarding world; each coin is stamped with a serial number identifying the goblin who cast it.

Education & Employment

Goblins are a member of one of the two Goblin guilds, the Guild of Metal Craft and the Guild of Treasury. Which in essence means a goblin is a metalworker or a Gringotts worker. Underage goblins (younger than 20 years old), study in the guild of their father.

It is extremely rare for a Goblin to be unemployed, as it goes against what they believe in. An unemployed Goblin would likely be scorned and outcast, much like a house elf seeking to be paid would be.

Human Relations

Throughout wizarding history there has been a dispute between wizards and goblins due to errors on both sides. Goblins can be bloodthirsty and cruel towards wizards and consider them to be arrogant while many wizards consider goblins inferior. Goblins have in the past, resenting the fact that they occupy positions as second-class citizens, resorted to violence in the form of rebellions and riots.

Goblins can use magic without the aid of a wand, although they are insulted by the refusal of wizards to allow them to use wands. In turn, goblins conceal the secrets of their own magic from wizards. Their weaponry and armour are nearly indestructible when created and have a very particular property.

It is possible for goblins and witches or wizards to have relations, though it is rarely heard of. The divisions between wizards and goblins has ensured this. However, half-goblins do exist. Filius Flitwick had one goblin ancestor. A male goblin may impregnate a witch, though he may be shunned by fellow goblins. A female goblin may be impregnated by a wizard, though due to the physical size difference, there is a low probability of success. The female goblin will become an outcast. A few cases have been brought to the Goblin Office of Being Division in the past, but are either withdrawn, or brought by well-meaning witches or wizards.

Secrecy

Goblins are required by law to remain inconspicuous and undetected by Muggles. Failure to comply will constitute a criminal offense with the Ministry of Magic.

Goblins inhabit secretive dwellings away from both Muggle and Wizarding communities which are often protected by high security measures.

Ubangian Tikoloshe

The Ubangian Tikoloshe, also known as Ubangi River Goblins, are a type of goblin who can turn invisible after drinking water and are feared as a subversive, territorial and vicious group of goblins. They have an economic death-grip on carbonado and mineral ore trade in the Central African Republic, but the Ubangian locals don't mind because it enables them to control and maintain their own self-autonomy.

Among Central African natives, Ubangian Tikoloshe are said to have been magically created, summoned, or birthed by Obrigwabibikwa to keep colonizers off of mineral-rich Ubangi rivers. Others attribute their existence to having just recently evolved from some unknown type of merfolk or magical marine creature. What is agreed upon is that they stayed relatively hidden from the world and occassionally traded with local Ubangian humans until their habitats were majorly disrupted by colonists trying to mine the Ubangi river for carbonado in the 1900s.

Physical Traits

Ubangian Tikoloshe are known for having black eyes, pointed teeth, and indigo skin tones. They have the long, clawed fingers, of their European counterparts but their ears, hands, and feet are webbed and adorned with spiny lobe-fins. They also have much thicker (3C/4C) hair and are built like swimmers.

Knowledge Systems & Economy

Ubangian Tikoloshe are skilled in hunting/tracking, arithmancy, divination, potioneering, mineralogy, and smithing, especially where riverine ecologies and carbanado is involved. Their educations begins with family or clan elders and then can continue with one of the regional African guilds and/or by joining SSEARCH (multi-Species Syndicate of Expert Artisans Recovering Cultural Heritage), which are as secretive as their European counterparts.

Human & International Relations

The tikoloshe often trade with Ubangian locals but are rarely encountered in international politics, as they usually only deal with goblin banks, magical governments, or academic institutions. On the global stage, they maintain the same level of secrecy as their European counterparts.

Goblin Magic

Goblins are not privy to Wand Lore and by law cannot create wands nor can they use them, they are also prohibited from taking a Witch or Wizard's wand. This along with control of Goblin made artifacts and control of Gringotts has been a point of contention in many of the Goblin Rebellions and general dislike of Wizardkind in general.

The extent of Goblin magic is in their Metalworking traditions. They have the capacity to create magical and indestructible objects which are highly prized by both the Goblin and the Wizarding communities. Their craft is incredibly secret and a complete mystery to witches and wizards.

History

Rebellions

Throughout the history of the Wizarding world, there have been several goblin rebellions. These rebellions were most prevalent in the 17th and 18th centuries, but even today there are subversive goblin groups who work in secret against the Ministry, according to the Daily Prophet. One rebellion, in 1612, took place in the vicinity of Hogsmeade; the Three Broomsticks Inn was used as headquarters for the rebellion. The rebellions are often described as having been "bloody and vicious".

The reasons for starting some of the varied Goblin Rebellions include the following:

• An allegation by Ragnuk the First that Godric Gryffindor stole his sword.
• The pursuit and imprisonment of Ug the Unreliable, who was peddling leprechaun gold.
• The accidental death of Nagnok, Gringotts Wizarding Bank goblin, at the hands of an untrained Security troll sent by the Ministry of Magic.
• Imprisonment of the notoriously violent Hodrod the Horny-Handed, who attempted to kill three wizards.
• The public ducking in the village pond by a gang of young wizards of goblin activist Urg the Unclean.
• The Ministry of Magic decree of 1631 preventing magical beings other than wizards and witches from carrying a wand.

Wizarding Wars

The goblins suffered their share of losses during the first rise of Lord Voldemort in the 1970s. During the Second Wizarding War, the Goblins remained largely neutral.

Ubangi River War of the 1900s

When colonists began mining The Ubangi River in the early 1900s, they quickly found themselves engaged in a riverine guerilla warfare with a foe who could turn invisible. While non-magical folk blamed the ensuing bloodbath on the mbenga, the goliath tiger fish, magical folk quickly learned that the Ubangi Tikoloshe were turning invisible or disguising themselves as tiger fish so that they could ambush, kill, and scare away invaders. Despite their numbers, magical colonists quickly retreated from the region and Ubangi Tikoloshe quickly moved to gain an economic death-grip on carbonado and mineral ore trade in the Central African Republic.

After the war ended, the Ubangian cultures organized and managed their own affairs and resources to where they could unite other indigenous and species-inclusive cultures in Africa. The alliance resulted in an international group of artisans who work with other cultures to help them preserve, protect, and sustain their cultural heritage. They became known as SSEARCH, multi-Species Syndicate of Expert Artisans Recovering Cultural Heritage, and have become so involved with goblin banks and orchestrating archaeology digs at highly sought after sites that they can easily throw their weight around in the antiquities trade.

Goblin values

Overall, goblins' idea of ownership are not the same as humans because their exchange and ownership of goods are not dependent on monetary exchange or familial inheritance.

With respect to the global wizarding economy, goblins view the maker of an item, not the purchaser, as the rightful owner; the purchaser is required to return the item to its maker upon his or her death. Goblins believe that the wizard paying for a goblin-made artifact is merely renting it, not owning it. Goblins consider the passing of an item from one wizard or witch to another without further payment to its maker "little more than theft".

European Goblins also hold debt to extremes, and will take everything of value to cover a debt and when it does not, they will continue to hound the debtor until he pays what is owed to them.

However, in local economies and cultures, such as the Ubangian magical world, views of ownership are more similar to gift-giving cultures or potlatch. These cultural exchanges often lead to the enrichment or enhancement of knowledge and goods, and an equal (re-)distribution of resources that benefits all parties. For others to only value an object for its commercial or monetary value is seen as devaluing that object (or even outright robbing it) of academic, cultural and historical importance, which is then viewed as a type of theft or exploitation.

Code of Honour

All Goblins are expected to live by the Code of Honor associated with their guild or clan, which means valuing secrecy. No Goblin would give up guild secrets to witches or wizards without facing extreme consequences.

All Goblins are expected to respect their elders and those with higher skills than they unless said Goblin has been dishonoured.

Absit Omen Goblins

Manoka Olabode: Ubangian Tikoloshe