The story
Introduction
The ''Kalevala'' begins with the traditional Finnish creation myth, leading into stories of the creation of the earth, plants, creatures, and the sky. Creation, healing, combat and internal story telling are often accomplished by the character(s) involved singing of their exploits or desires. Many parts of the stories involve a character hunting or requesting lyrics (spells) to acquire some skill, such as boat-building or the mastery of iron making. As well as magical spell casting and singing, there are many stories of lust, romance, kidnapping and seduction. The protagonists of the stories often have to accomplish feats that are unreasonable or impossible which they often fail to achieve, leading to tragedy and humiliation.
The
Sampo is a pivotal element of the whole work. Many actions and their consequences are caused by the Sampo itself or a character's interaction with the Sampo. It is described as a magical talisman or device that brings its possessor great fortune and prosperity, but its precise nature has been the subject of debate to the present day.
Cantos
First Väinämöinen Cycle
Cantos 1 to 2: The poem begins with an introduction by the singers. The Earth is created from the shards of the egg of a
goldeneye
''GoldenEye'' is a 1995 spy film, the seventeenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by Martin Campbell, it was the first in the se ...
and the first man
Väinämöinen
Väinämöinen () is a demigod, hero and the central character in Finnish folklore and the main character in the national epic ''Kalevala'' by Elias Lönnrot. Väinämöinen was described as an old and wise man, and he possessed a potent, m ...
is born to the goddess
Ilmatar
In the ''Kalevala'', the Finnish national epic, Ilmatar () was a virgin spirit and goddess of the air.
Origins
The name Ilmatar is derived from the Finnish word ''ilma'', meaning "air," and the female suffix ''-tar'', corresponding to English ...
. Väinämöinen brings trees and life to the barren world.
Cantos 3–5: Väinämöinen encounters the jealous
Joukahainen
Joukahainen () is a character in the ''Kalevala'', the Finnish epic poem. He is a rival of the main character, Väinämöinen.
Description
After clashing with their horses and challenging Väinämöinen to a fight, they engage in a battle of s ...
and they engage in a battle of song. Joukahainen loses and pledges his sister's hand in return for his life; the sister Aino soon drowns herself in the sea.
Cantos 6–10: Väinämöinen heads to
Pohjola to propose to a maiden of the north, a daughter of the mistress of the north
Louhi. Joukahainen attacks Väinämöinen again, and Väinämöinen floats for days on the sea until he is carried by an eagle to Pohjola. He makes a deal with Louhi to get
Ilmarinen the smith to create the Sampo. Ilmarinen refuses to go to Pohjola so Väinämöinen forces him against his will. The Sampo is forged. Ilmarinen returns without a bride.
First Lemminkäinen Cycle
Cantos 11–15:
Lemminkäinen sets out in search of a bride. He and the maid Kyllikki make vows but the happiness doesn't last long and Lemminkäinen sets off to woo a maiden of the north. His mother tries to stop him, but he disregards her warnings and instead gives her his hairbrush, telling her that if it starts to bleed he has met his doom. At Pohjola Louhi assigns dangerous tasks to him in exchange for her daughter's hand. While hunting for the swan of
Tuonela
Tuonela (; )Oinas, Felix J., and Juha Pentikäinen. "Tuonela." In ''Encyclopedia of Religion'', 2nd ed., edited by Lindsay Jones, 9396-9397. Vol. 14. Detroit, MI: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. ''Gale eBooks'' (accessed January 3, 2021)/ref> i ...
, Lemminkäinen is killed and falls into the river of death. The brush he gave to his mother begins to bleed. Remembering her son's words, she goes in search of him. With a rake given to her by Ilmarinen, she collects the pieces of Lemminkäinen scattered in the river and pieces him back together.
Second Väinämöinen Cycle
Cantos 16–18: Väinämöinen builds a boat to travel to Pohjola once again in search of a bride. He visits Tuonela and is held prisoner, but he manages to escape and sets out to gain knowledge of the necessary spells from the giant Antero Vipunen. Väinämöinen is swallowed and has to torture Antero Vipunen for the spells and his escape. With his boat completed, Väinämöinen sets sail for Pohjola. Ilmarinen learns of this and resolves to go to Pohjola himself to woo the maiden. The maiden of the north chooses Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen's Wedding
Cantos 19–25: Ilmarinen is assigned dangerous unreasonable tasks to win the hand of the maiden. He accomplishes these tasks with some help from the maiden herself. In preparation for the wedding, beer is brewed, a giant steer is slaughtered, and invitations are sent out. Lemminkäinen is uninvited. The wedding party begins and all are happy. Väinämöinen sings and lauds the people of Pohjola. The bride and bridegroom are prepared for their roles in matrimony. The couple arrive home and are greeted with drink and viands.
Second Lemminkäinen Cycle
Cantos 26–30: Lemminkäinen is resentful for not having been invited to the wedding and sets out immediately for Pohjola. On his arrival he is challenged to and wins a duel with Sariola, the Master of the North. Louhi is enraged and an army is conjured to enact revenge upon Lemminkäinen. He flees to his mother, who advises him to head to Saari, the Island of Refuge. On his return he finds his house burned to the ground. He goes to Pohjola with his companion Tiera to exact his revenge, but Louhi freezes the seas and Lemminkäinen has to return home. When he arrives home he is reunited with his mother and vows to build larger better houses to replace the ones burned down.
Kullervo Cycle
Cantos 31–36: Untamo kills his brother Kalervo's people, but spares his wife who later conceives
Kullervo
Kullervo () is an ill-fated character in the ''Kalevala'', the Finnish national epic compiled by Elias Lönnrot.
Growing up in the aftermath of the massacre of his entire tribe, he comes to realise that the same people who had brought him up, t ...
. Untamo sees the boy as a threat, and after trying to have him killed several times without success, sells Kullervo as a slave to Ilmarinen. Ilmarinen's wife torments and bullies Kullervo, so he tricks her into being torn apart by a pack of wolves and bears. Kullervo escapes from Ilmarinen's homestead and learns from an old lady in the forest that his family is still alive, and is soon reunited with them. While returning home from paying taxes, he meets and seduces a young maiden, only to find out that she is his sister. Upon realizing this, she kills herself and Kullervo returns home distressed. He decides to wreak revenge upon Untamo and sets out to find him. Kullervo wages war on Untamo and his people, laying all to waste, and then returns home, where he finds his farm deserted. Filled with remorse and regret, he kills himself in the place where he seduced his sister.
Second Ilmarinen Cycle
Cantos 37–38: Grieving for his lost love, Ilmarinen forges himself a wife out of gold and silver, but finds her to be cold and discards her. He heads for Pohjola and kidnaps the youngest daughter of Louhi. The daughter insults him so badly that he instead sings a spell to turn her into a bird and returns to Kalevala without her. He tells Väinämöinen about the prosperity and wealth that has met Pohjola's people thanks to the Sampo.
Theft of the Sampo
Cantos 39–44: Väinämöinen, Ilmarinen and Lemminkäinen sail to Pohjola to recover the Sampo. While on their journey they kill a monstrous pike and from its jaw bone the first
kantele
A kantele () or kannel () is a traditional Finnish and Karelian plucked string instrument (chordophone) belonging to the south east Baltic box zither family known as the Baltic psaltery along with Estonian kannel, Latvian kokles, Lithuania ...
is made, with which Väinämöinen sings so beautifully even deities gather to listen. The heroes arrive in Pohjola and demand a share of the Sampo's wealth or they will take the whole Sampo by force. Louhi musters her army however Väinämöinen lulls everyone in Pohjola to sleep with his music. The Sampo is taken from its vault of stone and the heroes set out for home. Louhi conjures a great army, turns herself into a massive eagle and fights for the Sampo. In the battle the Sampo is lost to the sea and destroyed.
Louhi's Revenge on Kalevala
Cantos 45–49: Enraged at the loss of the Sampo, Louhi sends the people of Kalevala diseases and a great bear to kill their cattle. She hides the sun and the moon and steals fire from Kalevala. Väinämöinen heals all of the ailments and, with Ilmarinen, restores the fire. Väinämöinen forces Louhi to return the Sun and the Moon to the skies.
Marjatta cycle
Canto 50: The shy young virgin Marjatta becomes impregnated from a
lingonberry
''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'', the lingonberry, partridgeberry, mountain cranberry or cowberry, is a small evergreen shrub in the heath family Ericaceae, that bears edible fruit. It is native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Norther ...
she ate while tending to her flock. She conceives a son. Väinämöinen orders the killing of the boy, but the boy begins to speak and reproaches Väinämöinen for ill judgement. The child is then baptised King of Karelia. Väinämöinen sails away leaving only his songs and kantele as legacy but vowing to return when there's no moon or sun and happiness isn't free anymore.
The poem ends and the singers sing a farewell and thank their audience.
Characters
Väinämöinen
Väinämöinen
Väinämöinen () is a demigod, hero and the central character in Finnish folklore and the main character in the national epic ''Kalevala'' by Elias Lönnrot. Väinämöinen was described as an old and wise man, and he possessed a potent, m ...
, the central character of ''The Kalevala'', is a
shaman
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spir ...
istic hero with a magical power of song and music similar to that of
Orpheus
Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with J ...
. He is born of
Ilmatar
In the ''Kalevala'', the Finnish national epic, Ilmatar () was a virgin spirit and goddess of the air.
Origins
The name Ilmatar is derived from the Finnish word ''ilma'', meaning "air," and the female suffix ''-tar'', corresponding to English ...
and contributes to the creation of Earth as it is today. Many of his travels resemble shamanistic journeys, most notably one where he visits the belly of a ground-giant,
Antero Vipunen, to find the songs of boat building. Väinämöinen's search for a wife is a central element in many stories, but he never finds one.
Väinämöinen is associated with playing a
kantele
A kantele () or kannel () is a traditional Finnish and Karelian plucked string instrument (chordophone) belonging to the south east Baltic box zither family known as the Baltic psaltery along with Estonian kannel, Latvian kokles, Lithuania ...
, a Finnish stringed instrument that resembles and is played like a
zither
Zithers (; , from the Greek word ''cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat ...
.
Ilmarinen
Seppo Ilmarinen
Ilmarinen (), the Eternal Hammerer, blacksmith and inventor in the ''Kalevala'', is a god and archetypal artificer from Finnish mythology. He is immortal and capable of creating practically anything, but is portrayed as being unlucky in love. He i ...
is a heroic artificer (comparable to the Germanic
Weyland and the Greek
Daedalus
In Greek mythology, Daedalus (, ; Greek: Δαίδαλος; Latin: ''Daedalus''; Etruscan: ''Taitale'') was a skillful architect and craftsman, seen as a symbol of wisdom, knowledge and power. He is the father of Icarus, the uncle of Perdix, a ...
). He crafted the
dome of the sky, the
Sampo and various other magical devices featured in ''The Kalevala''. Ilmarinen, like Väinämöinen, also has many stories told of his search for a wife, reaching the point where he forges one of gold.
Lemminkäinen
Lemminkäinen, a handsome, arrogant and reckless ladies' man, is the son of Lempi ("lust" or "favourite"). He has a close relationship with his mother, who revives him after he has been drowned in the river of
Tuonela
Tuonela (; )Oinas, Felix J., and Juha Pentikäinen. "Tuonela." In ''Encyclopedia of Religion'', 2nd ed., edited by Lindsay Jones, 9396-9397. Vol. 14. Detroit, MI: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. ''Gale eBooks'' (accessed January 3, 2021)/ref> i ...
while pursuing the object of his romantic desires.
Ukko
Ukko
Ukko (), Äijä or Äijö ( Finnish for 'male grandparent', 'grandfather', 'old man'), parallel to Uku in Estonian mythology, is the god of the sky, weather, harvest and thunder in Finnish mythology.
Ukkonen, the Finnish word for thunder, ...
(''English: Old man'') is the god of sky and thunder, and the leading deity mentioned within ''The Kalevala''. He corresponds to
Thor
Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, an ...
and
Zeus
Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D ...
. John Martin Crawford wrote that the name may be related to the obsolete
Hungarian word for an old man (''agg'').
Joukahainen
Joukahainen
Joukahainen () is a character in the ''Kalevala'', the Finnish epic poem. He is a rival of the main character, Väinämöinen.
Description
After clashing with their horses and challenging Väinämöinen to a fight, they engage in a battle of s ...
is a base young man who arrogantly challenges Väinämöinen to a singing contest, which he loses. In exchange for his life Joukahainen promises his young sister
Aino to Väinämöinen. Joukahainen attempts to gain his revenge on Väinämöinen by killing him with a crossbow, but only succeeds in killing Väinämöinen's horse. Joukahainen's actions lead to Väinämöinen promising to build a Sampo in return for Louhi rescuing him.
Louhi
Louhi, the Mistress of the North, is the shamanistic matriarch of the people of
Pohjola, a people rivalling those of Kalevala. She is the cause of much trouble for Kalevala and its people.
Louhi at one point saves Väinämöinen's life. She has many daughters whom the heroes of Kalevala make many attempts, some successful, to seduce. Louhi plays a major part in the battle to prevent the heroes of Kalevala from stealing back the Sampo, which as a result is ultimately destroyed. She is a powerful witch with a skill almost on a par with that of Väinämöinen.
Kullervo
Kullervo
Kullervo () is an ill-fated character in the ''Kalevala'', the Finnish national epic compiled by Elias Lönnrot.
Growing up in the aftermath of the massacre of his entire tribe, he comes to realise that the same people who had brought him up, t ...
is the vengeful, mentally ill, tragic son of Kalervo. He was abused as a child and sold into slavery to Ilmarinen. He is put to work and treated badly by Ilmarinen's wife, whom he later kills. Kullervo is a misguided and troubled youth, at odds with himself and his situation. He often goes into
berserk rage, and in the end commits suicide.
Marjatta
Marjatta is a young virgin of Kalevala. She becomes pregnant from eating a
lingonberry
''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'', the lingonberry, partridgeberry, mountain cranberry or cowberry, is a small evergreen shrub in the heath family Ericaceae, that bears edible fruit. It is native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Norther ...
. When her labour begins she is expelled from her parents' home and leaves to find a place where she can sauna and give birth. She is turned away from numerous places but finally finds a place in the forest and gives birth to a son. Marjatta's nature, impregnation and searching for a place to give birth are in allegory to the Virgin Mary and the
Christianisation
Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...
of Finland. Marjatta's son is later condemned to death by Väinämöinen for being born out of wedlock. The boy in turn chastises Väinämöinen and is later crowned King of Karelia. This angers Väinämöinen, who leaves Kalevala after bequeathing his songs and kantele to the people as his legacy.
Influence
The ''Kalevala'' is a major part of Finnish culture and history. It has affected the arts in Finland and in other cultures around the world.
Finnish daily life
The influence of the ''Kalevala'' in daily life and business in Finland is tangible. Names and places associated with the ''Kalevala'' have been adopted as company and brand names and even as place names.
There are several places within Finland with ''Kalevala''-related names, for example: the district of
Tapiola
Tapiola (; sv, ) is a district of the municipality of Espoo on the south coast of Finland, and is one of the major urban centres of Espoo. It is located in the western part of Greater Helsinki. The name ''Tapiola'' is derived from '' Tapio'', w ...
in the city of
Espoo
Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...
; the district of
Pohjola in the city of
Turku
Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...
, the district of
Metsola in the city of
Vantaa
Vantaa (; sv, Vanda, ) is a city and Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. It is part of the inner core of the Greater Helsinki, Finnish Capital Region along with Helsinki, Espoo, and Kauniainen. With a population of (), Vantaa i ...
, and the districts of
Kaleva Kaleva or Kalevi may refer to:
* CWT Kaleva Travel, a travel management company based in Finland
* Kalevi (mythology)
Kaleva – also known as Kalevi or Kalev – and his sons are important heroic figures in Estonian, Finnish and Karelian mytho ...
and
Sampo in the city of
Tampere
Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...
; the historic provinces of
Savo
Savo may refer to:
Languages
* Savo dialect, forms of the Finnish language spoken in Savonia
* Savo language, an endangered language spoken on Savo
People
* Savo (given name), a masculine given name from southern Europe (includes a list of people ...
and
Karjala
Karjala is a Finnish lager type beer manufactured by the Hartwall brewery. Karjala beer was manufactured by the cooperative shop Osuusliike Itä-Karjala owned Sortavalan panimo Oy brewery from 1932 until 1944. Production was resumed in 1948.
...
and the Russian town of
Hiitola
Khiytola (russian: Хийтола; fi, Hiitola) is a rural locality (a settlement) in Lakhdenpokhsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia.
History
The Finnish name of the settlement (Hiitola) derives from "Hiisi", the name of a forest spi ...
are all mentioned within the songs of the ''Kalevala''. In addition the Russian town of Ukhta was in 1963 renamed
Kalevala
The ''Kalevala'' ( fi, Kalevala, ) is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling an epic story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and ...
. In the United States a small community founded in 1900 by Finnish immigrants is named
Kaleva, Michigan
Kaleva ( ) is a village in Manistee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 507 at the 2020 census.
Geography
*According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all land.
*Kaleva is part of Northern ...
; many of the street names are taken from the ''Kalevala''.
The banking sector of Finland has had at least three ''Kalevala''-related brands:
Sampo Bank
Danske Bank A/S is a Denmark, Danish multinational banking and financial services corporation. Headquartered in Copenhagen, it is the largest bank in Denmark and a major retail bank in the northern European region with over 5 million retail cus ...
(name changed to Danske Bank in late 2012),
OP-Pohjola Group
OP Financial Group is one of the largest financial companies in Finland. It consists of 180 Cooperative banking, cooperative banks and their central organization. “OP” stands for “osuuspankki” in Finnish, literally meaning “cooperative ...
and
Tapiola Bank
Tapiola Bank Ltd was a Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish p ...
.
The jewellery company
Kalevala Koru was founded in 1935 on the 100th anniversary of the publication of the ''Old Kalevala''. It specialises in the production of unique and culturally important items of jewellery. It is co-owned by the
Kalevala Women's League and offers artistic scholarships to a certain number of organisations and individuals every year.
The Finnish dairy company
Valio
Valio Ltd ( fi, Valio Oy) is a Finnish manufacturer of dairy products and one of the largest companies in Finland. Valio's products include cheese, powdered ingredients, butter, yogurt and milk. It is Finland's largest milk processor, producing 8 ...
has a brand of
ice-cream
Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as ...
named Aino, specialising in more exotic flavours than their normal brand.
The construction group
Lemminkäinen was formed in 1910 as a
roofing and
asphalt
Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...
company, the name was chosen specifically to emphasise that they were a wholly Finnish company. They now operate internationally.
Finnish calendar
Kalevala Day
Kalevala Day (Finnish: Kalevalan päivä), known as ''Culture of Finland, Finnish Culture Day'' by its other official name, is celebrated each 28 February in honor of the Finnish national epic, ''Kalevala''. The day is one of the official flag f ...
is celebrated in Finland on 28 February, to match Elias Lönnrot's first version of the ''Kalevala'' in 1835.
By its other official name, the day is known as the Finnish Culture Day.
Several of the names in the ''Kalevala'' are celebrated as Finnish
name day
In Christianity, a name day is a tradition in many countries of Europe and the Americas, among other parts of Christendom. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's baptismal name, which is normatively that of a ...
s. The name days themselves and the dates they fall upon have no direct relationship with the ''Kalevala'' itself; however, the adoption of the names became commonplace after the release of the ''Kalevala''.
Art
Several artists have been influenced by the ''Kalevala'', most notably
Akseli Gallen-Kallela who has painted many pieces relating to the ''Kalevala''.
Iittala
Iittala, founded as a glassworks in 1881, is a Finnish design brand specialising in design objects, tableware and cookware. Iittala's official i-logo was designed by Timo Sarpaneva in 1956.
Iittala has strong design roots in glasswares and art gl ...
group's
Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...
brand kilned a series of ''Kalevala'' commemorative plates, designed by
Raija Uosikkinen (1923–2004). The series ran from 1976 to 1999 and are highly sought after collectables.
One of the earliest artists to depict the ''Kalevala'' is
Robert Wilhelm Ekman
Robert Wilhelm Ekman (August 13, 1808 – February 19, 1873), R. W. Ekman, was a significant teacher and painter of the Finnish romantic portraits and early national romanticism.
Childhood and Arts Education
Robert Ekman was born in Uusikaupun ...
.
In 1989, the fourth full translation of the ''Kalevala'' into English was published, illustrated by
Björn Landström.
Literature
The ''Kalevala'' has been translated over one-hundred and fifty times into over sixty different languages. (See
§ translations.)
Re-tellings
Finnish cartoonist Kristian Huitula illustrated the comic book adaptation of the ''Kalevala''. The ''Kalevala Graphic Novel'' contains the storyline of all the 50 chapters in original text form.
Finnish cartoonist and children's writer
Mauri Kunnas wrote and illustrated ''Koirien Kalevala'' (''The Canine Kalevala''). The story is that of the ''Kalevala'' with the characters presented as
anthropomorphised
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.
Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
dogs, wolves and cats. The story deviates from the full ''Kalevala'' to make the story more appropriate for children.
The ''Kalevala'' inspired the American
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
cartoonist
Don Rosa
Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known simply as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his Disney comics stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and other characters which Carl Barks created for Di ...
to draw a
Donald Duck (who is himself a popular character in Finland) story based on the ''Kalevala'', called ''
The Quest for Kalevala
"The Quest for Kalevala" is a 1999 Uncle Scrooge comic book story written and drawn by Don Rosa. The story was first published in the Danish '' Anders And & Co.'' #1999-48; the first American publication was in ''Uncle Scrooge'' #334, in October 20 ...
''. The comic was released in the year of the 150th anniversary of the ''Kalevala''s publication.
Works inspired by
Franz Anton Schiefner's translation of the ''Kalevala'' was one inspiration for
Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...
's 1855 poem ''
The Song of Hiawatha
''The Song of Hiawatha'' is an 1855 epic poem in trochaic tetrameter by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow which features Native American characters. The epic relates the fictional adventures of an Ojibwe warrior named Hiawatha and the tragedy of his l ...
'', which is written in a similar
trochaic tetrameter
Trochaic tetrameter is a meter in poetry. It refers to a line of four trochaic feet. The etymology of the word Trochaic is the Greek word ''trokhaios'', from the verb ''trecho'', which means "I run". In classical metre, a trochee is a foot cons ...
.
[Irmscher, Christoph. ''Longfellow Redux''. University of Illinois, 2006: 108. .]
Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald
Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald ( – ) was an Estonian writer who is considered to be the father of the national literature for the country. He is the author of Estonian national epic ''Kalevipoeg''.
Life
Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald's pare ...
's Estonian national epic ''
Kalevipoeg
''Kalevipoeg'' (, ''Kalev's Son'') is a 19th century Epic poetry, epic poem by Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald which has since been considered the Estonian national epic.
Origins
In pre-Christian ancient Estonia there existed an oral tradition ...
'' was inspired by the ''Kalevala''. Both Väinämöinen and Ilmarinen are mentioned in the work and the overall story of Kalevipoeg, Kalev's son, bears similarities with the Kullervo story.
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...
claimed the ''Kalevala'' as one of his sources for ''
The Silmarillion
''The Silmarillion'' () is a collection of myths and stories in varying styles by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, assisted by the fantasy author Guy Gavri ...
''. For example, Kullervo is the basis of
Túrin Turambar
Túrin Turambar (pronounced ) is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. "''Turambar and the Foalókë''", begun in 1917, is the first appearance of Túrin in the legendarium. Túrin was a Man of the First Age of Middle-earth, ...
in ''
Narn i Chîn Húrin
''Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth'' is a collection of stories and essays by J. R. R. Tolkien that were never completed during his lifetime, but were edited by his son Christopher Tolkien and published in 1980. Many of the tales ...
'', including the sword that speaks when the
anti-hero
An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform action ...
uses it to commit suicide,
and
Aulë
The Valar (; singular Vala) are characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They are "angelic powers" or "gods", #154 to Naomi Mitchison, September 1954 subordinate to the one God ( Eru Ilúvatar). The Ainulindalë describes how those of the ...
, the Lord of Matter and the Master of All Crafts, has been influenced by Ilmarinen, the Eternal Hammerer.
Echoes of the ''Kalevala''s characters, Väinämöinen in particular, can be found in
Tom Bombadil
Tom Bombadil is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He first appeared in print in a 1934 poem called " The Adventures of Tom Bombadil", which also included ''The Lord of the Rings'' characters Goldberry (Tom's wife), Old Man Willow ...
of ''
The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
''.
Poet and playwright
Paavo Haavikko
Paavo Juhani Haavikko (January 25, 1931 in Helsinki – October 6, 2008) was a Finnish poet, playwright, essayist and publisher, considered one of the country's most outstanding writers. He published more than 70 works, and his poems have been tran ...
took influence from the ''Kalevala'', including the poem ''Kaksikymmentä ja yksi'' (1974), and the TV-drama ''Rauta-aika'' (1982).
American science fiction and fantasy authors
L. Sprague de Camp
Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and works of non-fiction, including biog ...
and
Fletcher Pratt
Murray Fletcher Pratt (25 April 1897 – 10 June 1956) was an American writer of history, science fiction, and fantasy. He is best known for his works on naval history and the American Civil War and for fiction written with L. Sprague de Camp.
...
used the ''Kalevala'' as source materials for their 1953 fantasy novella "
The Wall of Serpents
''The Wall of Serpents'' is a fantasy novella by American science fiction and fantasy authors L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt. The fourth story in their Harold Shea series, it was first published in the June 1953 issue of the fantasy pulp ma ...
". This is the fourth story in the authors'
Harold Shea
The "Harold Shea" Stories is a name given to a series of five science fantasy stories by the collaborative team of L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt and to its later continuation by de Camp alone, Christopher Stasheff, Holly Lisle, John Mad ...
series, in which the hero and his companions visit various mythic and fictional worlds. In this story, the characters visit the world of the Kalevala, where they encounter characters from the epic drawn with a skeptical eye.
Emil Petaja
Emil Petaja (12 April 1915 – 17 August 2000) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer whose career spanned seven decades. He was the author of 13 published novels, nearly 150 short stories, numerous poems, and a handful of books and ...
was an American science fiction and fantasy author of Finnish descent. His best known works, known as the ''Otava Series'', a series of novels based on the ''Kalevala''. The series brought Petaja readers from around the world, while his mythological approach to science fiction was discussed in scholarly papers presented at academic conferences. He has a further ''Kalevala'' based work which is not part of the series, entitled ''The Time Twister''.
British fantasy author
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, best-known for science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has work ...
's sword and sorcery anti-hero,
Elric of Melniboné
Elric of Melniboné is a fictional character created by English writer Michael Moorcock and the protagonist of a series of sword and sorcery stories taking place on an alternative Earth. The proper name and title of the character is Elric VII ...
is influenced by the character Kullervo.
British fantasy author
Michael Scott Rohan
Michael Scott Rohan (22 January 1951 – 12 August 2018) was a Scottish fantasy and science fiction author and writer on opera.
He had a number of short stories published before his first books, the science fiction novel '' Run to the Stars'' ...
's ''Winter of the World'' series feature Louhi as a major antagonist and include many narrative threads from the ''Kalevela''.
The web comic "A Redtail's Dream", written and illustrated by
Minna Sundberg Minna Sundberg (born January 9, 1990) is a Swedish-speaking Finns, Swedish-speaking Finns, Finnish illustrator and cartoonist born in Sweden. She is known for the webcomics ''A Redtail's Dream'' (aRTD), and ''Stand Still, Stay Silent'' (SS, SS).
B ...
, cites the ''Kalevala'' as an influence. (Physical edition 2014.)
The British science fiction writer
Ian Watson's ''Books of Mana'' duology, ''Lucky's Harvest'' and ''The Fallen Moon'', both contain references to places and names from the ''Kalevala''.
In 2008,
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
ese author and translator Bùi Viêt Hoa published an epic poetry ''
The Children of Mon and Man'' ( vi, Con cháu Mon Mân), which delves into Vietnamese folk poetry and mythology, based in partly on the ''Kalevala''.
The work was written mainly in Finland and the
Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA) is a ministry in the Finnish Government and is responsible for preparing and implementing the government's foreign policy.
Organisation
The ministry in 2017 has a total budget of 1.079 billion euros, of ...
has also co-financed it.
Music
Music is the area which has the richest influence from the ''Kalevala'', which is apt considering the way that the folk poetry and songs were originally performed.
Classical music
The first recorded example of a musician influenced by the ''Kalevala'' is
Filip von Schantz
John Filip von Schantz (17 January 1835 in Ulvila — 24 July 1865 in Helsinki), was a Finnish composer and musician. He left Helsinki in 1855 after being expelled from University of Helsinki, deciding to devote himself to music. The following year ...
. In 1860, he composed the Kullervo Overture. The piece premièred on the opening of a new theatre building in Helsinki on November of the same year. Von Schantz's work was followed by
Robert Kajanus
Robert Kajanus (2 December 1856 – 6 July 1933) was a Finnish conductor, composer, and teacher. In 1882, he founded the Helsinki Orchestral Society, Finland's first professional orchestra. As a conductor, he was also a notable champion and in ...
' ''Kullervo's Funeral March'' and the symphonic poem ''
Aino'' in 1880 and 1885, respectively. ''Aino'' is credited with inspiring Jean Sibelius to investigate the richness of the ''Kalevala''. ''
Die Kalewainen in Pochjola
''Die Kalewainen in Pochjola: Finnische Mythe in 4 Bildern frei nach dem Finnischen National-Epos Kalewala'' (German: “The men of Kaleva in the Pohjola, Northland: Finnish myths in four scenes freely from the Finnish national epic Kalevala”) i ...
'', the first opera freely based upon the ''Kalevala'', was composed by
Karl Müller-Berghaus in 1890, but the work has never been performed.
[Die Kalewainen in Pochjola: 127 vuotta kadoksissa ollut ooppera ensi-iltaan Turussa Suomi 100 -juhlavuonna.](_blank)
City of Turku, 29 February 2016.
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...
is the best-known ''Kalevala''-influenced classical composer. Twelve of Sibelius' best-known works are based upon or influenced by the ''Kalevala'', including his ''
Kullervo
Kullervo () is an ill-fated character in the ''Kalevala'', the Finnish national epic compiled by Elias Lönnrot.
Growing up in the aftermath of the massacre of his entire tribe, he comes to realise that the same people who had brought him up, t ...
'', a tone poem for soprano, baritone, chorus and orchestra composed in 1892. Sibelius also composed the music of ''Jääkärimarssi'' (The Jäger March) to words written by Finnish soldier and writer
Heikki Nurmio
Heikki Nurmio (1887-1947) was a Finnish jäger and writer. He is remembered for writing the lyrics for "Jääkärien marssi" (''Jäger March'') composed by Jean Sibelius in 1917.
Heikki Nurmio joined the 27th Jäger Battalion in 1916 in German ...
. The march features the line ''Me nousemme kostona Kullervon'' ("We shall rise in vengeance like that of Kullervo's").
Other classical composers influenced by the ''Kalevala'':
*
Einojuhani Rautavaara
Einojuhani Rautavaara (; 9 October 1928 – 27 July 2016) was a Finnish composer of classical music. Among the most notable Finnish composers since Jean Sibelius (1865–1957), Rautavaara wrote a great number of works spanning various styles. ...
*
Leevi Madetoja
Leevi Antti Madetoja (; 17 February 1887 – 6 October 1947) was a Finns, Finnish composer, music criticism, music critic, conductor (music), conductor, and teacher of the Romantic music, late-Romantic and modernism (music), early-moder ...
*
Uuno Klami
Uuno (Kalervo) Klami (20 September 1900, Virolahti – 29 May 1961, Virolahti) was a Finnish composer of the modern period. He is widely recognized as one of the most significant Finnish composers to emerge from the generation that followed ...
*
Tauno Marttinen
Tauno Olavi Marttinen (27 September 1912 – 18 July 2008) was a Finnish composer of contemporary classical music.
Born in Helsinki, Marttinen studied in Viipuri and Helsinki. His earliest works are mainly late romantic. His output includes ...
*
Aulis Sallinen
Aulis Sallinen (born 9 April 1935) is a Finnish contemporary classical music composer. His music has been variously described as "remorselessly harsh", a "beautifully crafted amalgam of several 20th-century styles", and "neo-romantic". Sallinen ...
*
Veljo Tormis
Veljo Tormis (7 August 1930 – 21 January 2017) was an Estonian composer, regarded as one of the great contemporary choral composers and one of the most important composers of the 20th century in Estonia.Daitz, Mimi. Ancient Song Recovered: The ...
Folk metal
A number of
folk metal
Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for exampl ...
bands have drawn on the ''Kalevala'' heavily for inspiration. In 1993 the Finnish bands
Amorphis
Amorphis is a Finnish heavy metal band founded by Jan Rechberger, Tomi Koivusaari, and Esa Holopainen in 1990. Initially, the band was a death metal act, but on later albums they evolved into playing other genres, including progressive metal, ...
and
Sentenced released two
concept album
A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
s, ''
Tales from the Thousand Lakes
''Tales from the Thousand Lakes'' is the second full-length album by doom metal band Amorphis. It is a concept album, the lyrics are based on the Finnish national epic, ''Kalevala''. While still predominantly melodic death metal and gothic ...
'' and ''
North from Here
''North from Here'' is the second album by the Finnish metal band Sentenced. Lyrics of the album deal with Sentenced's typical melancholy, but some also deal with the mythology and history of Finnish warfare and the national romantic epic of '' ...
'' respectively, which were the first of many that have been ''Kalevala''-themed. Amorphis's 2009 album ''
Skyforger
Skyforger is a heavy metal band from Latvia which was formed in 1995 out of the remains of doom metal band Grindmaster Dead.
Musical style and lyrical themes
Most of their songs are about Baltic mythology and warfare; they also play Latvia ...
'' also draws heavily on the ''Kalevala''. The Finnish
folk metal
Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for exampl ...
band
Ensiferum have released songs, such as "Old Man" and "Little Dreamer", which are influenced by the ''Kalevala''. The third track of their ''
Dragonheads
''Dragonheads'' is an EP by Finnish folk metal band Ensiferum. It was released on 15 February 2006 by Spinefarm Records. It is the first Ensiferum release featuring the then recently hired members Petri Lindroos, Sami Hinkka and Janne Parviain ...
'' EP is entitled "Kalevala Melody". It is an instrumental piece following the rhythm of the Kalevala metre. Another Finnish folk metal band,
Turisas
Turisas is a Finnish metal band from Hämeenlinna. They were founded in 1997 by Mathias Nygård and Jussi Wickström, and named after an ancient Finnish god of war.
Turisas are a folk metal band, incorporating elements of power metal and sym ...
, have adapted several verses from song nine of the ''Kalevala'', "The Origin of Iron", for the lyrics of their song "Cursed Be Iron", which is the third track of the album ''
The Varangian Way
''The Varangian Way'' is the second full-length album by the Finnish folk metal band Turisas, released on May 27, 2007 through Century Media. It is a concept album that tells the story of a group of Scandinavians traveling the river routes of me ...
''. Finnish metal band
Amberian Dawn
Amberian Dawn is a Finnish symphonic power metal band, formed in 2006 by Tuomas Seppälä and Tommi Kuri. Their fifth album '' Re-Evolution'' (a re-recorded compilation with a new singer) was released on KHY Suomen Musiikki & Encore Music in sum ...
use lyrics inspired by the ''Kalevala'' in their album ''
River of Tuoni
''River of Tuoni'' is the debut full-length studio album by Finnish symphonic power metal band Amberian Dawn.
The songs "River of Tuoni" and "My Only Star" from the album were the first Amberian Dawn tracks to have a music video recorded, in Ma ...
'', as well as in its successor, ''
The Clouds of Northland Thunder
''The Clouds of Northland Thunder'' is the second full-length studio album by Finnish symphonic power metal band Amberian Dawn. It was released 13 May 2009. Its single, "He Sleeps in a Grove", was the third Amberian Dawn song to have a music vid ...
''. On 3 August 2012, Finnish folk metal band
Korpiklaani
Korpiklaani ( Finnish: ) is a Finnish folk metal band from Lahti who was formerly known as Shamaani Duo and Shaman.
History Shamaani Duo
While other folk metal bands began with metal before adding folk music, Korpiklaani started with folk music ...
released a new album entitled ''
Manala''. Jonne Järvelä from the band said, "Manala is the realm of the dead – the underworld in Finnish mythology. Tuonela, Tuoni, Manala and Mana are used synonymously. This place is best known for its appearance in the Finnish national epic ''Kalevala'', on which many of our new songs are based."
Other musical genres
In the mid-1960s, the
progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
band Kalevala was active within Finland and in 1974, the now prolific singer-songwriter
Jukka Kuoppamäki
Jukka Kuoppamäki (b. 1 September 1942, Helsinki) is a Finnish singer, songwriter and priest for The Christian Community in Germany. He visits his summer house in Finland every year.
He is one of the most prolific Finnish popular singer-songwri ...
released the song "Väinämöinen". These were some of the first pieces of modern music inspired by the ''Kalevala''.
In 1998,
Ruth MacKenzie
Ruth Mackenzie is an artistic director of theatres and arts festivals. She has worked extensively in the UK and Europe, and was responsible for the London 2012 Festival. In 2022 she was appointed as artistic director of the Adelaide Festival of ...
recorded the album ''Kalevala: Dream of the Salmon Maiden'', a song cycle covering the part of the story concerning
Aino and her choice to refuse the hand of the sorcerer Väinämöinen and instead transform herself into a salmon. MacKenzie has continued to perform the piece live.
The Karelian Finnish folk music group
Värttinä
Värttinä (, meaning " spindle") is a Finnish folk music band that started as a project by Sari and Mari Kaasinen in 1983 in the village of Rääkkylä, in Karelia, the southeastern region of Finland. Many transformations have taken place in t ...
has based some of its lyrics on motifs from the ''Kalevala''. The
Vantaa Chamber Choir have songs influenced by the ''Kalevala''. Their ''Kalevala''-themed third album, ''Marian virsi'' (2005), combines contemporary folk with traditionally performed folk poetry.
In 2003, the Finnish progressive rock quarterly Colossus and French
Musea Records
Musea Records (slogan: ''Les classiques du futur'', French for "The classics of the future") is a French non-profit organisation, non-profit recording company founded in 1985 by Francis Grosse and Bernard Gueffier in Dombasle-sur-Meurthe, specia ...
commissioned 30 progressive rock groups from around the world to compose songs based on parts of the ''Kalevala''. The publication assigned each band with a particular song from the ''Kalevala'', which the band was free to interpret as they saw fit. The result, titled ''Kalevala'', is a three-disc, multilingual, four-hour epic telling.
In the beginning of 2009, in celebration of the 160th anniversary of the ''Kalevala''s first published edition, the Finnish Literature Society, the Kalevala Society, premièred ten new and original works inspired by the ''Kalevala''. The works included poems, classical and contemporary music and artwork. A book was published by the Finnish Literature Society in conjunction with the event and a large exhibition of ''Kalevala''-themed artwork and cultural artefacts was put on display at the
Ateneum
Ateneum is an art museum in Helsinki, Finland and one of the three museums forming the Finnish National Gallery. It is located in the centre of Helsinki on the south side of Rautatientori square close to Helsinki Central railway station. It ha ...
museum in Helsinki.
In 2017 a New York-based production ''Kalevala the Musical'' got started in celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Republic of Finland. The production features original pop, folk and world music score written by Johanna Telander. The concert version was performed across the United States and Finland.
Film
In 1959, a joint Finnish-Soviet production entitled ''
Sampo'', also known as ''The Day the Earth Froze'', was released, inspired by the story of the ''Sampo'' from the ''Kalevala''.
In 1982, the Finnish Broadcasting Company (
YLE
Yleisradio Oy ( Finnish, literally "General Radio Ltd." or "General Broadcast Ltd."; abbr. Yle ; sv, Rundradion Ab, italics=no), translated to English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, found ...
) produced a television
mini-series called ''Rauta-aika'' (The Age of Iron), with music composed by
Aulis Sallinen
Aulis Sallinen (born 9 April 1935) is a Finnish contemporary classical music composer. His music has been variously described as "remorselessly harsh", a "beautifully crafted amalgam of several 20th-century styles", and "neo-romantic". Sallinen ...
and book by
Paavo Haavikko
Paavo Juhani Haavikko (January 25, 1931 in Helsinki – October 6, 2008) was a Finnish poet, playwright, essayist and publisher, considered one of the country's most outstanding writers. He published more than 70 works, and his poems have been tran ...
. The series was set "during the Kalevala times" and based upon events which take place in the ''Kalevala''. The series' part 3/4 won
Prix Italia
The Prix Italia is an international Television, Radio-broadcasting and Web award. It was established in 1948 by RAI – Radiotelevisione Italiana (in 1948, RAI had the denomination RAI – Radio Audizioni Italiane) in Capri and is honoured with the ...
in 1983.
The martial arts film ''
Jadesoturi
''Jade Warrior'' (Finnish: ''Jadesoturi'', , Estonian: ''Igavese armastuse sõdalane'') is a Finnish-Chinese co-produced movie. It combines elements of the wuxia genre with Finnish ''Kalevala'' mythology. It was directed by Antti-Jussi Annila.
...
'', also known as ''Jade Warrior'', released in Finland on 13 October 2006, is based upon the ''Kalevala'' and set in Finland and China.
Interpretations
The ''Kalevala'' has attracted many scholars and enthusiasts to interpret its contents in a historical context. Many interpretations of the themes have been tabled. Some parts of the epic have been perceived as ancient conflicts between the early
Finns
Finns or Finnish people ( fi, suomalaiset, ) are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland.
Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these ...
and the
Sami
Acronyms
* SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft
* Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company
* South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...
. In this context, the country of "Kalevala" could be understood as Southern Finland and ''
Pohjola'' as
Lapland.
[Juha Pentikäinen, Ritva Poom, ''Kalevala mythology'', 1888.]
However, the place names in ''Kalevala'' seem to transfer the ''Kalevala'' further south, which has been interpreted as reflecting the Finnic expansion from the South that came to push the Sami further to the north. Some scholars locate the lands of ''Kalevala'' in
East Karelia, where most of the ''Kalevala'' stories were written down. In 1961, the small town of ''Uhtua'' in the then Soviet
Republic of Karelia was renamed
Kalevala
The ''Kalevala'' ( fi, Kalevala, ) is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling an epic story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and ...
, perhaps to promote that theory.
Finnish politician and linguist
Eemil Nestor Setälä
Eemil Nestor Setälä (; 27 February 1864 – 8 February 1935) was a Finnish politician and once the Chairman of the Senate of Finland, from September 1917 to November 1917, when he was author of the Finnish Declaration of Independence.
Se ...
rejected the idea that the heroes of ''Kalevala'' are historical in nature and suggested they are personifications of natural phenomena. He interprets Pohjola as the northern heavens and the Sampo as the pillar of the world. Setälä suggests that the journey to regain the Sampo is a purely imaginary one with the heroes riding a mythological boat or magical steed to the heavens.
[Eemil Nestor Setälä. "Sammon arvoitus: Isien runous ja usko: 1. ”Suomen suku" laitoksen julkaisuja. 1." ''Helsinki: Otava, 1932.''.]
The practice of
bear worship was once very common in Finland and there are strong echoes of this in the ''Kalevala''.
The old Finnish word ''väinä'' (a strait of deep water with a slow current) appears to be the origin of the name Väinämöinen; one of Väinämöinen's other names is Suvantolainen, ''suvanto'' being the modern word for ''väinä''. Consequently, it is possible that the ''Saari'' (Island) might be the island of
Saaremaa
Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring . The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island and west of Muhu island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago. The capital of the island i ...
in Estonia and ''Kalevala'' the Estonian mainland.
Finnish folklorists Matti Kuusi and Pertti Anttonen state that terms such as ''the people of Kalevala'' or ''the tribe of Kalevala'' were fabricated by Elias Lönnrot. Moreover, they contend that the word ''Kalevala'' is very rare in traditional poetry and that by emphasizing dualism (Kalevala vs. Pohjola) Elias Lönnrot created the required tension that made the ''Kalevala'' dramatically successful and thus fit for a national epic of the time.
There are similarities with mythology and folklore from other cultures, for example the Kullervo character and his story bearing some likeness to the Greek
Oedipus
Oedipus (, ; grc-gre, Οἰδίπους "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby ...
. The similarity of the virginal maiden Marjatta to the Christian
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
is striking. The arrival of Marjatta's son in the final song spelling the end of Väinämöinen's reign over Kalevala is similar to the arrival of Christianity bringing about the end of Paganism in Finland and Europe at large.
See also
*
Finnish mythology
Finnish mythology is a commonly applied description of the folklore of Finnish paganism, of which a modern revival is practiced by a small percentage of the Finnish people. It has many features shared with Estonian and other Finnic mythologies, ...
* ''
Mythologia Fennica
Mythologia Fennica (''Finnish Mythology'') is a 1789 book on Finnish mythology written in Swedish by Kristfrid Ganander, a Finnish priest.
''Mythologia Fennica'' contains 430 entries in alphabetical order from "AARNI" to "YRJÄNÄ". Entries cover ...
''
*
Finnish national symbols
Finnish national symbols are natural symbols or Finnish national works and prominent figures that are commonly associated with Finland. The most recognized national symbols include the flag of Finland and the lion featured on the Finnish coat of ...
*
Kalevi (mythology)
Kaleva – also known as Kalevi or Kalev – and his sons are important heroic figures in Estonian, Finnish and Karelian mythology. In the Finnish epic the ''Kalevala'', he is an ancient Finnish ruler. In Estonian mythology and Friedrich Reinh ...
* ''
Kalevipoeg
''Kalevipoeg'' (, ''Kalev's Son'') is a 19th century Epic poetry, epic poem by Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald which has since been considered the Estonian national epic.
Origins
In pre-Christian ancient Estonia there existed an oral tradition ...
'', an Estonian epic poetry inspired by the ''Kalevala''
* ''
Kanteletar
''Kanteletar'' is a collection of Finnish folk poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot. It is considered to be a sister collection to the Finnish national epic ''Kalevala''. The poems of ''Kanteletar'' are based on the trochaic tetrameter, generally ...
'', a sister collection of the ''Kalevala''
* ''
Kojiki'', a mythological text similarly compiled and edited from oral transmission
Notes
References
Further reading
Translations
*. Text at
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks."
It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital libr ...
: Volume 1, Volume 2, and Complete work.
*
*. Text at
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks."
It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital libr ...
: Volume 1 and Volume 2.
*
*
* , translation of the 1835 ''Old Kalevala''
*
Retellings
* , a sequel for Don Rosa's ''The Quest for Kalevala'' featuring Scrooge McDuck and some characters from the ''Kalevala''
*, near complete prose translation based on Crawford
*
*
*
* , a retelling in a style friendly to children
* , a story in tribute to the ''Kalevala'' featuring Scrooge McDuck and some characters from the ''Kalevala''
*
Analysis
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* Siikala, Anna-Leena. "The Kalevalaic Tradition as Finnish Mythology". In: ''Ethnographica et Folkloristica Carpathica'', 12-13 (2002). Megjelent: Mental Spaces and Ritual Traditions pp. 107-122
* Tolley, Clive. "The Kalevala as a Model for our Understanding of the Composition of the Codex Regius of the Poetic Edda." The Retrospective Methods Network (2014).
*
Encyclopedia
*
*
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
1835 poems
1849 poems
National symbols of Finland