Antero Vipunen is a

giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

who appears in

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 ...

and

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 ...

folk poetry Folk poetry (sometimes referred to as ''poetry in action'') is poetry that is part of a society's folklore, usually part of their oral tradition. When sung, folk poetry becomes a folk song. Description Folk poetry in general has several characteri ...

. He is buried underground and possesses very valuable spells and knowledge. The god-hero

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 ...

has a spell with three words or '' luotes'' missing. In order to obtain them, he goes to wake up the sleeping Vipunen by pushing sharp stakes into his grave and through his mouth and stomach. Väinämöinen hits Vipunen in the stomach so hard that he gives up the luotes to get rid of the stomach ache.

Other

In 1938, the Finnish composer

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 ...

wrote the

symphonic poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...

''Vipusessa käynti'' (''In the Belly of Vipunen''), for

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the ...

, men's chorus, and orchestra. This piece, which musically depicts the Väinämöinen-Vipunen story described above, received its world premiere recording by the Finnish conductor

Sakari Oramo Sakari is a given name, and may refer to: * Sakari Kukko (born 1953), Finnish saxophonist and flutist * Sakari Kuosmanen (born 1956), Finnish singer and actor * Sakari Oramo (born 1965), Finnish conductor * Sakari Pinomäki, Finnish mechanical and ...

and the

Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Finnish: ''Radion sinfoniaorkesteri'', Swedish: ''Radions symfoniorkester'') is a Finnish broadcast orchestra based in Helsinki, and the orchestra of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle). The orchestra pri ...

on the Ondine label (ODE859-2, 1995); the vocalists are

Petri Lindroos Petri Lindroos (born 10 January 1980 in Espoo, Finland) is a melodic death/folk metal guitarist and vocalist. He is currently the lead vocalist in Ensiferum. Previously, he was a founding member and lead vocalist for Norther. Biography At 14 ye ...

and the

Polytech Choir The Polytech Choir ( fi, Polyteknikkojen Kuoro; PK) is an academic male choir established in 1900. The majority of the choir's members are engineering students and graduate engineers from Aalto University. The activities of the choir include trad ...

. Antero Vipunen also gave his name to a book edited by

Yrjö Karilas Yrjö Antero Karilas (3 January 1891 – 7 June 1982) was a Finnish writer. He is most known for his ''Pikkujättiläinen'' book series. Short biography Yrjö Karilas was born at Hailuoto on 3 January 1891. He passed his Matriculation examina ...

, which contains various plays and games, and contains both general and specialised knowledge. (''Antero Vipunen: arvoitusten ja ongelmien, leikkien ja pelien sekä eri harrastajien pikkujättiläinen'' WSOY,

Porvoo Porvoo (; sv, Borgå ; la, Borgoa) is a city and a municipality in the Uusimaa region of Finland, situated on the southern coast about east of the city border of Helsinki and about from the city centre. Porvoo was one of the six medieva ...

1950. The 1st edition).

References

* ''

'', the national epic of

Finnish people 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 ...

.

Antero Vipunen

(Karilas bio)

Other

References

See also