Its been a while so i may have just gotten all that wrong. Some historians believe kalevala refers to the ancient finnish nation called kvenland. The kalevala was the oral tradition of the finns and this translation preserves that feeling. Haltijas are the main and most common mythological creatures in finnish mythology. Haltija haltia is a spirit or creature in finnish mythology, that guards, helps or protects something or somebody. Sutherland great power of the glacial melting water and movement of stones created some of the most spectacular potholes often called giants kettles or giants cauldrons. Nov 23, 2017 the finnish folklore has a sprite for everything in nature. Some of their myths are also distantly related to the myths of other finnougric speakers like. The kalevala by elias lonnrot, il figlio del dio del tuono by arto paasilinna, pakanuuden aikakausi by julius krohn. Christian missionaries interpreted hiisi as a bad spirit, so he is now depicted as a monstrous creature who attacks travelers, steals from houses, and throws boulders into fields. It has many features shared with fellow finnic estonian mythology and its nonfinnic neighbours, the balts and the scandinavians.
The book also includes a stepbystep process for one of the paintings from start to finish. Hiisi plural hiidet is a term in finnic mythologies, originally denoting sacred localities and later on various types of mythological entities. At one point there was a trade relationship with viking and the finns and during that time lots of finnish young men joined vikings on their trips, for money and adventure. She was becoming bored of being alone in the void of emptiness, so she let herself fall into the primal ocean where she floated aimlessly. Popular finnish mythology books goodreads share book.
Finnish mythology is the mythology that went with finnish paganism which was practised by the finnish people prior to christianisation. Ancient origins articles related to hiisi in the sections of history, archaeology, human origins, unexplained, artifacts, ancient places and myths and legends. Finnish mythical creatures still lurk thisisfinland. Hiisi is another controversial character in finnish mythology. In estonian mythology and friedrich reinhold kreutzwalds epic poem kalevipoeg, king kalev was the father of king kalevipoeg and the husband of linda. Vellamo is the goddess of water, lakes and seas in finnish mythology. Manala, in finnish mythology, the realm of the dead. Jul 07, 2019 an analysis of certain finnish origins. First you will learn how the finns viewed their gods, and then how we came to know about. Az index list of deity names from finnish mythology finnish mythology finnish pantheon.
It was compiled between 18351849 by elias lonnrot and it is the greatest single written piece of finnish mythology and oral folklore. Regarded as the devil himself, lempo creates misfortune, disease and unspeakable nastiness. Finland is no exception, and mythical creatures remained very much part of finnish folklore until the countrys rapid urbanisation during the 20th century. Kalevala mythology by juha y pentikainen, paperback. Tapio, also called metsahine, or hiisi, the finnish god of the forest and ruler of the game therein. Ive read a little bit about the finnish myths, i think in the kalevala, doesnt the main character fall in love with his sister, and then they both end up killing themselves. It has many features shared with estonian and other finnic mythologies, but also shares some similarities with neighbouring baltic, slavic and, to a lesser extent, norse mythologies. The kummakivi balancing rock and its unlikely explanation in. According to the 18th century finnish folklorecollector kristfrid ganander, kaleva had 12 sons in total, which included e. There is well over 3 million saunas in finland which is quite a lot for a country with population of 5. This book is divided into sections of different creature types. The kalevala is the national epic of finland and karelia.
First come the giants, then the dwarfs such as gnomes, elves, fairies and leprechauns. Discover the strange mystical creatures from mythology lurking in finlands lakes and. Finns have the power of darkness, finns are wizards. His finnish counterpart was ukko, and he is generally associated with thor. Kalevala, sampo, ior bock, kullervo, menninkainen, ilmarinen, nakki, hiisi, etiainen, lalli. Hannunvaakuna finnish good luck symbol from the book finnish proverbs by inkeri vaananenjensen. It was a polytheistic religion, worshipping a number of different deities. Folklorevolume 3an analysis of certain finnish myths of. Vainamoinen m finnish mythology derived from finnish vaina meaning wide and slowflowing river. I havent finished the bookshamefulbut the poetry and story are amazing. More recent thought by mauno koski associates the finnish hiisi and the estonian hiis primarily with burial sites, or sacred areas associated with burial sites.
The mythology of finland is filled with supernatural creatures such as. Mythology the following 37 pages are in this category, out of 37 total. Nature has its own haltijas, for example the haltijas of water and haltijas of the forest. Finnish mythology, like that of many other cultures, tells the stories of gods and legendary heroes.
The word is possibly derived from the compound maanala, the space or area under the earth. The principal god was the god of thunder and the sky, ukko. For me as a writer seeking inspiration from and a deeper understanding of the kalevala, professor juha pentikainens book, kalevala mythology, translated and edited by ritva poom was worth the read. Discover with us the magic belief of ancient finns. He may also be an evil triad, with demons hiisi and paha closely associated with him. In finnish mythology vainamoinen was a wise old magician, the son of the primal goddess ilmatar. It is also called tuonela, the realm of tuoni, and pohjola, derived from the word pohja, meaning bottom and also north. Finnish mythology and folklore mythical creatures from.
Most of the myths date from prechristian times and were passed from generation to generation by storytellers. Ukko, ahto, and tuoni in finnish mythology correspond. In estonian stories, sons of kaleva were originally considered. She is said to be tall and beautiful, and is much respected by fishermen, who pray to her for good fishing luck. Finnish mythology is a commonly applied description of the folklore of finnish paganism. Once you leave petrozavodsk the capital city of karelia and head off to western karelia, closer to finland, you start noticing finnish names of. Under the heading of forest deities also comes hiisi, the. Legends of ancient people in the region say that these potholes were made by a devil who use to live here.
Jan 24, 2003 obviously the finnish mythology has much more in common with the russians and the other baltic countries, particularly estonia. This hiisi is so infamous that the finnish translations of tolkiens books. Every countrys mythology has its own cast of strange creatures, monsters and legendary human figures. Oct 20, 2015 sharing my knowledge and artworks about finnish forest gods and goddesses. Folklorevolume 3 an analysis of certain finnish myths of origin. Some of their myths are also distantly related to the myths of other finnougric speakers like the samis. Godchecker guide to lempo also known as jutas, the finnish god of evil from finnish mythology. Also featured in the picture is the close cousin of kalevala called the kalevipoeg which is. Raven in finnish mythology and folklore the fairy chamber. Finns have been telling each other stories of their gods and guardians for centuries. Finns have the power of darkness, finns are wizards this was the cry of the viking warriors who feared nothing. He may be one of lempos little helpers, or he may actually be a manifestation of the devilish lempo himself when vainamoinen was fighting off demons, it was paha who, with the help of hiisi, gave him the shakes and made him accidentally cut himself with a mistimed axe blow.
In the beginning, there was only the goddess luonnotar, whose name means daughter of nature. Like paha, he is a henchman or possibly just a manifestation of the devilish lempo. They were skilled sorcerers and necromancers who enjoyed banging sacred drums and chanting. Lempo commands the demons of the forests and other evil spirits. Ylinen, the upper world where all the highest of the spirits lived, keskinen, the middle world. Hiisi was a giant of ancient times, and is one of twelve sons of kaleva, the great king of kainuu.
Interesting notes are that this is the same name used for devil, and that in modern finnish, hiisi and derivative words are mild profanities. Hiisi could have been a troll or a giant like creature but in the earliest mythical layers hiisi was a sacred place, a grove in nature where people went to worship old pagan gods. Hiisi, demon, originally meaning a sacred grove, later a mean goblin. In bishop mikael agricolas list of finnish pagan gods, hiisi is given as a god of forest game. In this lesson you will learn about finnish mythology and some of the god and goddesses the finns revered. Kalevala mythology by juha y pentikainen, paperback barnes. The finnish folklore has a sprite for everything in nature. Having a special interest in the subject matter helps in following many of the detailed explanations of sources and history. I dont know if its a case of its not you, its me with this book, but whatever the reason is, the winter place by alexander yates didnt work for me. Like most civilizations, they had a story for how the earth was created, and they believed. I loved the premise of the story and the first couple chapters were. Goddess of healing finnish ugric spirit name hiisi finnish.
It has many features shared with estonian and other finnic mythologies, but also shares some similarities with neighbouring baltic, slavic and, to a lesser extent, norse. The mythology of the kalevala, with notes on bearworship. Finnish paganism was the indigenous pagan religion in finland, estonia, and karelia prior to christianisation. Folklorevolume 3an analysis of certain finnish myths of origin. Religion has always been the mirror of a society, and the finnish ancient religion perfectly reflects the needs and the daily life of such a magic people. This hiisi is so infamous that the finnish translations of tolkiens books renamed the goblins hiisi. In the finnish epic kalevala, he is an ancient finnish ruler. Finnish paganism was the indigenous pagan religion in finland, estonia and karelia prior to christianisation. It has many features shared with estonian and other finnic mythologies, but also shares some similarities with neighbouring bal.
Place for all humans, animals, plants and all elemental deities. Another word for opposite of meaning of rhymes with sentences with find word forms translate from english translate to english words with friends scrabble crossword codeword words starting with words ending with words containing exactly words containing letters pronounce find conjugations find names. Vikings referred finland as land of the giants and finnish people was highly respected by vikings. Pentikainen, professor of comparative religion at helsinki university and docent in folkloristics and comparative religion at the university of turku, has published numerous articles and more than ten books, including cultural minorities in finland, and the chicago folklore prizewinner oral repertoire and world view. 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. When vainamoinen was fighting off demons, hiisi made his axe wobble and made sure lots of blood flowed when he accidentally cut himself. The sami god of the sky and of thunder, normally depicted wielding a pair of warhammers. Finnish mythology wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. This zine features 33 ink illustrations, each accompanied by a written introduction to finnish mythology and folklore related to the animals. In finnish mythology there were three layers of the world. Finnish paganism project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks.
Group of evil spirit that worked with lempo and paha. Most of the myths date from prechristian times and were passed from. Obviously the finnish mythology has much more in common with the russians and the other baltic countries, particularly estonia. I f such branches of knowledge as zoology, botany, and geology were confined to a study of the external surfaces of animals, plants, and the outer crust of the earth, without taking note of the skeleton, of the internal structure, or of the underlying strata, our knowledge would be vastly curtailed. Magnet x tursaansydan means the heart of tursas and in finnish mythology, tursas alias ikuturso and a few other names was a rather unpleasant. Finnish mythology myth encyclopedia god, story, tree. Through these creatures people explained, how the world was created and why the different phenomena appeared. I loved the premise of the story and the first couple chapters were great but sadly, it soon started going downhill for me.
Sharing my knowledge and artworks about finnish forest gods and goddesses. Finnish mythology and language is much older than vikings. Tapio, god of hunt, animals, trees and forest mielikki, goddess of forest. Kaleva also known as kalevi or kalev and his sons are important heroic figures in estonian, finnish and karelian mythology. Finnish mythology and folklore mythical creatures from old. Im super happy with how this turned out and so proud that i was able to bring this project to life. Hiisi plural hiidet is a term in finnic mythologies, originally denoting sacred localities and later on various types of mythological entities in later, christianinfluenced folklore, they are depicted as demonic or tricksterlike entities, often the autochthonous, pagan inhabitants of the land, similar in this respect to mythological giants. Mar 16, 2020 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. Also featured in the picture is the close cousin of kalevala called the kalevipoeg which is the estonian equivalent of kalevala. Lempo was possibly connected to death and the underworld. Myths, culture and feelings from the ancient finland.
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