The mythology of finland is filled with supernatural creatures such as. Place for all humans, animals, plants and all elemental deities. First come the giants, then the dwarfs such as gnomes, elves, fairies and leprechauns. 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. 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. 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. Most of the myths date from prechristian times and were passed from.
The word is possibly derived from the compound maanala, the space or area under the earth. Ylinen, the upper world where all the highest of the spirits lived, keskinen, the middle world. Vainamoinen m finnish mythology derived from finnish vaina meaning wide and slowflowing river. 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. Nov 23, 2017 the finnish folklore has a sprite for everything in nature. Ancient origins articles related to hiisi in the sections of history, archaeology, human origins, unexplained, artifacts, ancient places and myths and legends.
Some of their myths are also distantly related to the myths of other finnougric speakers like the samis. In this lesson you will learn about finnish mythology and some of the god and goddesses the finns revered. It was compiled between 18351849 by elias lonnrot and it is the greatest single written piece of finnish mythology and oral folklore. Hiisi is another controversial character in finnish mythology. I loved the premise of the story and the first couple chapters were great but sadly, it soon started going downhill for me. Hiisi plural hiidet is a term in finnic mythologies, originally denoting sacred localities and later on various types of mythological entities. 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.
Finnish mythology and language is much older than vikings. Folklorevolume 3 an analysis of certain finnish myths of origin. According to the 18th century finnish folklorecollector kristfrid ganander, kaleva had 12 sons in total, which included e. Haltijas are the main and most common mythological creatures in finnish mythology. Manala, in finnish mythology, the realm of the dead. Regarded as the devil himself, lempo creates misfortune, disease and unspeakable nastiness. Group of evil spirit that worked with lempo and paha.
She is said to be tall and beautiful, and is much respected by fishermen, who pray to her for good fishing luck. Legends of ancient people in the region say that these potholes were made by a devil who use to live here. 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. Finnish mythology is a commonly applied description of the folklore of finnish paganism. Sharing my knowledge and artworks about finnish forest gods and goddesses. Obviously the finnish mythology has much more in common with the russians and the other baltic countries, particularly estonia. Hiisi was a giant of ancient times, and is one of twelve sons of kaleva, the great king of kainuu. 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. In the beginning, there was only the goddess luonnotar, whose name means daughter of nature. Finnish paganism project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks.
In estonian stories, sons of kaleva were originally considered. Finnish mythology and folklore mythical creatures from. The principal god was the god of thunder and the sky, ukko. When vainamoinen was fighting off demons, hiisi made his axe wobble and made sure lots of blood flowed when he accidentally cut himself. The kalevala is the national epic of finland and karelia. 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. 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. This hiisi is so infamous that the finnish translations of tolkiens books renamed the goblins hiisi. Ukko, ahto, and tuoni in finnish mythology correspond. The finnish folklore has a sprite for everything in nature. Nature has its own haltijas, for example the haltijas of water and haltijas of the forest.
Hiisi, demon, originally meaning a sacred grove, later a mean goblin. Finnish paganism was the indigenous pagan religion in finland, estonia, and karelia prior to christianisation. Mythology the following 37 pages are in this category, out of 37 total. This zine features 33 ink illustrations, each accompanied by a written introduction to finnish mythology and folklore related to the animals.
It has many features shared with fellow finnic estonian mythology and its nonfinnic neighbours, the balts and the scandinavians. Folklorevolume 3an analysis of certain finnish myths of. This hiisi is so infamous that the finnish translations of tolkiens books. Finnish mythology myth encyclopedia god, story, tree. 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. Finns have the power of darkness, finns are wizards this was the cry of the viking warriors who feared nothing. Popular finnish mythology books goodreads share book. Hannunvaakuna finnish good luck symbol from the book finnish proverbs by inkeri vaananenjensen. 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.
Finnish mythology, like that of many other cultures, tells the stories of gods and legendary heroes. Finnish paganism was the indigenous pagan religion in finland, estonia and karelia prior to christianisation. Discover the strange mystical creatures from mythology lurking in finlands lakes and. 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. Finnish mythology and folklore mythical creatures from old. Finnish mythology wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. Most of the myths date from prechristian times and were passed from generation to generation by storytellers. 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. He may also be an evil triad, with demons hiisi and paha closely associated with him.
Finns have the power of darkness, finns are wizards. 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. Some historians believe kalevala refers to the ancient finnish nation called kvenland. Myths, culture and feelings from the ancient finland. Also featured in the picture is the close cousin of kalevala called the kalevipoeg which is the estonian equivalent of kalevala. In bishop mikael agricolas list of finnish pagan gods, hiisi is given as a god of forest game. Once you leave petrozavodsk the capital city of karelia and head off to western karelia, closer to finland, you start noticing finnish names of.
Kalevala mythology by juha y pentikainen, paperback. It was a polytheistic religion, worshipping a number of different deities. Like paha, he is a henchman or possibly just a manifestation of the devilish lempo. It has many features shared with estonian and other finnic mythologies, but also shares some similarities with neighbouring bal. Lempo was possibly connected to death and the underworld. Lempo commands the demons of the forests and other evil spirits. Kalevala mythology by juha y pentikainen, paperback barnes. The kalevala by elias lonnrot, il figlio del dio del tuono by arto paasilinna, pakanuuden aikakausi by julius krohn. Kalevala, sampo, ior bock, kullervo, menninkainen, ilmarinen, nakki, hiisi, etiainen, lalli.
Finland is no exception, and mythical creatures remained very much part of finnish folklore until the countrys rapid urbanisation during the 20th century. It is also called tuonela, the realm of tuoni, and pohjola, derived from the word pohja, meaning bottom and also north. Vikings referred finland as land of the giants and finnish people was highly respected by vikings. Magnet x tursaansydan means the heart of tursas and in finnish mythology, tursas alias ikuturso and a few other names was a rather unpleasant. Like most civilizations, they had a story for how the earth was created, and they believed. This book is divided into sections of different creature types. Kaleva also known as kalevi or kalev and his sons are important heroic figures in estonian, finnish and karelian mythology.
The kalevala was the oral tradition of the finns and this translation preserves that feeling. Under the heading of forest deities also comes hiisi, the. The mythology of the kalevala, with notes on bearworship. 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. I havent finished the bookshamefulbut the poetry and story are amazing. They were skilled sorcerers and necromancers who enjoyed banging sacred drums and chanting. Finnish mythology is the mythology that went with finnish paganism which was practised by the finnish people prior to christianisation. Vellamo is the goddess of water, lakes and seas in finnish mythology. Raven in finnish mythology and folklore the fairy chamber. 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 sami god of the sky and of thunder, normally depicted wielding a pair of warhammers. 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. Some of their myths are also distantly related to the myths of other finnougric speakers like.
His finnish counterpart was ukko, and he is generally associated with thor. Having a special interest in the subject matter helps in following many of the detailed explanations of sources and history. Its been a while so i may have just gotten all that wrong. Goddess of healing finnish ugric spirit name hiisi finnish. 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. Folklorevolume 3an analysis of certain finnish myths of origin. Jan 24, 2003 obviously the finnish mythology has much more in common with the russians and the other baltic countries, particularly estonia. First you will learn how the finns viewed their gods, and then how we came to know about.
Finnish mythical creatures still lurk thisisfinland. Godchecker guide to lempo also known as jutas, the finnish god of evil from finnish mythology. Tapio, god of hunt, animals, trees and forest mielikki, goddess of forest. There is well over 3 million saunas in finland which is quite a lot for a country with population of 5. Az index list of deity names from finnish mythology finnish mythology finnish pantheon. Every countrys mythology has its own cast of strange creatures, monsters and legendary human figures. In estonian mythology and friedrich reinhold kreutzwalds epic poem kalevipoeg, king kalev was the father of king kalevipoeg and the husband of linda. In finnish mythology vainamoinen was a wise old magician, the son of the primal goddess ilmatar. 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. Discover with us the magic belief of ancient finns.