A divine maiden of the air descends to undifferentiated waters. She becomes pregnant from the wind and a duck lays an egg on her leg. Incubating, it grows too hot to touch. When she flinches, it...
A divine maiden of the air descends to undifferentiated waters. She becomes pregnant from the wind and a duck lays an egg on her leg. Incubating, it grows too hot to touch. When she flinches, it falls, and the world, sun, and moon are formed from the shards. Then comes her son, Väinämöinen, who sows the forests. And things take a turn for the worse. He gets into a contest with a wiseman from the North, captures him in a mire. As a last resort, the defeated offers his sister’s hand in marriage. But Aino would rather drown than wed Väinämöinen. And from her mother’s tears come the rivers, come the birches, come the cuckoos, who still sing these songs of sorrow.
This is how the world begins in the Kalevala, Finland’s national epic poem, first published in the nineteenth century. Later in the text, there will be talking salmon, forest demons, wolves that stalk the deadlands, incest, suicide, and a mysterious artefact called the Sampo, forged by a legendary blacksmith, which acts like an anchor for the universe. After more than twenty-thousand lavish verses, the poem ends with modesty and apology: perhaps the singer droned on too long. And perhaps it was a wretched performance. If so, this could not be helped — he never had proper training. Maybe someone else will sing it better in the future.
Neat. I had heard that Finno-Ugric and Dravidian language groups are distantly linguistically related. I'm curious to read this and see if there are any parallels with some of the Dravidian origin...
Neat. I had heard that Finno-Ugric and Dravidian language groups are distantly linguistically related. I'm curious to read this and see if there are any parallels with some of the Dravidian origin elements of Hindu mythology. It would be cool to discover if there are any surprising links that have survived through orally transmitted folklore or memes.
This may be common knowledge, but for those who don't know, the Kalevala was a source of major inspiration for JRR Tolkien's work, particularly his earliest prose writings. From Tolkien, Letter...
This may be common knowledge, but for those who don't know, the Kalevala was a source of major inspiration for JRR Tolkien's work, particularly his earliest prose writings.
"The germ of my attempt to write legends of my own to fit my private languages was the tragic tale of the hapless Kullervo in the Finnish Kalevala. It remains a major matter in the legends of the First Age (which I hope to publish as The Silmarillion)"
From Tolkien, Letter 257
Finnish also heavily influenced the development of Quenya, one of the Elvish languages in Middle Earth.
Tolkien actually translated the stories of Kullervo (one of the main characters in the Kalevala) in his undergrad years and this translation was recently released by his estate as The Story of Kullervo.
I have been interested in reading the Kalevala for years but have held off because I've been unable to get a hold of a copy of the Eino Friberg translation that wasn't >C$100. Happily, I've just learned there will be a re-release of this translation on June 1, 2021 at a much more reasonable price!
That is really cool to know. I have read the book and it is an amazing collection of stories.
eat. I had heard that Finno-Ugric and Dravidian language groups are distantly linguistically related. I'm curious to read this and see if there are any parallels with some of the Dravidian origin elements of Hindu mythology. It would be cool to discover if there are any surprising links th
That is really cool to know. I have read the book and it is an amazing collection of stories.
A divine maiden of the air descends to undifferentiated waters. She becomes pregnant from the wind and a duck lays an egg on her leg. Incubating, it grows too hot to touch. When she flinches, it falls, and the world, sun, and moon are formed from the shards. Then comes her son, Väinämöinen, who sows the forests. And things take a turn for the worse. He gets into a contest with a wiseman from the North, captures him in a mire. As a last resort, the defeated offers his sister’s hand in marriage. But Aino would rather drown than wed Väinämöinen. And from her mother’s tears come the rivers, come the birches, come the cuckoos, who still sing these songs of sorrow.
This is how the world begins in the Kalevala, Finland’s national epic poem, first published in the nineteenth century. Later in the text, there will be talking salmon, forest demons, wolves that stalk the deadlands, incest, suicide, and a mysterious artefact called the Sampo, forged by a legendary blacksmith, which acts like an anchor for the universe. After more than twenty-thousand lavish verses, the poem ends with modesty and apology: perhaps the singer droned on too long. And perhaps it was a wretched performance. If so, this could not be helped — he never had proper training. Maybe someone else will sing it better in the future.
Neat. I had heard that Finno-Ugric and Dravidian language groups are distantly linguistically related. I'm curious to read this and see if there are any parallels with some of the Dravidian origin elements of Hindu mythology. It would be cool to discover if there are any surprising links that have survived through orally transmitted folklore or memes.
This may be common knowledge, but for those who don't know, the Kalevala was a source of major inspiration for JRR Tolkien's work, particularly his earliest prose writings.
Finnish also heavily influenced the development of Quenya, one of the Elvish languages in Middle Earth.
Tolkien actually translated the stories of Kullervo (one of the main characters in the Kalevala) in his undergrad years and this translation was recently released by his estate as The Story of Kullervo.
I have been interested in reading the Kalevala for years but have held off because I've been unable to get a hold of a copy of the Eino Friberg translation that wasn't >C$100. Happily, I've just learned there will be a re-release of this translation on June 1, 2021 at a much more reasonable price!
That is really cool to know. I have read the book and it is an amazing collection of stories.