Kalevala The Kalevala is a book and epic poem which the Finn Elias Lönnrot compiled from Finnish and Karelian folklore in the 19th century. It is held to be the national epic of Finland and is traditionally thought of as one of the most significant works of Finnish language literature. Karelians in the Republic of Karelia and other Balto-Finnic speakers also value the work. The
Kalevala is credited with some of the inspiration for the national awakening that ultimately led to Finland's independence from Russia in 1917. The name can be interpreted as the "lands of Kaleva" (by the Finnish suffix -la/lä for place). The epic consists of 22,795 verses, divided into fifty cantos or "chapters" (Finnish runo).
Compilation
This is basically the Finnish kind of Iliad and the Odyssey. Elias Lönnrot (1802–84) was a scholar and a district health officer in Kainuu, an eastern region of Finland which in his time was an autonomous Grand Duchy. The son of a tailor in the village of Sammatti, he entered the University in Turku (the successor of which is the University of Helsinki) in 1822 and started his poem collection journeys in 1827. He made a total of eleven field trips during a period of fifteen years. Finnish folk poetry was first written down in the 1670s, followed by a few collectors during the next centuries. In the 19th century, collecting became more extensive and systematic. Altogether, almost two million verses were collected during this time. Of these, about 1,250,000 have been published and some 500,000 remain unpublished in the archives of the Finnish Literature Society and the collections in Estonia and the Republic of Karelia and other parts of Russia. By the end of the 19th century this pastime and the cumulating cultural orientation towards eastern lands had become a fashion called Karelianism.
The poetry Lönnrot and his contemporaries (e.g. A.J. Sjögren and D.E.D. Europaeus) collected most of the poem variants (one poem might have up to two hundred variants) scattered across the regions of Karelia and Ingria amongst the rural people. They carefully noted the name of the poem singer, his or her age, the place of performance and the date in their records. During his fourth field trip in September 1833 Lönnrot got the idea that the poems might represent a wider continuity when poem entities were performed to him along with comments in normal speech connecting them. The poetry was usually sung to tunes built on a pentachord, sometimes assisted by the
kantele (a kind of five-string zither). The rhythm could vary but the tunes were arranged in either two or four lines consisting of five beats each. Sometimes the poems were performed antiphonally, sometimes they were a part of a "singing-match" between knowers of the tradition. Despite the vast geographical distances and cultural spheres separating the individual singers, the poetry was always sung in the same metre, the so-called archaic
trochaic tetrametre. Its other formal features are alliteration and parallelism and inversion into chiasmus. The chronology of this oral tradition is uncertain. The seemingly oldest themes (the beginning of the world) have been interpreted to have their roots in distant pre-history while the seemingly latest events (e.g. the arrival of Christianity) seem to be from the Iron Age.
Lönnrot’s contribution to Kalevala
Lönnrot arranged the collected poems into a coherent whole. In this process he merged poem variants and characters together and left out verses that did not fit in or composed lines of his own in order to connect certain passages into a logical plot. He even invented a few names which could be used for a character throughout the whole story. It has been estimated that the Kalevala comprises: one third of word for word recordings by the collectors, 50% of material that Lönnrot adjusted slightly, 14% of verses he wrote himself based on poem variants and 3% of verses purely of his own invention. What can be thought to be Lönnrot's most significant contribution is the arrangement of the poems. In the preface of Old Kalevala (signed on February 28, 1835), Lönnrot highlights the possibility that somebody other than him could select different poems variants and that Kalevala would still be as genuine as it was on the day of its completion. As a matter of fact, Lönnrot added some 3,000 verses of poem variants in the end of the Old Kalevala for others to compare...
Publishing The first version of Lönnrot's compilation, Kalewala, taikka Wanhoja Karjalan Runoja Suomen
Kansan muinoisista ajoista (The Kalevala, or old Karelian poems about ancient times of the Finnish people), also known as simply the Old Kalevala, came out in two volumes in 1835–1836. The Old Kalevala consisted of 12,078 verses or thirty-two poems. Lönnrot continued to collect new material, which he integrated into a second edition, Kalevala (the Kalevala), published in 1849. This "new Kalevala" contains fifty poems, and is the standard text of the Kalevala read today. So far the Kalevala has been translated into forty-nine languages. Parts of the book have been translated to sixty languages.
The Storyline Cantos 1–10: The first Väinämöinen cycle: Creation of the world; the first man; Väinämöinen’s and Joukahainen’s encounter; Joukahainen promises his sister’s hand to Väinämöinen in exchange for his life; Aino (Joukahainen’s sister) walks into the sea; Joukahainen’s revenge; the wounded Väinämöinen floats into Pohjola (Northland); Väinämöinen encounters the Maid of the North and promises the Mistress of the North the Sampo in exchange for her daughter; Väinämöinen tricks the smith Ilmarinen into Pohjola where he forges the Sampo.
Cantos 11–15: The first Lemminkäinen cycle: Lemminkäinen steals the maid Kyllikki of the Island; they make a vow; she forgets her vow; Lemminkäinen travels to Pohjola to propose to
the Maid of the North; deeds Lemminkäinen must accomplish: ski for the Demon’s elk, bridle the Demon’s horse and shoot the Swan of Tuonela (the land of the dead); a herdsman kills Lemminkäinen and throws his body into the River of Tuonela; Lemminkäinen’s mother awakens him into life. Cantos 16–18: The second Väinämöinen cycle: Väinämöinen' travels to Tuonela and to meet Antero Vipunen in order to get spells for boat building and sails to Pohjola; Ilmarinen and Väinämöinen compete for the hand of the Maid of the North. Cantos 19–25: Ilmarinen's wedding: Ilmarinen accomplishes the needed deeds with the help of the Maid: ploughing the viper-field, quelling of the wolves of Tuonela and catching the pike out of the River of Tuonela; the wedding of Ilmarinen and the Maid of the North. The story of the brewing of the ale. Cantos 26–30: The second Lemminkäinen cycle: Lemminkäinen is resentful for not having been invited to the wedding; he travels to Pohjola and wins the duel with the Master of Northland; an army is conjured to get back at Lemminkäinen; at his mother’s advice he flees to the Island of Refuge; returning home he sees that his house is burned down; he goes to Pohjola with his companion Tiera to get revenge but the Mistress of the North freezes the seas and Lemminkäinen has to return home.
"Sammon puolustus" (The defence of the Sampo) by Akseli Gallen-Kallela 1895
Cantos 31–36: The Kullervo cycle: Untamo kills his brother Kalervo’s people except for the wife who begets Kullervo; Untamo gives Kullervo several tasks but he sabotages them all; Kullervo is sold as a slave to Ilmarinen; after being tormented by Ilmarinen’s wife, he exacts revenge and the wife gets killed; Kullervo runs away and finds his family unharmed near Lapland; Kullervo seduces a maiden and later finds out she is his sister; Kullervo destroys
Untamola (the realm of Untamo) and upon returning home finds everyone killed; Kullervo kills himself. Cantos 37–38: The second Ilmarinen cycle: Ilmarinen forges himself a wife out of gold and silver but finds her to be cold and discards her; Ilmarinen then robs the sister of the Maid of the North from Pohjola; she insults him so he discards her; Ilmarinen tells Väinämöinen of the carefree life of Pohjola because of the Sampo. Cantos 39–44: The plunder of the Sampo (third Väinämöinen cycle): Väinämöinen, Ilmarinen and Lemminkäinen sail to get the Sampo; they kill a great pike out of whose jaw bone the first kantele is made; Väinämöinen lulls everyone in the hall of Pohjola to sleep with his singing and the Sampo is stolen; the Mistress of the Northland conjures a great army, turns herself into an eagle and fights for the Sampo; the Sampo falls into the sea. Cantos 45–49: Louhi's revenge on Kalevala: The Mistress of the North sends the people of
Kaleva diseases and a bear to kill their cattle; she hides the sun and the moon and steals fire from Kaleva; Väinämöinen and Ilmarinen restore fire and Väinämöinen forces the Mistress to return the Sun and the Moon to the skies. Canto 50: The Marjatta cycle: Marjatta gets impregnated from a berry she ate and begets a son, an allusion to Mary and Jesus Christ; Väinämöinen orders the killing of the boy; the boy starts to speak and reproaches Väinämöinen for ill judgement; he is then baptised king of Karelia; Väinämöinen sails away.
Characters The main character of the Kalevala is Väinämöinen, a shamanistic hero with the magical power of songs and music. He is born of the primeval Maiden of the Air and contributes to the creation of the world. Many of his travels resemble shamanistic journeys, most notably the one where he visits the belly of a ground-giant, Antero Vipunen, to find the words of boat generation. He plays the kantele, a Finnish stringed instrument that resembles and is played like a zither. One of his kanteles is made of the jawbone of a giant pike. His search for a wife is a central element in many stories; he never finds one, though. For example one of the brides, Joukahainen's sister Aino, drowns herself instead of marrying him. He is also part of the group who steals the Sampo, a magical mill, from the people of Pohjola.
Seppo Ilmarinen, a heroic artificer-smith (comparable to the Germanic Weyland and perhaps the Greek Daedalus) who crafted the sky dome, the Sampo and more. Ilmarinen is also one of the group who steal the Sampo. Louhi the Hag of the North, is a shamanistic matriarch of a people rivalling those of Kalevala who at one stage pulls the sun and the moon from the sky and steals the fire away from the people of Kalevala. She rules Pohjola alone after Lemminkäinen has killed her husband, Master of Pohjola. She promises her daughter to Ilmarinen in exchange for him building a Sampo. Väinämöinen's young rival, Joukahainen, who promises his sister Aino to Väinämöinen when he loses a singing contest. Joukahainen attempts to gain his revenge on Väinämöinen by killing him with a crossbow, he fails but his actions lead to Väinämöinen promising to build a Sampo in return for Louhi rescuing him. Vengeful, self-destructive Kullervo who is born as a slave, sold to Ilmarinen and given work by Ilmarinen's wife whom he later kills. Kullervo is a misguided and troubled youth often at odds with himself and his situation. He often goes into berserk rage and in the end commits suicide. Handsome but arrogant Lemminkäinen, whose mother has to rescue his corpse from the river of Death which runs through Tuonela, and bring him to life, echoing the myth of Osiris. Lemminkäinen is the third member of the group which steals the Sampo from Pohjola. Some of the chapters describe ancient creation myths, a long wedding ceremony, and the right words for magical spells of healing and craftsmanship. The last chapter, Son of Marjatta, is an allegory of Christianization of Finland. Maid Marjatta becomes pregnant after eating a lingonberry (allusion of Maria to marja (Finnish for berry) and gives birth to a son. Since the son has been born out of wedlock, Väinämöinen sentences him to be killed. The infant boy then begins to speak and demands Ukko as his judge. After the infant has witnessed sad details of Väinämöinen's own past and of Väinämöinen's own culpability, Ukko declares the young infant boy as the King of Karelia. In the end Väinämöinen exits the material world, but leaves his kantele (symbol for poetry and literary arts) as heirloom for Finns.
List of characters People and things in the Kalevala
Gods
Ukko (Jumala) | Tapio (Kuippana) | Ahto | Ilmatar (Luonnotar) | Tuoni (Mana, Kalma) Surma | Kuutar | Melatar | Suonetar | Suvetar | Syöjätär | Loviatar | Tammatar | Terhenetar | Tuometar | Manalatar | Päivätär | Tuonetar | Vammatar | Vellamo | Untamo (Unto)
Heroes
Väinämöinen (Väinö, Osmoinen, Suvantolainen, Uvantolainen) | Lemminkäinen (Ahti, Kauko, Kaukomieli) | Ilmarinen (Ilmari) | Osmotar (Kalevatar) | Kullervo |
Villains
Hiisi (Juutas, Keitolainen, Lempo, Pahalainen) | Louhi (Ilpotar) | Joukahainen (Jouko) | Untamo |
Aino | Kyllikki (Kylli) | Kauppi (Lyylikki, Vuojalainen) | Mielikki (Mimerkki, Tellervo) | Nyyrikki | Tiera | Antero Vipunen | Ainikki | Annikki | Iku-Turso (Tursas) | Kalervo | Others Kiputyttö | Tiera (Kuura) | Lokka | Marjatta | Märkähattu | Pakkanen | Tuuri | Sampsa Pellervoinen | Piltti | Suovakko | Places
Kalevala (Väinölä, Suvantola) | Tuonela (Manala, Ulappala) | Suomi | Pohjola (Pimentola, Sariola) | Tapiola | Ahtola | Hiitola | Horna | Ilma | Karjala | Metsola | Osmo | Saari | Savo | Untamola (Untola) | Viro |
Things Kantele | Musti | Kemi | Otava | Pisa | Turja | Sampo | Sima | Vuoksi | Otso |
Contents 1. Birth of Väinämöinen. 2. Väinämöinen's Sowing. 3. Väinämöinen and Joukahainen. 4. The Fate of Aino. 5. Väinämöinen's Fishing. 6. Joukahainen's Crossbow. 7. Väinämöinen Meets Louhi. 8. Väinämöinen's Wound. 9. Origin of Iron. 10. Ilmarinen Forges the Sampo.
11. Lemminkäinen and Kyllikki. 12. Kyllikki's Broken Vow. 13. The Elk of Hiisi. 14. Lemminkäinen's trials and death. 15. Lemminkäinen's Restoration. 16. Väinämöinen's Boat-building. 17. Väinämöinen and Antero Vipunen. 18. Väinämöinen and Ilmarinen, Rival Suitors. 19. Ilmarinen's trials and betrothal. 20. The Brewing of Beer. 21. Ilmarinen's Wedding-feast. 22. The Tormenting of the Bride. 23. Osmotar Advises the Bride. 24. The departure of the bride and bridegroom. 25. The homecoming of the bride and bridegroom. 26. Lemminkäinen's journey to Pohjola. 27. The duel at Pohjola. 28. Lemminkäinen's mother. 29. The Isle of Refuge. 30. Lemminkäinen and Tiera. 31. Untamo and Kullervo. 32. Kullervo As A Shepherd. 33. The Death of Ilmarinen's Wife. 34. Kullervo finds his family. 35. Kullervo finds his sister. 36. Kullervo's Victory and Death. 37. Ilmarinen's Bride of Gold. 38. Ilmarinen's Fruitless Wooing. 39. The Expedition Against Pohjola. 40. The Pike and The Kantele. 41. Väinämöinen's Music. 42. The Recovery of the Sampo. 43. The Sampo Lost In the Sea. 44. The Birth of the Second Harp. 45. Louhi's Pestilence on Kalevala. 46. Otso, the Bear.
47. The Robbery of the Sun, Moon and Fire. 48. Capture of the Fire-fish. 49. Restoration of the Sun and Moon. 50. Marjatta.
Influence of the Kalevala As a major part of Finnish culture and history the influence of the Kalevala is widespread in Finland from music to fine arts. The Kalevala's influence has also been felt in other cultures around the world although to a lesser degree.
The ill-fated Kullervo has been a source of inspiration for several authors.
Celebration The Kalevala Day is celebrated in Finland on the 28th of February, which is how Elias Lönnrot dated his first version of the Kalevala in 1835. Several of the names in Kalevala are also celebrated as Finnish name days, although this has no direct relationship with the Kalevala itself.
Artwork Several artists have been influenced by the Kalevala, most notably Akseli Gallen-Kallela who has painted many pieces relating to the Kalevala. One of the earliest artists to depict a scene from the Kalevala is Robert Wilhelm Ekman. One drawing from 1886 depicts Väinämöinen playing his kantele. Aarno Karimo was a Finnish artist who illustrated the beautiful Kuva Kalevala (Published by Pellervo-Seura in 1953). He unfortunately died before completing it. Hugo Otava finished it using original sketches as a guide. In 1989 the fourth full translation of Kalevala into English was published, richly illustrated by Björn Landström.
Literature The Kalevala has not only been translated into over 45 languages but it has also been retold in many languages and adapted to different situations. The most famous example of the Kalevala's influence upon another author is most likely with J.R.R. Tolkien. He claimed the Kalevala as one of his sources for the writings which became the Silmarillion. For example, the story of Kullervo has been extensively used in the
Silmarillion (including the sword that speaks when the anti-hero uses it for a suicide) as the basis of Túrin Turambar in Narn i Chîn Húrin. Echoes of the Kalevala's characters, Väinämöinen in particular, can also be found in the wizards of The Lord of the Rings. The German-language translation of the epic was an inspiration for Longfellow's 1855 poem, The Song of Hiawatha, which is written in the same metre (trochaic tetrameter), and also inspired the British science fiction writer Ian Watson to write the Books of Mana duology:
Lucky's Harvest and The Fallen Moon. It is often claimed that the Estonian national epic Kalevipoeg (compiled and written by Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald, first published 1853) was somewhat inspired by the Kalevala. Mainly because both Väinämöinen and Ilmarinen are mentioned in the poem and that the overall story of the Kalevipoeg (Kalev's son) bears some major similarities with the Kullervo story. Another famous book is the children's book Koirien Kalevala (The Canine Kalevala) written and illustrated by Mauri Kunnas. (Translated into English by Tim Steffa). This book inspired the American (US) cartoonist Keno Don Rosa to draw a Donald Duck (both of whom enjoy a widespread popularity in Finland) story based on the Kalevala, called The Quest for Kalevala.
The Neustadt Prize winning poet and playwright Paavo Haavikko who is regarded as one of Finland's finest writers, is also known to have taken a lot of influence from the Kalevala. Emil Petaja (1915 - 2000) - an American science fiction and fantasy author of Finnish descent - is best known for his series inspired by the Kalevala. In each of the books which comprise the "Otava Series" - Saga of Lost Earth's (Ace Books, 1966), Star Mill (Ace Books, 1966),
The Stolen Sun (Ace Books, 1967), and Tramontane (Ace Books, 1967), an Earth descendant of one of the four main heroes of the Kalevala is reborn into an avatar's role in order to reenact adventures on Otava, the planet of origin of the Kalevala pantheon. Petaja's Otava series brought him readers from around the world [2], while his mythological approach to science fiction was discussed in scholarly papers.[3] A fifth book in the cycle, Return to Otava (1970), is unpublished. Another Petaja novel unconnected with the series but related to the Kalevala is The Time Twister (Dell, 1968). Kullervo is one the major influences on British fantasy author Michael Moorcock's sword and sorcery anti-hero, Elric of Melniboné.
