Love is evil!

[history_geek]

Yes, love is evil, and I can prove it. An old Finnish deity, named Lempo, aka Pääpiru (head/main devil/demon), was the god of all evil and he was in commune with such evil spirits as Hiisi (somewhat similar to goblins) and Piru (lesser demons/devils). However, this deity, that was always up to no good, was also the god of Love. After all, love can be unpredictable and an even dangerous force, that can completely control you and drive you insane or otherwise led to your doom. It is one of the favorite clichés in many movies, no?

Now, what does that say of a certain other deity that is suppose to be Love...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lempo

http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/finnish-mythology.php?deity=LEMPO

Just gotta love old mythologies

[Sweetdeath]

Cool!
I am not familiar wih Finnish mythology in any way, but $5 says it is like any other greek, Shinto, Norse, Christian, etc.

Not to say it isn't interesting.
Another fine post, history geek.

[Hector Valdez]

*facepalm*


Words fail me.

[DeterminedJuliet]

Good thing I don't worship Lempo!

[history_geek]

Cool!
I am not familiar wih Finnish mythology in any way, but $5 says it is like any other greek, Shinto, Norse, Christian, etc.

Not to say it isn't interesting.
Another fine post, history geek.

Well there are certainly things that most pagan mythologies have in common: A supreme god that causes lightning (Ukko (Old Man) would case thunders storms by riding his chariots, or they could happen when he and his wife Akka (Old Woman) are having "fun". Ukko also commanded all sorts of weather, the sky and the crops), deities for places like the sea and forest (Ahto or Ahti and his wife Vellamo, Tapio and his wife Mielikki) etc.

But there's also being or people that are not necessarily gods called "Iku/Iki", which means that they are very old or even eternal. For example Iku-Turso, who in Kalevala is described as a sea monster. But here's the problem with Kalevala. It is a collection of chosen stories, that Elias Lönnrot decided to include in his epoch, but there are tons of contradicting stories. For example, one of the characters, Lemminkäinen, is at one point killed, and then sliced into pieces, while trying to kill the Swan of Tuonela (a bird that swim in the river of Tuonela, the home of the dead). His mother then uses a rake, made by Ilmarinen, to gather the pieces from the river, and uses honey to put him together and revives Lemminkäinen. That's the version in Kalevala, but in some other stories he stays dead.

Also, outside the Kalevala, Iku-Turso, aka Turisas, was considered a god of diseases who used a bow and arrows, but he was apparently also seen as a god of war at some point or in some part of Finland. All of these stories and myths were passed down in oral form only, Lönnrot was the first to actually try and collect them in a larger scale. We have some foot notes about some ancient festivals and deities from the father out our written language, Mikael Agricola (c. 1510 – 9 April 1557), but most of the deities he mentioned were local spirits rather then gods, as he seemed to suggest. There are also cases like Jumala (in modern use this is the word we use for the Abrahamic god but also other deities [jumala; jumalat]) or Jumi, of which virtually nothing is know, besides that it appeard to have been an important deity.

Also, Lempo is sometimes described as a female rather then male deity.

I suppose part of this problem is that we Finns have always been a bit tribal, which is still reflected in the dialects (Savon murre = dialect of Savo, spoken by Savolaiset (Savonians); Hämeen murre = dialect of Häme/Tavastia, spoken by Hämäläiset (Tavastians) (Tavastia is the Swedish given name for the region in central Finland); Karjalan murre = Karelian dialect, spoken by Karelians; etc.), so I think it's possible that in one part some god or goddess has been seen in a different way when compared to another region. At least, that's my hypothesis.

Also, for those interested, Happle Tea has three interesting strips about Kalevala, specifically about the creation story of Sampo. He also has interesting commentary. Oh, and then there's the strip where Väinämöinen appears at Harry Potter's:


http://www.happletea.com/2009/11/20/old-is-the-new-new/

What's interesting to me about the magic in Kalevala is that its not done by wiggling of fingers, or just words. It's by singing. For example, one of the best known stories in Kalevala is when Joukahainen, a rash young man who fancies himself a powerful wizard or sage, challenges Väinämöinen to duel. That ends with Joukahainen half drowning in a nearby swamp, and he survives only because he promises his sister to Väinämöinen as a wife. That in itself is another, rather more tragic story.

And there are some interesting things in there like the time Ilmarinen wanted a wife, and he forged one out of gold and silver. Then dumbed her because she was too cold for his liking...yes, things and have their own minds in some stories, and animals also speak more often then one might assume.

I actually found a translated online version of Kalevala, unfortunately, the translation was done in 1888, so it's might not be the easiest to follow (they even translated all the names....). But then again, when I read the Finnish version I feel like I would need a dictionary of some sort...

Anyway, linky link: http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Kalevala

Here's some other links I managed to dig up:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_mythology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_paganism

And here's a sample of what Kalevala should sound like (he is singing a part of the 40th runo (rune))
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1pt5SoViM8

[Recusant]

Thank you for this introduction to Finnish mythology/folklore, history_geek. I admit to being totally ignorant regarding the subject, but from what you've given us, it looks like something that will be very entertaining to explore.

[history_geek]

Thank you for this introduction to Finnish mythology/folklore, history_geek. I admit to being totally ignorant regarding the subject, but from what you've given us, it looks like something that will be very entertaining to explore.

Thanks, Recusant, it certainly is a very interesting subject, if a bit frustrating. As I said, Mikael Agricola is the father of our written language, and before Lönnrot very few of the oral traditions, tales and chants were recorded in a written form. And Kalevala is mostly based on Karelian myths, that he collected within and outside of our old borders (at the time we were still part of the Russian Empire as an autonomous Grand Dutchy).

Most of what I know is based on a number of google searches, but there a many gaps left to be filled. For example I know next to nothing about the Swan of Tuonela, besides it being described as a black swan, rather then normal white. Then there are stuff that I learned by listening to Korpiklaani, as they have used our ancient lore in their songs, like in Karhunkaato ("killing a bear" or "felling a bear") where they mention an old ritual called Karhunpeijaiset ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peijainen ; accoarding to the Finnish page, a peijainen could have also been held for any large game, not just bears. The meaning was to ensure that the spirit of the animal could return back to hunting grounds, so that there would always be animals to hunt). There's also a song named Vesilahden veräjillä ("At the gates of Vesilahti") that is based on a real local legend about an old Finnish warlord named Kirmu, and a christian preacher who is referred to as "Hunnun Herra" (loosely translates as "Master/Lord/Man of the Veil"). The ending is rather nasty.

There also other bands that take inspiration from the old folk traditions, like Värttinä (I would recommned Äijö (Aijä = Man, Old Man) and Tauti (disease), though with the first, I warn you. The spell or curse that one of the singers recites at one point would make me run. It's nothing to do with understanding the words, but how they are said that is very unnerving...you'll see what I mean if you check it out ), Hedningarna (those who have seen the Witcher 2 trailer will have heard the first part to one of their songs, called Vargtimmen. They are a Finnish-Swedish band, so they use bot Finnish and Swedish in some of their songs. However, Tuuli (wind) and Pornopolkka are a couple of good ones) and Gjallahorn (anothe Finnish-Swedish band, but the only purely Finnish song that I've found from them is Suvetar (Suvi= an expression referring to summer, or a warm period in general; tar= a female emphasis (for example kuningatar = queen, kuningas = king), so the title is a title or name for a female spirit of summer), but is defiantly worth a look).

But the bottom line I think is that even though there are still people who remember some of the oral traditions, and some of them have been recorded, they are splintered as local stories and traditions, and who knows how much has been lost. However, I can't really make myself point a blaming finger at christitinity for any drastic measures (aside from demonizing the old gods, of course), as even though we are taught in school that a number of crusades were done to convert our pagan ancestors, not only does archaeology suggest that such things never took place, but that the "new" and "old" beliefs co-existed. Now if that was peaceful or not, is up for debate, but non the less.

Another thing that interests me is that Saxo Grammaticus and apparently some other sources seem to suggest that there used to kings in Finland. And I mean the local variety, not a foreign rule. I am also aware of several 18th and 19th century writings (usually products of almost ultra-nationalistic authors), though their reliability are seriously doubted. Still, according to we are currently taught in school, any form of civilization arrived to our part of the world along with the Swedish rule, which seem rather odd, considering that we know that the area of Finland has been populated for at least 9000 years and there have been several fabulous bronze and iron era findings across the country. Or maybe that's all just wishful thinking and our western master neighbors saved us from savagery...