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Ahti
Ahti is a water god in Finnish mythology. In the ''Kalevala'', he is referred to with the name ''Ahto'' in order to not confuse him with the separate character ''Ahti Saarelainen''. Name Initial theory for the origin of the name Ahti was in the North Germanic word ''ahva'' ("water"). According to a later theory, Ahti's name could come from the verb ''ahtaa'' ("to hang fishnets to dry"). A net drying rack is ''ahde''. Similar words are found across Uralic languages. This would make Ahti a god who guarantees luck in seining. Mikko K. Heikkilä thought the name came from Sámi *''āhččē'' ("father, master spirit"). Description Ahti was first mentioned in writing in 1551 by Mikael Agricola as the one who gave fish from water (''Achti wedhest caloia toi''). Ahti is the name of the king or god of the sea, and ''Ahtola'' is his sea-castle. His wife is Vellamo, and they live together at the bottom of the sea. The Sampo comes into his possession and he is unwilling to return it. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Finnish Mythology
Finnish mythology commonly refers of the folklore of Finnish paganism, of which a Finnish Neopaganism, modern revival is practiced by a small percentage of the Finnish people. It has many shared features with Estonian mythology, Estonian and other Baltic Finns, Finnic mythologies, but also with neighbouring Baltic mythology, Baltic, slavic mythology, Slavic and, to a lesser extent, Norse mythology, Norse mythologies. Finnish mythology survived within an oral tradition of mythical poem-singing and folklore well into the 19th century. Of the animals, the most sacred was the bear, whose real name was never uttered out loud, which was thought to be unfavorable to the hunt. The bear ("karhu" in Finnish) was seen as the embodiment of the forefathers, and for this reason it was called by many circumlocutions: ''mesikämmen'' ("mead-paw"), ''otso'' ("browed one"), ''kontio'' ("dweller of the land"), ''metsän kultaomena'' ("the golden apple of the forest"). It was not strictly seen as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vellamo
Vellamo (), also spelled Wellamo, is the goddess of water, lakes and seas in Finnish mythology. She is called Veen emäntä (Mistress of Water). Vellamo is said to be tall and beautiful, and is much respected by fishermen, who pray to her for good fishing luck. Vellamo can also control the winds to help sailors, and she controls the storms and waves. Vellamo has magical cows that live on underwater fields. Sometimes, during the morning mist, she brings her cows above the surface to eat water hay. Vellamo wears a blue dress that is made from sea foam. Vellamo's husband is the Finnish sea god Ahti. In Finnish fishing spells, Vellamo and Ahti are asked to bring their cattle (fish) into fishing nets. The , which is located in the city of Kotka, Finland, is named after Vellamo. Name The name "Vellamo" has been theorized to come from the Finnish word ''velloa'', which means 'to churn', describing the movement of water and waves. Kaarle Krohn also thought the name could've originally ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Finns
Finns or Finnish people (, ) are a Baltic Finns, Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland. Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these countries as well as those who have resettled. Some of these may be classified as separate ethnic groups, rather than subgroups of Finns. These include the Kvens and Forest Finns in Norway, the Tornedalians in Sweden, and the Ingrian Finns in Russia. Finnish language, Finnish, the language spoken by Finns, is closely related to other Balto-Finnic languages such as Estonian language, Estonian and Karelian language, Karelian. The Finnic languages are a subgroup of the larger Uralic languages, Uralic family of languages, which also includes Hungarian language, Hungarian. These languages are markedly different from most other languages spoken in Europe, which belong to the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family of languages. Native Finns c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lemminkäinen
Lemminkäinen () or Lemminki () is a prominent figure in Finnish mythology. He is one of the heroes of the ''Kalevala'', where his character is a composite of several separate heroes of oral poetry. He is usually depicted as young and good-looking, with wavy red hair. Description The original, mythological Lemminkäinen is a shamanistic figure. In the Kalevala, he has been blended together with epic war-heroes Kaukomieli/Kaukamoinen and Ahti Saarelainen. In one myth, he drowns in the river of Tuonela (the underworld) in trying to capture or kill the black swan that lives there as part of an attempt, as Ilmarinen once made, to win a daughter of Louhi as his wife. In a tale somewhat reminiscent of Isis' search for Osiris, Lemminkäinen's mother searches heaven and earth to find her son. Finally, she learns of his fate and asks Ilmarinen to fashion her a rake of copper with which to dredge her son's body from the river of Tuonela. Thus equipped, she descends into the underwo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mercury And The Woodman
The Honest Woodcutter, also known as Mercury and the Woodman and The Golden Axe, is one of Aesop's Fables, numbered 173 in the Perry Index. It serves as a cautionary tale on the need for cultivating honesty, even at the price of self-interest. It is also classified as Aarne-Thompson 729: ''The Axe falls into the Stream''. The story The Greek version of the story tells of a woodcutter who accidentally dropped his axe into a river and, because this was his only means of livelihood, sat down and wept. Taking pity on him, the god Hermes (also known as Mercury) dived into the water and returned with a golden axe. "Was this what you had lost?", Hermes asked, but the woodcutter said it was not, and returned the same answer when a silver axe was brought to the surface. Only when his own tool is produced does he claim it. Impressed by his honesty, the god allows him to keep all three. Hearing of the man's good fortune, an envious neighbor threw his own axe into the river and wailed for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Viking Age
The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their homeland of Scandinavia but also to any place significantly settled by North Germanic peoples, Scandinavians during the period. Although few of the Scandinavians of the Viking Age were Vikings in the sense of being engaged in piracy, they are often referred to as ''Vikings'' as well as ''Norsemen''. Voyaging by sea from their homelands in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, the Norse people settled in the Viking activity in the British Isles, British Isles, History of Ireland (800–1169), Ireland, the Faroe Islands, Settlement of Iceland, Iceland, Norse settlements in Greenland, Greenland, History of Normandy, Normandy, and the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and along the Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks, Dnieper and Volga trade rout ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elias Lönnrot
Elias Lönnrot (; 9 April 1802 – 19 March 1884) was a Finnish polymath, physician, philosopher, poet, musician, linguist, journalist, philologist and collector of traditional Finnish language, Finnish Oral literature, oral poetry. He is best known for synthesizing the Finnish national epic, ''Kalevala'' (1835, enlarged 1849) from short ballads and lyric poetry, lyric poems he gathered from Finnish folklore, Finnish oral tradition during several field expeditions in Finland, Russian Karelia, the Kola Peninsula and Baltic countries. In botany, he is remembered as the author of the 1860 ''Flora Fennica'', the first scientific text written in Finnish rather than in Latin. Education and early life Lönnrot was born in Sammatti, in the province of Uusimaa, Finland, which was then Finland under Swedish rule, part of Sweden. From 1814 to 1815, he attended the school of Tammisaari Pedagogio. He studied at Katedralskolan i Åbo, Turku Cathedral School from 5April1816 until he droppe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epithet
An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleiman the Magnificent, Richard the Lionheart, and Ladislaus the Short, or allusive, as in Edward the Confessor, William the Conqueror, Æthelred the Unready, John Lackland, Mehmed the Conqueror and Bloody Mary. The word ''epithet'' also may refer to an abusive, defamatory, or derogatory word or phrase. This use is criticized by Martin Manser and other proponents of linguistic prescription. H. W. Fowler noted in 1926 that "''epithet'' is suffering a vulgarization that is giving it an abusive imputation." Linguistics Epithets are sometimes attached to a person's name or appear in place of their name, as what might be described as a glorified nickname or sobriquet, and for this reason some linguists have argued that they should be c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Folk Poetry
Folk poetry (sometimes referred to as ''poetry in action'') is poetry that is part of a society's folklore, usually part of their oral tradition. When sung, folk poetry becomes a folk song. Description Folk poetry in general has several characteristics. It may be informal and unofficial, generally lacks an owner and may "belong" to the society, and its telling may be an implicitly social activity. The term can refer to poems of an oral tradition that may date back many years; that is, it is information that has been transmitted over time (between generations) ''only'' in spoken (and non-written) form. Thus as an oral tradition folk poetry requires a performer to promulgate it over generations. The definition can also be extended to include not just oral epics, but latrinalia, many forms of childlore (skipping-rope rhymes, the words of counting-out games etc.), and limericks; as well as including anonymous or improvised poems. Narrative folk poetry is often characterized by repetit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hero
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such things for the sake of glory (honor), glory and honor. post-classical history, Post-classical and modern history, modern heroes, on the other hand, perform great deeds or selfless acts for the common good instead of the classical goal of wealth, pride, and fame. The antonym of ''hero'' is ''villain''. Other terms associated with the concept of ''hero'' may include ''good guy'' or ''wikt:white hat, white hat''. In Classics, classical literature, the hero is the main or revered character in Epic poetry, heroic epic poetry celebrated through ancient legends of a people, often striving for military conquest and living by a continually flawed personal honor code. The definition of a hero has changed throughout time. Webster's Dictionary, Merriam We ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sampo
In Finnish mythology, the ''Sampo'' () is a magical device or object described in many different ways, constructed by the blacksmith and inventor Ilmarinen and which brings riches and good fortune to its holder, akin to the horn of plenty (cornucopia) of Greek mythology. When the Sampo is stolen, Ilmarinen's homeland falls upon hard times. He sends an expedition to retrieve it, but in the ensuing battle it is smashed and lost at sea. In the Kalevala The Sampo is a pivotal element of the plot of the epic poem ''Kalevala'', compiled in 1835 (and expanded in 1849) by Elias Lönnrot based on Finnish and Karelian oral tradition. In the expanded second version of the poem, the Sampo is forged by Ilmarinen, a legendary blacksmith, to fulfill a task set by the witch queen of Pohjola, Louhi, in return for her daughter's hand. : ''"Ilmarinen, worthy brother,'' : ''Thou the only skilful blacksmith,'' : ''Go and see her wondrous beauty,'' : ''See her gold and silver garments,'' : ''S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Väinämöinen
() is a deity, demigod, hero and the central character in Finnish folklore and the main character in the national epic ''Kalevala'' by Elias Lönnrot. Väinämöinen was described as an old and wise man, and he possessed a potent, magical singing voice. Name The name Väinämöinen has often been explained as coming from the Finnish word ''väinä'' ("stream pool") or ''väineä'' ("slow"). Janne Saarikivi brought forth a hypothesis of the name's possible connection of early Germanic forms of Odin's name: ''*wātenos'' could've been loaned into Proto-Karelian language, Proto-Karelian as ''*vätnä'' or ''*väinä'', and ''Auðunn'' could be compared to ''Äinemöinen''. In Finnish mythology The first extant mention of Väinämöinen in literature is in a list of Tavastia (historical province), Tavastian gods by Mikael Agricola in 1551, where it says: ''"Aeinemöinen wirdhet tacoi."'' () He and other writers described Väinämöinen as the god of chants, songs and poetry; in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
