Louhi

Louhi (; alternate names include Loviatar (), Loveatar, Lovetar, Lovehetar, Louhetar and Louhiatar) is the ruler of Pohjola in Finnish mythology.Frog; Siikala; Stepanova (2012:179). She is regarded as a goddess of death and disease. She is also the mother of wolves. Her original role was likely as the ruler of the underworld.

In ''Kalevala'', Elias Lönnrot split Louhi into two different characters, Louhi and Loviatar, describing Louhi as a wicked queen of Pohjola and Loviatar as a blind daughter of Tuoni. In Runo 45 of the ''Kalevala'', Loviatar is impregnated by a great wind and gives birth to nine sons, the Nine diseases.''Kalevala'', translated by John Martin Crawford (1888)
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Name

The many variations of her name are connected to the word ''lovi'' (notch, crack). In Finnish, the term ''langeta loveen'' (to fall into ''lovi'') means "to fall into a trance". According to Christfried Ganander, falling into ''lovi'' means a state of ecstasy and a journey to the underworld, which he compared with Sámi shamanism.Siikala (2012:290293). Martti Haavio connected her name to North Germanic ''flog'' "fly", identifying her as a flying being.

In runic songs

She was a maiden (''Pohjolan impi'') who didn't agree to marry any man but, when in water, was impregnated by a sea giant, giving birth to the diseases and ailments of the world. After this, she became the Mistress of Pohjola. In some versions of the poem of the birth of diseases, she is impregnated by wind instead. She then proceeds to name or baptize the children herself, giving them the names of diseases and disasters. She also often gives birth to a tenth child, who is a girl. In some songs, the daughter in question is named Syöjätär.

In one Ostrobothnian version collected by Elias Lönnrot, ''Pohjolan impi'' gives birth to Väinämöinen.Siikala (2012:323–325).

In spells related to burn wounds, ''Pohjolan impi'' is asked to bring cold to the wound.

Multiple different takes on her exist in runic songs. In a song from South Savo, she is from Ostrobothnia and marries Väinämöinen, who is from Savonia and takes her there. This is why she is called Väinätär. She has a son, and when he is 15 years old, she sends him to bring her inheritance from Ostrobothnia with the help of a black dog she also gave birth to. In this version, Lovehetar had a daughter, and this daughter was the one who got impregnated in water. Giving birth to a black god is a symbol of ultimate evil, since in European tradition, a black dog is a form of the Devil.

In a song from Kainuu, she is not married, but her relation to Väinämöinen is still not adversary: after Väinämöinen was shot and he drifted to Pohjola with the River of Tuoni, Mistress of Pohjola hears his cries and recognizes them to be those of a hero. She helps him by bringing him to her house and giving him food. In White Karelian poems, after hearing his cries, she instead promises to give him a maiden to marry if he forges for her the sampo.

Louhi as a shaman in bird form

Tradition knows a raven-like bird called ''lievo'' or ''vaaka'' bird, related to Sámi ''vuokko'' bird, a shaman's bird form. More common is the '' kokko'' eagle, who came from Pohjola (''Turjan lintu''), whose description is similar to Karelian descriptions of Louhi turning into a ''vaaka'' bird. The Forest Finn Kaisa Vilhunen told folklorists that ''kokko'' eagle is Ukko's helper. It drove away the raven-form Loho, for if she was allowed to stand on a pole on a yard, it was a sign that wolves were coming to devour cattle. This is why Forest Finns had a ''lykkylauta'' shelf as an altar for Ukko worship, as they kept a wood grouse's wing on the shelf to drive away Loho and to please Ukko. Loho was the adversary of Ukko and Väinämöinen, and she lived on ''Kalmanmäki'' (Hill of Death) with her servants. ''Kokko'' spews fire and could therefore be related to ideas of the thunderbird.

Descriptions

In 1782, Christian Erici Lencqvist described "Louhi or Loveatar or Lovehetar" as the mother of disasters, but also someone who can prevent them, so she was asked to help. He also wrote: "it is likely that she is the wife of the north wind". Ganander wrote she is described as an "angry witch" and compared her to Pandora and Proserpina without explaining further. Matthias Castrén wrote that Louhi, with her name and hostility, seems similar to Loki, while Emil Nestor Setälä thought Louhi is the same as Laufey. While the latter theory received some support, Jan de Vries denied it completely in 1953. K. B. Wiklund claimed Louhi is a dragon, because the Finnish word for dragon is ''lohikäärme'' or ''louhikäärme'' (from Old Swedish ''floghdrake'' "flying dragon"). Before his Laufey theory, Setälä had connected Loviatar to the word ''lovi'' "magical ecstasy", and Kaarle Krohn wrote her role is that of an old wife of a Sámi shaman going into a trance.Haavio (1967:391–394).

Krohn also connected Louhi with Herodias, who is called a "harlot" in Germanic folklore. In Italy, it was said that she had 12 children. She is sometimes called the bride of wind and was connected to Diana during the Middle Ages. Uno Harva told Krohn in 1910 of a "widespread legend in Russia" of the 12 daughters of Herod and Herodias who turned into diseases. Martti Haavio wrote that Louhi's epithet "harlot" came from Herodias who, according to legend, was a wife of Phillip and had an adulterous relationship with king Herod. Herodias also had a connection to John the Baptist, and Christianized versions of the song of the birth of Nine diseases often feature him and mention a deeply corrupted name such as ''Nikotiera mieron huora'' ("Nikotiera whore of the world"), which Krohn and Haavio have connected to Herodias. Haavio further connected Louhi to an international tradition of flying, sea and darkness related mothers of demons, such as Lilith, Tiamat and Nyx.Haavio (1967:396–402). Thus, it is also on par for Louhi to be the ruler of the underworld: the same goes for many other mothers of demons, such as the Manichaean Az.

Anna-Leena Siikala pointed out Louhi's role as a female ruler of the underword and "daughter of Tuoni", comparing her to Hel. Louhi is also described to be in possession of great riches. The idea of a powerful and rich witch woman living in the far north and possessing the ability to transform into a bird is a part of an early, shared Nordic tradition. For instance, Norwegian folklore knows of the far northern land Trollebotn and its female witch. Louhi's role as the ruler of her house and commander of her forces portray an early Baltic Finnic understanding of societal order.

Siikala called Louhi "a neighbour of death, the personification of cold and a sender of frost, the birther of demons and beasts and the first ''noita''" ("shaman, witch"), fitting the image of extreme evil. As Loveatar is the one who gave birth to wolves, Siikala also drew comparisons to Loki. In Savonian tradition, Louhi's wealth is not limited to coins, but extends to game and anything the forest can offer as well.

According to Risto Pulkkinen, a female ruler of the underworld likely wasn't the original concept in Proto-Uralic religion but this development happened in order to portray how everything was opposite in the underworld (men rule in the realm of the living, women in the realm of the dead). The same goes for the Sámi female ruler of the underworld, Jábmiidáhkká.

Epithets

In the ''Kalevala''

When Elias Lönnrot compiled the ''Kalevala'', he made Loviatar and Louhi two different characters. However, in the runic songs from which he compiled the epic, the names are often used interchangeably, and in some songs Louhi herself is the mother of the nine diseases.For example, poem 2104 in Part I4 o
''Suomen Kansan Vanhat Runot''
(''SKVR''), the corpus of Finnish folk songs (in Finnish). Other songs give Loviatar the title "Whore Mistress of Pohjola".For example, poem 2039 in Part VII4 o
''SKVR''

''Kalevala'''s Louhi is described as a powerful and evil witch queen ruling over the northern realm of Pohjola, with the ability to change shape and weave mighty enchantments. She is also the main opponent of Väinämöinen and his group in the battle for the magical artifact Sampo. She has a number of beautiful daughters, whom Ilmarinen, Lemminkäinen and other heroes attempt to win the hands in marriage of. In true fairy tale form, Louhi sets them difficult-to-impossible tasks to perform in order to claim such a prize, which leads to the forging of the Sampo.

Loviatar appears in Rune 45:

There is one difference between Louhi and the various forms of Loviatar in the songs: Loviatar's name occurs only in spells where diseases are banished to go back to her, while Louhi's name occurs also in epic or narrative songs. She gives quests to heroes,As in poems 1020 in Part I2 and 364 in Part VII1 o
''SKVR''
and opposes Lemminkäinen in a spell contest.Poem 815 of part I2 o
SKVR
One hypothesis is that Louhi and Loviatar were regional variants of the same goddess, and that the epic songs were composed in an area where Louhi was the primary name. A large portion of the epic songs about the Mistress of Pohjola do not give her any name.There are about 50 such poems in Part I1 o
''SKVR''

In popular culture

*Louhi is the main antagonist in the Finnish-Soviet film ''Sampo'', played by Anna Orochko.
*There is an orchestral work ''Louhi'' by the Finnish composer Kalevi Aho, and the wind orchestral work ''Louhi's Spells / Louhen loitsut'' by Finnish composer Tomi Räisänen.
*''Louhi'' is track 5 on '' Kesto'', recorded by Pan Sonic.
*Louhi was an inspiration for a foe of Conan the Barbarian's in the Marvel comics version of the character (no such foe ever appears in Howard's stories)
*'' Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light'' features Louhi the Witch of the North as a boss, ''Final Fantasy XI'' features the item Louhi's Mask, and ''Final Fantasy XIV'' features Louhi as a powerful ice enemy.
*Louhi is the main antagonist of Michael Scott Rohan's fantasy trilogy ''The Winter of the World''.
*Louhi is one of the names of the witch Iggwilv in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' game's Greyhawk campaign by Gary Gygax. In his book ''Sea of Death'', Iggwilv is mentioned as being called Louhi on an alternate Earth. Louhi is also mentioned in the supplement ''Deities & Demigods'' for the first edition of ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'', as character part of the Finnish mythos.
*''Louhi'' is a song and music video by the Finnish folk band '' Värttinä'' featuring Sari Kaasinen, released in 2021.
*Louhi is a summonable Berserker-class Servant in the mobile game '' Fate/Grand Order''.

Gallery

Notes

References

*Frog; Siikala, Anna-Leena; Stepanova, Eila (2012). ''Mythic Discourses – Studies in Uralic Traditions''. Helsinki: Finnish Literature Society. .
*Haavio, Martti (1967). ''Suomalainen mytologia''. Helsinki: WSOY (original), Finnish Literature Society. .
*Pulkkinen, Risto; Lindfors, Stina (2016). ''Suomalaisen kansanuskon sanakirja''. Gaudeamus. .
*Siikala, Anna-Leena (1992). ''Suomalainen šamanismi''. Helsinki: Finnish Literature Society. .
*Siikala, Anna-Leena (2012). ''Itämerensuomalaisten mytologia''. Helsinki: Finnish Literature Society. .

{{Kalevala

Characters in the Kalevala
Death goddesses
Evil goddesses
Finnish goddesses
Characters in the Kalevala