Louhi () is a wicked queen of the land known as Pohjola in

Finnish mythology Finnish mythology is a commonly applied description of the folklore of Finnish paganism, of which a modern revival is practiced by a small percentage of the Finnish people. It has many features shared with Estonian and other Finnic mythologies ...

and a villain of the ''

Kalevala The ''Kalevala'' ( fi, Kalevala, ) is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling an epic story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies an ...

''. As many mythological creatures and objects are easily conflated and separated in Finnish mythology, Louhi is probably an alter-ego of the goddess Loviatar.

In mythology

Louhi is described as a powerful and evil

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have u ...

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 Väinämöinen () is a 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, ma ...

and his group in the battle for the magical artifact

Sampo In Finnish mythology, the ''Sampo'' () is a magical device or object described in many different ways that was constructed by the blacksmith Ilmarinen and that brought riches and good fortune to its holder, akin to the horn of plenty (cornucopi ...

in the ''Kalevala''. She has a number of beautiful daughters, whom

Ilmarinen Ilmarinen (), the Eternal Hammerer, blacksmith and inventor in the ''Kalevala'', is a god and archetypal artificer from Finnish mythology. He is immortal and capable of creating practically anything, but is portrayed as being unlucky in love. He i ...

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-loo ...

and other heroes attempt to win in various legends. 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.

In popular culture

*Louhi was the main antagonist in the Finnish-Soviet film ''

'', 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 Tomi Räisänen (; born 2 June 1976) is a Finnish composer. Biography Räisänen was born in Helsinki. He studied composition from 2000 to 2006 at the Sibelius Academy under Erkki Jokinen graduating as the master of music. Before entering t ...

. *Louhi is track 5 on '' Kesto'', recorded by Pan Sonic. *Louhi was an inspiration for a foe of

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Conan the Destroyer'') ...

'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 ''Final Fantasy XIV'' is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by Square Enix. Directed and produced by Naoki Yoshida, it was released worldwide for Windows and PlayStation 3 in August 2013, as a ...

'' 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 also one of the names of the witch Iggwilv in the ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (T ...

'' game's

Greyhawk Greyhawk, also known as the World of Greyhawk, is a fictional world designed as a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. Although not the first campaign world developed for ''Dungeons & Dragons''—Dave Arneson ...

campaign by

Gary Gygax Ernest Gary Gygax ( ; July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008) was an American game designer and author best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') with Dave Arneson. In the 1960s, Gygax created an ...

. 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 Several different editions of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of ''D&D'', Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the ga ...

'', as character part of the Finnish mythos. *'' Louhikäärme'' – Louhi's snake – is an archaic form of '' lohikäärme'' meaning " dragon" in Finnish.

Gallery

References

External links

Louhi (Finnish goddess) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia
{{Kalevala Characters in the Kalevala Female villains Finnish goddesses Fictional characters who use magic Fictional queens Fictional shapeshifters Karelian-Finnish folklore Witchcraft in folklore and mythology

In mythology

In popular culture

Gallery

See also

References

External links