Väinämöinen

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Illustration from the Kalevala, by Akseli Gallen-Kallela 1896. Showing Väinämöinen with a sword, defending the Sampo from Louhi

Väinämöinen is the central character in the Finnish folklore and the main character in the national epic Kalevala. He was described as an old and wise man, and he possessed a potent, magical voice. This he demonstrated by sinking the impetuous Joukahainen into a bog by singing. In the Kalevala, Väinämöinen slays a great pike and makes a magical kantele from its jawbones.

In many stories Väinämöinen was the central figure at the birth of the world. Väinämöinen was floating at sea, while a bird came and laid eggs on his knee. The eggs were destroyed by a wave, but their pieces became the world; the upper cover became the sky dome, and the youlk became the sun.

In the original translation into English (by John Martin Crawford (1888)) this character's name was anglicised as Wainamoinen.

In Kalevala, he is the son of the primal goddess Ilmatar. In this story, it was she who was floating in the sea when a duck laid eggs on her knee. He possessed the wisdom of the ages from birth, for he was in his mother's womb for seven hundred and thirty years, while she was floating in the sea and while the earth was formed. It is after praying to the sun, the moon, and the great bear (the stars, referring to Ursa Major) he is able to escape his mother's womb and dive into the sea.

He was the 'eternal sage', who exerts order over chaos and established the land of Kaleva, that so many of the events in Kalevala revolve around. His search for a wife brings the land of Kaleva into, at first friendly, but later hostile contact with its dark and threatening neighbour in the north, Pohjola. This conflict culminates in the creation and theft of the Sampo, a magical artifact made by Ilmarinen.

Väinämöinen's end is a hubristic one. In the 50th and final poem of the Kalevala tells the story of the maiden Marjatta, who becomes pregnant after eating a berry and gives birth to a baby boy. This child is brought to Väinämöinen to examine and judge. His verdict is that such a strangely-born infant needs to be put to death. In reply, the newborn child, mere two weeks old, chides the old sage for his sins and transgressions, such as allowing the maiden Aino, sister of Joukahainen to drown herself. Following this, the baby is baptized and named king of Kalevala. Defeated, Väinämöinen goes to the shores of the sea, where he sings for himself a boat of copper, with which he sails away from the mortal realms. In his final words, he promises that there shall be a time when he shall return, when his crafts and might shall once again be needed. Thematically, the 50th poem thus echoes the arrival of Christianity to Finland and the subsequent fading into history of the old pagan beliefs.

1 Mythical Väinämöinen
2 Links to popular culture
3 Historical viewpoints
4 References

[edit] Mythical Väinämöinen

First mention of Väinämöinen in literature is from a list of Tavastian gods by Michael Agricola in 1551. He and other writers described Väinämöinen as the god of chants, songs and poetry. However, in the 19th century, some folklorists, most notably Elias Lönnrot, disputed this view claiming that he was an ancient hero, or an influential shaman who lived perhaps in the 9th century. It is likely that he was really neither, but a common cultural figure who was used in runes when the story needed him. ^[1]

[edit] Links to popular culture

There can be found some similarities between Väinämöinen and wizards in fantasy literature, first and foremost among them Gandalf in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Both are unearthly sages of divine origins, both in possession of unearthly knowledge. Another wizard of Tolkien's, Saruman the White, possessed a great power of voice and persuasion, which also somewhat mirrors Väinämöinen's (who was able to charm all manner of woodland creatures with his song and kantele). Tolkien indicated that his stories of Túrin Turambar were a retelling of the Kullervo myth from Kalevala so it is possible that similarities between Gandalf and Väinämöinen were intentional or unconscious rather than coincidental. Other fantasy authors borrowed from Tolkien, thus resulting in various second-generation similarities.

In art (such as the accompanying picture by Akseli Gallen-Kallela), Väinämöinen is described as an old man with a long white beard, which is also a popular appearance for wizards in fantasy literature.

In music, Finnish folk metal band Ensiferum wrote a pair of songs based on/about Väinämöinen, called "Old Man" and "Little Dreamer."

There is a Finnish comic strip called "Väinämöisen paluu" (The Return of Väinämöinen) by Petri Hiltunen, where Väinämöinen returns from thousand-year exile to modern Finland to comment on the modern lifestyle with humor.

There is also a science-fiction book by Joan D. Vinge called The Summer Queen that contains characters named Vanamoinen, Ilmarinen and Kullervo. They are not the characters from the legend though but may have been inspired by them. That book is the sequel to the Hugo Award-winning novel The Snow Queen by the same author.

[edit] Historical viewpoints

In Gesta Danorum, Saxo Grammaticus says:

However, when Frodi denied his request, Arngrim turned to Erik, the King of Sweden, and asked him for advice. Erik told Arngrim to earn Frodi's respect by killing Egther, the king of Bjarmaland and Thengil, the king of Finnmark.

Bjarmaland is known from the Norse sagas to correspond to modern day Finland, and a Finnish poem says: Syntyi poika Poimarissa, Emo kutsui Ehtaroksi.

Which roughly translates to "A son was born in Poimari, his mother called him Ehtaro" (compare germanic: Egther). In the germanic Beowulf saga, Egther is mentioned as the son of Ecgtheow, who belongs to the clan of Waegmunding, and the head of the Waegmunding clan was called Wægmund (compare pronunciation of Väinämöinen). This would correlate with the Norse sagas Orkneyinga and Hversu Noregr which state family lineages since a Finnish king called "Fornjotr" down to the royal houses of Norway and Sweden, but the reliability and factual accuracy of the sagas is usually disputed as they were written by Snorri Sturlasson hundreds of years after the supposed events took place.

Ecgtheow, the father of Egther (or Ehtaro) is described as separating from the Swedish clan and joining the Geats. Fornjotr translates as "the ancient geat" and is mentioned as the first of the line of rulers in Fundinn Noregr.

The 75th paragraph of the Widsith, dating to the 9th century, also says:

...and shining torcs, Eadwine's son. I was with the Sercings and with the Serings. I was with the Greeks and Finns, and also with Caesar, who had the power over prosperous cities, riches and treasure and the Roman Empire.

The 25th paragraph says: Casere ruled the Greeks and Caelic the Finns, Hagena the Holm-Riggs and Heoden the Gloms. Witta ruled the Swaefe, Wada the Halsings, Meaca the Myrgings, Mearchealf the Hundings. Theodric ruled the Franks, Thyle the Rondings.

While the link between "Kalevala" and "Caelic" and "Väinämöinen" is unclear, it can be assumed that Väinämöinen is not a fully legendary character, but rather a mixture of historical characters of early Bjarmaland and/or Finland and in the modern world, the character of Väinämöinen is heavily influenced by fiction, folklore and legend.