Line #59 Literature/TheKalevala


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Kalevala_3512.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:''"Vaka vanha Väinämöinen..."'']]
3
4	->''I am driven by my longing,\
5	And my understanding urges\
6	That I should commence my singing,\
7	And begin my recitation.\
8	I will sing the people’s legends,\
9	And the ballads of the nation.''
10
11	''The Kalevala'' (or "Land of Heroes") is an epic poem and book based on folk {{poetry}} collected by Elias Lönnrot. It is considered the national epic of UsefulNotes/{{Finland}}. Undeniably the most influential work of literature there, it's credited with initiating a national awakening that eventually led to Finland's independence and preserving the Finnish language. ''Literature/TheTalesOfEnsignStal'' is probably the only piece of Finnish literature that even comes close to the status of the Kalevala. It also inspired others, such as Creator/JRRTolkien, Creator/MichaelMoorcock and Creator/DonRosa, so it's no coincidence that the stories of [[Literature/TheSilmarillion Túrin Turambar]] and [[Literature/TheElricSaga Elric of Melniboné]] have many similarities to Kullervo.
12
13	The ''Kalevala'' is, first and foremost, the story of heroes and adventurers in [[TheTimeOfMyths mythic Finland]], and the greatest of them all is Väinämöinen, the shaman hero born 700 years old to the Maiden of Air and gifted with a [[MagicMusic magic singing voice]]. There are great journeys, heroic deeds, tragic mix-ups, evil witches, magic poetry and [[RiddleForTheAges something called a Sampo]]. But some of the best aspects are the delight in nature metaphors and the allusions to everyday Finnish life. The flair for natural beauty can delight even someone who doesn't take to the plot.
14
15	''The Kalevala'', as composed by Elias Lönnrot, is a product of the [[OlderThanRadio 19th century (published 1849)]]. Lönnrot's source materials go back much farther; how much farther is not exactly known -- the first description of Myth/FinnishMythology is that by bishop Mikael Agricola in 1551. It is thought that many of the folk traditions that Lönnrot cast into the ''Kalevala'' are OlderThanPrint, though Lönnrot modified them to weld them into a single coherent narrative.
16
17	Among more direct adaptations of the ''Kalevala'' are several of the musical compositions of Finland's greatest composer, Jean Sibelius, of which the best known is probably ''Tuonelan joutsen'' -- "The Swan of Tuonela" (or, if you prefer, "The Swan of the Underworld"). The work also inspired many of the canvases of the painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela, including ''Sammon puolustus'', "The Defence of the Sampo", used above as the page image. Less happily, though more hilariously, it was made into the joint Finnish/Russian film ''Sampo'', [-AKA-] ''Film/TheDayTheEarthFroze'', featured on ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000''.
18
19	Perhaps the best-known translation of the ''Kalevala'' into English is that of William Fortsell Kirby (which gives the page quote). English-speakers have probably become familiar with the meter of the ''Kalevala'' more from its use by Longfellow in ''The Song of Hiawatha'' ("By the shores of Gitchee Gumee...") -- or perhaps the parodies of the same by Creator/LewisCarroll and others, such as "Hiawatha's Mitten-Making" by George A. Strong:
20	->"Then he turned the outside inside\
21	And he turned the inside outside..."
22
23	God help you if you confuse it with the flash game ''VideoGame/LegendOfKalevala'', or the iOS puzzle game, ''Heroes of Kalevala''.
24
25	See also the Estonian national epic, ''Literature/{{Kalevipoeg}}''.
26	----
27	!! ''Kalevala'' contains examples of:
28	%%
29	%% Zero Context Examples have been commented out. Please write up a full example before uncommenting.
30	%%
31	%%* AbductionIsLove: Kyllikki, taken by Lemminkäinen to be his wife.
32	* ActionGirl: Louhi (the Mistress of Pohjola) is capable of many magic feats, including turning into a giant eagle Kokko and attacking the heroes of Väinölä when they try to flee with Sampo. Qualifies also as RoaringRampageOfRevenge, as Lemminkäinen killed her husband, Master of Pohjola, in duel.
33	* AdaptationDistillation: Lönnrot did a lot of work to combine the numerous myths into one single story, including dropping out different interpretations of the characters and changing when certain events took place. For example, Ilmarinen and Väinämöinen go from being full-fledged gods as described by earlier sources into more human god-heroes.
34	* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: In Finnish, alliteration is one of the main characteristics of the ''Kalevala'' meter. For example the opening quote of this page (and also the first lines of the ''Kalevala''):
35	-->''Mieleni minun tekevi,\
36	Aivoni ajattelevi\
37	lähteäni laulamahan,\
38	saa'ani sanelemahan,\
39	sukuvirttä suoltamahan,\
40	lajivirttä laulamahan.''
41	* {{Animorphism}}: Väinämöinen transforms into a snake to escape the underworld.
42	* AntiHero: Kullervo is a tragic figure willing to kill anyone who stands in his path of revenge. It goes to the point of almost crossing over to SociopathicHero.
43	* ArrangedMarriage: Joukahainen promises that Väinämöinen can marry his sister Aino. His mother is just happy for having a powerful sorcerer as a son-in-law. Aino doesn't take it as well and is DrivenToSuicide. Later, Louhi strongly suggests her daughter to marry Väinämöinen, but doesn't object when she chooses Ilmarinen instead. She is forced to choose, though.
44	* BackFromTheDead: With help from Ilmarinen and the power of the sun carried by a bee, Lemminkäinen is resurrected by his old mother after being killed by the lord of Tuonela.
45	* BearsAreBadNews: Ilmarinen's wife is killed by a bunch of bears and wolves that Kullervo hexed her cattle into after she made him destroy his knife (the only memory he had of his family).
46	* BerserkButton: Slave boy Kullervo's knife breaks on a stone that Ilmarinen's wife has baked into his bread. The knife being the only possession he still had from his family, he snaps and summons packs of bears and wolves from the forest, which tear the jerkass mistress to pieces.
47	* BestialityIsDepraved: Wet-behind-the-ears Lapp boned all the mares in his household. Yeesh.
48	* BlowYouAway: Väinämöinen makes winds to blow Ilmarinen to Pohjola.
49	%%* BodyToJewel: Tears into pearls.
50	* BornIntoSlavery: Kullervo is the last son of Kalervo, and her mother was enslaved by Untamo before he was born.
51	%%* BrotherSisterIncest: [[spoiler: Kullervo and a sister he didn't know he had.]]
52	%%* TheBlacksmith: Seppo Ilmarinen.
53	%%* TheCasanova: Lemminkäinen, especially during his stay at the Island (Saari).
54	* CompositeCharacter: Lemminkäinen is a combination of epic war-heroes Kaukomieli and Ahti Saarelainen.
55	* CosmicEgg: In the opening's CreationMyth the world is created from seven eggs laid by a duck.
56	* CreationMyth: Kalevala opens with one, with the primordial goddess Ilmatar and a duck creating the world into the eternal sea and the former giving birth to the god-hero Väinämöinen.
57	* DeathIsCheap: The beginning of the Kullervo arc establishes that all of Kullervo's clan is dead except Kullervo's mother. Yet after Kullervo has run away from slavery, he suddenly discovers that his parents, as well as a brother and a sister, are alive. [[AssPull No explanation is given]] of how they did survive, why everyone thought they were dead, or how his mother escaped from slavery. But it's good for the plot.
58	* DeathOfTheOldGods: The last ''canto'' of the epic, ''Marjatan poika'', ends the epic with a clear allegory of Jesus being born and banishing the old god Väinämöinen from the lands of Väinölä.
59	* DiseasedName: Loviatar's nine sons, fathered by either the wind or the sea-monster Iku-Turso, named Colic, Pleurisy, Fever, Ulcer, Plague, Consumption, Gout, Sterility, and Cancer.
60	* DrivenToSuicide: Aino drowns herself rather than marry Väinämöinen. Kullervo kills himself with his sword.
61	* EngagementChallenge: Väinämöinen, Ilmarinen and Lemminkäinen all have to complete near-{{impossible task}}s in order to marry the Maiden of Pohjola, Louhi's daughter. Eventually, it's Ilmarinen to whom she takes a liking.
62	* EvilMatriarch: Louhi, the Mistress of Pohjola, is the primary antagonist of the story as well as the leader of her people, having many sons and daughters.
63	* EvilUncle: Untamo, Kullervo's uncle, killed his entire family (who somehow still survived).
64	* FeudingFamilies: Kalervo and Untamo. The latter destroys the former.
65	* GenocideBackfire: Untamo kills[[note]]They somehow survive it, though.[[/note]] his brother Kalervo and his family over petty neighborhood squabbles, leaving only a pregnant woman alive. The woman gives birth to Kullervo, who later kills Untamo in vengeance.
66	* {{Gotterdammerung}}: The Kalevala ends with Christ being appointed King of Finland, and Väinämöinen sailing away to an unknown land across the sea.
67	* GrimUpNorth: Pohjola, the Northland, is described as a harsh, cold place with little comfort.
68	%%* HandsomeLech: Lemminkäinen.
69	* IAmOneOfThoseToo: Joukahainen claims he was present when the world was created. Too bad he tells this to Väinämöinen who actually was there.
70	* IdiotHero: Lemminkäinen isn't very bright. He makes decisions very irrationally, without even a thought for consequences: When Louhi tasks him of killing the Swan of Tuonela, he agrees to do it even though it will anger the cthonic deities who proceed to rip him to pieces. After his resurrection, he ''still'' returns to Pohjola for the Maiden's wedding and kills the Master in a duel thus getting the wrath of Louhi and her people on him.
71	* ImprobableWeaponUser: The wet-behind-the-ears Lappish guy whom Lemminkäinen insulted, kills him by ''running a viper through him''. Man, that's just awesome.
72	* KingInTheMountain: The Kalevala ends with a mysterious child being declared king of Kalevala (a thinly veiled allegory on Christ and the conversion of Finland to Christianity). The disgruntled Väinämöinen sails away in his boat to an unknown destination, leaving only his kantele behind, but not without the promise that he will some day return.
73	* LipstickAndLoadMontage: A male example, as an entire chapter is devoted to Ilmarinen the smith bathing and dressing up to go court the Maiden of Pohja.
74	* LongestPregnancyEver: Ilmatar carried Väinämöinen for centuries.
75	* MacGuffin: The Sampo is a powerful magical artifact that everyone covets, but it is never actually described. It has been depicted as pretty much everything from a sword to a pitcher. The most common interpretation is that Sampo is a mill that produces money, grain and salt out of thin air.
76	** The mythological Sampo (as opposed to the Sampo from The Kalevala) is most often interpreted as a pillar that holds the sky up (with Pohjantähti (Polaris, the North Star) as the pin that fastens it to the sky). That would also relate to the mill imagery as both turn around. Supporting this theory is the alternate name "sammas", an old word meaning pillar, and the connection to the north where the these kinds of [[WorldTree world trees]] and pillars are often located in northern mythology (understandably so, since in the northern hemisphere the sky appears to spin around its northernmost point) and the references to the multicoloured lid which is a phrase also connected to the sky (which is even in modern Finnish often symbolically referred to as a "lid"). Also, both the sky and Sampo were made by Ilmarinen. Apparently there are also songs that refer to the "roots" of Sampo, connecting it to the world tree idea. (There is also a separate WorldTree type of story, or at least something close, in The Kalevala.) ''However'' even if this theory is true, it was in later folk stories reinterpreted as an object and the original meaning was lost. In any case it's an allegory for good fortune.
77	* MagicMusic: as used by the sage Väinämöinen, whose ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kantele kantele]]'' is made from the jawbone of a giant pike.
78	** He's so good, he once almost sang Joukahainen into a swamp. (It takes special mythological training to understand just what that's supposed to mean.)
79	*** In modern Finnish "singing/playing into a swamp" means [[CurbStompBattle Curb Stomping]] someone in a debate or competition thoroughly. In the epic it means just what it sounds like; Väinämöinen sings such a powerful song that the earth swallows Joukahainen, until he agrees to pay any price to be released.
80	* NamedByTheAdaptation: The sister of Joukahainen was not named in the original songs and stories. The name Aino comes from the word "aino" (in plain language usually "ainoa") which means "only one", as in, Joukahainen's ''only'' sister. Despite this, the name is now very popular in Finland.
81	* TheNightThatNeverEnds: In vengeance for the loss of the Sampo, Louhi steals the Sun and the Moon and locks them up inside a mountain.
82	* NobleBirdOfPrey: Eagle saves Väinämöinen from drowning.
83	* NoodleImplements: The Sampo is the perfect MacGuffin because, thanks to the ambiguity of the poems Lönnrot was collecting, none of the poem's readers have been able to conclusively figure out what the hell it ''is''.
84	* OneWingedAngel: Louhi turns into a ''kokko'' (sort of a big mythical eagle) to hunt down the heroes of Kalevala who have stolen the Sampo.
85	* OralTradition: Lönnrot created the ''Kalevala'' by combining folk ballads which had been passed down from singer to singer for centuries, possibly more.
86	* PassingTheTorch: The book ends with Väinämöinen sailing away and implied-to-be-Jesus becoming the king of Kalevala.
87	* PikePeril: When the heroes of Väinölä sail to Pohjola in order to recover the magical Sampo they are stopped by a giant monstrous pike. Both Lemminkäinen and Ilmarinen fail to kill it, but Väinämöinen manages to slice it to pieces and makes the world's first kantele from its jawbone.
88	* PlotHole: Due to having been compiled from folk legends sung around the country, the ''Kalevala'' has several plot holes as a result of combining different versions. For example, Kullervo eventually finds out that his parents are alive, even though they were killed by Untamo when he was an infant.
89	* PowerTrio: Väinämöinen, Ilmarinen, and Lemminkäinen, when they finally team up to retrieve the Sampo from Pohjola.[[note]]The "Freudian" interpretation would probably go: Väinämöinen - Superego, Ilmarinen - Ego, Lemminkäinen - Id.[[/note]]
90	* PublicDomainArtifact: TheSampo.
91	* ReplacementGoldfish: After his wife's death, Ilmarinen makes himself a new one out of gold and silver, but discards her soon afterwards.
92	* {{Revenge}}: Like in many myths, revenge is a recurring motif in the Kalevala; but it is an overarching theme in the story of Kullervo, who is more than anything driven by his (eventually self-destructive) desire for revenge.
93	* RevengeSVP: Lemminkäinen gatecrashes the wedding feast in the Northland, where they [[DeathIsCheap successfully]] tried to kill him last time when he himself wooed the Northland Maiden. He soon provokes the bride's father, the Master of the Northland, into a swordfight duel, which ends lethally for the latter.
94	* RiddleForTheAges: What ''is'' the Sampo actually, and what exactly does it do?
95	* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Kullervo does this ''a lot''. First he hexes a bunch of wolves and bears to tear apart Ilmarinen's wife after she torments him too much, and at the end of his story, he slaughters all of Untamo's clan for the crimes committed against his own. Also Louhi after Lemminkäinen killed her husband in duel forcing Lemminkäinen to hide in a remote island.
96	* SeaMonster: Iku-Turso. Also, the giant pike from whose jawbone Väinämöinen makes a kantele - a dulcimer-like musical instrument.
97	* SpoofAesop: When Ilmarinen makes his golden [[ReplacementGoldfish replacement bride]], she is extremely cold and not truly alive, and so he gets rid of her. Väinämöinen's words of wisdom? "Let no man ever again marry a woman made of gold or silver."
98	* StarkNakedSorcery: Lemminkäinen boasts to his mother that three sorcerers have once tried to bewitch him, presumably under circumstances which were the most favorable for their magic. That included them not having a stitch on.
99	* SuicideBySea: Aino drowns herself because she does not want to marry Väinämöinen.
100	* SurpriseIncest: The girl Kullervo seduces turns out to be his long-lost sister.
101	* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: The Northland Maiden, Louhi's daughter, was a recurring character in Lönnrot's source material; however, the folk songs contradicted each other in what was her eventual fate. Lönnrot solved the problem by giving Louhi ''two'' daughters and thus, there are two Northland Maidens, the second one only appearing after the first one is out of the story.
102	* SwallowedWhole: Väinämöinen gets swallowed by giant Antero Vipunen. It doesn't last long as Väinämöinen causes such a riot in Vipunen's stomach he barfs him up.
103	* TalkingWeapon: Kullervo's black sword, which indicates it is perfectly willing to kill him. This is possibly the UrExample of this trope.
104	* ToHellAndBack: Väinämöinen travels to Tuonela, the realm of the dead, and escapes even though they try to keep him. Almost true for Lemminkäinen, too, when he hunts for the Swan of Tuonela, but Lemminkäinen does not enter Tuonela proper.
105	* TooDumbToLive: Joukahainen decides to challenge Väinämöinen, ''the god of singing'', into a MagicMusic WizardDuel. It goes about as well as you think.
106	* UltimateBlacksmith: Ilmarinen forged the sky itself, and during the epic creates among other things the magical Sampo. However, he does have his limits: when Louhi steals the sun and the moon away he tries and fails to build new ones in their place.
107	* WickedWitch: Louhi, Mistress of Pohjola, also known as Hag of the Northland.
108	* WizardBeard: Väinämöinen has a long white beard.
109	* WizardDuel: Joukahainen, a young HotBlooded wizard, hears stories about Väinämöinen's might and challenges him to a one. It predictably ends in a CurbStompBattle.
110	%%* WizardsLiveLonger: Väinämöinen was born ''30 years old'', and that's just the beginning.
111	* WorldTree: The great oak that grows so big that it covers the sky and must be cut down. After some failed tries a little man dressed in metal rises from the sea, grows into a giant and finally chops it down.
112	%%* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Kullervo.

Context Literature / TheKalevala