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Huitula

The Finnish mythology and poetry compila

Kalevala
By Elias Lnnrot
Presented by
- Linh Nguyen
- Valeriy Neznakhin
- Emmi Kankaanp
- Anna Sadikova

What is Kalevala
-

A 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lnnrot from Karelian and
Finnish oral folklore and mythology.

The national epic of Karelia and Finland and is one of the most significant
works of Finnish literature.

The Kalevala played an instrumental role in the development of the Finnish

national identity, the intensification of Finland' language strife and the growing
sense of nationality that ultimately led to Finland's independence from Russia
in 1917.

First published in 1849 and consists of 22,795 verses, divided into 50 songs.

Oulu Library

Elias Lnnrot
9 April 1802 19 March
1884 was a Finnish
physician, philologist
and collector of
traditional Finnish oral
poetry. He started to
collect it in 1928, until
Wikipedia. Elias Lonnrot Portrait

Fanpop.com 2015

375humanistia 2015

Lnnrot and his

colleagues continued
their efforts to collect
folk poetry, and new
material quickly
accumulated. Using
this new material,
Lnnrot published a
second, expanded
version of the Kalevala
in 1849. This New
Kalevala is the version
which has been read in
Finland ever since and
upon which most
translations are based.

Kalevalas Contents
The story began with traditional Finnish
creation myth creation of earth, plants,
creatures and the sky
Poems
1-2 , How the story starts
Ilmatar (the Virgin of the Air) descends to the waters. A pochard
lays its eggs on her knee. The eggs break and the world is formed
from their pieces. The mother of the water then gives birth to
Vinminen. Sampsa Pellervoinen sows the forest trees. One of the
trees, an oak, grows so large that it blots out both the sun and the
moon. A tiny man rises from the sea and fells the giant oak. The sun
and moon can shine once again.

Essential Roles
Kantele player Teppana Jnis.
(Photo: Kalevalaseura 1916)

Joukahainen - Young man from Lapland

Vinminen - Demigod, Hero
Ilmatar Vinminens mother
Ahti King of the Ocean
Pohjolas daughter
Louhi Pohjolas housewife
Pohjola - householder
Lemminkinen - Hero of war
Ukko Supreme God

Forms and Structure

The poetry was often sung to music built on
a pentachord, sometimes assisted by a
kantele player. The rhythm could vary but
the music was arranged in either two or four
lines in 5/4 metre. The poems were often
performed by a duo, each person singing
alternative verses or groups of verses. This
method of performance is called an
antiphonic performance, it is a kind of
"singing match"

Schemes
There are two main schemes featured in The Kalevala:

Alliteration:
Alliteration can be broken into two forms. Weak: where only
the opening consonant is the same, and strong: where both
the first vowel or vowel and consonant are the same in the
different words. (e.g. Vaka Vanha Vinminen "Steadfast old
Vinminen").
Parallelism
Parallelism in The Kalevala refers to the stylistic feature of
repeating the idea presented in the previous line, often by
using synonyms, rather than moving the plot forward. (e.g.
Nill raukoilla rajoilla / Poloisilla pohjan mailla "In these
dismal Northern regions / In the dreary land of Pohja").
Lnnrot has been criticised for overusing parallelism in The
Kalevala: in the original poems, a line was usually followed by
only one such parallel line.

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Kalevala Day
Kalevala Day is celebrated on 28 February, as that was the
day that Elias Lnnrot signed the preface of the Old Kalevala,
on 28 February 1835.
It has been an unofficial flag day from 1950 onward, and was
in 1978 recognized as an official flag day. At the same time, it
was confirmed by Government Decree as the day of Finnish
culture.

Interesting to Know

As a piece of world literature, Kalevalas themes and poetic style have

been a influence and inspired numbers of artists, writers and composers,
including J. R. R. Tolkien and Jean Sibelius. Kalevala is studied by school
children in Finland.

There is a society invented for Kalevala called The Kalevala Society

Foundation. The purpose of it is to disseminate, research and publish
knowledge relating to the Kalevala and the Finnish cultural heritage.

The Society also seeks to combine science and the arts and to promote
art working with Kalevala-related themes. They organize events, grant
awards, give statements and co-operate with cultural actors both in
Finland and abroad.

Paintings from Akseli Gallen Kallela

Akseli Gallen-Kallelan Kalevala-kuvitusta

http://hs12.snstatic.fi/webkuva/taysi/700/13059311
34910?ts=57

https://
www.google.fi/search?q=Kalevala&safe=on&tbm=isch&gws_rd=cr&ei=rUs7Vtm6BI
WPsAHZoZ3oBw#gws_rd=cr&imgrc=AP_EHZTsO7RquM%3A

Influences of the Kalevala

in FINE ART
Lemminkisen iti by Akseli Gallen-Kallela

The Aino triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela

Sammon puolustus by Akseli Gallen-Kallela

Kalevalaseura.fi

Jean-Pierre Dalbra

Sokos.fi

Simplyreadbooks.com

Arja Lento

Ilmatar by Robert wilhelm ekman

Bifrost.it

Influences of the Kalevala

in LITERATURE

The Kalevala has been translated over one-hundred and fifty times into over 60 different languages

Inspiration for Estonian national epic Kalevioeg, Lord of the Rings character Tom Bombadil, Finnish
cartoon Koirien Kalevala, the Donald Duck story The Quest for Kalevala of Disney, and many other
American as well as British authors.

Lort.wikia.com

Karjalankielenseura.fi

Hachette.co.uk

Indiegogo.com

Influences of the Kalevala

in MUSIC

Classical music: Kullervo Overture (Filip von Schantz), Kullervo (Jean Sibelius)

Death metal: Tales from the Thousand Lakes album (Amorphis), North from Here
(Sentenced)

Folk metal: Little Dreamer, Old Man (Ensiferum), River of Tuoni (Amberian Dawn)

Folk music: Vantaa Chamber Choir (Vrttin)

Progressive rock

Kullervo Overture by Filip von

Schantz

Influences of the Kalevala

in FILM INDUSTRY

Elonet.fi

Yleshop.yle.fi

Blind spot picture

Influences of the Kalevala

in DAILY LIFE
Kalevalakoru.fi

Visitespoo.fi
Pohjola.fi

Nemesol.fi
Jaatelo.fi

Lahitapiola.fi

References

Anneli, A. & Sirkka Liisa, M. 2000. Kalevala the Finnish National Epic.
http://finland.fi/arts-culture/kalevala-the-finnish-national-epic/. Accessed on
November 18th, 2015.
Finnish Literature Society 1992. The Role of the Kalevala in Finnish Culture and
Politics. http://www.njas.helsinki.fi/pdf-files/vol1num2/vento.pdf. Accessed on
November 18th, 2015.
Kalevala Society 2010. Kalevala, The National Epic.
http://www.kalevalaseura.fi/s_kalevala_e.php. Accessed on November 18 th, 2015.

Thank you for your

Attention!