Epic is a literary genre, as independent as poetry and drama, telling about the distant past. It is always voluminous, extended over a long period of time in space and time, and extremely eventful. "Kalevala" is Karelian-Finnish epic poetry. Over the course of fifty folk songs (runes), the heroes of the Kalevala are sung. There is no historical basis in these songs. The adventures of the heroes are purely fabulous in nature. The epic also does not have a single plot, as in the Iliad, but a brief summary of the Kalevala will be presented here.

Processing of folklore

The Karelian folk epic began to be processed and recorded only in the nineteenth century. The famous Finnish doctor and linguist Elias Lönnrot collected various versions of epic songs, made a selection, trying to connect the individual parts with each other in a plot. The first edition of "Kalevala" was published in 1835, and only almost fifteen years later - the second. The Finnish epic was translated into Russian in 1888 and published in the “Pantheon of Literature” by the poet L. P. Belsky. Public opinion was unanimous: “Kalevala” is literature and a pure source of new information about the religious pre-Christian ideas of the Karelian and Finnish peoples.

Lennrot himself gave the name to the epic. Kalevala was the name of the country in which folk heroes live and perform their feats. Only the name of the country is a little shorter - Kaleva, because the suffix la in the language denotes the place of residence: those living in Kaleva. It was there that the people settled their heroes: Väinämöinen, Ilmarinen, Lemminkäinen - all three were sung as the sons of this fertile land.

Composition of the epic

The poem of fifty runes was made up of various individual songs - there were lyrical, epic, and even magical ones. Lönnrot wrote down most of it directly from the peasants' lips, and some had already been written down by folklore collectors. The most song-filled lands were found in Russian Karelia, in the Olonets province and in the Arkhangelsk regions, on the banks of Ladoga and in Finnish Karelia, where people’s memory has preserved very, very much.

The runes do not show us historical realities; not a single war with other nations is reflected there. Moreover, neither the people, nor society, nor the state are shown, as in Russian epics. In the runes, the family rules everything, but even family relationships do not set goals for heroes to accomplish feats.

Bogatyrs

The ancient pagan views of the Karelians give the heroes of the epic not only physical strength, and not even so much of it, but magical powers, the ability to conjure, cast spells, and make magical artifacts. Bogatyrs have the gift of werewolfism, they can turn anyone into anything, travel, instantly moving to any distance, and control the weather and atmospheric phenomena. Even a brief summary of "Kalevala" will not be complete without fabulous events.

The songs of the Karelian-Finnish epic are diverse, and it is impossible to fit them into a single plot. The Kalevala, like many other epics, opens with the creation of the world. The sun, stars, moon, sun, earth appear. The daughter of the wind gives birth to Väinämöinen, this will be the main character of the epic, who will develop the earth and sow barley. Among the many and varied adventures of the hero, there is one that can claim to be the beginning of the main, albeit thread-like, plot.

Wonderful boat

Väinämöinen meets by chance the maiden of the North, as beautiful as day. In response to an offer to become his wife, she agrees on the condition that the hero builds a magic boat for her from fragments of a spindle. The inspired hero began to work so zealously that he could not hold the ax and injured himself. The blood did not subside, I had to visit a healer. It tells the story of how iron came about.

The healer helped, but the hero never returned to work. He raised his wind grandfather with a spell, who found and delivered the most skilled blacksmith, Ilmarinen, to Pohjela, the country of the North. The blacksmith obediently forged the magic mill Sampo for the Maiden of the North, bringing happiness and wealth. These events contain the first ten runes of the epic.

Treason

In the eleventh rune, a new heroic character appears - Lemminkäinen, completely displacing previous events from the songs. This hero is warlike, a real sorcerer and a great lover of women. Having introduced the listeners to a new hero, the narrative returned to Väinämöinen. What the loving hero had to endure to achieve his goal: he even descended into the underworld, allowed himself to be swallowed by the giant Viipunen, but still obtained the magic words that were needed to build a boat from a spindle, on which he sailed to Pohjela to get married.

Not so. During the hero's absence, the northern maiden fell in love with the skilled blacksmith Ilmarinen and married him, refusing to fulfill her word to Väinämöinen. Not only the wedding, with all its customs and traditions, is described here in great detail, and even the songs that were sung there are given, clarifying the duty and responsibility of the husband to his wife and the wife to her husband. This plot line ends only in the twenty-fifth song. Unfortunately, the very brief content of “Kalevala” does not contain the exceptionally lovely and numerous details of these chapters.

Sad story

Further, six runes tell about the daring adventures of Lemminkäinen in the northern region - in Pohjela, where Severnaya reigns, not only no longer a maiden, but also spiritually spoiled, with an unkind, acquisitive and selfish character. With the thirty-first rune begins one of the most piercing and deeply sensual stories, one of the best parts of the entire epic.

Over the course of five songs, the sad fate of the beautiful hero Kullervo is told, who, out of ignorance, seduced his own sister. When the whole situation was revealed to the heroes, both the hero himself and his sister could not bear the sin committed and died. This is a very sad story, written (and, apparently, translated) elegantly, heartfeltly, with a great feeling of sympathy for the characters so severely punished by fate. The epic "Kalevala" gives many such scenes where love for parents, for children, for native nature is glorified.

War

The following runes tell how three heroes (including an unlucky blacksmith) united in order to take away the magical treasure - Sampo - from the evil Northern Maiden. The heroes of Kalevala did not give up. Fighting couldn’t solve anything here, and it was decided, as always, to resort to sorcery. Väinämöinen, like our Novgorod guslar Sadko, built himself a musical instrument - the kantele, enchanted nature with his play and put all the northerners to sleep. Thus, the heroes kidnapped Sampo.

The Mistress of the North pursued them and intrigued them until Sampo fell into the sea. She sent monsters, pestilence, and all sorts of disasters to Kaleva, and in the meantime Väinämöinen made a new instrument, which he played even more magically than he returned the sun and moon stolen by the mistress of Pohjela. Having collected the fragments of Sampa, the hero did a lot of good for the people of his country, many good deeds. Here, with a rather long joint adventure of the three heroes, “Kalevala” almost ends. Retelling this story cannot in any way replace reading a work that has inspired many artists to create great works. This needs to be read in its entirety to truly enjoy it.

Divine baby

So, the epic came to its last rune, a very symbolic one. This is practically an apocrypha on the birth of the Savior. The virgin from Kaleva - Maryatta - gave birth to a divinely wonderful son. Väinämöinen was even frightened by the power that this two-week-old child possessed and advised him to be killed immediately. To which the infant shamed the hero, reproaching him for injustice. The hero listened. He finally sang a magic song, boarded a wonderful shuttle and left Karelia to a new and more worthy ruler. This is how the Kalevala epic ends.

Reviews

The poetic fabric of "Kalevala" does not contain any one common thread that links all the episodes into one whole. Although, according to reviews, literary scholars have always looked for it and continue to look for it. There are various hypotheses. E. Aspelin believed that this was the idea of ​​​​the change of seasons in the northern lands. Lönnrot, the collector of the epic, believed that this clarifies the evidence of the seizure of northern Finnish lands by persistent Karelians. And indeed, Kaleva won, the heroes manage to subjugate Pohjela. However, there are a lot of opinions, and they are sometimes completely different from each other. Even a brief summary of “Kalevala” can give an idea of ​​the greatness of the folk epic.

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The Kalevala is the pride of Finland, its national treasure, recognized as a unique folk epic that has no analogues in world literature.

The history of the creation of the epic "Kalevala"

The Karelian-Finnish epic is based on runes - folk epic songs, most of which were recorded in Karelia. The collected folklore material was processed and brought together by the Finnish linguist and doctor Elias Lönnrot. In addition to 50 runes, Kalevala includes wedding songs and rituals, amulets and spells. Elias Lönnrot worked on the creation of the Kalevala for 20 years. The result of his work was published on February 28, 1835. The first circulation of Kalevala was very small, only 500 copies. By the way, in these books the author’s name was not indicated anywhere, only the preface to the poem was modestly signed with Lönnrot’s initials: “E. L." Perhaps the author was modest, because he considered his work not entirely finished - after the first publication of “Kalevala”, he continued his work, polishing the work, smoothing out inaccuracies and roughness. The final version of the epic was published fourteen years later, in 1849.

The runes that make up the epic do not have a single storyline; the narrative jumps from one to another, it contains inconsistencies and inconsistencies. “Kalevala” is the name of one of the two countries (the second country is called Pohjola) in which the heroes of the epic live and travel: Vainamoinen, Aio, Ilmyarinen, Lemminkäinen, Kullervo.

The epic opens with the tale of the creation of the world and the birth of the main character of “Kalevala” - Vainamöinen, the son of Ilmatar (daughter of the air) and his unsuccessful attempt to marry Aino, the sister of the self-taught shaman Joukahainen, who lost the battle to him. Further, the runes tell the story of the hero’s journey to find his bride in the country of Pohjola - a kind of “lower world” into which the sun plunges. In this part of the story there are no battle scenes; Vainamoinen appears before the reader in the role of a singer-caster who, with the help of knowledge and magic, overcomes the difficulties that stand in his way, and thanks to the blacksmith Ilmyarinen, he creates the Sampo mill for his beloved.

Then the narrative jumps to a description of the adventures of the hero Lemminkäinen, a sorcerer and favorite of women, then returns to the description of the wanderings of the protagonist: his journey to the underworld for magic words, sailing on a wonderful boat to Pohjola and an unsuccessful matchmaking - the bride, for whom Vainämöinen tried so hard, chose to him the blacksmith who created the magic mill Sampo. The epic describes in detail the wedding of the northern maiden and the blacksmith Ilmyarinen, and includes wedding rituals and songs. Then Lemminkäinen appears in Pohjola, and the plot again tells of his wanderings.

Standing somewhat apart in the epic is the image of Kullervo, a brave strongman whose fate is very tragic: due to the discord of two families, he ends up in slavery, unknowingly enters into a close relationship with his own sister, takes revenge on the perpetrators of incest, returns home, finds all his relatives dead and commits suicide. Vainamoinen reads an instructive speech over the body of the hero and, together with Ilmarinen and Lemminkäinen, goes after Sampo. Having put the inhabitants of the “lower world” to sleep by playing the kantele, they steal the magic mill, but the path home turns out to be very dangerous. The enraged mistress of Pohjola arranges various intrigues for them, and in the battle with her Sampo breaks into pieces and falls into the sea. Next comes the story of the long struggle of the magicians: Louhi - the mistress of the “lower world” and Vainamöinen, as well as the confrontation between Kalevala and Pohjola.

In the last, fiftieth rune, Maryatta eats a lingonberry and becomes pregnant. She gives birth to a boy. Vainamoinen condemns the baby to death, but he delivers an accusatory speech against the unfair trial. The boy is baptized and named King of Karelia, and Vainamoinen gets into a boat and goes out to the open sea.

"Kalevala" in art

Despite the fact that the epic “Kalevala” was published at the end of the 19th century, it continues to excite the minds and conquer the hearts of creative people to this day. Its subjects are quite often found in the works of artists. The most famous is the cycle of paintings by the Finnish painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela.

This epic was filmed twice, in 1959 and in 1982, and the ballet Sampo was written based on “Kalevala”. It was written by Karelian composer Helmer Sinisalo in 1959. In addition, being impressed by the plots of the Finnish epic, Tolkinen wrote his “Silmarllion”, and the Finnish melodic metal band Amorphis often uses the texts of “Kalevala” for their songs.

“Kalevala” also exists in Russian, thanks to the children’s writer Igor Vostryakov, who first retold it in prose for children, and in 2011 published a poetic version.

Day of the epic "Kalevala"

The Day of the national epic “Kalevala” was first celebrated in 1860. Since then, it has been celebrated annually on February 28, the day when the first copies of the Finnish epic were published, but this day was included in the list of official holidays only in 1978.

Traditionally, on this day, various events dedicated to the Kalevala are organized, and the culmination of the holiday is the Kalevala Carnival, during which people dressed in clothes of bygone years walk through the streets of cities, presenting scenes from the epic. Moreover, celebrations are held not only in Finland, but also in Russia. In Karelia, where there is even a Kalevala region, on the territory of which, according to legend, most of the events described in the epic took place, theatrical performances, performances by folklore groups, folk festivals, exhibitions and round tables are held annually.

You can read the epic "Kalevala" at this link.

Interesting facts related to the epic "Kalevala":

• According to legend, on the territory of the village of Kalevala there is a pine tree under which Lönnrot worked.
• Based on "Kalevala", a joint Soviet-Finnish film "Sampo" was shot.
• Karelian composer Helmer Sinisalo wrote the ballet "Sampo" based on "Kalevala". The ballet was first staged in Petrozavodsk on March 27, 1959. This ballet was a great success and was performed many times in the USSR and abroad.
• The first pictorial painting on the subject of “Kalevala” was created in 1851 by the Swedish artist Johan Blakstadius.
• The first work on the plot of “Kalevala” was the play “Kullervo” by the Finnish writer Alexis Kivi in ​​1860.
• Jean Sibelius made a significant contribution to the musical embodiment of the Kalevala.
• The lyrics of "Kalevala" inspired the metal band Amorphis with their plot.

Material on the topic

Finnish folklore

The history of the Finnish people dates back to the second millennium BC. However, the first written confirmations appear much later - at the beginning of the 2nd century. n. uh, when the ancient authors Tacitus and Ptolemy talk about the people.

What is this work about? Here is a summary of the epic for those who have never read it. P However, it should be taken into account that The songs are too diverse and it is impossible to fit them into a single plot. In addition, there are several versions of the same song, differing in plot lines, proper names and assessment of what is happening (this is due to the fact that the songs were recorded by different singer-songwriters, and everyone could make changes to them)

The Kalevala, like many other epics, opens with the creation of the world. The sun, stars, moon, sun, earth appear. The daughter of the wind gives birth to the hero Väinämöinen, this will be the main character of the epic, who will develop the land and sow barley. At the same time, he acts not with a sword, but with a word, representing the image of a shaman.

As a linguist, I cannot help but note this paradox: judging by the name Väinemöinen was not just the first and main character of the Karelian epic - he was “The Man of Väinän” ( This is how his name is translated into Russian). In Finno-Ugric languages, Russians are called “Vene” or “Väine”, in other words, the magician and hero Väinemöinen came from a Slavic family, and the country of Kalevala - Väinela - is “Russian land” (remember the suffix LA, meaning place of residence?)

In general, all the heroes of Kalevala are endowed not only with physical strength, but with the ability to conjure, cast spells, and make magical artifacts. Bogatyrs have the gift of werewolf, they can turn anyone into anything, travel, instantly moving to any distance, control the weather and atmospheric phenomena.

N Let’s return to the brief retelling of “Kalevala”.

Among the many and varied adventures of the hero, there is one that can claim to be the beginning of the main, albeit thread-like, plot. Väinämöinen meets by chance the maiden of the North, as beautiful as day. In response to an offer to become his wife, she agrees, but sets a condition: the hero will build a magic boat for her from fragments of a spindle. The inspired hero began to work so eagerly that he could not hold the ax and injured himself. The blood did not subside, I had to visit a healer. The healer helped, but the hero never returned to work. Väinämöinen raised his wind grandfather with a spell, who found and delivered the most skilled blacksmith, Ilmarinen, to Pohjola, the country of the North.

The blacksmith obediently forged the magic mill Sampo for the Maiden of the North, bringing happiness and wealth. These events contain the first ten runes of the epic.

In the eleventh rune, a new heroic character appears - Lemminkäinen, completely displacing previous events.

This hero- a merry fellow and a bully, a carefree and flighty young man, a favorite of women. He is the best skier of all and is an excellent swordsman. Unlike his friends, he lacks seriousness and prudence, but he loves to brag, has a sense of humor and a lively mind.

But people still love him very much, even despite his character flaws - primarily because he is brave and always ready to fight dark forces. Nevertheless, people sometimes reproach Lemminkäinen for carelessness and excessive recklessness, which can lead to very sad consequences.

Having introduced the listeners to a new hero, the narrative returns to Väinämöinen. What the loving hero had to endure to achieve his goal: he even descended into the underworld, allowed himself to be swallowed by a giant, but still obtained the magic words that were needed to build a boat from a spindle, on which he sailed to Pohjola to get married.

What's next - a wedding? Not so. During the hero's absence, the northern maiden fell in love with the skilled blacksmith Ilmarinen and married him, refusing to fulfill her word to Väinämöinen. Not only the wedding, with all its customs and traditions, is described here in great detail, but even the songs that were sung there are given, clarifying the duty and responsibility of the husband to his wife and the wife to her husband. This plot line ends only in the twenty-fifth rune.

Next, six runes again tell about the daring adventures of Lemminkäinen in the northern region - in Pohjola, where the evil witch Louhi reigns(mother of that very beautiful Northern Virgo) .

The word "louhi" does not mean, by the way, a proper name, but an epithet of the area (in Finnish it is "rock, stone"). The frequently used phrase “Louhi mistress of Pohjela”, if literally and correctly translated into Russian, will only mean “Rocky Pohjela”

The old woman Louhi is traditionally considered an evil and negative character. But not everyone, it turns out, agrees with this interpretation. In 2007-2008, in the village of Loukhi on the shore of Lake Loukhskoye, the holiday “Let’s give back the old woman Loukhi her good name” was held. According to its organizers, Old Woman Louhi was not an evil witch, but a real mistress, caring for the good of her people. However, one cannot call her an old woman; at the time of the events in Kalevala, this powerful witch was only 30-35 years old.

One of the most piercing and deeply sensual stories of the epic begins with the thirty-first rune. Over the course of five songs, the sad fate of the beautiful hero Kullervo is told, who, out of ignorance, seduced his own sister. When the whole situation was revealed to the heroes, both the hero himself and his sister could not bear the sin committed and died. This is a very sad story, written elegantly, heartfeltly, with a great feeling of sympathy for the characters so severely punished by fate.

The following runes tell how three heroes united in order to take away the magical treasure - Sampo - from Louhi, the mother of the Northern Maiden.

You can’t take anything here by fighting, and it was decided, as always, to resort to sorcery. Väinämöinen, just like the Novgorod guslar Sadko, built himself a musical instrument - the kantele, enchanted nature with his play and put all the northerners to sleep.

Thus, the heroes kidnapped Sampo.

The Mistress of the North, Louhi, pursued them and plotted against them until Sampo fell into the sea. Louhi sent monsters, pestilence, and all sorts of disasters to Kaleva, and in the meantime Väinämöinen made a new instrument, which he played even more magically than he returned the sun and moon stolen by the mistress of Pohjola. Having collected the fragments of Sampo, the hero did a lot of good things for the people of his country, many good deeds. However, the most important artifact - the Sampo lid - eventually went to Louhi.

Finally, the epic came to its last rune, a very symbolic one. This is practically an apocrypha on the birth of the Savior. The virgin from Kaleva - Maryatta - gave birth to a divinely wonderful son. Väinämöinen was even frightened by the power that this two-week-old child possessed, and advised him to be killed immediately. To which the infant shamed the hero, reproaching him for injustice. The hero listened. He finally sang a magic song, boarded a wonderful shuttle and left Karelia to a new and more worthy ruler. This is how Kalevala ends.

For any nation, works such as the Karelian-Finnish epic remain great milestones through which the connection of generations is carried out and our own path is observed.

And there are also these words:

"Indecent in our kind...

Bow before gold...

The shine of gold is cold,

Silver breathes frost".

In our modern world, when everyone only thinks about how to work little and get a lot, when we forget friends and family, thinking exclusively about ourselves and our own well-being, these words come in handy.

The life of the Karelian people was difficult and joyless. The rocky, infertile land produced meager harvests. And for these harvests, the peasant had to fight the harsh nature all his life. For a long time, people have dreamed of a happy, joyful life, when there will be plenty of everything and people on earth will live in peace and friendship. The people expressed their dreams in songs called runes. Ordinary people sang runes during hours of rest after hard work. Such people were called rune singers.

These runes passed from mouth to mouth, from generation to generation, and have survived to this day. In the mid-19th century, the runes were collected in one book called “Kalevala”. This is the happy country that the people dreamed of. There are no oppressors or oppressed, all people are equal, everyone loves work equally and works equally. The leader of the Kalevala people is the wise Väinämöinen. Väinämöinen is a great worker: he is a plowman, a hunter, a fisherman, he can build a boat and create a wonderful kantele. Väinämöinen knows a lot, that’s why he is called wise. But above all, Väinämöinen is an incomparable singer. When he sings, even the golden sun and the silver moon come out of their heavenly chambers to listen to his wonderful songs.

Ilmarinen is a famous blacksmith. He works all day in his forge, forging swords, spears, plows, scythes, and knives. But his best work is the magic self-milling mill Sampo. From morning to evening and from evening to morning, a wonderful mill spins and brings rich gifts to people, so that need and grief will disappear forever on earth. For centuries, Karelians glorified the blacksmith Ilmarinen in their runes for the creation of such a mill. Lemminkäinen is a cheerful, fearless hunter. He is an excellent skier and a daring fighter.

To the north of karjala lies a country of darkness and cold - Pohjola. Evil sorcerers and witches live in this country. Labor is not held in high esteem in this country. The evil and envious Louhi, the mistress of Pohjola, managed to take possession of the miracle mill by cunning. She hid it in a stone cave behind nine locks so that the mill would serve her alone.
The heroes of the epic consider this unfair. They want Sampo to serve the whole people, and not just one greedy old woman. To return the item, the heroes of the story go to Pohjola. Louhi called her warriors, but Väinämöinen, with her wondrous playing on the kantele, plunges the people of Pohjola into a deep sleep. The Kalevala residents take the mill out of the stone cave and take it on their ship to Kalevala. But Louhi, awakened from sleep, raises the warriors of Pohjola and rushes in pursuit of the Kalevals. A terrible battle breaks out, in the midst of which the flour grinder falls into the sea and breaks into pieces. Väinämöinen collects the fragments of the miracle mill and sows the ground with them. Kalevala residents are reaping a rich harvest.

Kalevala lives in work and peace. But the envious Louhi again disturbs her peace: she sends terrible diseases to people, steals the moon and the sun into the sky. In Kalevala, crops died, trees became frozen, and huge drifts of snow covered the ground. And again the heroes begin to fight for the happiness of their people. Neither arrows poisoned by snake venom nor spears with pike teeth helped Louhi. The people of Kalevala were victorious. The moon and sun returned to the sky again, again the people of Kalevala began to live a happy, joyful life.

“May the sun shine on the world forever,” said the wise Väinämöinen.
These legends have lived for centuries. Together with them, the dream of joyful work, of a happy, free life lived in people.

Kalevala Finnish national epic

The first edition of the Kalevala was published in 1835. This book was the fruit of the work of Elias Lönnrot and consisted of folk runes collected by him.

Ancient forms of song poetry, based on a unique four-beat poetic meter using internal verbal stresses, existed in the settlement territory of the Baltic-Finnish tribes for about two thousand years.

At the time of the Kalevala's exit, Finland had been an autonomous Grand Duchy for a quarter of a century. Until 1809, Finland was part of the Swedish state.

Kalevala was a turning point for Finnish-speaking culture and aroused interest also abroad. It strengthened among Finns a sense of faith in the broad possibilities of their own language and culture. She made the small people known to other peoples of Europe. The Kalevala began to be called the Finnish national epic.

Lönnrot and his colleagues continued to collect folk runes. A lot of new material has appeared. Based on it, Lönnrot published a second, expanded version of the Kalevala in 1849. From that time on, it was this Kalevala that was read in Finland and translated into other languages.

Songs that preceded Kalevala

What was the old folk poetry that Lönnrot wrote down on his travels? What were the songs about, when were they born, how long did they live?

There is a hypothesis that a big change occurred in the culture of the Proto-Finnish tribes living in the Gulf of Finland region about 2500-3000 years ago. As a result, an original style of versification was born, which was characterized by alliteration within a line and parallelism, as well as the absence of division into stanzas. The lines of the verse formed a certain four-beat meter, which came to be called the Kalevala meter. The rhythm of a musical stanza was most often four or five-beat, and the melodies formed a specific five-tone scale.

Traditional folk poetry consists of elements reflecting different historical times. The earliest layer of it consists of runes that are mythological in content, which tell about the primordial time and the creation of the world and human culture.

The main character of epic runes is often a powerful shaman, singer and soothsayer, the spiritual leader of the tribe, who travels for knowledge into the world of the dead. The heroes of the songs also go to the overseas country of Pohjola, where they woo maidens or try to win the wealth for which this northern country is famous.

Lyrical songs conveyed a person's personal feelings. Ritual poetry was concentrated mainly around the wedding ritual and the bear festival. Kalevala spells were verbal magic, that is, the magic of the word, which was used in a person’s everyday life.

Ancient runes existed throughout Finland until the 16th century. After the Reformation, the Lutheran Church banned their use, branding the entire old song tradition as pagan. At the same time, new musical trends coming from the West were gaining a foothold on Finnish soil.

The original song tradition began to fade away, first in the western part of the country, and subsequently in other places. Some songs were recorded as early as the 17th century, but most were not collected until the 1800s.

In Vienna i.e. In White Sea Karelia (the northern regions of the modern Republic of Karelia), traditional Kalevala poetry has survived to this day.

Finnish culture at the beginning of the 19th century

During the period of Swedish rule, the status of the Finnish language was secondary. Swedish and Latin were used in schools and universities. The language of administration was Swedish. Finnish was only the language of the people and practically nothing was published in Finnish except the texts of laws and spiritual literature.

However, since the end of the 18th century, at the University of Turku there was a small group of people who were passionate about the ideas of European romanticism. Its members understood that for the development of culture, the study of their native language, the collection and publication of folklore are of great importance.

Finland occupied a special position in the Russian Empire (1809-1917). Located between Sweden and Russia, Finland was forced to serve as an outpost in ensuring security on the northeastern borders of the new host country. On the other hand, the Finns, thanks to their autonomous position, were able to feel like a separate nation.

New cultural ties were established with St. Petersburg, but the border was not closed towards the former metropolis. The ideas of romanticism strengthened and gained increasing influence. Folk poetry began to be collected, studied and published.

Väinämöinen, the central hero of the runes, was seen as a symbol of national revival. Singing and playing the kantele, Väinämöinen was compared to Orpheus, the hero of Greek mythology, who, like Väinämöinen, could bewitch his listener through singing.

Young romantics from Turku understood that the strength of a small people lies in the originality of its language and culture, which are the most important tool for its further development. The first national works of art were created in the spirit of romanticism.

Elias of Sammatti

Elias Lönnrot was born on April 9, 1802 in the southern Finnish parish of Sammatti in the family of tailor Fredrik Johan Lönnrot. The family had seven children. Already in early childhood, Elias's talent manifested itself. He learned to read at the age of five and books became his great passion.

Among those around him, Elias's constant desire to read books gave rise to legends and anecdotes. “Get up, Elias Lönnrot has been sitting on the branch of a tree for a long time and reading!” With these words, the owner of the neighboring store woke up her children. According to another legend, Elias once got hungry and asked for bread, which his mother did not have at the time. “Okay, then I’ll read,” said the boy. Despite poverty, Elias's parents decided to send him to school. The boy, persistently striving for knowledge, managed to cope with all the difficulties on the path to knowledge. Lönnrot entered the University of Turku in 1822.

Lönnrot's student years

At the university, Lönnrot, as was customary at that time, studied several specialties. Along with medicine, he took courses in Latin, Greek, history and literature. Lönnrot also met a small circle of teachers and students who were close to the national idea. They saw their main task as the development of their native language.

Along with teaching, Lönnrot tried to keep abreast of what new publications on folklore were publishing on their pages. It turned out that Eastern Finland and, in particular, White Sea Karelia, located on the Russian side, are those areas where old songs still live.

Lönnrot wrote a dissertation on Finnish mythology, on Väinämöinen. This pamphlet in Latin appeared in 1827. After this, Lönnrot continued his medical studies and received his medical certificate in 1832.

In 1827, disaster struck Finland. The capital of the country, the city of Turku, burned to the ground. There were no studies at the university in 1827-1828. So Lönnrot spent the entire winter working as a home teacher in Vesilahti. The idea of ​​traveling to Karelia to collect runes arose at this time. Lönnrot decides to go in the summer of 1828 to Karelia and the province of Savo to record folk poetry.

Gathering activity

Lönnrot spent the entire summer on his first rune-hunting trip and returned to Lauko in the fall with a large baggage of notes, some 6,000 lines in all, most of which were spells and epic runes. He spent the autumn in Lauko, preparing the accumulated materials for printing.

Lönnrot continued to study at the university transferred to Helsinki, but his favorite pastime was working on the texts of ancient runes. He belonged to that small group of educated people of his time whose desire was not only to record old folklore, but also to expand the use of the Finnish language as a whole.

These goals were set by the Finnish Literary Society, formed in 1831. Lönnrot became its first secretary and for a long time also its most active member.

One of the first tasks of the Society was to finance Lönnrot's trip to White Sea Karelia to record runes. This expedition, however, had to be interrupted; the rune collector was called to act as a doctor in the fight against a cholera epidemic. The following summer, in 1832, the trip did take place and Lönnrot wrote down about 3,000 lines of conspiracy and epic poetry.

In 1833, Lönnrot took up a position as a doctor in the small and remote town of Kajaani. The absence of like-minded people remaining in Helsinki was replaced by the proximity of the singing lands of White Sea Karelia. A new plan for publishing runes was also born. Lönnrot set himself the task of publishing the songs in separate cycles, grouped around the main characters.

The fourth collecting trip was a turning point from the point of view of the history of the birth of Kalevala. In the villages of Vienna, Lönnrot was able to see firsthand how alive the song tradition was there.

Lönnrot began preparing his notes for publication. The runes collected on the first trip were published in the form of notebooks bearing the name Kantele in 1829-1831.

After the expedition of 1833, the manuscripts of Lemminkäinen, Väinämöinen and Wedding Songs were prepared.

They, however, did not satisfy Lönnrot. His task was to create a complete poem, a large-scale epic, the prototype of which was Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, as well as the Old Scandinavian Edda. Thus was born the first complete poem, consisting of 5000 lines, which was later called the Initial Kalevala.

However, in Lönnrot’s thoughts there was Karelia again, Vienna again. On the fifth expedition in April 1834, Lönnrot met Arhipp Perttunen, who turned out to be the greatest master performer of the rune singers he met.

Preparation of the 1835 and 1849 editions of the Kalevala

After the trip of 1834, the idea of ​​a single epic, according to Lönnrot, became possible to realize. Lönnrot pondered its construction, the internal connections between the runes. Subsequently, Lönnrot said that in general he adhered to the order of constructing runes within the epic, which he found among the best rune singers.

The Kalevala was ready at the beginning of 1835. Lönnrot signed the preface to it on February 28. The publication of the Kalevala did not extinguish Lönnrot’s collecting passion. Already in April and October of the same 1835 he continued his work in White Sea Karelia. He made a real big journey for runes in 1836-1837, when he went through Vienna to Lapland and, returning from there, continued his journey from Kajaani to the south, to Finnish Karelia. Lönnrot's example also inspired many others to collect folk poetry.

Lönnrot began compiling a new, expanded edition of the Kalevala. It appeared in 1849. In this new Kalevala, Lönnrot added entire cycles of runes and made changes to most of the texts.

The old Kalevala was still relatively close to the original texts of the performers. In the course of compiling the new Kalevala, Lönnrot moved further and further from the original models. Lönnrot justified his method as follows: “I believed that I had the same right that, in my opinion, many rune singers considered themselves to have, namely the right to arrange the runes in the order in which they best fit one another, or in the words of the runes : “They themselves became singers, they became healers,” i.e. I consider myself no less a good rune singer than they are.”

Ilmatar descends into the water and becomes the mother of the waters. A diving duck lays eggs on her knee. The eggs break and from their pieces the world is born. Väinämöinen is born from the mother of water. Sampsa Pellervoinen sows the forest. One tree grows so large that it covers the sun and moon. A little hero comes out of the sea and cuts down an oak tree. The sun and moon can shine again.

Joukahainen challenges Väinämöinen to a duel and loses. Väinämöinen drowns him in the mire with the help of magical singing. Saving his life, Joukahainen promises his sister Aino as his wife to Väinämöinen. Aino throws himself into the sea.

Väinämöinen searches for Aino in the water, lifts her in the form of a fish into the boat, but loses his prey. He sets off to woo the maiden of Pohjola. The avenging Joukahainen shoots Väinämöinen's horse and Väinämöinen falls into the sea. Eagle saves him. Pohjola's mistress Louhi is nursing Väinämöinen. Earning his freedom and the opportunity to return home, Väinämöinen promises to send the blacksmith Ilmarinen to forge the Pohjola Sampo for the country. The forged Sampo is promised the maiden of Pohjola as a reward.

On the way home, Väinämöinen meets the maiden of Pohjola and wooes her. As a condition of marriage, the maiden requires Väinämöinen to perform supernatural tasks. While making a boat, Väinämöinen inflicts a wound on his knee with an ax. The Supreme God Ukko stops the bleeding with the help of a conspiracy.

Väinämöinen uses witchcraft and sends Ilmarinen to Pohjola against his will. Ilmarinen forges Sampo. Old woman Louhi chains Sampo to a rock. Ilmarinen has to return back without his promised bride.

Lemminkäinen goes to the Island to woo, plays with girls and steals Kyllikki. Lemminkäinen abandons Kyllikki and goes to woo the maiden of Pohjola. With a song-spell, he forces the inhabitants of Pohjola to leave the house, but leaves the shepherd unsworn.

Lemminkäinen wooes Louhi's daughter, who demands that he get the elk Hiisi, then the fire-breathing horse Hiisi, and finally the swan from the Tuonela River. The shepherd lies in wait for Lemminkäinen, kills him and throws him into the Tuonela River. The mother receives a sign about the death of her son and goes in search of him. She rakes the bottom of the Tuonela River and takes out pieces from her son's body, puts them together and revives him.

Väinämöinen begins to build a boat and goes to Tuonela, the land of the dead, to get the necessary words of the spell, but does not receive them. He extracts the missing words from the womb of the deceased sorcerer Antero Vipunen and completes the boat.

Väinämöinen sets off on his boat to woo the maiden of Pohjola. Ilmarinen goes with him. The Maiden of Pohjola chooses the forged Sampo Ilmarinen. He performs three difficult tasks for the maiden Pohjola: plowing the viper field, catching the bear Tuonela and the wolf Manala, and finally an even larger pike from the Tuonela river. Louhi makes a promise to marry his daughter to Ilmarinen.

In Pohjola they are preparing for a wedding. Everyone is called to it except Lemminkäinen. The groom and his entourage arrive in Pohjola. Guests are treated to food. Väinämöinen entertains the wedding party with singing. The bride is given advice on how to behave in marriage, and the groom is also given instructions. The bride says goodbye to her family and goes with Ilmarinen to the country of Kalev. They arrive at Ilmarinen’s house, where the guests are again treated. Väinämöinen performs a song of thanksgiving.

Lemminkäinen arrives as an uninvited guest at a feast in Pohjola and demands food. He is presented with a beer pot filled with vipers. The duel with the owner of the house, which is fought with swords and with the help of spells, ends in Lemminkäinen's favor. He kills the owner of Pohjola.

Lemminkäinen flees Pohjola, fleeing its inhabitants who have taken up arms. He hides on the Island and lives there with the maidens until jealous men force him to leave the Island. Lemminkäinen finds his house burned down and his mother in a hidden shelter in the forest. He goes to war from Pohjola, but is forced to return.

The two clans of Untamo and Kalervo are quarreling among themselves. From the Kalervo clan, a boy, Kullervo, remains in Untamo's house. Using magical power, he destroys all the results of the work given to him. Untamo sells Kullervo into slavery to Ilmarinen. Ilmarinen's wife sends Kullervo to graze the cattle and, out of anger, gives him bread with a stone baked in it. Kullervo breaks his knife on a stone in the bread. Taking revenge for this, he drives the cows into the swamp, and instead of cattle, he sends home wild animals. The mistress who is about to milk the cows is bitten to death. Kullervo runs away into the forest, where he finds his parents, but learns that his sister has disappeared.

The father sends Kullervo to pay tribute. On the way back, he unknowingly seduces his own sister. The revealed truth forces the sister to throw herself into the river. Kullervo sets out to take revenge. Having destroyed the inhabitants of Untamo, he returns home, but finds his relatives dead. Kullervo kills himself.

Ilmarinen grieves over his dead wife and decides to forge himself a wife from gold. The Golden Maiden turns out to be too cold. Väinämöinen warns young people against worshiping gold.

Ilmarinen is rejected by Pohjola's youngest daughter and takes her away by force. The girl mocks Ilmarinen, who eventually turns her into a seagull. Ilmarinen tells Väinämöinen about Sampo, which enriched the entire country of Pohjola.

Väinämöinen, Ilmarinen and Lemminkäinen go on a campaign for Sampo. On the way, their ship gets caught on the back of a huge pike and stops. Väinämöinen kills a pike and makes a kantele out of its jaw. No one else can play it, but Väinämöinen enchants all nature with his playing.

Väinämöinen puts all the inhabitants of Pohjola to sleep by playing the kantele and Sampo is taken away by boat. The inhabitants of Pohjola wake up, Louhi tries to stop the robbers with barriers in their way. The sons of Kaleva overcome obstacles, but the kantele drowns in the sea. Louhi goes in pursuit, turning into a huge eagle. During the battle, Sampo is broken and falls into the sea. Some of the small fragments from the Sampo remain in the sea in the form of treasures at its bottom, some are thrown ashore, turning into the wealth of the land of Suomi. Louhi gets only a cover and a poor existence.

Väinämöinen fruitlessly searches for a kantele that has drowned in the sea. Instead, he makes a new birch kantele and again enchants all of nature with his play.

Louhi sends diseases to the country of Kaleva, trying to destroy it, but Väinämöinen heals the sick. Louhi sends the bear to kill the livestock, but Väinämöinen kills it. They hold a bear festival.

The mistress of Pohjola hides the heavenly bodies and steals the fire. The supreme god Ukko strikes a spark to revive the sun and moon, but it ends up in the belly of a large fish. Väinämöinen catches fish together with Ilmarinen and takes out fire, which again serves man.

Ilmarinen forges a new sun and moon, but they do not shine. Väinämöinen returns home after a battle with the inhabitants of Pohjola. Now Ilmarinen must forge the keys that can be used to open the rock with the sun and moon hidden in it. Ilmarinen starts to work, but Louhi releases the celestial bodies into the sky.

Maryatta becomes pregnant after eating lingonberries. She gives birth to a boy in the forest, but soon disappears until he is found in the swamp. Väinämöinen condemns a boy born without a father to death, but the half-month-old boy speaks out against Väinämöinen's unjust judgment. The boy is baptized and named the King of Karelia, after which Väinämöinen sails away on a copper boat, predicting that his people will still need him to obtain a new Sampo, a new world and a new kantele.

National Romanticism and the Golden Age of Finnish Art

Immediately with the emergence of interest in Kalevala, the question of its relationship to Karelia also became relevant. Karelia seemed to educated people of that time to be a poetic treasury, an idyllic museum of the past.

Karelianism is a romantic movement that combined a passion for the historical past, Karelia and Kalevala. The heyday of Karelianism occurred in the 1890s. Rune collectors and ethnographers brought new and interesting material from Karelia. They published stories about their impressions, including in the form of travel diaries and newspaper articles. Karelia soon turned into a kind of mecca for artists, and Kalevala as a source of creative inspiration rose to unprecedented heights.

Soon after the appearance of the Kalevala, researchers noticed that despite the fact that the text of the Kalevala is for the most part based on genuine folk tradition, as a whole work it represents an epic composed by Lönnrot. However, Kalevala was considered by Karelianists to be the mirror in which ancient Finnish reality was reflected.

For Karelianists, the Karelian landscape and the inhabitants of Karelia were a direct reflection of the country and its people described by Kalevala. This reflected the widespread ideas in Europe of that time, according to which groups of people and entire tribes living in isolation from the centers were at an earlier stage of development and led the same way of life as the entire “civilized” population had led a certain time ago.

Karelianists founded the Kalevala Society in 1919. One of his tasks was the project of creating the Kalevala House, which was to become a focal point for Kalevala art and a center for scientific research.

In the 1900s, fascination with Karelia and Kalevala either grew or, on the contrary, decreased, sometimes turning into negative criticism: they talked about the so-called “birch bark culture” and about escaping modern reality.

In the late 1900s, Kalevala and folk runes again became an object of attention. In a certain sense, the circle has closed, expeditions to the song lands of Kalevala became possible again.

The end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, the heyday of national romanticism, is also called the golden age of Finnish art. In various fields of literature and art at that time, works were created that were inspired by national themes and, above all, the Kalevala. These works are to this day the foundation on which all later Finnish art rests.

For example, the composer Jean Sibelius, the painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela, the sculptor Emil Wikström and the architect Eliel Saarinen searched in their creative trips around Karelia for a prototype of an “authentic” person or features of the historical Kalevala landscape. The world of Kalevala was perceived by artists as a symbol through which they tried to convey the depth of human feelings and the worldview of reality by their contemporaries. Later, the influence of Kalevala was less noticeable and more indirect. If early Kalevala art was distinguished by the direct use of Kalevala subjects, then as we approached modern times, the influence of Kalevala was felt rather in the general interpretations of the mythological and mythopoetic perception of nature and man.

Kalevala runes were originally chanted. Only after the publication of the epic did they begin to recite the runes. The songfulness of the Kalevala and the whole range of topics associated with the root causes of this phenomenon influenced the fact that the Kalevala also became a source of creative inspiration for many Finnish composers.

Jean Sibelius first came into contact with Karelianism in music in 1890 through the works of Robert Kayanus. He was also inspired by his meeting with rune performer Larin Paraske. Kullervo's symphonic poem, written in 1892, was Sibelius's first Kalevala composition. That same year he made a trip to Karelia.

Almost immediately after the publication of the Kalevala in 1835, the question arose about its illustration. Several competitions of works were announced, but the submitted works, according to critics, did not sufficiently reflect the epic worldview.

At the 1891 competition, Akseli Gallen-Kallela presented works that received the highest marks from the jury. Gallen-Kallela's works were so successful that in many ways, to this day, the visual images of Kalevala heroes are associated with the types he created.

Kalevala in other languages

In terms of the number of translations into other languages, Kalevala has been translated into 51 languages ​​and ranks first among Finnish books. Some of these translations, however, have not yet been published. The total number of different translations and literary adaptations is more than one hundred and fifty.

The earliest translation of the Kalevala was made into Swedish in 1841. The first translation of the complete edition of the Kalevala was carried out in 1852 into German.

Most of the translations of the Kalevala were made from the original text published in Finland, but, for example, collections of runes that differed from the canonical Kalevala were also translated into English, German and Russian.

Why is the Kalevala translated despite the archaic language and poetic meter, despite the rather limited sphere of influence of Finnish culture in the world? There may be several explanations. Kalevala represents that part of world culture that influences the minds of people regardless of time or territorial boundaries.

In recent years, the factor of ethnic development has also been pointed out. That is, for ethnic groups among which the ideas of national independence and the search for ways of cultural self-determination are relevant, a comparison of Kalevala with its own heroic epic reveals it to be close to the spirit of the formation of national sovereignty.

Who translates the Kalevala? How to interpret Kalevala in the language of another culture? What are the principles for translating the Kalevala into other languages? One part of the translators strives to convey as accurately as possible both ethnographic concepts and semantic categories, as well as the meanings of words, usually these are researchers. The second group of translators tries to operate with the categories of the receiving culture; These are, as a rule, writers and poets. What is most important for them is the Kalevala mentality, i.e. the psychological side of the reality described in the epic. With this approach, the northern exoticism of Kalevala is only a curtain behind which mythological themes common to all peoples are hidden.

The Kalevala has been published in 46 languages, both in poetic and prose form. The list below lists in alphabetical order the languages ​​into which the Kalevala has been translated, with the years of publication of the translations given in brackets.

American English (1988)

English (including 1888, 1907, 1963, 1989)

Arabic (1991)

Armenian (1972)

Belarusian (1956)

Bulgarian (1992)

Hungarian (including 1871, 1909, 1970, 1972)

Vietnamese (1994)

Dutch (including 1940, 1985)

Greek (1992)

Georgian (1969)

Danish (including 1907, 1994)

Hebrew (1930)

Icelandic (1957)

Spanish (including 1953, 1985)

Italian (including 1910, 1941)

Kannada/Tulu (1985)

Catalan (1997)

Chinese (1962)

Latin (1986)

Latvian (1924)

Lithuanian (including 1922, 1972)

Moldavian (1961)

German (including 1852, 1914, 1967)

Norwegian (1967)

Polish (including 1958, 1974)

Russian (including 1888, 1970)

Romanian (including 1942, 1959)

Serbo-Croatian (1935)

Slovak (including 1962, 1986)

Slovenian (including 1961, 1997)

Swahili (1992)

Tamil (1994)

Turkish (1965)

Ukrainian (1901)

Faroese (1993)

French (including 1867, 1930, 1991)

Fulani (1983)

Hindi (1990)

Czech (1894)

Swedish (including 1841, 1864, 1884, 1948)

Esperanto (1964)

Estonian (including 1883, 1939)

Japanese (including 1937, 1967)

Kalevala for all ages

The Kalevala was published in Finnish in dozens of different versions; it was also published in the original language in the Republic of Karelia and the USA.

The Finnish Literary Society, which published the original text of the Kalevala in 1835 with comments by Lönnrot, and subsequently continued the tradition of commentated editions. Most of the book publishers were interested in illustrating the book.

The history of illustrating the Kalevala is connected primarily with the name of Akseli Gallen-Kallela. His illustrations can often be seen on the pages of translations. Gallen-Kallela published the so-called Picturesque Kalevala (Koru-Kalevala) in 1922. The epic was also illustrated in its entirety in Finland by artists Matti Visanti (1938), Aarno Karimo (1952-1953) and Börn Landström (1985).

In addition to full editions, Kalevala has been published in several abridged versions and prose retellings for children. Kalevala began to be taught in schools in 1843, when the Finnish language became a separate subject. Lönnrot published an abridged version of the Kalevala for schools in 1862. By the 1950s, there were about a dozen different Kalevala school publications. Aarne Saarinen's last abridged edition appeared in 1985.

Since the early 1900s, retellings of the Kalevala have been produced for young children. In the 1960s, Children's Kalevala (Lasten kultainen Kalevala) and Kalevala Traditions by Martti Haavio appeared. Modern children received their Kalevala in 1992, when children's writer and illustrator Mauri Kannas published The Dog's Kalevala. The starting point for creating visual images here was the work of Akseli Gallen-Kallela.

In the preface, Kunnas writes that he listened to the dogs bark for many years until one day it occurred to him that they wanted to tell something: “So I packed my wallet and went to record material for the neighbor’s dogs... the stories were so reminiscent of the Finnish national epic Kalevala that I decided to name the tale of my heroes after Kalevala.”

Virtual Kalevala?

We cannot yet, using the power of words alone, travel through time and stay in the land of Kaleva, participate in the battle for Sampo or listen to Väinämöinen play, but we may already be moving towards creating this kind of virtual experience.

In addition to printed materials, you can get acquainted with the world of Kalevala using tarot cards, a board game or a computer CD.

The text of the Kalevala, as well as a collection of information about translations, illustrations for the epic, about the runes that made up the “building material” for the Kalevala and other information can be found on the pages of the Finnish Literary Society (Suomalaisen Kirjalli-suuden Seura) on the Internet at the address: www.finlit. fi

Kalevala and modern Finland

In many areas of life, and especially in the culture of the country, Kalevala left an indelible mark. Its influence was so multifaceted that many individual phenomena are not easy to immediately recognize. Perhaps these processes are reflected most clearly in the area of ​​names.

The originality and originality of the vocabulary associated with the national epic is constantly used in the names of urban areas and streets, enterprises and firms, as well as their various products. After all, Kalevala is a kind of unique trademark.

The use of Kalevala nominal nomenclature was especially widespread at the end of the last century; now this process is less noticeable. Nevertheless, the original products of Finnish industry and handicrafts are still called by names in one way or another connected with Kalevala.

Our contemporaries Aino and Ilmari Pohjola live in Oulu in Kalevankuja Lane; they previously lived in Espoo in the Tapiola district. In the mornings they read the Kalev newspaper. The family is insured by the Pohjola company. When there are guests in the house, the table is set with Sampo service, and Aino Pohjola wears a Väinämöinen sweater.

Ilmari Pohjola works at the asphalt plant Lemminkäinen, Aino Pohjola in Kalevala Koru. Ilmari Pohjola's father worked in his youth on the icebreaker Sampo.

Aino Pohjola comes from a family of farmers, and in her youth the fields were harvested using a Sampo combine. The family belonged to the Pellervo company, and was insured by the Kalev company.

In the summer, the Pohjola family vacations in the town of Hiidenkivi. In the evenings at the dacha they light the fireplace with Sampo matches.

In Kalevala, the one who possesses Sampo receives all the benefits. The loss of Sampo leads to complete ruin.

The debate about what Sampo is has been going on for more than 150 years. During this time, representatives from almost all areas of Finnish science, both researchers and amateurs, managed to take part in the discussion. Foreign researchers of the epic also took part in the debate. The number of proposed solutions to this riddle corresponds to the number of people who undertook to solve it. The possibilities are truly endless.

It must be the mystery of Sampo that influenced the fact that this name is especially popular among other Kalevala names.

Kalevala in contemporary art

Modern Finns are interested in Kalevala not only as a national symbol, but also in its content. Both the epic itself and the folklore texts underlying it, as well as folk music, are constant subjects of research.

Since the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the old Kalevala (i.e., the publication of the original, “incomplete” text) in 1985, a new Kalevala renaissance began in the life of Finnish art. It was as if the Kalevala had been removed from the “top shelf of the public cupboard” for a new consideration.

The use of Kalevala material by modern artists goes not only and not so much along the path of illustrating or retelling Kalevala stories, but through the mythological world of Kalevala they try to address “eternal” universal themes: life, death, love and overcoming life’s cataclysms.

So, the Kalevala constantly influences Finnish culture. Looking back at almost 200 years of history, it is interesting to see how each new generation interpreted Kalevala in its own way, using the old and creating the new. Kalevala was not a tome gathering dust on the bookshelf of history; on the contrary, it was always a participant in events both on weekdays and on holidays.

In the 1990s, photographer Vertti Teräsvuori was inspired by the Kalevala, who crossed the boundaries of traditional interpretations in his multi-genre exhibition Pre Kalevala. Pre Kalevala consists of photographs, film footage, jewelry, clothing items, etc. This is a story about a world in which the magical power of words was still an everyday reality.

In 1997, after about a ten-year break, the theaters, armed with new ideas, again turned to Kalevala. What was new, for example, in the “Kalevala” of the National Theater was expressed in the fact that heroism was completely expelled, especially with regard to the image of Väinämöinen. The production sought to find points of contact between modernity and the archaic time of Kalevala.

The tragic story of Kullervo inspired, starting with Sibelius, many Finnish composers who composed music on Kalevala themes. The premiere of the opera “Kullervo” by Aulis Sallinen took place on Kalevala Day in 1992 in Los Angeles, the premiere of “Suomi” was in November 1993.

About why he chose the image of Kullervo for his musical interpretation, Aulis Sallinen writes: “This story would hardly have been worth telling if it weren’t for one song that stands out among the others. This is the gold embroidered theme of Kullervo's mother. In a monster, in a man with an ill-fated fate, the mother sees the little boy she once lost with hair as golden as flax. Now that the work is finished, I remain of the same opinion. That’s exactly what he turned out to be.”

Along with Aino and Kullervo, the myth of Sampo was the theme that forced many artists to take up the development of the Kalevala plot. Perhaps most impressive were the attempts to show the Sampo's mystique through musical means.

The modern Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara considers the key concepts to be the desire to achieve Sampo, his abduction and death. It must be lost in order to strive for it again (The Abduction of Sampo, 1982). In Rautavaara's work The Kalevala Traditions, the composer abandons the realistic soil, all events are brought to the level of some kind of fairy-tale game.

The Kalevala and its stories provide unlimited possibilities for interpretation. Most likely, this is where we should look for the reason for the unfading vitality of the epic.

I.K. Inkha photographed a wedding ceremony in White Sea Karelia in 1894. In the photo, the bride bows and asks forgiveness for her sins. Society of Finnish Literature.

A folklorist's desk in the mid-1800s. Photo by Timo Setal 1998. FLO.

Elias Lönnrot during the preparation of the epic for publication. Drawing by G. Budkovsky, 1845. FLO.

Lönnrot's manuscripts from the collection of the Folklore Archives of the Finnish Literary Society. Photo by Timo Setal 1998. FLO.

Place of recording of runes, the village of Venehjärvi (Sudnozero) in White Sea Karelia. Photo by Anneli Asplund 1997. FLO.

The great singer and sorcerer Väinämöinen is forced to leave his people when Maryatta, the Virgin Mary, immaculately gives birth to a boy, the king of Karelia. Akseli Gallen-Kallela's work is based on the events that take place in the last rune of the Kalevala. Hämeenlinna Museum. Photo by Douglas Sieven, Gallen-Kallela Museum.

One of the most striking manifestations of Karelianist art was the Hvitresk building, which the architects Hetzellius, Lindgren and Saarinen designed as a residential building for their families. Eliel Saarinen in 1916 painted a view of the interior of the future great room of his apartment. Finnish Architectural Museum.