Väinämöinen
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Väinämöinen was the son of the primal goddess Ilmatar in Finnish mythology. He possessed the wisdom of the ages from birth, for he was in his mother's womb for seven hundred and thirty years. Väinämöinen was also in possession of a potent, magical voice. This he demonstrated by sinking the impetuous Joukahainen into a bog by singing. In the tales chronicled in Kalevala, Väinämöinen slays a great pike and makes a magical kantele from its jawbones.
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.
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.
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