Kalevala, The Land Of The Heroes Volume Ii Part 35

128. Lake Ladoga seems to be intended.

233. Does this refer to tides? Tides can hardly be known in Finland, except by hearsay; the Baltic itself is almost tideless.

RUNO XLVIII

137, 138. Neptune's trident?

169. Here a different epithet is applied to Vainamoinen.

283. Probably _Polyporus igniarius_ or _P. fomentarius_, both of which are much used for tinder.

302. He appears to have thought that Panu was in league with the Fire.

RUNO XLIX

83. This is Rhabdomancy, or divination by rods.

417. Literally, at the end of our thumbs.

RUNO L

1. Marjatta korea kuopus.

Literally, Marjatta the elegant darling; an expression occurring nowhere else in the _Kalevala_. The story in the present Runo seems to exhibit a veneer of Christianity over Shaman legends. Even the name Marjatta, notwithstanding its resemblance to Maria, seems to be really derived from the word marja, a berry. An old writer says that the favourite deities of the Finns in his time were Vainamoinen and the Virgin Mary.

188. That is, a criminal who deserves to be burnt at the stake.

199, 200. She already recognizes her unborn son as an Avatar.

289. The word here rendered "hapless" properly means "little."

465. This is the only pa.s.sage in the _Kalevala_ in which Vainamoinen is spoken of as ever having been young; though he is occasionally called young in variants.

465-468. This pa.s.sage apparently alludes to Vainamoinen having sent Ilmarinen to Pohjola by a trick.

471-474. This must allude either to the fate of Aino, or to some story not included in the _Kalevala_.

501. In Esthonian legends, Vanemuine is not an Avatar and culture-hero, but the G.o.d of Music, who withdrew from men on account of the ribaldry with which some of his hearers received his divine songs. (_Hero of Esthonia_, II., pp. 80-85.) Longfellow also makes Hiawatha depart in a boat after the conclusion of his mission.

613, 614. These expressions remind us of the Buddha "breaking down the rafters and the roof-tree" preparatory to reaching Nirvano.

GLOSSARY OF FINNISH NAMES

(The dotted vowels are included with the others.)

AHAVA, _the cold spring East Wind_.

AHTI, _a name of Lemminkainen_.

AHTO, _the G.o.d of the Sea and of the Waters_.

AHTOLA, _the dominions of Ahto_.

aIJo, _the father of Iku-Turso_.

AINIKKI, _Lemminkainen's sister_.

AINO, _a Lapp maiden, Joukahainen's sister_.

ALUE, _name of a lake_.

ANNIKKI, _Ilmarinen's sister_.

ANTERO VIPUNEN, _a primeval giant or t.i.tan, whom some commentators suppose to be the same as Kaleva_.

ETELaTaR, _the G.o.ddess of the South Wind_.

HaLLaPJoRa, _name of a waterfall_.

HaME, _Tavastland_.

HERMIKKI (SINEWY), _name of a cow_.

HIISI, _the same as Lempo, the Evil Power, somewhat resembling the Scandinavian Loki in character. His name is often used as a term of reprobation_.

HIITOLA, _the dominions of Hiisi_.

HONGATAR, _the G.o.ddess of the Fir-trees_.

HORNA (h.e.l.l), _name of a mountain_.

IKU-TURSO, _a water-giant; the name is doubtless connected with the Icelandic word Thurs, which means a giant, and which is also the name of the letter , called a in Old English_.

ILMA (AIR), _name of Ilmarinen's homestead_.

ILMARI, } } _the primeval smith; still used as a proper name in ILMARINEN, } Finland_.

ILMATAR, _the Daughter of the Air; the Creatrix of the world, and the mother of Vainamoinen_.