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Suomen kansan muinaisia loitsurunoja
Suomen kansan muinaisia loitsurunoja sisältää 233 vanhaa suomalaista loitsua aina kalastustaioista ja syntyloitsuista kansanparannuksessa käytettyihin parannusloitsuihin. Kirjassa on liitteenä kattava suomalaisen muinaisuskon jumalten-, henkien- ja paikannimien luettelo ja sen on toimittanut Elias Lönnrot vuonna 1880.
373 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1880
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About the author
Elias Lönnrot
91 books70 followersElias Lönnrot was a Finnish philologist and collector of traditional Finnish oral poetry. He is best known for composing the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic compiled from national folklore.
Lönnrot was born in Sammatti, in the province of Uusimaa in Finland. He studied medicine at the Academy of Turku. To his misfortune the year he joined was the year of the Great Fire of Turku, burning down half the town – and the University. Lönnrot (and many of the rest of the University) moved to Helsinki, where he graduated in 1832.
He got a job as district doctor of Kajaani in Northern Finland during a time of famine in the district. The famine had prompted the previous doctor to resign, making it possible for a very young doctor to get such a position. Several consecutive years of crop failure resulted in enormous losses of population and livestock; Lönnrot wrote letters to the State departments, asking for food, not medicines. He was the sole doctor for the 4,000 or so people of his district, at a time where doctors were rare and very expensive, and where people did not buy medicines from equally rare and expensive pharmacies, but rather trusted to their village healers and locally available remedies.
His true passion lay in his native Finnish language. He began writing about the early Finnish language in 1827 and began collecting folk tales from the rural people about that time.
Lönnrot went on extended leaves of absence from his doctor's office; he toured the countryside of Finland, Sapmi (Lapland), and nearby portions of Russian Karelia to support his collecting efforts. This led to a series of books: Kantele, 1829–1831 (the kantele is a Finnish traditional instrument); Kalevala, 1835–1836 (possibly Land of Heroes; better known as the "old" Kalevala); Kanteletar, 1840 (the Kantele Maiden); Sananlaskuja, 1842 (Proverbs); an expanded second edition of Kalevala, 1849 (the "new" Kalevala); and Finsk-Svenskt lexikon, 1866–1880 (Finnish-Swedish Dictionary).
Lönnrot was recognised for his part in preserving Finland's oral traditions by appointment to the Chair of Finnish Literature at the University of Helsinki. He died on March 19, 1884 in Sammatti, in the province of Uusimaa.
Lönnrot was born in Sammatti, in the province of Uusimaa in Finland. He studied medicine at the Academy of Turku. To his misfortune the year he joined was the year of the Great Fire of Turku, burning down half the town – and the University. Lönnrot (and many of the rest of the University) moved to Helsinki, where he graduated in 1832.
He got a job as district doctor of Kajaani in Northern Finland during a time of famine in the district. The famine had prompted the previous doctor to resign, making it possible for a very young doctor to get such a position. Several consecutive years of crop failure resulted in enormous losses of population and livestock; Lönnrot wrote letters to the State departments, asking for food, not medicines. He was the sole doctor for the 4,000 or so people of his district, at a time where doctors were rare and very expensive, and where people did not buy medicines from equally rare and expensive pharmacies, but rather trusted to their village healers and locally available remedies.
His true passion lay in his native Finnish language. He began writing about the early Finnish language in 1827 and began collecting folk tales from the rural people about that time.
Lönnrot went on extended leaves of absence from his doctor's office; he toured the countryside of Finland, Sapmi (Lapland), and nearby portions of Russian Karelia to support his collecting efforts. This led to a series of books: Kantele, 1829–1831 (the kantele is a Finnish traditional instrument); Kalevala, 1835–1836 (possibly Land of Heroes; better known as the "old" Kalevala); Kanteletar, 1840 (the Kantele Maiden); Sananlaskuja, 1842 (Proverbs); an expanded second edition of Kalevala, 1849 (the "new" Kalevala); and Finsk-Svenskt lexikon, 1866–1880 (Finnish-Swedish Dictionary).
Lönnrot was recognised for his part in preserving Finland's oral traditions by appointment to the Chair of Finnish Literature at the University of Helsinki. He died on March 19, 1884 in Sammatti, in the province of Uusimaa.
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February 23, 2022Impossible to give this a star rating. Not knowing the original Finnish songs (never mind not knowing Finnish well enough to understand those old folk songs), I'm not sure how good the translation is or the veracity of the interpretations here.
I absolutely appreciate the attempt made to preserve an ancient pagan tradition, however, this tome is not untouched by Christianity. I struggle to believe original pagan magic songs mentioned Jesus and the Virgin Mary, so these are definitely the result of later influences or perhaps a result of fallible human interpretation.
This book does, however, provide greater insight into the various deities and creatures of Finnish mythology, adding snippets of detail and providing some contrasting interpretations of the various characters.
What I appreciated the most, perhaps, was the presentation and analysis of the similes and metaphors used in the original text (I say text, but these songs were largely shared in the oral tradition until outsiders tried to collect and collate them) - better to say in the original language. There are some truly astounding turns of phrase here that provide insight into Finnish thinking and world-views. Again, some of this is tainted by Christianity with the literal demonization of certain creatures :(
Despite knowing quite a bit about Finnish mythology and folklore (or so I thought) I definitely learned a lot here, not least of all about the culture of magic songs and how indelibly music was/is tied to Finnish traditions.
I absolutely appreciate the attempt made to preserve an ancient pagan tradition, however, this tome is not untouched by Christianity. I struggle to believe original pagan magic songs mentioned Jesus and the Virgin Mary, so these are definitely the result of later influences or perhaps a result of fallible human interpretation.
This book does, however, provide greater insight into the various deities and creatures of Finnish mythology, adding snippets of detail and providing some contrasting interpretations of the various characters.
What I appreciated the most, perhaps, was the presentation and analysis of the similes and metaphors used in the original text (I say text, but these songs were largely shared in the oral tradition until outsiders tried to collect and collate them) - better to say in the original language. There are some truly astounding turns of phrase here that provide insight into Finnish thinking and world-views. Again, some of this is tainted by Christianity with the literal demonization of certain creatures :(
Despite knowing quite a bit about Finnish mythology and folklore (or so I thought) I definitely learned a lot here, not least of all about the culture of magic songs and how indelibly music was/is tied to Finnish traditions.
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July 28, 2012Yleisestä mielenkiinnosta varmaan lukaisen englanninnoksen... Jos ei muuta, niin ainakin voi ihailla Gallen-Kallelan upeita kuvia!
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