• to acquaint with the history of the creation of the epic "Kalevala", with the main character of the work - Väinemöinen, with the main storylines associated with the image of the main character.
• develop writing skills expressive reading, retelling, characterization of the hero)
• to cultivate interest in the culture of Karelia, in literature in general.

Equipment: multimedia projector, exhibition of drawings.

During the classes

1. What was the name of Väinämöinen's mother?
2. How is the origin of the world explained in Kalevala?
3. How is the origin of nature explained?
4. How was Väinämöinen born?
5. What words or expressions characterize the hero? (work with vocabulary)
6. What did you find interesting about this story?

Reading the text "The Birth of Fire." Content Conversation

1. You, of course, know the ancient Greek myth about the acquisition of fire by people. Remember and tell (the myth of Prometheus)
2. What have we learned from the Karelian epic about how our ancestors imagined the appearance of fire on earth?
3. How did Ilmarinen and Väinämöinen manage to catch the flame?
4. This rune describes in great detail the process of processing flax. What new things have you learned for yourself? What is the role of this description?
5. Compare this rune with ancient Greek myth. Where do you see the difference?

8. Generalization

What new did you learn at the lesson today?
What is "Kalevala"?
Guess the crossword, check what you remember (slide 20)

9. Summary of the lesson (slide 21–22)

10. Homework (slide 23)

One of the most famous monuments of the past is the Karelian-Finnish poetic epic " Kalevala". The epic itself was written by the Finnish linguist Elias Lönnrot (1802-1884). He based his work on Karelian folk songs. Elias Lönnrot collected epic songs and plotted them into one whole, having received a full-fledged work, which has a certain plot and main characters. Despite the fact that the poetic epic is a selection, substitution and processing folk songs, Kalevala is considered an important source of information about the pre-Christian beliefs and worldview of such peoples as the Finns and Karelians.

The processing of folk songs was carried out by the author of Kalevala twice. The first edition appeared in 1835, and the second in 1849. For the first time translation into Russian was carried out by Leonid Petrovich Belsky - translator, literary critic, poet. Despite the fact that other translators later translated the Kalevala, it is under the translation of the Belsky Kalevala that the majority of Russian-speaking readers know. For the first time in Russian, the Karelian-Finnish epic was published in 1888 in the journal Pantheon of Literature.

The material for the composition of the poem was a collection of folk songs of Karelian and Finnish peasants, which were collected by Lönnrot himself and his predecessors. The epic tells about a certain country Kalevala. The name "Kalevala" comes from the name of the ancestor of the heroes - Kalev. In the Karelian-Finnish myths, the children of Kaleva are the legendary heroes - Väinämöinen, Ilmarinen and Lemminkäinen. It is these heroes who become the main characters of Kalevala. The Kalevala describes the moment of the creation of heaven and earth, as well as various adventures mythological heroes. Researchers who have been and are still engaged in a detailed study of this work indicate that there are practically no coincidences historical events and events in Kalevala can not be found. Most likely, all the songs from which the epic was composed are part of the mythology of the Karelian-Finns, that is, pagan ideas about gods, spirits, heroes and the arrangement of the world.

Kalevala has become so famous and so important for the inhabitants of Karelia and Finland that in honor of this epic there is even a national holiday - “The Day of the Kalevala Folk Epic”, which is celebrated on February 28.

Buy the Karelian-Finnish epic "Kalevala" translated by L. P. Belsky in the online store.

Akseli Gallen-Kallela paintings on the theme of "Kalevala"

Fratricide

Sampo Defense

Ilmarinen plows the snake field, fresco

Legend of Aino

Lemminkäinen's mother

Kalevala, the Karelian-Finnish epic - a poem compiled by the scientist Elias Lennrot and published by him first in more summary in 1835, then with a large number of songs in 1849. The name Kalevala, given to the poem by Lennrot, is the epic name of the country in which Karelian-Finnish folk heroes live and act. The suffix la means place of residence, so Kalevala is the place of residence of Kalev, mythologically. the ancestor of the Finnish heroes Veinemeinen, Ilmarinen, Lemminkainen, sometimes called his sons.

Individual folk songs (runes), part of the epic, part of the lyrical, part of the magical nature, recorded from the words of the Finnish peasants by Lennrot himself and the collectors who preceded him, served as the material for the compilation of an extensive poem of 50 songs. The oldest runes are best remembered in Russian Karelia, in the Arkhangelsk (Vuokkinyemi parish) and Olonets lips. (in Repol and Himol), as well as in some places in Finnish Karelia and on the western shores of Lake Ladoga, to Ingria. In recent times (1888) runes were recorded in significant numbers in the west of St. Petersburg and in Estonia (K. Kron). The ancient Germanic (Gothic) word rune (runo) is what the Finns currently call the song in general; but in ancient times, during the period of paganism, magic runes or conspiracy runes (loitsu runo) were of particular importance as a product of shamanic beliefs that once dominated among the Finns, as well as among their relatives - Lapps, Voguls, Zyryans and other Finno-Ugric peoples.

... The distinctive external form of the rune is a short eight-syllable verse, not rhymed, but rich in alliteration. The peculiarity of the warehouse is the almost constant comparison of synonyms in two adjacent verses, so that each next verse is a paraphrase of the previous one. The last property is explained by the way of folk singing in Finland: the singer, having agreed with a friend about the plot of the song, sits down opposite him, takes him by the hands, and they begin to sing, swaying back and forth. At the last measure of each stanza, it is the turn of the assistant, and he sings the entire stanza alone, and meanwhile the singer ponders the next one at her leisure.

Good singers know many runes, sometimes they keep several thousand verses in their memory, but they sing either individual runes or sets of several runes, linking them at their discretion, having no idea of ​​the existence of an integral epic, which some scientists find in the runes.

Indeed, in the Kalevala there is no main plot that would link all the runes together (as, for example, in the Iliad or the Odyssey). Its content is extremely varied.

It opens with a legend about the creation of the earth, sky, luminaries and the birth of the main character of the Finns, Veinemeinen, who arranges the earth and sows barley, by the daughter of air. The following tells about the various adventures of the hero, who, by the way, meets the beautiful maiden of the North: she agrees to become his bride if he miraculously creates a boat from the fragments of her spindle. Having started work, the hero wounds himself with an ax, cannot stop the bleeding and goes to the old healer, who is told a legend about the origin of iron. Returning home, Veinemeinen raises the wind with spells and transfers the blacksmith Ilmarinen to the country of the North, Pohjola, where, according to the promise given by Veinemeinen, he forges for the mistress of the North a mysterious object that gives wealth and happiness, Sampo (runes I-XI).

The following runes (XI-XV) contain an episode about the adventures of the hero Lemminkainen, a dangerous seducer of women and at the same time a warlike sorcerer. The story then returns to Veinemeinen; his descent into the underworld, his stay in the womb of the giant Vipunen, his obtaining from the last three words necessary to create a wonderful boat, the departure of the hero to Pohjola in order to receive the hand of a northern maiden are described; however, the latter preferred the blacksmith Ilmarinen to him, whom she marries, and the wedding is described in detail and wedding songs are given that set out the duties of a wife to her husband (XVI-XXV). Further runes (XXVI-XXXI) are occupied again by the adventures of Lemminkainen in Pohjol. The episode about the sad fate of the hero Kullervo, who, out of ignorance, seduced his own sister, as a result of which both, brother and sister, commit suicide (runes XXXI-XXXVI), belong in the depth of feeling, sometimes reaching true pathos, to the best parts of the whole poem.

Further runes contain a lengthy story about the common enterprise of three Finnish heroes getting the Sampo treasure from Pohjola, about making a kantela (harp) by Veinemeinen, by playing which he enchants all nature and lulls the population of Pohjola, about the Sampo being taken away by the heroes, about their persecution by the sorceress-mistress of the North , about the fall of the Sampo in the sea, about the blessings rendered by Veinemeinen to his native country through the fragments of the Sampo, about his struggle with various disasters and monsters sent by the mistress of Pohjola to K., about the hero’s wondrous game on a new kantele created by him when the first one fell into the sea , and about the return to them of the sun and moon, hidden by the mistress of Pohjola (XXXVI-XLIX). The last rune contains a folk-apocryphal legend about the birth of a miraculous child by the virgin Maryatta (the birth of the Savior). Veinemeinen gives advice to kill him, as he is destined to surpass the power of the Finnish hero, but the two-week-old baby showers Veinemeinen with reproaches of injustice, and the ashamed hero, having sung a wondrous song for the last time, leaves forever in a canoe from Finland, giving way to the baby Maryatta, the recognized ruler of Karelia .

It is difficult to point out a common thread that would link the various episodes of the Kalevala into one artistic whole. E. Aspelin believed that its main idea was the glorification of the change of summer and winter on S. Lennrot himself, denying the unity and organic connection in the runes of Kalevala, admitted, however, that the songs of the epic are aimed at proving and clarifying how the heroes of the country of Kalev master population of Pohjola and conquer the latter.

Julius Kron argues that Kalevala is imbued with one idea about creating Sampo and getting it into the ownership of the Finnish people, but admits that the unity of the plan and the idea is not always seen with the same clarity. The German scientist von Pettau divides the Kalevala into 12 cycles, completely independent of each other. The Italian scientist Comparetti, in an extensive work on Kaleval, comes to the conclusion that it is impossible to assume unity in the runes, that the combination of runes made by Lennrot is often arbitrary and still gives the runes only an illusory unity; finally, that from the same materials it is possible to make other combinations according to some other plan.

Lennrot did not open the poem, which was hidden in runes (as Steinthal believed) did not open because such a poem did not exist among the people. The runes in the oral transmission, even if they were connected by the singers several times (for example, several adventures of Veinemeinen or Lemminkanenen), just as little represent an integral epic, like Russian epics or Serbian youth songs. Lennrot himself admitted that when he combined the runes into an epic, some arbitrariness was inevitable.

Characteristic of the Finnish epic is the complete absence of a historical basis: the adventures of the heroes are distinguished by a purely fabulous character; no echoes of the historical clashes between the Finns and other peoples were preserved in the runes. In Kalevala there is no state, people, society: she knows only the family, and her heroes perform feats not in the name of their people, but to achieve personal goals, like heroes of wonderful fairy tales. The types of heroes are in connection with the ancient pagan views of the Finns: they perform feats not so much with the help of physical strength, but through conspiracies, like shamans. They can take on different forms, wrap other people in animals, miraculously be transported from place to place, cause atmospheric phenomena - frosts, fogs, and so on. The proximity of the heroes to the deities of the pagan period is still very vividly felt. The high importance attached by the Finns to the words of the song and music is also remarkable. A prophetic person who knows conspiracy runes can work miracles, and the sounds extracted by the marvelous musician Veinemeinen from the kantela conquer all nature for him.

In addition to ethnographic, Kalevala is also of high artistic interest. Its advantages include: simplicity and brightness of images, a deep and lively sense of nature, high lyrical impulses, especially in the depiction of human grief (for example, a mother’s longing for her son, children for their parents), healthy humor penetrating some episodes, a successful characterization of characters. If you look at the Kalevala as an integral epic (Kron's view), then it will have many shortcomings, which, however, are characteristic of more or less all oral folk epic works: contradictions, repetitions of the same facts, too large sizes of some particulars in relation to the whole. The details of some upcoming action are often set out in extremely detail, and the action itself is told in a few insignificant verses. This kind of disproportion depends on the quality of the memory of one or another singer and is often encountered, for example, in our epics.

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: Vainämöinen, Aiyo, Ilmärinen, Lemminkäinen, Kullervo.

The epic opens with a tale about the creation of the world and the birth of the protagonist of the Kalevala, Vainämöinen, the son of Ilmatar (daughter of 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 about the hero's journey for the bride to the country of Pohjola - a kind of "lower world" into which the sun sinks. There are no battle scenes in this part of the story, Vainämöinen appears before the reader in the role of a spellcaster who, with the help of knowledge and magic, overcomes the difficulties that stand in his way, and thanks to the blacksmith Ilmärinen, creates the Sampo mill for his beloved.

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

The image of Kullervo stands somewhat apart in the epic - a brave strong man, whose fate is very tragic: because of the discord between two families, he finds himself in slavery, unknowingly enters into a close relationship with his sister, takes revenge on the perpetrators of incest, returns home, finds all his relatives dead and commits suicide. Vainyamöinen reads an instructive speech over the body of the hero and, together with Ilmarinen and Lemminkäinen, goes after Sampo. Having lulled the inhabitants of the "lower world" by playing the kantele, they steal a magic windmill, but the way 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 Vainämöinen, as well as the confrontation between Kalevala and Pohjola.

In the last, fiftieth rune, Maryatta eats a lingonberry and becomes pregnant. She is having a boy. Vainämöinen dooms the baby to death, but he delivers a diatribe against an unfair trial. The boy is christened and named the King of Karelia, and Vainämöinen gets into the boat and goes to the open sea.

"KALEVALA" IN ART

Despite the fact that the Kalevala epic was published in late XIX centuries, and to this day it does not cease to excite the minds and win the hearts of creative people. His stories are quite common 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, based on the "Kalevala", the ballet "Sampo" was written. It was written by the Karelian composer Gelmer Sinisalo in 1959. In addition, Tolkinen wrote his "Silmarllion" inspired by the plots of the Finnish epic, and the Finnish melodic metal band Amorphis often uses the lyrics 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 EPOS "KALEVALA"

For the first time, the Day of the national epic "Kalevala" was celebrated in 1860. Since then, it has been celebrated annually on February 28, the day when the first copies of the Finnish epic saw the light, but this day was included in the list of official holidays only in 1978.

Traditionally, various events dedicated to the Kalevala are held on this day, and the culmination of the holiday is the Kalevala Carnival, during which people dressed in clothes of bygone years pass 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 Kalevalsky district, on the territory of which, according to legend, most of the events described in the epic took place, theatrical performances, performances of folklore groups, folk festivals, exhibitions and round tables are held annually.

INTERESTING FACTS RELATED TO THE EPOS "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 Gelmer 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.
• First picturesque picture on the plot of "Kalevala" was created in 1851 by the Swedish artist Johan Blakstadius.
• The first work based 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.

Answer left Guest

The poem is based on Karelian-Finnish folk epic songs (runes), which in the 18th century. collected and edited by Elias Lönnrot.

Ilmatar, daughter of the air, lived in the air. But soon she became bored in heaven, and she went down to the sea. The waves caught Ilmatar, and from the waters of the sea the daughter of the air became pregnant.

Ilmatar carried the fetus for 700 years, but the childbirth did not come. She prayed to the supreme deity of the sky, the Thunderer Ukko, to help her get rid of the burden. After a while, a duck flew past, looking for a place to nest. Ilmatar came to the aid of the duck: she gave her her big knee. The duck built a nest on the knee of the daughter of air and laid seven eggs: six golden, the seventh iron. Ilmatar, moving her knee, dropped the eggs into the sea. The eggs broke, but did not disappear, but underwent a transformation:

The mother came out - the earth is damp;
From the egg, from the top,
The high vault of heaven arose,
From the yolk, from the top,
The bright sun appeared;
From the squirrel, from the top,
A clear moon appeared;
From the egg, from the motley part,
The stars have become in the sky;
From the egg, from the dark part,
Clouds appeared in the air.

And time goes by
Year after year goes by
With the radiance of the young sun,
In the brilliance of the new moon.

Ilmatar, the mother of the waters, the creation of the maiden, sailed the sea for another nine years. On the tenth summer, she began to change the earth: with the movement of her hand she erected headlands; where she touched the bottom with her foot, the depths stretched there, where she lay sideways - there a flat shore appeared, where she bowed her head - bays formed. And the earth took on its present form.

But the fruit of Ilmatar - the prophetic singer Väinämöinen - was still not born. For thirty years he wandered in his mother's womb. Finally, he prayed to the sun, moon and stars to give him a way out of the womb. But the sun, moon and stars did not help him. Then Väinämöinen himself began to make his way towards the light:

Touched the fortress gates,
He moved his ring finger,
He opened the bone castle
Small toe of the left leg;
On the hands crawling from the threshold,
On my knees through the canopy.
He fell into the blue sea
He grabbed the waves.

Väinö was born already an adult and spent another eight years at sea, until he finally got out on land.

Väinämöinen lived for many years on bare, treeless land. Then he decided to equip the region. Väinämöinen called Sampsa Pellervoinen, the sower boy. Sampsa sowed the land with grass, bushes and trees. The earth was dressed in flowers and greenery, but only one oak could not sprout.

Then four maidens came out of the sea. They cut the grass and collected it in a big haystack. Then the monster-hero Tursas (Iku-Turso) rose from the sea and set fire to the hay. Väinämöinen put the acorn into the resulting ash, and from the acorn grew a huge oak tree, covering the sky and the sun with its crown.

Väinö thought who could cut down this giant tree, but there was no such hero. The singer prayed to his mother to send him someone to cut down the oak. And then a dwarf came out of the water, grew into a giant, and from the third swing cut down a wonderful oak tree. Whoever lifted his branch - found happiness forever, whoever topped it - became a sorcerer, who cut its leaves - became cheerful and joyful. One of the chips of the wonderful oak swam into Pohjola. The maiden of Pohjola took it for herself so that the sorcerer would make enchanted arrows out of her.

The earth blossomed, birds fluttered in the forest, but only the barley did not rise, the bread did not ripen. Väinämöinen went to the blue sea and found six grains at the edge of the water. He raised grains and sowed them near the Kalevala River. The tit told the chanter that the grains would not sprout, since the land for arable land had not been cleared. Väinämöinen cleared the land, cut down the forest, but left a birch tree in the middle of the field so that the birds could rest on it. The eagle praised Väinämöinen for his care and delivered fire to the cleared area as a reward. Väinyo sowed the field, offering a prayer to the earth, Ukko (as the lord of rain), so that they would take care of the ears, the harvest. Shoots appeared on the field, and barley ripened.

Kalevala is a name that means a lot to the inhabitants of the Karelian-Finnish lands. Under this name, you can find a village, cinemas, hotels, streets, not only in Finland, but also in Russia. This name is so great that it is almost the main national treasure in the culture and literature of the Finns, which has no analogues in the world. Just what does it mean?

"Kalevala" is a literary epic, described in 50 runes, in poetic form. This work best known in the Scandinavian lands, now Finland and part of the Republic of Karelia. This work consists of several storylines, which are interconnected, perhaps only by a time interval. The stories described in it tell about how heaven and earth were created, as well as several heroic deeds of the main mythological characters. This epic is performed in the traditional Finnish genre.

In essence, Kalevala is folk collection ancient legends and myths about a fictitious state. The fact is that the creator of the collection, whose name is Elias, said that the name "Kalevala" was given to the country where all the events take place. But it is noteworthy that it very accurately describes all the actions, however, any information about the local people, politics, political system and other historically important points is missed. But it is worth immediately indicating that this is not a fairy tale, where only feats should be described, it is historical work, which is intended to explain the essence of the Finnish-Karelian culture, many rituals and vision of the idea of ​​the creation of the world.

The history of the creation of the Karelian-Finnish epic

The history of creation is as interesting as the contents of the collection. The Kalevala was written by Elias Lennrot, a doctor and linguist who studied the culture of ancient peoples. He had to do a very large and painstaking work on the collection, because he had to search all over Finland and Karelia in order to collect all 50 runes and dozens of holiday rituals, songs, spells and so on. The main difficulty was the discovery of the carriers of this knowledge, because not everyone was aware of folk literary culture, and most of the songs were generally considered lost forever.

So, it took a little more than 20 years for Alice to search and process all the material. He had to translate ancient writings and restore manuscripts that time did not spare. And only in 1835, on February 28, the Karelian-Finnish epic “Kalevala” was released, however, immediately after the release, the author announced that the collection was not complete and he would soon release the second part. Of course, it is difficult to call the release soon, but in 1849 the world saw the second complete collection, which is still there. After the release, many countries began to translate into their languages, Russia was no exception, and the fully translated epic was provided by L.P. Belsky in 1888. The translation was published on the pages of the Pantheon of Literature magazine, and a year later its own edition appeared.

Heroes of Kalevala

"Kalevala" is very rich in serious and colorful characters, which often appears throughout all the runes. Most of them never even intersect, but each makes its own fateful contribution to the creation of the world and the sky. The action of all runes takes place on the territory of two states, namely Pohjola and Kalevala. For ease of understanding, it is worth dividing the milestones of the characters into main and secondary. Here is a list and a short description of the main characters:

• Väinämäinen is the most main character who is a sorcerer and the son of the daughter of the wind. He is able to subjugate absolutely anything to his will, he is also one of those who created heaven and earth. He is the founder of the Kalevala family.
• Joukahainen is also a wizard, but not as powerful, but very brave. He had the courage to challenge Väinämäinen, but lacked the strength to win the fight.
• Aino is the sister of a young self-taught sorcerer, Joukahainen, who also knew how to conjure and turn into animals. At one of the fateful moments, she turned into a fish and even managed to escape from the elder Väinämäinen.
• Ilmarinen is a famous blacksmith who knew how to forge magical things. One of his best creations is the Sampo mill, which made people happy and rich.
• Kullervo is a hero who, because of his uncle, became an orphan and his slave. All his life the hero went to revenge and justice. A number of terrible and tragic moments also happened to him.
• Lemminkäinen is one of the three heroes who was extremely self-confident, for which he paid with his life, but was later resurrected by his own mother.

In addition to these characters, there are several minor ones who also influence the course of events and the fate of the main characters, but they are given little space in the collection:

• Külliki is the carefree wife of Lemminkäinen. One day, the girl left her home and broke the family oath, taking advantage of the absence of the snake.
• Lovhi is an evil and insidious sorceress, as well as the mistress of the state of Pohjela, she is also called the mistress of the North. Throughout the story, where she appears, she plots the main heroes and sends terrible diseases to the neighboring country.
• Untamo is the same insidious uncle Kullervo, who deprives the hero of his parents. He is also the master of dreams.

In addition to these heroes, there are also those whose names are not mentioned, but they also contribute to the development of history. Usually these are residents, relatives of the main characters, magical spirits, and so on.

Summary of the epic

As the creator of the collection of all runes and legends says, there is no common plot in Kalevala, but several motives that are either intertwined or not at all. As mentioned above, the action of the epic takes place on the territory of two countries: Pohyola and Kalevala. It is not known until near what political relations the inhabitants of the two states are in, but the enmity between the rulers is noticeable. But first things first.

The first ten runes originate in unknown lands, namely, how these lands were created (creation of the world) and a powerful sorcerer named Väinämöinen appears before the reader. He is the main actor of the entire epic, because it appears most often and is also with the creator of heaven and earth. these forces were transferred to him from his mother Ilmatar, who is the native daughter of air. The sorcerer is about to marry beautiful girl Aino, but she refuses, which infuriates Väinämöinen. Her brother Joukahainen defends the girl, however, the young wizard is inferior in strength to the greatest sorcerer and loses the battle.

Further, the songs tell about the unusual blacksmith Ilmarinen and the creation of Sampo, a mill that has magical properties and could make everyone richer and happier. And one of the runes is dedicated to the creation of iron and precious metals.

In the next song, the story returns to the main sorcerer, who no longer appears as a great magician who creates worlds and fights. He also went in search of magical things, but not adventures, to make a gift to his new lover, the ruler of the neighboring state of Lovhi. But while Väinämöinen was looking for words and objects, his love is recognized in loyalty to another, namely, to that very blacksmith. And several runes are dedicated to wedding songs and rituals.

In the 26th rune, fun and dancing abruptly change to a sad and cruel story about the hero Kullervo. A lot of changes happen in his life: he loses his parents, becomes the personal slave of his uncle Untamo, falls in love with a girl, and after a very close relationship, he finds out that it was his sister. What follows is a description of his path of revenge, which is filled with suffering and bitterness. As soon as Kullervo took revenge on the last offender, his uncle, he commits suicide.

The sad story is replaced by the heroic adventures of three main characters: the powerful sorcerer Väinämöinen, the self-confident sorcerer Lemminkäinen and the great blacksmith Ilmarinen, who decide to find the lost mill in the depths of Pohjola. There are no fierce battles here, because the characters win with the help of ingenuity and magic. They create musical instrument, capable of putting all the inhabitants to sleep, which gives them the opportunity to easily find and pick up the Sampo.

Having learned about this, the ruler of the state begins to send them various troubles and diseases. Then it was decided that another tool should be made from the mill that could defeat Lovhi and return the Sun and Moon from her captivity.

In the very last rune, it describes the birth of a child who was immediately born very wise and strong. Seeing such abilities in him, Väinämöinen insists that the child be killed, saying that he will only bring trouble. But the child very maturely and wisely answers the sorcerer that he only turns around and leaves the country in disgrace. And this child becomes the rightful ruler of Karelia.

Kalevala Epic Day in Finland

Every year in Finland and the Republic of Karelia, the “Day of the Folk Epic of the Kalevala” is celebrated, which is dedicated to the common culture between the Karelian-Finnish peoples. The Finnish government has also named this day the "National Flag Day of Finland". These two holidays are accompanied by a very bright and cheerful "Kalevala Carnival", where processions of people take place in folk clothes and theatrical performances. The very first holiday began to be celebrated in 1860 and now every year, on February 28th. This day was chosen because it was on this day that Elias Lennrot published the first part of the epic.

What else is worth knowing about the Karelian-Finnish epic

There are also a number of very interesting facts about Kalevala worth knowing:

• In the USSR, the film "Sampo" was filmed, based on runes from the epic;
• The Soviet Union also put theatrical performance in the ballet genre, which also bore the name "Sampo", and was staged for the first time in 1959 on March 27;
• In the Republic of Karelia there is a village called Kalevala, and local residents say that there is a tall pine tree under which the creator of the collection worked;
• In 1851, a painting based on the epic appeared at one of the Swedish exhibitions, the artist was Johan Blakstadius;
• The writer Alexis Kivi became the first to stage a theatrical play based on Kalevala (in 1860), and it is more dedicated to the unfortunate hero Kullervo.

The influence of this work is so great that after the release for many decades it inspired creative people to create various plays, paintings, songs, and so on. The name of Elias Lennrot is also greatly honored for his invaluable contribution to the culture of the Karelian-Finnish people.