The Mythology Book

163

Väinämöinen fights Louhi, who is

transformed into a bird, to defend the

stolen Sampo. This battle is sometimes

interpreted as a metaphorical fight for

the soul of Finland.

Lemminkäinen was killed by

a herdsman, who scattered his

body parts in the river. At that

moment, the comb he left behind

dripped with blood. His mother

rushed to Pohjola and brought him

back to life by reassembling his

body, anointing it with an ointment

acquired from the gods, and

chanting magic spells.

A second contest

Väinämöinen and Ilmarinen then

competed for the hand of Louhi’s

daughter, who preferred the young

blacksmith to the wise old man.

Before he could marry the maiden,

Ilmarinen had to perform three

“impossible” tasks: ploughing a

field of vipers, hunting the bear of

Tuonela and the wolf of Manala,

and fishing the great pike from the

Tuonela River. He completed the

tasks and a wedding feast ensued.

Only Lemminkäinen was not

invited to the feast. Furious at the

snub, he decided to settle the score

by challenging Louhi’s husband to

a duel. After a singing contest and

swordfight, Lemminkäinen killed

the man and fled to an island full

of beautiful women.

Stealing the Sampo

The three heroes were reunited

much later, after Ilmarinen’s wife

was killed. Hearing of the wealth

that the Sampo had brought to

Pohjola, the men decided to sail

there to steal it. On the way, their

boat collided with a giant pike,

which Väinämöinen killed. From its

jaw, he created a kantele (a type of

harp) which only he could play; the

magic instrument had the power to

enchant all living things. Using it,

he charmed the people of Pohjola

to sleep and his companions rowed

away with the Sampo.

As the three men fled, Louhi

awoke and used her powers to send

obstacles to block their path. The

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heroes survived but the kantele

was lost in the water. Transformed

into a giant bird of prey, Louhi gave

chase to the heroes’ boat, and

during the battle, the Sampo, too,

fell from the boat. It sank to the

bottom of the sea, where it broke

into pieces. Scattered in the depths

of the sea, they produced salt, and

Louhi was left with only the lid.

In retaliation, Louhi sent nine

plagues to the people of Kalevala,

but Väinämöinen cured them. She

sent a bear to attack their cattle,

but he defeated it. Louhi then hid

the sun and the moon inside a hill,

and took the gift of fire from man.

Väinämöinen fought the people

of Pohjola but eventually asked

Ilmarinen to forge keys to the

mountain of Pohjola to release

the sun and moon. Relenting, Louhi

finally set the sun and moon free. ■

And he saw the

Sampo forming,

with its brightly

colored cover.

Kalevala

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