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Louhi
Louhi (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈlou̯hi]; alternate names include Loviatar (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈloʋiɑtɑr]), Loveatar, Lovetar, Lovehetar, Louhetar and Louhiatar) is the ruler of Pohjola in Finnish mythology. She is regarded as a goddess of death and disease. She is also the mother of wolves. Her original role was likely as the ruler of the underworld.
In Kalevala, Elias Lönnrot split Louhi into two different characters, Louhi and Loviatar, describing Louhi as a wicked queen of Pohjola and Loviatar as a blind daughter of Tuoni. In Runo 45 of the Kalevala, Loviatar is impregnated by a great wind and gives birth to nine sons, the Nine diseases.
The many variations of her name are connected to the word lovi ("notch, crack"). In Finnish, the term langeta loveen ("to fall into lovi") means "to fall into a trance". According to Christfried Ganander, falling into lovi means a state of ecstasy and a journey to the underworld, which he compared with Sámi shamanism. Martti Haavio connected her name to North Germanic flog "fly", via louhikäärme (dragon), from Old Swedish: floghdraki ("fly-dragon"), identifying her as a flying being. In the Finnish dialects of the Karelian Isthmus, louhi meant "lightning", which could connect the word to the concepts of fire and flames, but it is not certain if this in turn is connected to lovi in the sense of "trance". Kaarle Krohn wondered if an agent noun of lovi, lovehtija, could be the origin of the agent noun loihtija ("spellcaster").
She was a maiden (Pohjolan impi) who refused to marry any man but, when in water, was impregnated by a sea giant, giving birth to the diseases and ailments of the world. After this, she became the Mistress of Pohjola. In some versions of the poem of the birth of diseases, she is impregnated by wind instead. She then proceeds to name or baptize the children herself, giving them the names of diseases and disasters. She also often gives birth to a tenth child, who is a girl. In some songs, the daughter in question is named Syöjätär.
In one Ostrobothnian version collected by Elias Lönnrot, Pohjolan impi gives birth to Väinämöinen.
In spells related to burn wounds, Pohjolan impi is asked to bring cold to the wound.
Multiple different takes on her exist in runic songs. In a song from South Savo, she is from Ostrobothnia and marries Väinämöinen, who is from Savonia and takes her there. This is why she is called Väinätär. She has a son, and when he is 15 years old, she sends him to bring her inheritance from Ostrobothnia with the help of a black dog she also gave birth to. In this version, Lovehetar had a daughter, and this daughter was the one who got impregnated in water. Giving birth to a black dog is a symbol of ultimate evil, since in European tradition, a black dog is a form of the Devil.
In a song from Kainuu, she is not married, but her relation to Väinämöinen is still not adversary: after Väinämöinen was shot and he drifted to Pohjola with the River of Tuoni, Mistress of Pohjola hears his cries and recognizes them to be those of a hero. She helps him by bringing him to her house and giving him food. In White Karelian songs, after hearing his cries, she instead promises to give him a maiden to marry if he forges for her the sampo.
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Louhi
Louhi (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈlou̯hi]; alternate names include Loviatar (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈloʋiɑtɑr]), Loveatar, Lovetar, Lovehetar, Louhetar and Louhiatar) is the ruler of Pohjola in Finnish mythology. She is regarded as a goddess of death and disease. She is also the mother of wolves. Her original role was likely as the ruler of the underworld.
In Kalevala, Elias Lönnrot split Louhi into two different characters, Louhi and Loviatar, describing Louhi as a wicked queen of Pohjola and Loviatar as a blind daughter of Tuoni. In Runo 45 of the Kalevala, Loviatar is impregnated by a great wind and gives birth to nine sons, the Nine diseases.
The many variations of her name are connected to the word lovi ("notch, crack"). In Finnish, the term langeta loveen ("to fall into lovi") means "to fall into a trance". According to Christfried Ganander, falling into lovi means a state of ecstasy and a journey to the underworld, which he compared with Sámi shamanism. Martti Haavio connected her name to North Germanic flog "fly", via louhikäärme (dragon), from Old Swedish: floghdraki ("fly-dragon"), identifying her as a flying being. In the Finnish dialects of the Karelian Isthmus, louhi meant "lightning", which could connect the word to the concepts of fire and flames, but it is not certain if this in turn is connected to lovi in the sense of "trance". Kaarle Krohn wondered if an agent noun of lovi, lovehtija, could be the origin of the agent noun loihtija ("spellcaster").
She was a maiden (Pohjolan impi) who refused to marry any man but, when in water, was impregnated by a sea giant, giving birth to the diseases and ailments of the world. After this, she became the Mistress of Pohjola. In some versions of the poem of the birth of diseases, she is impregnated by wind instead. She then proceeds to name or baptize the children herself, giving them the names of diseases and disasters. She also often gives birth to a tenth child, who is a girl. In some songs, the daughter in question is named Syöjätär.
In one Ostrobothnian version collected by Elias Lönnrot, Pohjolan impi gives birth to Väinämöinen.
In spells related to burn wounds, Pohjolan impi is asked to bring cold to the wound.
Multiple different takes on her exist in runic songs. In a song from South Savo, she is from Ostrobothnia and marries Väinämöinen, who is from Savonia and takes her there. This is why she is called Väinätär. She has a son, and when he is 15 years old, she sends him to bring her inheritance from Ostrobothnia with the help of a black dog she also gave birth to. In this version, Lovehetar had a daughter, and this daughter was the one who got impregnated in water. Giving birth to a black dog is a symbol of ultimate evil, since in European tradition, a black dog is a form of the Devil.
In a song from Kainuu, she is not married, but her relation to Väinämöinen is still not adversary: after Väinämöinen was shot and he drifted to Pohjola with the River of Tuoni, Mistress of Pohjola hears his cries and recognizes them to be those of a hero. She helps him by bringing him to her house and giving him food. In White Karelian songs, after hearing his cries, she instead promises to give him a maiden to marry if he forges for her the sampo.
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