The Kalevala on the sauna

While The Kalevala’s mythical heroes enjoy their saunas, the gender roles are clear. Men are depicted bathing and talking while women attend to the tasks: cutting and making whisks, lighting a fire to heat the sauna — and making sure a fresh shirt is available.

In Rune 4:1-8, Aino prepares bundles of whisks for her family. In Rune 18, Annikki takes a secret sauna. In Rune 23, lines 351-370 tell how a young bride-to-be is taught to prepare an evening sauna for her new in-laws.

I particularly like the section of Rune 45:211-228 (Magoun translation in which Vainamoinen prepares the sauna and then cures the people of diseases that Louhi (the old witch woman from the North with teeth few and far between) has cursed them with.

Steadfast old Vainamoinen

    Produced honeyed vapor.

Through the glowing stove stones

    He speaks with these words:

“Come now, God, into the sauna.

    To the warmth, heavenly Father,

Healthfulness to bring us,

    And the peace secure to us.”

Welcome löyly, welcome warmth!

    Welcome healing power!

Löyly into the floor and ceiling,

     Löyly into the moss in walls,

Löyly to the top of the platform,

    Löyly onto the stones of the stove!

Drive the Evil far away,

    Far away from under my skin,

From the flesh made by God!

    Come now, God, into the sauna,

Healthfulness to bring to us,

    And the peace secure to us.

This just in:

The Kalevala Day is celebrated Feb. 28 in Finland, to match Elias Lönnrot’s first version of The Kalevala in 1835, and is the same day as Finnish Culture Day.

What great background for my Saturday night sauna!

Nikki

Need a personally inscribed copy of “Some Like it Hot: The Sauna, Its Lore and Stories”?

Send $20 (which includes tax and shipping costs) to:

Nikki Rajala

P.O. Box 372

Rockville, MN 56369

The Kalevala, Finland’s national epic poem

The Kalevala is the national epic poem of Finland. It was compiled by Elias Lönnrot between 1833 and 1840. Full of stories of heroes who do great, mystifying, even senseless, deeds, The Kalevala’s 23,795 verses are divided into 50 songs.

 Mauri, my Finnish go-to guy while I was writing “Some Like it Hot,” said, “The Kalevala is not easy reading for a modern person, with the curious poetic structure of the language. It’s made of 4-phrase poems which sound very nice (but kind of archaic) to a modern Finnish ear. The national epic has, of course, inspired countless artistic minds, including that of Akseli Gallen-Kallela in painting and Jean Sibelius in music.”

Among those tales in its 50 runes, or poems, The Kalevala described common sauna scenes of daily life in 15 of the runes — which is where I come in. What was the sauna like back in the day?

In the next post, I’ve included some lines from the Magoun translation. Notice the rhythm — if it reminds you of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “The Song of Hiawatha,” it’s believed that the Kalevala was part of his inspiration. J.R.R Tolkien credited the Kalevala in his “Silmarillion.”

Plus, that particular tale from The Kalevala ends my series on what health concerns the sauna can cure — and why. That bit of tradition makes the perfect transition to Saint Urho’s Tay (coming March 16). The Kalevala even has its own holiday.

Nikki