Väinämöinen

Väinämöinen (ˈʋæi̯næˌmøi̯nen) is a demigod, hero and the central character in Finnish folklore and the main character in the national epic Kalevala by Elias Lönnrot. Väinämöinen was described as an old and wise man, and he possessed a potent, magical singing voice. The first extant mention of Väinämöinen in literature is in a list of Tavastian gods by Mikael Agricola in 1551. He and other writers described Väinämöinen as the god of chants, songs and poetry; in many stories Väinämöinen was the central figure at the birth of the world. The Karelian and Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, tells of his birth in the course of a creation story in its opening sections. This myth has elements of creation from chaos and from a cosmic egg, as well as of earth diver creation. At first there were only primal waters and Sky. But Sky also had a daughter named Ilmatar. One day, Ilmatar descended to the waters and became pregnant. She gestated for a very long time in the waters not being able to give birth. One day a goldeneye was seeking a resting place and flew to the knee of Ilmatar, where it laid its eggs. As the bird incubated its eggs Ilmatar's knee grew warmer and warmer. Eventually she was burned by the heat and responded by moving her leg, dislodging the eggs that then fell and shattered in the waters. Land was formed from the lower part of one of the eggshells, while sky formed from the top. The egg whites turned into the moon and stars, and the yolk became the sun. Ilmatar continued to float in the waters. Her footprints became pools for fish, and by pointing she created contours in the land. In this way she made all that is. Then one day she gave birth to Väinämöinen, the first man. Väinämöinen swam until he found land, but the land was barren. With Sampsa Pellervoinen he spread life over the land. In the eighteenth century folk tale collected by Cristfried Ganander, Väinämöinen is said to be son of Kaleva and thus brother of Ilmarinen. His name is believed to come from the Finnish word väinä, meaning stream pool.