Tweets by Karelian activist and artist RiähkäPart 4: KalevalaKalevala is a small drop in large river
Tweets by Karelian activist and artist RiähkäPart 4: KalevalaKalevala is a small drop in large river. Compared to systematic oppression it might sound like grasping straws. It is still good to acknowledge few things in regards to Kalevala.(If you haven’t yet read Karelianism and Finnish nationalism threads (parts 2 and 3) I recommend reading them, so you may understand why many Karelians have SOMEWHAT conflicting feelings about said epic.)Kalevala is result of its time. A very political result. And in different times, different people have used its politics to further their aims and purposes.Kalevala is also very strongly edited work. Even though Elias Lönnrot made several poem collecting trips both to East-Karelia and Eastern Finland, only a small part of Kalevala poetry matches in their entirety the source material.The origin of Kalevala and runesinging has been debated for long time*. It contains both eastern and western runesinging tradition, but the pivotal structures Lönnrot collected from Karelian Arhippa Perttunen, Ontreu Malinen and Vaassila Kielevä.*Translators note: The claim of Kalevala’s and runesinging traditions western origin was actually questioned and disproven already in 1940s but despite this one can still see claims to this effect from people not familiar with several studies in regards to runesinging tradition. More on this topic can be found among others in Vaietut ja Vaiennetut by Anneli Sarhimaa, and by several other authors in collection Karjala 1 - Portti Itään ja Länteen, edited by Arvi A Karisto Oypart 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 5 -- source link
#karelia#karjala#kalevala