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25-547: C. Ganander (1789), characterised Pohjola as Elias Lönnrot , one of the principal collectors of Finnish folk lyric poetry and composer of the Kalevala , went to some lengths to interpret Pohjola as a real place, considering whether its inhabitants might be Saami or Finns , and precisely where areas such as Luotela / Luode ('North-West region'), Pimentola ('region of darkness'), Sariola, and Untamola / Uni ('region of sleep') might be; many other scholars followed his lead. However,

50-623: A televised feature on Russell Simmons ' Def Poetry ; performance poetry is a genre of poetry that consciously shuns the written form. Oral literatures forms a generally more fundamental component of culture , but operates in many ways as one might expect literature to do. The Ugandan scholar Pio Zirimu introduced the term orature in an attempt to avoid an oxymoron , but oral literature remains more common both in academic and popular writing. The Encyclopaedia of African Literature , edited by Simon Gikandi (Routledge, 2003), gives this definition: "Orature means something passed on through

75-399: Is a Finnish traditional instrument); Kalevala , 1835–1836 (the "old" Kalevala), an edited collection of epic poems collected orally and representing a mythology for Finland; Kanteletar , 1840; Sananlaskuja , 1842 ( Proverbs ); an expanded second edition of Kalevala , 1849 (the "new" Kalevala). Lönnrot was recognised for his part in preserving Finland's oral traditions by appointment to

100-480: Is also the name of a song on an album Unsung Heroes by a Finnish folk metal band Ensiferum . The lyrics are based on a poem by 19th century freiherr and politician Yrjö Koskinen . The Finnish folk metal band Moonsorrow has a song entitled "Taistelu Pohjolasta" ("The Battle for Pohjola"). Two different versions of it appear on their 1999 demo Tämä ikuinen talvi ( This Eternal Winter ) and their 2008 EP Tulimyrsky ( Firestorm ). In modern Finnish ,

125-736: Is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used varying descriptions for oral literature or folk literature. A broad conceptualization refers to it as literature characterized by oral transmission and the absence of any fixed form. It includes the stories, legends, and history passed through generations in a spoken form. Pre-literate societies, by definition, have no written literature, but may possess rich and varied oral traditions —such as folk epics , folk narratives (including fairy tales and fables ), folk drama , proverbs and folksongs —that effectively constitute an oral literature. Even when these are collected and published by scholars such as folklorists and paremiographers ,

150-616: Is remembered as the author of the 1860 Flora Fennica , the first scientific text written in Finnish rather than in Latin. Lönnrot was born in Sammatti , in the province of Uusimaa , Finland, which was then part of Sweden . He studied medicine at the Academy of Turku . The Great Fire of Turku coincided with his first academic year. As the university was destroyed in the fire, it was moved to Helsinki ,

175-735: Is that there are elements to oral traditions in these places that cannot be captured by words alone, such as the existence of gestures, dance, and the interaction between the storyteller and the audience. According to Nwi-Akeeri, oral literature is not only a narrative, but also a performance . Oral tradition is seen in societies with vigorous oral conveyance practices to be a general term inclusive of both oral literature and any written literature, including sophisticated writings, as well, potentially, as visual and performance arts which may interact with these forms, extend their expression, or offer additional expressive media. Thus even where no phrase in local language which exactly translates "oral literature"

200-477: Is used, what constitutes "oral literature" as understood today is already understood to be part or all of the lore media with which a society conducts profound and common cultural affairs among its members, orally. In this sense, oral lore is an ancient practice and concept natural to the earliest storied communications and transmissions of bodies of knowledge and culture in verbal form from the dawn of language-based human societies, and 'oral literature' thus understood

225-617: The Chair of Finnish Literature at the University of Helsinki in 1853. Lönnrot undertook the task of compiling the first Finnish-Swedish dictionary ( Finsk-Svenskt lexikon , 1866–1880). The result comprised over 200,000 entries, and many of the Finnish translations were coined by Lönnrot himself. His vast knowledge of traditional Finnish poetry made him a definite authority in Finland and many of his inventions have stuck. Finnish scientific terminology

250-541: The book Defining New Idioms and Alternative Forms of Expression , edited by Eckhard Breitinger (Rodopi, 1996, page 78): "This means that any 'oral society' had to develop means to make the spoken word last, at least for a while. We tend to regard all the genres of orature as belonging to the homogeneous complex of folklore." Building on Zirimu's orature concept, Mbube Nwi-Akeeri explained that Western theories cannot effectively capture and explain oral literature, particularly those indigenous to regions such as Africa. The reason

275-503: The forging of Sampo , such as shooting the Swan of Tuonela . When the suitor finally gets the daughter, weddings and great drinking and eating parties are held at the great hall of Pohjola. The foundation of the world pillar, also thought of as the root of the "world tree", was probably located in Pohjola, somewhere just over the northern horizon from the Finnish mythological perspective. The pillar

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300-466: The idea of an otherworldly far north is a widespread motif in both Classical and medieval European literature, and has a corresponding concept, boasso , in Saami culture. Thus Pohjola can be thought of as a purely abstract place, a literary trope standing as the source of evil – a foreboding, horrible, forever cold land in the far north. In The Kalevala , Pohjola mainly appears as the home of women whom

325-487: The male heroes, from the land of Kalevala, seek as wives. The Mistress of Pohjola is Louhi , a powerful, evil witch. The great smith Seppo Ilmarinen forges the Sampo at her demand as a payment for the hand of her daughter in marriage. Other Kalevala characters also seek marriage with the daughters of Pohjola. These include the adventurer Lemminkäinen , and the wise old man Väinämöinen . Louhi demands from them deeds similar to

350-503: The name Lönnrot, possibly alluding to the Finnish author, for the diligent detective in his story Death and the Compass ( La muerte y la brújula ). The main belt asteroid 2243 Lönnrot was named after Lönnrot. Oral literature Oral literature , orature , or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung in contrast to that which is written , though much oral literature has been transcribed. There

375-527: The newly established administrative center of the Grand Duchy of Finland . Lönnrot followed and graduated in 1832. Lönnrot lived in the village of Paltaniemi , when he got a job as district doctor of Kajaani in Eastern Finland during a time of famine and pestilence in the district. He began writing about the early Finnish language in 1827 and began collecting folk tales from rural people around

400-505: The result is still often referred to as "oral literature". The different genres of oral literature pose classification challenges to scholars because of cultural dynamism in the modern digital age. Literate societies may continue an oral tradition — particularly within the family (for example bedtime stories ) or informal social structures. The telling of urban legends may be considered an example of oral literature, as can jokes and also oral poetry including slam poetry which has been

425-498: The same time. In 1831, the Finnish Literature Society was founded, and Lönnrot, being one of the founders, received financial support from the society for his efforts to collect folk tales. Lönnrot went on extended leaves of absence from his doctor's office; he toured the countryside of Finland, Sapmi (Lapland), and nearby portions of Russian Karelia . This led to a series of books: Kantele , 1829–1831 (the kantele

450-588: The spoken word, and because it is based on the spoken language it comes to life only in a living community. Where community life fades away, orality loses its function and dies. It needs people in a living social setting: it needs life itself." In Songs and Politics in Eastern Africa , edited by Kimani Njogu and Hervé Maupeu (2007), it is stated (page 204) that Zirimu, who coined the term, defines orature as "the use of utterance as an aesthetic means of expression" (as quoted by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o , 1988). According to

475-605: The word Pohjola or Pohjoismaat is used to refer to the Nordic countries , the equivalent of which in Scandinavian languages is Norden . Pohjola is occasionally translated in English as Northland or Pohjoland . The 2017 anime series Little Witch Academia has an episode entitled "Pohjola's Ordeal". Elias L%C3%B6nnrot Elias Lönnrot ( Finnish: [ˈeliɑs ˈlønruːt] ; 9 April 1802 – 19 March 1884)

500-508: Was a Finnish polymath, physician, philosopher, poet, musician, linguist, journalist, philologist and collector of traditional Finnish oral poetry . He is best known for synthesizing the Finnish national epic, Kalevala (1835, enlarged 1849) from short ballads and lyric poems he gathered from Finnish oral tradition during several field expeditions in Finland, Russian Karelia , the Kola Peninsula and Baltic countries. In botany, he

525-645: Was among the inspirations for J. R. R. Tolkien 's the Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings . Lönnrot was the main motif for the Finnish Elias Lönnrot and folklore commemorative coin , minted in 2002. On the reverse, a feather (as a symbol of an author) and Elias Lönnrot's signature can be seen. The Finnish graphic artist Erik Bruun used Lönnrot as a motif for the 500 markka banknote in his banknote series. The Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges used

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550-435: Was famed throughout Scandinavia , as it was among the first common-language scientific texts. The second, expanded version was co-authored by Thomas Saelan and published in 1866. The Flora Fennica was the first scientific work published in Finnish (instead of Latin). In addition, it includes many notes on plant uses in between descriptions of flowers and leaves. The Kalevala, the Finnish national epic that Lönnrot compiled,

575-484: Was in particular influenced by Lönnrot's work and therefore many abstract terms that have a Latin or Greek etymology in most other European languages appear as native neologisms in Finnish. Examples from linguistics and medicine include kielioppi (grammar), kirjallisuus (literature), laskimo (vein) and valtimo (artery). Botanists remember Lönnrot for writing the first Finnish-language Flora Fennica – Suomen Kasvisto ("Flora of Finland") in 1860; in its day it

600-627: Was putatively recognized in times prior to recordings of history in non-oral media, including painting and writing. Oral literature as a concept, after 19th-century antecedents, was more widely circulated by Hector Munro Chadwick and Nora Kershaw Chadwick in their comparative work on the "growth of literature" (1932–40). In 1960, Albert B. Lord published The Singer of Tales , which influentially examined fluidity in both ancient and later texts and "oral-formulaic" principles used during composition-in-performance, particularly by contemporary South Slavic bards relating long traditional narratives. From

625-539: Was thought to rest on the Pohjantähti or North Star . The bulk of the Kalevala are the stories about the Sampo , kept in Pohjola. The major episodes in the Pojola series are: Pohjola's Daughter is a symphonic tone poem by Jean Sibelius . The Finnish metal band Sentenced used the frozen land of Pohjola as inspiration for the albums Journey to Pohjola and North from Here released in 1992 and 1993. Pohjola

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