Wäinölä 🇫🇮

“Hunttantui! (Uttered to greet a wizard, to protect him from the evildoings of others.)” — Ida Heinonen from Halikko, Finland, in 1913. SKVR (The Ancient Poems of the Finnish People) VIII (Finland Proper): 3. [ Wäinölä 🇫🇮 ]

“It all comes from the ancient, mythological way of thinking. Folk were certain that every part and phenomenon of nature has a soul and everything is alive: a forest has a soul, as does water, the sky, wood, stone, fire, or the wind. From these a soul could evolve and manifest in the form of a haltija [m.] or haltijatar [f.] spirit [a custodian of a particular domain].” — Maria Kundozerova, researcher in the Folklore and Literature Section in the Institute of Linguistics, Literature and History of the Karelian Research Centre. Translated from the original Karelian by: [ Wäinölä 🇫🇮 ]

The English ornithologist John Wolley spent 4 years (1853–1857) in Ylimuonio, Finland, amassing a large collection of eggs. For some reason, he carved a runic text in a mixture of Swedish and English on a stone in Muonionvaara. The inscription reads: “Vi ar i lant of Oskar friat of Viktoria of Inklant. This holi saita vit holt sint morak stil har lat Jon Volli of Matlok rit runs aftir Savastovols fal” [ We are in Oskar's land, freed by Victoria of England. This holy site with all its quiet land around (surroundings) has taught John Wolley of Matlock to carve runes after the fall of Sevastopol. ] [ Wäinölä 🇫🇮 ]

[ Wäinölä 🇫🇮 ]

A woodland sauna on the island of Piremen on the Pinega river, Arkhangelsk Oblast. The area was populated by Finnic peoples before being colonized by the Novgorod Republic. [ Wäinölä 🇫🇮 ]

An old-fashioned Estonian house with a thatched roof. 🇪🇪 [ Color by Wäinölä 🇫🇮 ]

The frame of an earthen Ostyak dwelling. [ Wäinölä 🇫🇮 ]

An earthen Ostyak dwelling with its corridor. [ Wäinölä 🇫🇮 ]

A Mari (Cheremis) storehouse. The upper floor is for clothes, the lower for food. [ Wäinölä 🇫🇮 ]

Votian married woman as depicted by F. L. Trefurt (1783). [ Wäinölä 🇫🇮 ]