Hello friends!
Today's episode is about legends and superstitions about birds in Finnish folklore.
Enjoy!
Luun,
Kuikka.
The Luun is a magical bird in Finnish mythology and folklore,
Often referred to as the witch's bird.
In ancient times,
When people observed the Luun diving into the water and remaining submerged for long periods,
They believed it was a messenger of the spirits,
Capable of delivering messages between divine beings,
Humans and the spirits of the dead.
It was thought that the Luun swam to the bottom of the lake,
Where it could enter Alinen,
The Underworld.
Another name for the Luun was Pyhäläinen,
Holy being,
Which reflects its nature as a magical creature.
It was believed that some of the most powerful shamans and witches could transfer themselves into a Luun while in a trance state,
Allowing them to travel to the spirit world.
Wooperswan,
Laulu Joutsen.
The Wooperswan is Finland's national animal.
In Finnish,
Laulu means song and joutsen means a swan.
Swans live in lakes,
Remote swamps and bays.
They mate for life and show loyalty to their nesting areas.
In ancient times,
The swan represented all that was good and pure in the world.
In Karelia,
It was believed that swans were related to humans,
Making it forbidden to kill one.
Swans are also popular motifs in Finnish cave paintings.
Some historians suggest that swans were once considered totem animals,
And it is thought that there might have been a tribe that believed swans were their mythical ancestors.
In Karelia,
An old tomb was discovered containing a child buried inside a swan's wing.
The word joutsen is believed to be one of the oldest in the Finnish language,
And may have originated from the word jousi,
Meaning a bow,
Which refers to the shape of a swan's neck.
In Estonia,
Folklore suggests that the first boats were carved from the bones of swans.
A shaman might express their desire to fly in a poem.
Anna hanhut siipiäsi,
Joutsen laakamoisiasi,
Millä lennän tuolle maalle,
Ylitse meren yheksän,
Meripuolin kymmenettä.
Lend me now thy wings,
Oh wild one,
Swan,
Thy sweeping bloom of softness,
That I fly to yonder country,
Cross the ninefold seas of sorrow,
Past the ten white seas dominion.
Fog Tale of the Swan Maiden A man went for a swim and saw a woman bathing in a pond.
She had removed her coat,
Which was made of white feathers.
The man was enchanted by the girl's beauty,
So he hid her clothes.
And asked her to marry him.
The woman agreed,
And as time passed,
They had children together.
However,
The mother often felt sad,
And the children noticed this.
She told them that she missed her swan coat,
And that,
In the past,
She had been able to fly.
One day the youngest child found the coat.
The children cried and urged their mother to stay,
But she explained that she was not from their world.
When she put on the coat,
She transformed back into a swan,
And flew away into the sky.
Seeing a flock of swans is considered a sign of spring and renewal.
However,
Swans have also been associated with death.
It was believed that swans exist between this world and the next,
Swimming in the river of Tuonela,
Which is the river in the underworld,
Where they guide souls to the afterlife.
Despite these old beliefs,
Swans were nearly hunted to extinction in the early 20th century.
Thanks to conservation efforts in the 1950s,
The swan population began to increase.
Crane.
Kurki.
The crane,
Also known as the frog-eater,
Is considered the king of birds in mythology,
Likely due to its gracefulness and height.
It was believed that the crane led all the other birds.
According to stories,
Cranes spent their winters in Alinen,
Because they preferred swamps,
Bogs and deserted marshes.
This preference suggested that there was something peculiar about them,
Possibly related to magic or the spiritual realm.
The name of the bird,
Kurki,
Might come from the verb kurkottaa,
To reach.
Feathers and their meanings.
Red,
For good luck.
Orange,
Abundance and enjoyment.
Yellow,
Be aware of two-faced people.
Green,
Wealth and adventures.
Black and green,
Attention and money.
Black,
Sadness and bad news.
Black and white,
Your problems are not as bad as you think.
White,
Peace.
Brown and white,
Health and happiness.
Brown,
Better health.
Blue,
Love and happiness.
Blue,
Black and white,
New love or relationship.
Purple,
Exciting journey.
Dotted,
News and gossip.
Striped,
Surprises.
Broken,
Bad luck.
