Uuden laulun Kalevala (2004) / kuva: Antti Filppu
Kalevala-Eurythmie Workshop in Helsinki, August 2010, and performances on 25.9, 27.9 & 28.9, in Lahti and Helsinki. Lemminkäinen’s Death and Resurrection themes, poems 14-15 in Kalevala (and in Kalevala of the New Song – the text is more or less the same).
Lemminkäinen’s death and resurrection are among the most recited and referred parts of the Finnish national Epos. To me, these themes were quite important ten years ago already; I felt that I could relate to it all. It gave me a sense of belonging to the same flow of meanings that Kalevala is – or in other words, Finnish Mythology.
I have been writing poetry in English and I used the same verse in my own poetry. I felt these mythic images gave me the feeling of home, although hidden under a foreign language and weaved between…. Even despite the fact that these images are quite ”harsh” or ”violent”. Should I say, almost tragic? But they are MYTHIC IMAGES, not pictures of our ordinary day-to-day life in the material world. They make visible the things that are invisible, unseen.
It is right to make up whatever one wants to make of them. The interpretation is free, so to speak. But it does not mean that myths are completely ”round”. As Rudolf Steiner has said, it is possible (for a spiritual scientist) to use the same mythological picture / theme and give ”completely different” interpretations of it, but this depends on many things – where, how, why, who etc. It is important to keep in mind that myths can be approached from different angles, and one can give exact meanings to them, meanings that differ from each other (at least on a surface level). But this does NOT mean that myths are round in their meanings. It is a Mystery. I am not able to open it more. (Steiner speaks about it already in his early work, Christentum als mystische Tatsach, 1902). Myths are pictures of / from ”the spiritual reality”.
Look at Lemminkäinen again. It is right to say that Märkähattu is Lemminkäinen’s double. Seppo Huunonen confirmed this, and the one who originally realized it was no other than Eino Leino, our beloved poet himself. It opens up an interesting scene: to look at Lemminkäinen’s death and resurrection themes from this point of view. Lemminkäinen tries to shoot the Swan of Tuonela, but has been unable to cross the threshold in the right way? So his double comes back when he least expects it, and then he’s in real big trouble. But what is this thing about his mother?
Kalevala is like a powerful book of spells. It has been said that Kalevala’s language is holy and magical in itself. I have come to believe that it is true. When we speak the verses, things may happen. Especially when something just as powerful as Eurythmy is conjoined with Kalevala, it becomes all the more magical and ”moving”. Potentially of course, not always actually. Lemminkäinen’s death and resurrection belong together in a way – we could see and feel this when we did the scenes. The Märkähattu episodes were powerful and they showed a certain kind of atmosphere….
Then Mother comes with the Honey from the Heavens: three times does the bee go to gather the honey, but only the third time says the Truth. It has to fly above the Sun and Moon. Lemminkäinen is brought back to life. This image can mean many things, of which some are more obvious to us than others. The mystery traditions, the myths about Osiris and Balder can be compared. Whether or not they are the same thing, and to what extent…. There are similarities in these myths, but it is wise to be careful with one’s conclusion.
The not-so-obvious interpretation follows. Lemminkäinen has to do with the consciousness soul. In Lönnrot’s Kalevala the poems are in different order than in the Kalevala of the New Song, where the order of the poems is connected to the Culture Epochs (beginning with the polarische zeit, and ending in the 7th nach Atlantische zeit, the great war of ”all against all”). The poems 14-15 in this New Song’s Kalevala have to do with the Egyptian culture epoch, when the Consciousness Soul was not yet ready to step in to the stage. Lemminkäinen ends up in the river bottom. But it may well be that this was something he had to go through before being able to step in later. When the age of consciousness soul begins around 1413, Lemminkäinen goes to war, to Pohjola. He comes and does not ask permission. In fact, he is not invited to the Pohjola Wedding at all, but he comes and kills the Master of Pohjola. This happens ”as we speak”, it is the present time we are living in. The task of the Consciousness Soul…..
It’s not a simple picture. Lemminkäinen is waking up inside us. There are no one-and-only interpretations, but this is something the Finnish researchers have been doing, while trying to open the meanings of Kalevala in line with Rudolf Steiner’s teachings. Reflecting back on Lemminkäinen’s death and resurrection, it is interesting to keep this in mind.
One more level could be to look at it from the biographical angle. When one is c. 35 years old, the question about the consciousness soul comes to the front in one way or another. Lemminkäinen could be the living picture of the struggles that may follow. Of course it may happen anytime to anyone, in different ways.
This Kalevala-Eurythmie workshop was a beautiful thing. I thank you all, sincerely, for it. Lemminkäinen in Tuonela and his Resurrection was the first mythic image in Kalevala that spoke to me, over ten years ago. And it certainly still spoke, as we did our performances this year. It has been said that READING KALEVALA IS A HEALING PROCESS. Kalevala has healing power in itself, in the words themselves, when they are read silently, or when they are read aloud. I think we can confirm that. Not to mention the healing power in Eurythmy.
So, these things could be done later, also. And just as eurythmy is something worth doing in itself, reading Kalevala could be done for ”the sake of itself”. But it is wise to keep in mind that it is like a book of spells. Reading is quite safe, but when it is connected to other things, then it may need a few thoughts and ”double-checks” to keep it all on the right track. That is the only warning that should be heeded, I guess.
Kalevala is ”mystery language”, not only for having a power to heal. But that is why it has been recommended for people. It may give them back strength and joy that can easily be lost in the everyday life. Just by reading Kalevala this will be accomplished.
Eurythmy has a huge potential to affect people’s state, so learning and perfoming Kalevala’s verses in eurythmy is important concerning the ”NOW” and the future, too. I think we all had experiences about this. It is also good to be able to just do things like we did. This kind of ex tempore working method could enrichen many people’s lives. It certainly worked for me (of course, someone has to do more work, always, and preparations – but to have the possibility for people to come in and do things just like that, ex tempore, is a good thing). We managed to create a kind of real ”drama”. As I have said before, the parts in the 15th Runo are among the most powerful in Kalevala.
One concluding note. I refer back to Pohjolan Isäntä. We have the character of Untamo, also. The three evils work together, and while Louhi definitely is Lucifer, it is difficult to say what are the ”places” of….. It is Untamo who kills the Kaleva’s kin (similar myths could be found easily, such as Balder-Hoder, Osiris-Set etc, but it may not be wise to make ”a table of correspondences” out of these things. For they are, once more, mythic images and ”Mystery Art”).
And, as it has been said many times elsewhere, the most important thing about Kalevala is that all the characters in it are different aspects of HUMAN BEING, they are different sides of ourselves. In the end there is only one character in Kalevala, and it is the HUMAN BEING. Or, in other words, our being is Kaleva.
KAΦE Valkoinen Kukka & Mustaa Viiniä 