Mythic discourses in the present day show how vernacular heritage continues to function and be valuable through emergent interpretations and revaluations. At the same time, continuities in mythic images, motifs, myths and genres reveal the longue durée of mythologies and their transformations. The eighteen articles of "Mythic Discourses" address the many facets of myth in Uralic cultures, from the Finnish and Karelian world-creation to Nenets shamans, offering multidisciplinary perspectives from twenty eastern and western scholars. The mythologies of Uralic peoples differ so considerably that mythology is approached here in a broad sense, including myths proper, religious beliefs and associated rituals. Traditions are addressed individually, typologically, and in historical perspective. The range and breadth of the articles, presenting diverse living mythologies, their histories and relationships to traditions of other cultures such as Germanic and Slavic, all come together to offer a far richer and more developed perspective on Uralic traditions than any one article could do alone.
Author(s): Frog, Anna-Leena Siikala, Eila Stepanova
Series: Studia Fennica Folkloristica, 20
Publisher: Finnish Literature Society
Year: 2018
Language: English
Pages: 488
City: Helsinki
Preface 7
Note on Transliteration 14
I. Gods and Their Stories
Anna-Leena Siikala / Myths as Multivalent Poetry. Three Complementary Approaches 17
Ülo Valk / Thunder and Lightning in Estonian Folklore in the Light of Vernacular Theories 40
Lauri Harvilahti and Elina Rahimova / Lemminkäinen. Adventure-Loving Braggart or Mythic Hero? 68
Clive Tolley / On the Trail of Þórr’s Goats 82
Vladimir Napolskikh / The Earth-Diver Myth (А812) in Northern Eurasia and North America. Twenty Years Later 120
II. Sampo
Lotte Tarkka / The Sampo. Myth and Vernacular Imagination 143
Veikko Anttonen / The Sampo as a Mental Representation of the Mythic Origin of Growth. Towards a New Comprehensive Theory 171
Pekka Hakamies / Ilmarinen and Popular Techno-Utopian Conceptions 188
Frog / Confluence, Continuity and Change in the Evolution of Mythology. The Case of the Finno-Karelian Sampo-Cycle 205
III. Genre, Gender and Mythic Patterns
Eila Stepanova / Mythic Elements of Karelian Laments. The Case of 'syndyzet' and 'spuassuzet' 257
Galina Mišarina / Banishing Rituals and Lament-Incantations of the Komi-Zyrjans 288
Irina Il’ina and Oleg Uljašev / Gender and Myth in Traditional Komi-Zyrjan Culture 308
Vera Survo / Mythologems of Embroideries. On Karelian Sources 328
IV. Place, Space and Time
Karina Lukin / Narrating the Last Shaman 355
Arno Survo / The Mythology of a "Forgotten" Text 380
Aado Lintrop / Great Oxen of Twilight. Storytelling and Riddlemaking at Calendar Solstices 396
Nadežda Šutova / The Main Pre-Christian Gods of the Udmurts and Sacred Places Surrounding the Udmurt Village Nižniye Juraši 413
Arja Ahlqvist / Blue Stones in the Context of Traditions of Worshiping Stones in Former Finno-Ugric Territories of Central Russia 434
Contributors 468
Index of Persons 469
Index of Languages and Cultures 471
Index of Terms and Subjects 474
