Volume 9 Number 1 Article 11 4-15-1982 A Jungian Reading of the Kalevala 500–1300?: Finnish Shamanism—The Patriarchal Senex Figure [Part 3: The Anima Archetype] Bettina Knapp Hunter College, NY Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore Part of the Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons Recommended Citation Knapp, Bettina (1982) "A Jungian Reading of the Kalevala 500–1300?: Finnish Shamanism—The Patriarchal Senex Figure [Part 3: The Anima Archetype]," Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: Vol. 9 : No. 1 , Article 11. Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol9/iss1/11 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Mythopoeic Society at SWOSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature by an authorized editor of SWOSU Digital Commons. An ADA compliant document is available upon request. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To join the Mythopoeic Society go to: http://www.mythsoc.org/join.htm Mythcon 51: A VIRTUAL “HALFLING” MYTHCON July 31 - August 1, 2021 (Saturday and Sunday) http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-51.htm Mythcon 52: The Mythic, the Fantastic, and the Alien Albuquerque, New Mexico; July 29 - August 1, 2022 http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-52.htm Abstract Jungian interpretation of the Kalevala, focusing on the character of Väinämöinen and his role as Shaman. Part 1 gives an introduction to the Kalevala and to shamanism, then analyzes the creation myth in the Kalevala. Part 2 analyzes Väinämöinen’s transformation of the land, the felling of the oak, the confrontation with Joukahainen, and the death of Aino. The third part discusses Väinämöinen’s “second encounter with the anima figure in the being of Louki’s daughter.” The conclusion is a Jungian analysis of Väinämöinen’s “night-sea journey” to the Abode of the Dead; his journey within the body of the giant Antero Vipunen; and his fashioning of an “instrument of eternal joy,” the kantele. Additional Keywords Anima in The Kalevala; Jungian analysis of The Kalevala; The Kalevala—Jungian analysis This article is available in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol9/iss1/11 MYTHLORE 31: Spring 1982 page 35 A Jungian Reading of The KALEVALA 500-1300? Finnish Sham anism ~ The Patriarchal Senex Figure Part III: The Anima Archetype Bettina Knapp Vainamoinen departs from north Farm with joy in his Psychologically the Old Man represents age-old wisdom. heart. On his way, he spies Louhi's daughter. Dressed in He may be identified as the spiritual embodiment of a shaman the Finnish traditional costume, she sparkles with beauty long since dead, noted for his extraordinary insight and and vibrancy in the crystal-clear air. He is so taken by powers. Just as Sampsa and the Copper Man emerged into con­ her that quite unpremeditatingly asks her to become his sciousness when the need arose, so the Old Man emerges as a wife. She agrees, but only if he will first fu lfill certain vestige from the primordial past. Similar to the patriar­ conditions, such as fashioning a boat without touching it. chal figures in a community—a priest, doctor, rabbi—the Old Man stands for the manna personality, that force exis­ Tests and d ifficu lties have from time immemorial been ting in the collective unconscious that arises to conscious­ one of the ways to gain access to one's own true love. In ness in moments of deep stress. Hie Old Man is a warning the days of chivalry, knights had fought to win their lady's principle. He puts Vainamoinen on guard as to the dangers favor. Although Valnamoinen's compliance with the young involved in dealing impulsively with impulses and rash ways demands on the surface is not overly strange, a wise indi­ —anima and shadow types when these forces are not under­ vidual would have considered the circumstances and the im­ stood and integrad within the psyche. pact of the test involved. He allowed his instinct rather than reason to prevail and ignores the fact that he has Vainamoinen, however, fa ils to look within, to assess little or no understanding of the feminine principle: his his deeds, feelings, and thoughts. He projects them on feelings have only reached the germination stage; they are outer forces, namely a host of evil spirits whom he blames s till only clusters of undeveloped impulses. The schism for his accident. It was the wizard H iisi, Valnamoinen de­ existing between his inferior feeling function and his dom­ clares, that made the handle of the axe shake: the magician inant thinking characteristics has not been breached. He Lempo, that turned its sharp blade toward his knee; Patha yields to the. Joukahainen in him—his shadow—and w ill have that misdirected the stroke and caused the wound.. These to pay dearly for his rash act. negative spirits succeeded in gaining power over him simply because Vainamoinen neglects to understand the role they played in his life, allowing his rational principle to dim­ To win the admiration of the young lady, Vainamoinen inish in force and scope. He did not weigh the problems brags about his great shipbuilding ability. Although in involved. Overwhelmed by the maiden's beauty, he has allowed reality, he has never constructed one. The ship, a solid himself to be carried away once again by his inferior feeling force that would see Vainamoinen through the dangerous function. He fa ils to consider the fact that he had no ship­ waters of the unconscious bringing him safely to the other building experience and that to create one without "touching" side, may be identified with ego consciousness. Blind to it, is an im possibility. Hands, which enable humankind to his lim itations, allowing his inflated ego to be his guide, reach out, grab, fashion objects, are means of relating to he neglects to consult the rational sphere of his personal­ the outside world. Without being able to grasp, manipulate, ity and is therefore courting disaster. and feel life, ingredients so important in primitive soci­ eties, Vainamoinen would surely fa il. Important, too, is the Vainamoinen starts to sp lit some logs with which to thought that harm awaits those who believe themselves capable build the ship. The axe slips and wounds his knee severely. of accomplishing feats outside their field of expertise. As we have already learned, the knee plays an important role in The Kalevala: it was on his mother's knee that the bird Vainamoinen has s till not accepted his past defeats: came to rest and build its nest before Vainamoinen's birth. Aino's departure, his second encounter with the anima figure The knee, therefore represents the origin and source of in the being of Louhi’s daughter and the inordinately d iffi­ Vainamoinen's own identity: his strength and energy center. cult demands she placed upon him. Bravura, the persona The fact that his knee has been cut so deeply means that he which hides inferiority, was used to face the world. The can no longer walk, indicating that his relationship with sp lit knee, one might say in Vainamoinen's case, is a mani­ the ground—with actuality—has been injured. Since the festation of his broken heart. knee spells m otility and power, it may be subsumed that Vainamoinen's own thoughtlessness has immobilized him. That The culture nero realizes that the wise is the right blood spurts out of him so powerfully, represents a decline course to take and follows the Old Man’s advice. He goes to in his energies, a diminution of that magical vital force seek the origin of the metal that caused his wound. Iron, that distinguishes the living from the dead. like a ll other metals, was believed to emanate from heaven. Strong, powerful, hard, and inflexible, its use has both Vainamoinen vainly tries to staunch the flow of blood. positive and destructive consequences. As a plow, it helps He puts moss on the wound, tries herbs of various kinds, in planting and thus feeding humankind. As a knife, sword, applies pressure. He must find some way to heal the split, or other warlike instrument, it destroys as well as defends. to mend what has been severed. The dichotomy within his per­ Shamans use iron utensils during their ceremonies to evoke sonality, psychologically speaking, has grown too wide: the spirits and to prove their mettle. The smith's forge is shadow and the anima are experienced only unconsciously: made of iron. On it metals are heated, bent, and fashioned therefore, projecting themselves as autonomous sp lit-offs to serve humanity's needs. Considered as a kind of demiurge, and thus as dangerous powers. because of the "miraculous" works it brings forth, iron is also known to have therapeutic powers. Prior to Pliny's As Vainamoinen is setting out as best he can in search time it was used to stay the flow of blood. Dr. Sydenham of some magic formula, happens upon an Old Man who te lls him (1665) was one of the first physicians to have patients in­ that before he can make his knee whole, he must find the gest the metal in a refined form, because he believed it was source of the element that caused the injury. No remedy can effective in increasing red corpuscles.18 be effective until one understands what brought about the disruptive condition.