Kalevala Society - Karelianism

Finnish culture cannot be understood without some reference to the Kalevala (1849) and its impact on the national arts and sciences. The national romantic fascination with the Kalevala, Karelia and Finnish antiquity is known as Karelianism. It is one of the most intriguing movements in Finnish cultural and artistic life.

The roots of Karelianism reach back to the mid-19th century, but its heyday was in the 1890s. That decade saw the creation of many of the most celebrated works of Finnish visual art, music and literature. The impact of Karelianism still persists in Finnish music, art, design and architecture.

Since the publication of the Kalevala, debates about its historical and cultural significance have focused on the epic's Karelian essence. Indeed, it was via the Kalevala and folk poetry that Karelia came to be viewed as a treasure trove of poetry and unspoilt Finnishness. In the 1890s, researchers and artists, following in the footsteps of earlier folklore collectors, sought the origins of the Kalevala in Border Karelia and in Viena Karelia, on the Russian side of the border, vividly describing their experiences in travel books and newspaper articles. The founding of the Kalevala Society in the early 1900s marks yet another high point of Karelianism.

Different generations have shown differing levels of enthusiasm for the Kalevala and Karelia. Recent years have seen a surge in scholarly and popular interest in the Kalevala and folk poetry, as well as their mythical and historical interpretations. These days, travelling to Karelia to see the Kalevala songlands is becoming more and more popular.

A Wedding in the Karelian Songlands. A classic in the history of Finnish ethnological film and original film music

The Kalevala Society has released a dvd of a Finnish film classic, A Wedding in the Karelian Songlands, filmed in 1921. It is the first Finnish ethnological film, and also the country’s first feature length film made with a music score.

Karelian wedding
A Wedding in the Karelian Songlands. A classic in the history of Finnish ethnological film and original film music

The Kalevala Society has released a dvd of a Finnish film classic, A Wedding in the Karelian Songlands, filmed in 1921. It is the first Finnish ethnological film, and also the country's first feature length film made with a music score.

The film is a reconstruction of a traditional Karelian wedding. It was filmed in Suojärvi, Border-Karelia, in the summer of 1920, by an expedition team of ethnologists and artists. Actors were all found among local people. Besides wedding customs, the film presents images of local people, architecture, artefacts, landscapes, and folk magic.

The film premiered in Helsinki on 27 February 1921, accompanied by a chamber orchestra playing composer Armas Launis's original score. Although praised by contemporary reviews and audiences, the film and its score were largely forgotten during the following years.

A Wedding in the Karelian Songlands has now been resurrected as a dvd by the Kalevala Society, with Finnish, Swedish, English, German, and French subtitles. The accompanying booklet also contains ample background information in these five languages.

Price 25 eur + postage and handling

KSDVD 001 (2006)
ISBN 6420614440070

Distributed by
www.fg-naxos.fi
and
SKS bookshop,
Mariankatu 7, Helsinki,
www.finlit.fi/kirjat

A typical Karelian farmhouse

The Bride's home, a typical Karelian farmhouse, with the dwelling rooms for an extended family, as well as the animal shelter, hayloft and storage rooms under the same roof, in one large building.

The bride and her mother

The bride's mother covers her daughter's hair with a traditionalbridal headwear 'täpsä'.

Matjoi Plattonen

Matjoi Plattonen, a well-known performer of ritual laments in real life as well, played the part of a sage and healer. Here she is lamenting for the bride.

The bride receives a blessing

After a bridal sauna, the bride´s face is covered with a veil. Here she receives a blessing from a woman holding a loaf of bread above her head.

A dancing boy

One of the boys at the groom's house spurts into a rollicking dance, while waiting for the rest of the wedding crowd to arrive. The bride, with her head covered, sitting in the background.

About Karelianism