Pohjola (Finnish pronunciation:[ˈpohjolɑ]; frompohja 'base, bottom', but used in derived forms likepohjois- to mean 'north' +-la 'place'), sometimes justPohja (pronounced[ˈpohjɑ]), is alocation inFinnish mythology. It is one of the two main polarities in the Finnish national epic, theKalevala, along with Kalevala or Väinölä.
Finnishrunic songs include multiple different concepts of Pohjola. Many depictions line with Pohjola being the realm of the dead, synonymous withTuonela. On the other hand, mythic stories of heroes include a Pohjola which is more akin to a distant, wealthy kingdom to be raided.Anna-Leena Siikala drew a connection to Norwegians' raiding trips acrossPohjanmaa (Ostrobothnia) in the 9th century. Mythical parallel names for Pohjola include Tuonela, Hiitola, Vuojola and Päivölä, while geographic equivalents include Lappi (Lapland), Turja (Kola Peninsula) and Rutja (Finnmark).[2]
C. Ganander (1789), characterised Pohjola as
According to the oldest, shamanistic versions of Pohjola, believed in by hunter-gatherers, the realm of the dead was a distant place in far north which had to be accessed through waters: hunter-gatherers wanted to send the dead far away from threatening the living. The dead were seen as scary, which is why there are many terrifying sights associated with the underworld. With the adaptation ofagriculture, however, the dead were seen as protectors and they were placed close by, cemeteries turning into sites for ancestor veneration. Thus, ideas of actual physical locations came to be associated with Pohjola. Pohjola has also been seen as a representation of the other, such as a rivalling and dangerous neighbouring tribe.[4]
While Pohjola was originally the realm of the dead, a mythic place, there have been attempts to explain it as a real, physical location.Elias Lönnrot, one of the principal collectors of Finnish folklyric poetry and composer of theKalevala, went to some lengths to interpret Pohjola as a real place, considering whether its inhabitants might beSaami orFinns, and precisely where areas such as Luotela / Luode ('North-West region'), Pimentola ('region of darkness'), Sariola, and Untamola / Uni ('region of sleep') might be;[5]: 170–171 many other scholars followed his lead.[6]
However, the idea of an otherworldly far north is a widespread motif in both Classical and medieval European literature, and has a corresponding concept,boassocode: sme promoted to code: se, in Saami culture[citation needed]. Thus Pohjola can be thought of as a purely abstract place, a literary trope standing as the source of evil – a foreboding, horrible, forever cold land in the far north.[5]: 171–176
Pohjola has been placed into Lapland,Sápmi, Finland and Karelia. This also differs based on if one sees the heroes of Kalevala as western (supported byJulius andKaarle Krohn, andJalmari Jaakkola) or eastern (supported byYrjö Sakari Yrjö-Koskinen,August Ahlqvist, Ivar Kemppinen andHeikki Kirkinen). Ahlqvist created the Lapland theory by placing Kalevala heroes to the southern coast of theWhite Sea, and Pohjola to the western or northwestern coast. Other theories include the area ofNorthern Dvina,Bjarmaland (Lönnrot), the northern coast ofLake Ladoga (Yrjö-Koskinen),Gotland (Kaarle Krohn), the area ofKokemäenjoki river (Rudolf Dillström),South Ostrobothnia as the only place where notable golden treasures have been discovered in Finland (Uno Harva), the northwestern corner ofSouthwest Finland (Matti Klinge),Kvenland (Jaakkola), as well asConstantinople (Paavo Haavikko).[4]
Risto Pulkkinen thought that while Pohjola was originally the realm of the dead, there were multiple different geographic Pohjolas later depending on the time period and the tribe imagining it. According to him and Siikala, the ideas of Pohjola presented in runic songs developed during the first centuries CE and theViking Age. At this time, Proto-Finnic was spoken on the northern and southern coasts of theGulf of Finland and south of theVaasa–Tampere–Lahti–Viipuri line. Thus, the depictions of Pohjola could refer to the population north ofPäijänne andSaimaa, who at the time were Sámi or Sámified hunter-gatherers of other ethnic groups. Even later, areas of Sápmi were associated with Pohjola, including Finnmark and the Kola Peninsula.Lemminkäinen's mother warns her son not to travel to Pohjola, for he doesn't knowLappish, the language of Kola.[4]
In theKalevala, Pohjola mainly appears as the home of women whom the male heroes, from the land of Kalevala, seek as wives.[8]The Mistress of Pohjola isLouhi, a powerful, evil witch. The great smithSeppo Ilmarinen forges theSampo at her demand as a payment for the hand of her daughter in marriage. TheSampo is a magic artefact, possibly a mill of plenty that churns out abundant goods, like theCornucopia. Its exact nature is unclear, but its churning lid has also been interpreted as a symbol of the celestial vault of the heavens: Embedded with stars, it revolves around a central axis, or the pillar of the world.
Other Kalevala characters also seek marriage with the daughters of Pohjola. These include the adventurerLemminkäinen, and the wise old manVäinämöinen. Louhi demands from them deeds similar to the forging ofSampo, such as shooting theSwan of Tuonela. When the suitor finally gets the daughter, weddings and great drinking and eating parties are held at the great hall of Pohjola.
The foundation of the world pillar, also thought of as the root of the "world tree", was probably located in Pohjola, somewhere just over the northern horizon from the Finnish mythological perspective. The pillar was thought to rest on thePohjantähti orNorth Star.[a]
The bulk of theKalevala are the stories about theSampo, kept in Pohjola. The major episodes in the Pojola series are:[9]
Pohjola's Daughter is a symphonictone poem byJean Sibelius.
The Finnish metal bandSentenced used the frozen land of Pohjola as inspiration for the albumsJourney to Pohjola andNorth from Here released in 1992 and 1993.
Pohjola is also the name of a song on an albumUnsung Heroes by a Finnishfolk metal bandEnsiferum. The lyrics are based on apoem by 19th centuryfreiherr andpoliticianYrjö Koskinen.
The Finnishfolk metal bandMoonsorrow has a song entitled "Taistelu Pohjolasta" ("The Battle for Pohjola"). Two different versions of it appear on their 1999 demoTämä ikuinen talvi (This Eternal Winter) and their 2008 EPTulimyrsky (Firestorm).
In modernFinnish, the wordPohjola orPohjoismaat is used to refer to theNordic countries, the equivalent of which inScandinavian languages isNorden.[10]Pohjola is occasionally translated in English asNorthland orPohjoland.[11]
The 2017 anime seriesLittle Witch Academia has an episode entitled "Pohjola's Ordeal".
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