• Illustration
  • About
    • The Little Women Podcast >
      • youtube
      • Podcast
    • Blog
    • FAQ
  • Say Hi On Social
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    • Facebook Page
  • Contact
  • Etusivu
  • Kuvitukset
  • Taiteilijasta
    • Usein Kysytyt Kysymykset
    • Blogi
  • Yhteystiedot
  • Mythology Courses
    • Soul of Vellamo
    • Heart of Mielikki -Info Page
    • People of the bear course details
  Fairychamber - Art and Illustrations by Niina Niskanen
  • Illustration
  • About
    • The Little Women Podcast >
      • youtube
      • Podcast
    • Blog
    • FAQ
  • Say Hi On Social
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    • Facebook Page
  • Contact
  • Etusivu
  • Kuvitukset
  • Taiteilijasta
    • Usein Kysytyt Kysymykset
    • Blogi
  • Yhteystiedot
  • Mythology Courses
    • Soul of Vellamo
    • Heart of Mielikki -Info Page
    • People of the bear course details

Blog

Origins of Frost in Finnish Mythology

12/12/2019

2 Comments

 
Picture
Video is in Finnish. You can get the English subtitles from the lower right corner. Filmed when I was between apartments and stayed couple weeks at my friend´s guest room (thanks Katie, you saved me).
In Finnish folklore one of the most common elements that you can find is that everything in nature is personified. Pakkanen (Frost) or Pakkas-Poika (Frost boy) is one of these things. Within the folklore Frost is a mischievous young boy. His parents are most often told to beLouhi, the goddess of winter and shamans and his father is Puhuri (cold, powerful wind) or Pakkasukko (The Frostman).

Parents of Frost and Frost as a character can also simply work as a metaphor. Back in the days practising of wind magic and shamans who were devoted to that particular craft were very common. This leads back to the shamanic concept of emuu. Emuu is an old Finno-ugric word for a mother (emo is an old Finnish word for a mother but now days it refers to an animal mother, äiti which is modern Finnish word for mother has Baltic origins). but it is also a gender neutral word and refers to a creator. Someone who can light the sparkle of life into non-living things (such as snow, stones, rocks, sunlight). 
Picture
In Finnish folk magic when a person knew the origins of a disease they had greater chances to heal the disease. When performing the healing ritual they would sing or chant the origin words connected to the disease or the injury they were about to heal.

If a person had severe frostbites they would chant the words of the frost. One could also say the words aloud before they went outside to protect themselves from the Frost. Words were used to scare the Frost and prevent them from touching the person.

Words Against Frostbite

Sharp Frost, the son of Blast (Puhuri), ice crusty, wintry boy, now hast thoug hurt a human skin, hast sorely injured a mother´s son, destroyed a woman´s progency, for sapless has the man become, the stalwart man insensible. Sharp Frost, the son of Puhuri, come now to recognise thy work, to remedy thine evil deeds; if thou hast bitten, heal the bite, if thou hast touched, undo the harm, or else thy mother shall tell, to thy father I shall make it known. Enormous trouble a mother has, when treading her sons footsteps, effacing traces he has left, anointing sores that the he has made.
Picture
Sharp cold, the son of Näräppä, hard-frozen wintry boy, where shall I exorcise thee now? Thee do I exorcise forthwith to distant limits of the North, to the flat, open lands of Lapps. There is it nice for Cold to live,  for Chilly Weather to abide. There thou will level trampled ground, wilt slay a reindeer out at grass, wilt eat flesh lying close at hand, wilt gnaw the bone that´s near to thee. 

Since thou dost pay no heed, thereto, I exercise thee forth into the belly of Pakkanen (sharp cold), the fervid paunch of the frosty blast. As there thou mayst not find a place, depart to where I order thee, flee to the clouds above, thou wintry weather, to the sky, cease injuring a christened man, destroying one that is baptised. 

- The Magic songs of the Finns by Elias Lönnrot

As you can see from the poem it has Christian and Pagan elements combined. Time when the chants were collected started rather early on, already in the 17th century and for a very long time different belief systems lived side by side. 

Similar characters to Pakkanen can be found from other myths as well. Check my post onJack the Frost.
​If you'd like to participate in constructive online conversations about this essay, please do leave comments and share in your social media networks.

Winter Mermaid Canvas Print by fairychamber

Channeling your inner art collector? Frameless and versatile, canvas prints can be hung on your walls or showcased on a flat surface. There's just something about canvas that feels so much more arty. Canvas prints available in three sizes.

2 Comments
CA link
12/13/2019 07:30:35 am

I love these characters and images, and I'm so glad to have found your wonderful posts about Finnish lore. I learned almost nothing from my grandparents of such things. They were trying so hard to become American in every way. But somehow, these stories still strike a deep chord in me, as if I had always known them.

Reply
Niina Niskanen link
12/13/2019 09:35:02 pm

Thank you so much! there is something very profound in these myths that crosses time and space.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Niina

    Pronounced as Nee-na.
    ​
    Artist, illustrator, writer, watercolorist and a folklorist. Gryffinclaw. Comes from Finland. Likes cats, tea and period dramas. 

    Love fandoms AOGG and Little Women (prefers books over the films). Louisa May Alcott researcher. 
    Picture
    Please keep the comment section civil, respectful and connected to the topic at hand. ​Thank you.  Spammy/passive-agressive comments will be blocked and reported. 
    Picture
    Buy my product
    Picture
    Picture
    Get 2 free weeks on Skillshare. 
    Picture

    Support Fairychamber

    Categories

    All
    90s Inspired Art
    Aboriginal Mythology
    African Myths
    Ambience
    Amy And Laurie
    Amy March
    Animal Art
    Animal Myths
    Animations
    Anne Of Green Gables
    Arabic Mythology
    Art Business Advice
    Artist Chats
    ASMR
    Assyrian Myths
    As Told By Ginger
    Autumn Ambience
    Baltic Myths
    Beauty And The Beast
    Book Reviews
    Brothers Grimm
    Celtic Myths
    Challenges
    Charles-perrault
    Chinese Myths
    Christmas
    Cinderella
    Comic-cons
    Cosplay
    Crafting Tutorials
    Disney
    Disney Crafts Diy
    Divination
    Diy
    Dolls
    Drawing
    Drawing Tutorials
    Earthsea
    Egyptian Myths
    Estonian Folklore
    Estonian Wheel Of The Year
    Fairies & Elves
    Fairy Ambience
    Fairychamber Podcast
    Fairy Crafts DIY
    Fairy Tale Origins
    Fantasy Art
    Fashion Illustrations
    Finnish Culture
    Finnish Mythology
    Finnish Wheel Of The Year
    Flower Art
    Food Illustrations
    Frozen
    Germanic Folktales
    Getting To Know Me
    Ghost Stories
    Goddess Art
    Greek Mythology
    GSR
    Halloween
    Halloween Crafts
    Hansel And Gretel
    Harry Potter
    Health
    Hindu Mythology
    Howl´s Moving Castle
    Illustrations
    Inuit Myths
    Irish Tales
    Japanese-myths
    Jo And Friedrich
    Jo-and-friedrich
    Komi-mythology
    Korean-myths
    Landscape Paintings
    Languages
    Latvian-wheel-of-the-year
    Learn-finnish
    Lithuanian Wheel Of The Year
    Little Women
    Little Women Podcast
    Little Women Shorts
    Louisa May Alcott
    Mari Folklore
    Marketing Your Art
    Meg And John
    Mermaids
    Miniatures
    MishMash Videos
    Moomins
    Movie-reviews
    Mulan
    Music
    Mythical Motifs
    Mythmas
    Native American Myths
    Nautical Art
    New Designs
    Norse Myths And Legends
    Northern Lights
    Once Upon A Time
    Painting
    Painting Tutorials
    Percy Jackson
    Persian Myths
    Pinocchio
    Polynesian Myths
    Pop Culture Stuff
    Portrait Painting
    Red Riding Hood
    Roman Mythology
    Rose In Bloom
    Saami Mythology
    Samoyed Myths
    Scotland
    Scottish Tales
    Shamanism
    Siberia
    Sketchbook
    Slavic Mythology
    Sleeping-beauty
    Snow-white
    Spells-and-superstitions
    Summer-ambience
    Swedish-folkore
    Symbols-and-mythical-motifs
    Tea-time
    The-good-witch
    The-x-files
    Time-lapse-paintings
    Time-lapse-paintings
    Tinker-bell
    Travel
    Trees-and-plants
    Trees-and-plants
    Turkic-myths
    Unicorns
    Valentineacutes-day
    Vedic Myths
    Wales
    Watercolor Textures
    Welsh Myths
    Welsh Wheel Of The Year
    Wheel Of The Year: Autumn
    Wheel Of The Year Spring
    Wheel Of The Year: Spring
    Wheel Of The Year: Summer
    Wheel Of The Year: Winter
    Winter Time Stories
    Zodiac Myths

    RSS Feed