• SpiderFarmer [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    8 months ago

    Estonia just keeps striking me as Finland, but without the sweet music and literature. Seriously the Kalevala is hardcore. I really hope it’s not super popular with fascists. Granted, I’m American. Any culture we have we quickly try and stamp out. I’m genuinely shocked my family held onto some of our Polish traditions.

    • GenderIsOpSec [she/her]@hexbear.net
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      8 months ago

      it’s a pretty cool book, bought the original ye olde finnish version and then had to buy one with modern finnish because, motherfucker some words just became completely opposite during the decades

      my favourite bit is the one where the smith Ilmarinen forges a wife from gold because he lost his wife in the previous story. he isnt very happy because she is very cold and apparentely in more than the physical way. So he tries to pawn her off to Väinämöinen (who is a massive fucking dickhead) and he turns that into a lesson:

      Then the hero of the waters
      Called together all his people,
      Spake these words of ancient wisdom:
      "Every child of Northland, listen,
      Whether poor, or fortune-favored:
      Never bow before an image
      Born of molten gold and silver:
      Never while the sunlight brightens,
      Never while the moonlight glimmers,
      Choose a maiden of the metals,
      Choose a bride from gold created
      Cold the lips of golden maiden,
      Silver breathes the breath of sorrow." 
      

      i do love to read stuff written way back when and they try to warn us off from worshipping wealth sans-shrug sorry, folks we done fucked up