Religion Myth and Folklore in the Worlds Epics: The Kalevala and Its Predecessors

601 Pages·1990·16.144 MB·English

by  Lauri Honko

Religion, Myth, and Folklore
in the World's Epics
Religion and Society 30
GENERAL EDITORS
Luther Martin, University of Vermont
Jacques Waardenburg, University of Lausanne
MOUTON DE GRUYTER BERLIN · NEW YORK
Religion, Myth, and Folklore
in the World's Epics
The Kalevala and its Predecessors
Edited by
Lauri Honko
MOUTON DE GRUYTER BERLIN · NEW YORK 1990
Mouton de Gruyter (formerly Mouton, The Hague)
is a Division of Walter de Gruyter & Co., Berlin.
The vignet on the cover of this book represents the
symbol of the Agathos Daimon, the snake of the Good
Spirit, known from Greek astrological and magical texts.
As its Town God, the Agathos Daimon was believed to
protect Alexandria, which was famous world-wide for
its library with precious manuscripts and books.
This volume is included as number 22 in the NIF list of publications.
© Printed on acid-free paper.
(ageing resistant — pH:7,5 —9,0)
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Religion, myth, and folklore in the world's epics : the Kalevala
and its predecessors / edited by Lauri Honko.
p. cm. — (Religion and society : 30)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-89925-625-2 (alk. paper)
1. Epic literature —History and criticism. 2. Kalevala.
3. Religion in literature. 4. Myth in literature. 5. Folklore
in literature. I. Honko, Lauri. II. Series: Religion and
society
(Hague, Netherlands) : 30.
PNI 303.R4 1990
809.Γ32—dc20 90-33277
CIP
Deutsche Bibliothek Cataloging in Publication Data
Religion, myth, and folklore in the world's epics : the Kalevala
and its predecessors / ed. by Lauri Honko. — Berlin ; New
York : Mouton de Gruyter, 1990
(Religion and society ; 30)
ISBN 3-11-012253-7
NE: Honko, Lauri [Hrsg.]; GT
© Copyright 1990 by Walter de Gruyter & Co., D-1000 Berlin 30.
All rights reserved, including those of translation into foreign languages. No part
of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage
and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Typesetting: Arthur Collignon GmbH, Berlin. — Printing: Gerike GmbH, Berlin. —
Binding: Lüderitz & Bauer, Berlin. — Printed in Germany.
Table of Contents
List of Authors IX
Prologue
Lauri Honko
The Kalevala and the World's Epics: An Introduction 1
Models
Minna Shafte Jensen
The Homeric Epics and Greek Cultural Identity 29
Teivas Oksala
Virgil's Aeneid as Homeric, National and Universal Epic . . .. 49
Lars Lönnroth
The Old Norse Analogue: Eddie Poetry and Fornaldarsaga . .. 73
Hans Fromm
Kalevala and Nibelungenlied: The Problem of Oral and Written
Composition 93
Derick Thomson
Macpherson's Ossian: Ballad Origins and Epic Ambitions . . .. 115
Result
Matti Kuusi
Epic Cycles as the Basis for the Kalevala 133
VI Table of Contents
Väinö Kaukonen
The Kalevala as Epic 157
Lauri Honko
The Kalevala: The Processual View 181
Pirkko Alhoniemi
The Reception of the Kalevala and Its Impact on the Arts . . . 231
Points of Comparison
Europe
Vilmos Voigt
The Kalevala and the Epic Traditions of Europe 247
Eduard Laugaste
The Kalevala and Kalevipoeg 265
Felix J. Oinas
Russian and Finnish Epic Songs 287
David E. Bynum
311
The Väinämöinen Poems and the South Slavic Oral Epos . .
Peter Domokos
Epics of the Eastern Uralic Peoples 343
Rudolf Schenda
359
Frederic Mistral's Poem Mireille and Provencal Identity . . .
Africa
Jan Knappert
Is Epic Oral or Written? 381
Christiane Seydou
Identity and Epics: African Examples 403
Micheline Galley
Arabic Folk Epics 425
Table of Contents VII
Asia
Jaan Puhvel
The Iranian Book of Kings: A Comparativistic View 441
Walther Heissig
Motif Correspondences between Mongolian Epics and the Kale-
vala 455
'Jam-dpal rgyal-mtsho
The Singers of the King Gesar Epic 471
Silke Herrmann
The Life and History of the Epic King Gesar in Ladakh . . .. 485
Jia Zbi
Epics in China 503
Taryo Ο bay as hi
The Yukar of the Ainu and Its Historical Background 519
Epilogue
Eino Karhu
The Role of Mythologism, Past and Present 537
Lauri Honko
The Kalevala: Problems of Interpretation and Identity 555
Index of Names 577
Index of Epics and Epic Heroes 583

List of Authors
Pirkko Alhoniemi, Associate Professor of Finnish Literature, University
of Turku, Turku.
David E. Bjnurn, Professor of Slavic and Ancient Greek, Cleveland
State University, Cleveland, Ohio.
Peter Domokos, Associate Professor at the Department of Fenno-Ugris-
tics, Lorand Eötvös University, Budapest.
Hans Fromm, Academician, Professor of German Philology and Fenno-
Ugric Languages, University of München, Ottobrunn.
Micheline Galley, Researcher, Centre National de la Recherche Scienti-
fique, Paris.
Walther Heissig, Director of the Seminar of Language and Cultural
Studies of Central Asia, University of Bonn, Rheinböllen.
Silke Herrmann, Researcher, University of Bonn, Köln.
Lauri Honko, Professor of Folkloristics and Comparative Religion,
University of Turku, Director of the Nordic Institute of Folklore,
Turku.
'Jam-dpal rgyal-mtsho, Research Fellow of the Institute for the Literature
of Minority Nationalities, Beijing.
Minna Skafte Jensen, Lecturer of Classics, University of Copenhagen,
Copenhagen.
Jia Zhi, Vice President, China Society for the Study of Folk Literature
and Art, Beijing.
Eino Karhu, Director of the Literature Sector at the Institute of Lan-
guage, Literature and History, Academy of Sciences of the USSR,
Karelian Branch, Petrozavodsk.