Loviatar

Loviatar (alternative names Loveatar, Lovetar, Lovehetar, Louhetar, Louhiatar, Louhi) is a blind daughter of Tuoni, the god of death in Finnish mythology. She was said to be the worst of them all. She was impregnated by wind and gave birth to nine sons, the Nine diseases. In some poems, she also gives birth to a tenth child who is a girl. [Suomalainen mytologia. By Martti Haavio. Published in 1967.] She is mentioned in the 45th rune of the Kalevala. [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/kveng/kvrune45.htm Kalevala, Rune XLV] . Translated by John Martin Crawford (1888).]

Excerpt from the Kalevala

Relation to Louhi

When Elias Lönnrot compiled Kalevala, he made Loviatar and Louhi two different characters. However, in the old folk poems the names are often used interchangeably. Some poems specify Louhi as the mother of the Nine diseasesFor example, poem 2104 of part I4 of [http://www.finlit.fi/skvr Suomen Kansan Vanhat Runot] (SKVR), the corpus of old Finnish folk poems (in Finnish).] and others give Loviatar the title "Whore Mistress of Pohjola"For example, poem 2039 of part VII4 of [http://www.finlit.fi/skvr SKVR] .]

There is one difference between Louhi and the various forms of Loviatar in the poems. The Loviatar name family occurs only in spells where diseases are banished to go back to her while Louhi occurs also in epic poems. She gives quests to heroes,Such as poems 1020 of part I2 and 364 of part VII1 in [http://www.finlit.fi/skvr SKVR] .] and opposes Lemminkäinen in a spell contest.Poem 815 of part I2 of [http://www.finlit.fi/skvr SKVR] .]

One hypothesis is that Louhi and Loviatar were regional variant names for the same goddess and that the epic poems were composed in an area where Louhi was the primary name. A large portion of the epic poems speak only about the Mistress of Pohjola and don't call her by name at all.There are about 50 such poems in part I1 of [http://www.finlit.fi/skvr SKVR] .]

References