When you listen to Lea in the Karelian parlour in the bardic village of Parppeinvaara on a hill above Ilomantsi, you can forget the modern world for a moment. Lea gives individual samples of her great-grandfather's runic songs. Rune songs are a form of Finnish folk poetry that has been passed down orally for centuries. They include cultic and lyrical songs, songs of labour and heroes, wedding songs, lullabies and spells. Lea chooses a song about creation. ‘It's a simple melody,’ she comments on her own song. ‘It's less about complex melodies and more about the rhythm and sound of the words.’ Even though I don't understand anything, this mixture of recitation and singing casts a spell over me. Lea's parents had to leave their home in “Border Karelia” as children and were evacuated to the Finnish part of Karelia after the war. They brought their traditional folk songs with them. ‘Although I learnt Finnish as a child, I know many of these songs from my childhood,’ says the 54-year-old. "These old melodies were always around me. But then I led a modern life. I studied literature and journalism and taught creative writing for many years." At some point, Lea became interested in the runic songs and began to study their history. "My love of language and poetry paved the way to these ancient tales. I listened to many recordings of runic songs and linked them to my own memories." Lea prefers to let the chants speak rather than answer many questions. What follows is a story passed down by her great-grandfather Mihaila. It is about world creation. In the poem a big, mythical bird lays a golden egg and in the end the egg breaks and divides into seven and even into eight parts.
According to Lea, these runic songs were not only used for entertainment, but also to pass on knowledge, myths and ethical ideas. She describes the ‘lament’ as a special form of lyric song and calls it lyrical lamenting. It is one of the oldest and most emotionally intense forms of Karelian oral poetry and music. Lamentations were not only an expression of grief but also had a profound ritual function. They were sung at important events in life, for example at funerals or when the bride left her parental home to join a new family. Lea shows a cloth that she held to her cheek during the performance of a lament. "It's not just for wiping away possible tears. The cloth is important for focussing on the lament and becoming part of the emotional and symbolic depth of this unique song form."
The Finnish doctor and philologist Elias Lönnrot collected many of the oral runic songs during his travels through Karelia in the 19th century. From these fragmentary songs and motifs, Lönnrot created the ‘Kalevala’, the Finnish national epic. Lea explains that each region has its own tales, but they are all similar.
The runic village of Parppeinvaara has set itself the task of preserving Karelian culture and, in particular, the tradition of runic singing. The village, situated on a hill, was named after Jaakko Parppei, who lived there in the 19th century. He was a famous kantele player. The kantele is a traditional Finnish plucked string instrument that belongs to the zither family. It is closely linked to Finnish culture and mythology. Its origins are described in the Kalevala. Lea also gives a few audio samples here. ‘There are people who can do this much better than me,’ she apologises. But it's enough to get an impression of the harp-like sound.
