“Hannunvaakuna is a Finnish word with several meanings. It is known to mean ‘Frost’s breath’ or the name of a creature in Finnish mythology, said to cause frosty weather. It is said to have a head of a reindeer and a body of a snake. It is also said to have a tail that it …
“Shamanism is a practice that involves a practitioner reaching altered states of consciousness in order to encounter and interact with the spirit world and channel these transcendental energies into this world. A shaman is someone who is regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of benevolent and malevolent spirits, who typically enters …
“The discovery doctrine, also called doctrine of discovery, is a concept of public international law that was promulgated by the Catholic Church and European monarchies in order to legitimize the colonization and evangelization of lands outside Europe. Between the mid-fifteenth century and the mid-twentieth century, this idea allowed European entities to seize lands inhabited by Indigenous peoples under the guise of “discovering new land”, meaning land not inhabited …
Kalevala, the dwelling place of the poem’s chief characters, is a poetic name for Finland, meaning “land of heroes.” The leader of the “sons of Kaleva” is the old and wise Väinämöinen, a powerful seer with supernatural origins, who is a master of the kantele, the Finnish harplike stringed instrument.
