Louhi
Encyclopedia
Queen regnant
A queen regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right, in contrast to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigning king. An empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right over an empire....
of the land known as Pohjola
Pohjola
Pohjola or Pohja is a location in Finnish mythology, sometimes translated in English as Northland or Pohjoland. It is one of the two main polarities in the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, along with Kaleva or Väinölä. Its name is derived from the word pohjoinen meaning the compass point north...
in Finnish mythology
Finnish mythology
Finnish mythology is the mythology that went with Finnish paganism which was practised by the Finnish people prior to Christianisation. It has many features shared with fellow Finnic Estonian mythology and its non-Finnic neighbours, the Balts and the Scandinavians...
and the mythology of Lapland
Sami people
The Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost...
.
In mythology
Louhi is described as a powerful witch with the ability to change shape and weave mighty enchantments. She is also the main opponent of VäinämöinenVäinämöinen
Väinämöinen is the central character in the Finnish folklore and the main character in the national epic Kalevala. His name comes from the Finnish word väinämö, meaning minstrel. Originally a Finnish god, he was described as an old and wise man, and he possessed a potent, magical...
and his group in the battle for the magical artifact Sampo
Sampo
In Finnish mythology, the Sampo or Sammas was a magical artifact of indeterminate type constructed by Ilmarinen that brought good fortune to its holder...
in the Kalevala
Kalevala
The Kalevala is a 19th century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Finnish and Karelian oral folklore and mythology.It is regarded as the national epic of Finland and is one of the most significant works of Finnish literature...
. She has a number of beautiful daughters, whom Ilmarinen
Ilmarinen
Seppo Ilmarinen, the Eternal Hammerer, blacksmith and inventor in the Kalevala, is an archetypal artificer from Finnish mythology. Immortal, he is capable of creating practically anything, but is portrayed as unlucky in love...
, Lemminkäinen
Lemminkäinen
Lemminkäinen or Lemminki is a prominent figure in Finnish mythology. He is one of the Heroes of the Kalevala, where his character is a composition of several separate heroes of oral poetry. He is usually depicted as young and good looking, with wavy blonde hair.The original, mythological...
and other heroes attempt to win in various legends. Louhi, in true fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
form, sets them difficult to impossible tasks to perform in order to claim such a prize.
As many mythological creatures and objects are easily conflated and separated in Finnish mythology, Louhi is probably an alter-ego of various other goddess
Goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some cultures goddesses are associated with Earth, motherhood, love, and the household. In other cultures, goddesses also rule over war, death, and destruction as well as healing....
es, notably Loviatar.
Other meanings
"Louhi" or "lovi" also refer to a state of tranceTrance
Trance denotes a variety of processes, ecstasy, techniques, modalities and states of mind, awareness and consciousness. Trance states may occur involuntarily and unbidden.The term trance may be associated with meditation, magic, flow, and prayer...
, or of magic. This can be seen, for example, in the opening lines often used in spells that go "Nouse luontoni lovesta, haon alta haltiani" or variations thereof (translatable to "rise my nature from the lovi, (rise) my spirit from beneath the threshold").
"Louhi" is also the name of the Finnish Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
company Louhi Networks a Cray
Cray
Cray Inc. is an American supercomputer manufacturer based in Seattle, Washington. The company's predecessor, Cray Research, Inc. , was founded in 1972 by computer designer Seymour Cray. Seymour Cray went on to form the spin-off Cray Computer Corporation , in 1989, which went bankrupt in 1995,...
supercomputer
Supercomputer
A supercomputer is a computer at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation.Supercomputers are used for highly calculation-intensive tasks such as problems including quantum physics, weather forecasting, climate research, molecular modeling A supercomputer is a...
located in the Finnish IT center for science, and was the name of a Finnish orchestra and a local newspaper founded by the Finnish writer Teuvo Pakkala
Teuvo Pakkala
Teuvo Pakkala was a Finnish author, playwright, reporter, linguist and teacher....
.
Louhi has also been a name of several vessels of the Finnish Navy
Finnish Navy
The Finnish Navy is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Navy employs 2,300 people and about 4,300 conscripts are trained each year. Finnish Navy vessels are given the ship prefix "FNS" simply short for "Finnish Navy Ship"...
:
- MinelayerMinelayerMinelaying is the act of deploying explosive mines. Historically this has been carried out by ships, submarines and aircraft. Additionally, since World War I the term minelayer refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines...
LouhiFinnish minelayer LouhiLouhi was originally constructed for the Imperial Russian Navy as Voin the Louhi was known in Finnish service as M-1 until 1936. The ship was built as a minelayer but was not particularly good in it with its slow speed, bad seakeeping qualities and poor storage space...
, built in 1916 in the Russian EmpireRussian EmpireThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
as Voin and sunk in 1945 by the German submarineU-boatU-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
U-370. - Support ship Louhi, built in 1939 as the icebreakerIcebreakerAn icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels .For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most...
Sisu and handed over to the Navy in 1970. Scrapped in 1986. - Oil spill response vessel LouhiLouhi (2011)Louhi is a Finnish multipurpose oil and chemical spill response vessel owned by the Finnish Environment Institute , but manned and operated by the Finnish Navy...
, built in 2011.
In popular culture
Louhi was the main antagonist in the Finnish-Soviet film SampoSampo (film)
Sampo is a Russian and Finnish language 1959 joint Finnish and Soviet production based loosely on the events depicted in the Finnish national epic Kalevala. A significantly edited version called The Day the Earth Froze was released internationally. This version was later featured in the American...
, and was also an inspiration for the Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian is a fictional sword and sorcery hero that originated in pulp fiction magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films , television programs, video games, roleplaying games and other media...
's foe Louhi, the Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light boss character Louhi the Witch of the North, the Final Fantasy XI
Final Fantasy XI
, also known as Final Fantasy XI Online, is a MMORPG developed and published by Square as part of the Final Fantasy series. It was released in Japan on Sony's PlayStation 2 on May 16, 2002, and was released for Microsoft's Windows-based personal computers in November 2002...
item Louhi's Mask, and the orchestral work Louhi by the Finnish composer Kalevi Aho
Kalevi Aho
Kalevi Aho is a Finnish composer.- Career :Born in Forssa, he studied composition at the Sibelius Academy under Einojuhani Rautavaara, receiving a diploma in 1971. He continued his studies for a year in Berlin with Boris Blacher...
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