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Lempo

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For the minor planet, see 47171 Lempo.

Lempo (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈlempo]) is a demon from Finnish folklore and mythology. Lempo has been connected to the names Lemmes, Lemmas, Lemmätär and Lemmetär (lit. 'Lady Love'), as well as themes of love and fire. The -tär ending names are feminine, but Lempo has also been understood as a male demon in some instances.

Descriptions

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Christfried Ganander called Lempo a flying evil spirit who forged evil flying arrows;[1] Lemmes a forest god or faun who planted the alder and is its protector;[2] Lemmas a nymph who stirred iron after it was lifted from bogs;[3] and Lemmetär or Lemmätär a smith maid who pulled the bellows when iron was made and shook trees with her breath.[4]

Matthias Castrén connected the name Lempo to the word lempi ("erotic love"). It was personalized as a capitalized Lempi in love spells. This lempi in spells could be a wild and raging feeling, like lust awoken by an evil witch, so Castrén thought a love god could've thus developed into an evil god. Elias Lönnrot connected the name to the Swedish word slem ("lousy"). Lemmetär is also mentioned in runic songs describing the origin of stones.[5]

A South Savonian description of a love spell explains that when a wife had broken the laws of chastity, Lempi in her had transformed into Lempo and was then driven out of her with a spell.[6] A North Savonian love spell includes expressions of gratitude to Lemmetär at the end of it.[7]

Lönnrot wondered if love ("lempi") was in the process of forming into the god Lempi when Christianity arrived to Finland.[8]

In runic songs, Lempo is connected to fire, which has created theories of Lempo's possible role as a fire haltija.[9] Lemmes or lemmäs means a meteorite which makes a howling sound when falling to the ground, while plural lemmenet means sparks above a campfire. The word lempo means a ball lightning. Similarly, erotic love (lempi) has been described like a flame which flares up within a person. Fire which came with a meteorite crash or ball lightning was considered sacred. There are many similar sounding place names in Lempäälä, such as Lempoinen and Lempää. According to folklore, there were Lempo's cave (Lemmon luola) and Lempo's hole (Lemmon kuoppa) in Lempäälä, the latter near the local church. It has been theorized these formations could've been caused by meteorite strikes. Local folklore states Lempo was worshipped there before the arrival of Christianity. Both formations were destroyed when a railway was built in the area. It is also possible the place names near Lempäälä originate from a name meaning a place of fire.[10]

Demonic Lempo

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After Christianity came to Finland, the reputation of Lempo worsened: it is portrayed in the folklore usually as an erratic spirit, as love can be capricious, even dangerous, and it could even take control of a being and turn them to destruction.

Lempo brought down the hero Väinämöinen with the help of his two demon cohorts, Hiisi and Paha.[11]

The words "lempo" and "hiisi" are also used as very mild swear words in the Finnish language. Piru is a slightly stronger swear word.

Sukkamieli

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Ganander mentioned a being called Sukkamieli (lit. 'sock mind'), who he connected to Asmodeus, who caused discord between a wedded couple to make the husband jealous ("to have black socks"). Sukkamieli was called mielen kääntäjä ("changer of minds") and was asked to change the minds of a couple in discord to be loving again.[12] The runic song Ganander refers to has, however, never been collected from anywhere else, which has led researchers to think this song and Sukkamieli could be of later, pseudo-mythological creation. Ganander did not dare write down the sexually explicit love spells of Finnish and Karelian runic song tradition.[13]

Castrén explained the name Sukkamieli as someone who loves socks, and since socks are soft and smooth, the goddess of love was called Sukkamieli because she cared for the weakest and most tender feelings of the heart. He also refers to the verb suksutella ("to entice, to tease").[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "SKVR XII2 8720". skvr.fi. Finnish Literature Society. 1789. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  2. ^ "SKVR XII1 3969". skvr.fi. Finnish Literature Society. 1789. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  3. ^ "SKVR XII1 4072". skvr.fi. Finnish Literature Society. 1789. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  4. ^ "SKVR XII1 3970". skvr.fi. Finnish Literature Society. 1789. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  5. ^ Krohn, Kaarle (1914). Suomalaisten runojen uskonto. Porvoo: Finnish Literature Society. p. 259–260.
  6. ^ "SKVR VI2 6133". skvr.fi. Finnish Literature Society. 1884. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  7. ^ "SKVR VI2 6119". skvr.fi. Finnish Literature Society. 1900. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  8. ^ a b "SKVR XV 674". skvr.fi. Finnish Literature Society. 1840. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  9. ^ Pulkkinen, Risto; Lindfors, Stina (2016). Suomalaisen kansanuskon sanakirja. Gaudeamus. p. 180. ISBN 978-952-495-405-1.
  10. ^ Kuisma, Juha (2015). "Mitä lempoa – Lempäälän nimen selitys". lvs.fi. Lempäälä: Lempäälän-Vesilahden Sanomat. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  11. ^ a b "47171 Lempo (1999 TC36)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  12. ^ "SKVR XII2 7617". skvr.fi. Finnish Literature Society. 1789. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  13. ^ "SKVR XV 364". skvr.fi. Finnish Literature Society. 1786. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
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