Väinämöinen, the Eternal Sage, does not fight with weapons of steel but with song. To know the origin of something—⁠—be it iron, fire, bears, or a disease—⁠—is to have absolute power over it, and traditional healers, following the model of the hero Väinämöinen, recite origin-charms to heal physical injuries.

This is the world of the Kalevala, Land of Heroes, a dreamlike landscape where the boundary between the material and spirit worlds is as thin as a birch leaf. Such is also the name given to the text compiled by Finnish polymath Elias Lönnrot in the 19th-century from the stories and songs of the people of Finland, Karelia, and Ingria.