Estonian Mythology ~ Kalevipoeg, Linda & Kalev 🇪🇪

[@DrArku]

As an Estonian, I am deeply grateful to you for bringing our mythology and culture to the wider audience. Please don't take offense when we point out your minor pronouncing errors. It probably seems like petty nit-picking to an outsider, but when a foreigner makes an effort to speak and understand our tongue, we are all quietly swelling with pride and joy.

[@Fran-i3f]

SILENCIOSAMENTE 😞

[@williamrobinson7435]

I admire your persistence and competence as a researcher in penetrating this subject; not easy, given the language difficulties for us Brits, and the relative unavailability of source material. Also your watercolour painting is coming on a treat; really expressive and, I would think, a huge asset to a practical folklorist. Have a great Yuletide and thank you again for your wonderful work! 🌟👍

[@TheJollyReiver]

Thanks for the kind words Will!

[@EEX97623]

Perfect timing! A rainy Sunday in Tallinn and a new JR video on Estonia 🇪🇪 aitäh

[@TheJollyReiver]

:-)

[@markedis5902]

Fantastic stories beautifully delivered. I’m so glad I found your channel and have spent several late nights binge watching your back catalogue. Thank you

[@lorifromtemeculaca426]

Always love the history & how you deliver stories!!!

[@ignorance112]

Love that you are doing another one about my country! Keep up the good work! Also gotta say love the little detail of the watercolor painting.

[@Man_Raised_By_Puffins]

Just wanted to say you're doing great work mate and I really appreciate your commitment to storytelling

[@marjukubre4220]

Thank you for the video! I work as a tour guide in Tallinn and always tell these stories to the visitors. The epic "Kalevipoeg" has a full translation into English (published in 2011). You might be able to get it from the second hand bookshops online.

[@lorifromtemeculaca426]

YOUR painting is lovely!!!

[@JordanWhite-p8c]

Well come back jolly revier I miss you so much ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@TheJollyReiver]

:-)

[@JordanWhite-p8c]

Thanks for the nice comments jolly revier

[@bluebird3281]

Linda is such a ubiquitous name in the U.S I always assumed it was English or British Isle at least. I guess it is an Estonian name. To me and my ignorance the title seemed funny, Like "Faramir, Isildur and Betty. from accounting" Great video and terrific topic, I hope you are able to do more Estonia and Baltic countries.

[@TheJollyReiver]

Glad you enjoyed! I do indeed have a couple more Estonian ones to come out

[@Goldernal]

It's heartwarming to see someone who is so interested in mythology and legends, that they will learn it from other cultures and then try to teach it to their own. I'm kinda sad that Estonian litature is not been translated to english on a big scale, even the cultural writings Loved the video.

[@adoxartist1258]

A young friend and her husband spent a year or so in Estonia. They absolutely love the country and the people. I appreciate hearing other countries' folklore and learning something of their cultures. Always fascinating! Thanks for the video!

[@jenniferlevine5406]

Wonderful video! You do such good work. Estonian tradition is new to me and I appreciate your efforts to bring the mythology and traditions to a wider audience. Thank you!

[@connorricketts1323]

Great as always love the story and stories

[@martinkoitmae6655]

These are always excellent!

[@PinnedonPlaces]

How incredible! The history is very vast and interesting! I would love to visit there, the castles look absolutely mind blowing! I'd love to visit Tallin, it's old worlde vibe speaks to me. Loved listening to the tales of Kalevipoeg, very cool. Love the association with the chocolate too! I'm totally intrigued by Estonian Mythology, Thank you TJR always so captivating.

[@EEX97623]

Vanalinn (old town) of Tallinn is UNESCO heritage site, it's medieval, survived WW2 and Soviet occupation - it's quite amazing. The design on that bar of Kalev chocolate is a special edition, it's not usually like that - but we do like to name things as Kalev, such as JK Tallinna Kalev football club 😄

[@PinnedonPlaces]

@@EEX97623 That's so so interesting, thank you for sharing!

[@paulsiebert4970]

​@@EEX97623it's not that crazy that it "survived" soviet "occupation" (rather "liberation" from literal Nazis). After all, Soviets didn't destroy Infrastructure. Why would they do it in the first place? It's a foolish thought.

[@bluebird3281]

@@paulsiebert4970 To the people that lived through the Soviet occupation it seemed like they survived but I guess you know more than them. They left the Soviets first chance they got and their army trains to repel a Russian invasion when it drills....to repel their "liberators".......... Why would the soviets destroy the infrastructure they need in place to exploit Estonia? Great point.... Are you a white guy for Kamala?

[@Eorthil]

​@@paulsiebert4970 Erm actually the soviets did bomb Tallinn when there were no Germans anymore. They destroyed some houses. Plus whole baroque Narva got leveled and replaced by commie blocks.

[@eazygamer8974]

I bet that was an awesome trip for you! I hope we get to see where else you go soon!!

[@TheJollyReiver]

Slovakia next, then Austria, then Somerset :-)

[@phoneaccount3434]

Check these books: The Estonia Chronicles: Tales of Legends, Folklore and Ghost Stories by Denn Turner and Mythology and Folklore of Estonia by Liam Harris.

[@Eorthil]

Thank you so much for your great videos! Looking forward to the next ones! Super interesting! :D

[@Jen999]

Achingly beautiful, this.. both the scenery and the story that you told .. We cried for Linda.. as she carried those boulders to make her husband Kalev’s grave.. so many tears that a lake was formed.. and there her statue was built on that rock in the midst.. 😭🌹 An excellent job in this video.. honestly we did not know much of Estonia.. and think it sad that they have this amazing culture.. and little access to it because of the shortage of books recounting these tales.. We definitely appreciate your telling of these poignant tales.. As always.. the gift of your beautiful and expressive voice is a valuable asset to this video.. Listening.. we can hear clearly the pure emotion you feel as you tell these plaintive tales.. Btw.. we do not speak Estonian.. although we know the name Linda in Spanish means.. beautiful.. we find that most appropriate a name for this loyal bereaved lass💔🖤😭.. Thank you so much 💜💙🙏 William and Jen

[@rythmhawk2598]

When i first read the name Kalevipoeg my mind travelled to Finland at once. To Kalevala story... There's a link between these two places for sure. Estonia's people are atheists. Not all of them but a big part of the population. Maybe this is another aspect to the aversion of the building that they want to tear down. Also because of the intruders of the country's past history. Maybe you should do a video of Kalevalla in the future. please do a video also about Wales mythology and more of Fin and Tuatha de Dannan. Keep up the great work.

[@_the_wessex_nomad_]

Love it, mate. I really want to go to Estonia now.

[@725k9]

Great video!

[@TheJollyReiver]

Thank you :-)

[@yukinoved4260]

And weird story about Linda's birth. There was a woman, who once went into the forest to collect berries. On her way she picked up a kitten, a bird and an egg. Putting them into her basket, she went home, gave them food, covered with a blanket, and left for the night. And in the morning those animals turned into three beautiful ladies, one of whom was Linda.

[@carriageofnoreturn.1881]

"He's also advised by a wise hedgehog..." I mean, aren't we all?

[@yukinoved4260]

As a person, who recently read Kalevipoeg recently - Kalevipoeg is actually his name, given to him by his mother, by the request of his father. Sometimes it is explained that she was waiting him, while Kalev died, so he told her, that his heritage is gonna live on in his last son, so he will bear his name as well. This is one of the many explanations, since they differ from book to book and, as is the case with many folklores, many regions have their own tales about same heroes/gods.

[@TheJollyReiver]

Thanks for sharing!

[@yukinoved4260]

On the topic of weird Kalevipoeg stories: 1. He once, while travelling, was attacked by farmer's dog. He kicked it and its head landed on the hill and its body in the valley, both dead. On top of that hill people build the church, in that valley a city market. And this city, standing on a dog's blood, was named after that dog, Dog's name was Rakki. The city's name is Rakkivere or Rakvere for short. 2. Hills in southern Estonia are pillows he made himself while travelling. 3. Once he decided to build a town. To do that he bought lumber from Novgorod and transported it home, by walking through Peipsi lake. (People were using the depth of lake then, to calculate presumed height of Kalevipoeg)

[@carljoosepraave2102]

There is a Holy lake in Estonia created via Meteor! The Kaali Crater Present in northeasten european myth especially Finnish myth. And due to being one of the latest large meteor impacts in a populated area, 3500 years ago, theorised to have inspired other myths around europe. The Kalevas tale says an evil wizard stole the sun, and while the gods were creating a new one, it fell down in Estonia in a lake. (One variation i have heard but couldnt find sources for, was that the people across the sea of Finland, shot the sun with arrows, and tried to Eat it. Which is very metal , but i couldnt find proof that this isnt a modern version)

[@AyeGee721]

Fascinating how Estonian Folklore shares a mix of ethnic Finnic, germanic and slavic. While Finnish is mixed with ethnic finnic and Saami (shares more with their Asiatic relatives) But now I'm going to hear Linda in Daz Black's voice.

[@hello_there571]

I love how you used their depictions from "Kalev" chocolate commercials

[@christopherseilaff8665]

I do wish someone would translate the folklore into English and other languages. It would be great for the world to enjoy these stories.

[@attehuhtala4544]

could you make a video about finnish mythology? 

[@TheJollyReiver]

I did have a Finland trip booked in November but had to cancel for health reasons. Hopefully I’ll get there one day!

[@pentegarn1]

Ahhh Estonia....our NATO brothers and sisters. The USA stands with you arm in arm forever.

[@ОбычныйЧувакРУС]

Hehe, last time I commented I got called an onion because ,,it is impossible for an Estonian to have a Russian name." Let's see what happens this time, värdjad

[@kairysisKrantas]

05:00 your clsims about russification of Estonia by tzar rule are misleading. There was no russification, because there were lots of ethnic groups in Russian empire and then in USSR and none of them were stripped of their identity. You know what empires were destroying ethnic cultures? The Western ones.

[@salajanetegelane]

(Estonian here) no, its not misleading. All true.

[@kairysisKrantas]

@salajanetegelane (Lithuanian here) no, it is not true. We, the Baltic states are the living proof, because we still have our ethnic identity.

[@TheJollyReiver]

So the enforcing of Russian language in schools, workplaces and government, banning of local languages in book publications, the banning and exiling of people promoting national identity (writers, artists, intellectuals), the enforcement of Russian/Soviet cultural achievement (buildings, statues, flags, parades, etc), and the importation of huge numbers of Russians to facilitate ethnic replacement (nearly 1/4 of Estonia is Russian to this day), all of this is just made up? Amazing.

[@kairysisKrantas]

@TheJollyReiver let us get language fact straight: what is your basis of claim that there was a banning of local languages? If you think that facts are such because someone told you so then let me tell you story about so called Lithuanian language ban in my country. After revolt of local fireign agents of Poland (which occupied Lithuania before Russian empire), tzar banned usage of latin chatacters in written form. He did not ban Lithuanian language as such, you could speak and write in cyrilic (as was taught in schools). Latin characters are in no way native to Lithuanian language, because our ancestors were using runes. Government was using Russian language before uniting with Poland into greater kingdom. So I see no basis why it can be considered as banning of Lithuanian language and destroying the culture. You know who was whiping our culture? Poland and Germany.