Iku-Turso

Iku-Turso (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈikuˌturso], "the eternal Turso"; also known as Iku-Tursas, Iki-Tursas, Meritursas, Tursas, Turisas among others) is a malevolent sea monster in Finnish mythology, best known for appearing in the Kalevala. Nowadays Meritursas means octopus in Finnish, named after Iku-Turso, but originally tursas is an old name for walrus while the more common term is mursu. However, it is more common to see the word mustekala (lit. "ink fish"), the name of its Subclass Coleoidea in Finnish, for the octopus.

The name of the monster is probably related to the Proto-Germanic *Þurisaz ("giant").

Description

His appearance remains unclear, but he is described with several epithets: partalainen (the one who lives on the brink, or alternatively, the bearded one), Tuonen härkä (the ox of Tuoni, Death), tuhatpää (thousand-headed), tuhatsarvi (thousand-horned). It was sometimes said that he lived in Pohjola, but that may be because Pohjola was often perceived as the home of all evil.

In some versions of the spell The Birth of Nine Diseases Iku-Turso is mentioned as the father of diseases with Loviatar, the blind daughter of Tuoni, the god of death. The Scandinavian giants (þursar, sg. þurs) had the ability to shoot arrows which caused diseases in people. This and the fact that þurs resembles Tursas gives credence to the idea that they may be related. Some runes tell that Meritursas partalainen makes pregnant the Maiden of Air (Ilman impi, Ilmatar). She later gave birth to Väinämöinen, which would make him a truly primeval creature. On the other hand, he is also mentioned as the son of Äijö (a name usually assigned to the God of sky).

As a god of war

In the list of Tavastian gods by Mikael Agricola, he is mentioned as the god of war: Turisas voiton antoi sodast (Turisas brought victory in war). It has been suggested that the god in the list is same as the Scandinavian god of war Tyr; however, this theory is not widely supported today.

In the Kalevala

He is mentioned several times in the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala. In the second cantos he rises from the sea and burns a stack of hay. Later, a giant oak grows from the ashes. The tree grows so large that it hides the sun and the moon and is cut down.

From the ocean rose a giant,	From the acorn, quickly sprouting,
Mighty Tursas, tall and hardy,	Grows the oak-tree, tall and stately,
Pressed compactly all the grasses,	From the ground enriched by ashes,
That the maidens had been raking,	Newly raked by water-maidens;
When a fire within them kindles,	Spread the oak-trees many branches,
And the flames shot up to heaven,	Rounds itself a broad corona,
Till the windrows burned to ashes,	Raises it above the storm-clouds;
Only ashes now remaining	Far it stretches out its branches,
Of the grasses raked together.	Stops the white-clouds in their courses,
In the ashes of the windows,	With its branches hides the sunlight,
Tender leaves the giant places,	With its many leaves, the moonbeams,
In the leaves he plants an acorn,	And the starlight dies in heaven.[1]

Later, Iku-Turso is summoned by Louhi, the Lady of the North, to stop the theft of the magical artifact Sampo. Väinämöinen, the leader of the plunderers, grabs Iku-Turso from his ears and using magical words makes him promise to never return from the bottom of the sea.

Wainamoinen, brave and mighty,	Asked the second time the monster,	To the people of Wainola,
Seizes quick the water-monster,	Urgently inquired a third time:	Never while the moonlight glimmers
Lifts him by his ears and questions:	"Iku-Turso, son of Old-age,	On the hills of Kalevala!"
"Iku-Turso, son of Old-age,	Why art rising from the waters,
Why is art rising from the blue-sea?	Wherefore dost thou leave the blue-sea?	Then the singer, Wainamoinen,
Wherefore dost thou leave thy castle,	Iku-Turso gave this answer:	Freed the monster, Iku-Turso,
Show thyself to mighty heroes,	For this, cause I left my castle	Sent him to his deep sea-castles,
To the heroes of Wainola?"	Underneath the rolling billows:	Spake these words to him departing:
	Came I here with the intention	"Iku-Turso, son of Old-age,
Iku-Turso, son of Old-age,	To destroy the Kalew-heroes,	Nevermore arise from the ocean,
Ocean monster, manifested	And return the magic Sampo	Nevermore let Northland-heroes
Neither pleasure nor displeasure,	To the people of Pohyola.	See thy face above the waters I
Was not in the least affrighted,	If thou wilt restore my freedom,	Nevermore has Iku-Turso
Did not give the hero an answer.	Spare my life, from pain and sorrow,	Risen to the ocean-level;
	I will quick retrace my journey,	Never since have Northland sailors
Whereupon the ancient minstrel,	Nevermore to show my visage	Seen the head of this sea-monster.[2]

Two variants of tursaansydän (heart of Tursas), also known as mursunsydän (heart of walrus), an ancient Scandinavian symbol believed to bring good luck and protect from curses.

Legacy

One of the three Vetehinen class submarines used by Finland in the Second World War was named after Iku-Turso. After the war the Soviet Union denied Finland the use of submarines, and she was sold to Belgium for scrapping. Other things named after the mythical being are the Asteroid 2828 Iku-Turso and a Finnish metal band Turisas. In popular culture, Iku-Turso wreaks havoc in Helsinki in the Donald Duck comic book story The Quest for Kalevala by Don Rosa.

In popular culture

• Finnish Folk metal band Turisas is named after the war god.[3]
• Iku-Turso is featured as a monster in Final Fantasy XI.[4]
• In late 2009 the professional wrestling promotion CHIKARA introduced a character named Tursas,[5] based on the mythological being.

See also

• Näkki

Footnotes

1. Kalevala, Rune II. Translated by John Martin Crawford (1888).
2. Kalevala, Rune XLII.
3. "Band". Turisas.com. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
4. "Iku-Turso- FFXloclepedia". Retrieved June 7, 2015.
5. "Roster: Bruderschaft des Kreuzes". CHIKARA Pro. Archived from the original on April 10, 2010. Retrieved April 29, 2015.

Bibliography

• Turunen, Aimo (1981). Kalevalan sanat ja niiden taustat. Karjalaisen kulttuurin edistämissäätiö. ISBN 951-9363-24-6.