This is the first volume of John Abercromby's extensive study of Finnish magic songs and their background. First he details the history, ethnography and linguistics of the Finns, indeed, constructs a century-long history of the entire Finno-ugric group from the evolution of vocabulary. Finally in the last (long) chapter he gets to the first part of the exposition of the 'magic songs.' This is a summary of the various characters in the songs including a whole range of Finnish gods, goddesses, heroes, wizards, nature-spirits, and so on. He also goes into detail about Finnish Shamanistic practices, including drumming, trance ceremonies, and guide spirits. This book is a treasure trove of Finnish lore, and invites repeated browsings.

This is the first volume of John Abercromby's extensive study of Finnish magic songs and their background. First he details the history, ethnography and linguistics of the Finns, indeed, constructs a century-long history of the entire Finno-ugric group from the evolution of vocabulary. Finally in the last (long) chapter he gets to the first part of the exposition of the 'magic songs.' This is a summary of the various characters in the songs including a whole range of Finnish gods, goddesses, heroes, wizards, nature-spirits, and so on. He also goes into detail about Finnish Shamanistic practices, including drumming, trance ceremonies, and guide spirits. This book is a treasure trove of Finnish lore, and invites repeated browsings.

This is the first volume of John Abercromby's extensive study of Finnish magic songs and their background. First he details the history, ethnography and linguistics of the Finns, indeed, constructs a century-long history of the entire Finno-ugric group from the evolution of vocabulary. Finally in the last (long) chapter he gets to the first part of the exposition of the 'magic songs.' This is a summary of the various characters in the songs including a whole range of Finnish gods, goddesses, heroes, wizards, nature-spirits, and so on. He also goes into detail about Finnish Shamanistic practices, including drumming, trance ceremonies, and guide spirits. This book is a treasure trove of Finnish lore, and invites repeated browsings.