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Mythic discourses in the present day show how vernacular heritage continues to function and be valuable through emergent interpretations and revaluations. At the same time, continuities in mythic images, motifs, myths and genres reveal the longue durée of mythologies and their transformations. The eighteen articles of Mythic Discourses address the many facets of myth in Uralic cultures, from the Finnish and Karelian world-creation to Nenets shamans, offering multidisciplinary perspectives from twenty eastern and western scholars.

The mythologies of Uralic peoples differ so considerably that mythology is approached here in a broad sense, including myths proper, religious beliefs and associated rituals. Traditions are addressed individually, typologically, and in historical perspective. The range and breadth of the articles, presenting diverse living mythologies, their histories and relationships to traditions of other cultures such as Germanic and Slavic, all come together to offer a far richer and more developed perspective on Uralic traditions than any one article could do alone.

Preface ...7
Note on Transliteration ...14

I Gods and Their Stories
Anna-Leena Siikala
Myths as Multivalent Poetry Three Complementary Approaches ...17
Ülo Valk
Thunder and Lightning in Estonian Folklore in the Light of Vernacular Theories ...40
Lauri Harvilahti and Elina Rahimova
Lemminkäinen Adventure-Loving Braggart or Mythic Hero? ...68
Clive Tolley
On the Trail of Þórr’s Goats ...82
Vladimir Napolskikh
The Earth-Diver Myth (А812) in Northern Eurasia and North America Twenty Years Later ...120

II Sampo
Lotte Tarkka
The Sampo Myth and Vernacular Imagination ...143
Veikko Anttonen
The Sampo as a Mental Representation of the Mythic Origin of Growth Towards a New Comprehensive Theory ...171
Pekka Hakamies
Ilmarinen and Popular Techno-Utopian Conceptions ...188
Frog
Confluence, Continuity and Change in the Evolution of Mythology The Case of the Finno-Karelian Sampo-Cycle 205
Luvun otsikko

III Genre, Gender and Mythic Patterns
Eila Stepanova
Mythic Elements of Karelian Laments The Case of syndyzet and spuassuzet ...257
Galina Mišarina
Banishing Rituals and Lament-Incantations of the Komi-Zyrjans ...288
Irina Il’ina and Oleg Uljašev
Gender and Myth in Traditional Komi-Zyrjan Culture ...308
Vera Survo
Mythologems of Embroideries On Karelian Sources ...328

IV Place, Space and Time
Karina Lukin
Narrating the Last Shaman ...355
Arno Survo
The Mythology of a “Forgotten” Text ...380
Aado Lintrop
Great Oxen of Twilight Storytelling and Riddlemaking at Calendar Solstices ...396
Nadežda Šutova
The Main Pre-Christian Gods of the Udmurts and Sacred Places Surrounding the Udmurt Village Nižniye Juraši ...413
Arja Ahlqvist
Blue Stones in the Context of Traditions of Worshiping Stones in Former Finno-Ugric Territories of Central Russia ...434

Contributors ...468
Index of Persons ...469
Index of Languages and Cultures ...471
Index of Terms and Subjects ...474