Aino

The Only One

Character in the Kalevala

Karelian / Finnish Mythology

Aino is a significant character early in the Kalevala, although her presence in the collection is brief. Aino, meaning “the only one,” is the sister to Väinämöinen’s rival, Joukahainen. Joukahainen, a young man attempting to prove his worth, challenges Väinämöinen to a duel of words.

After losing the battle of words with Väinämöinen, Joukahainen finds himself sinking into a bog due to the hero’s magic. Attempting to save his life, he offers Väinämöinen his land first, followed by riches, and finally, his horse and weapons. Väinämöinen refuses all of these offers. Finally, Joukahainen offers his sister’s “hands and feet” to the hero in marriage.

Väinämöinen happily accepts the final offer from his rival. When Joukahainen travels home and reveals the news to his family, his mother is ecstatic. However, Aino is horrified by the thought of being forced to marry an old man, despite his heroic stature.

Aino’s Family

Aino’s mother has a brief mention in the kalevala. She is delighted by the thought of the hero Väinämöinen wedding her daughter and becoming part of the family. Unfortunately, this forced decision leads to tragedy for the family.

• Mother: Unnamed
• Brother: Joukahainen

Joukahainen displays his recklessness and selfishness by offering his sister’s hand in marriage without her consent. Wrought with guilt, he turns this into motives for revenge. Later, Joukahainen would seek retribution against Väinämöinen for this tragic event.

Aino’s Death and Rebirth

After hearing the news of her forced marriage, Aino decides to drown herself in the lake. Väinämöinen arrives as she submerges herself but is unable to save the drowning maiden. The tragic death of Aino causes intense grief and regret in the hero as he is unable to save her. His selfish desire for a young bride inadvertently caused her death.

In a later rune in the Kalevala, Väinämöinen catches a perch while fishing. The perch reveals itself to be the spirit of Aino. Mocking him, it slips away into the lake, never to be seen again.

This story of death and rebirth accents a rare moment of weakness in the hero. Despite his magical abilities and stature as a hero, Väinämöinen is unable to attain true love. In addition, he realizes that his actions can have unintended consequences.

Origins of Aino in the Kalevala

Aino was not originally mentioned in Karelian rune songs. Instead, she was Elias Lönnrot’s creation when he compiled the stories for the Kalevala. Aino was a mixture of different stories that related to unnamed female tragedies in the original rune songs.

The first runesong originally detailed a woman who encountered a suitor in the woods. This woman would later hang herself in a barn as she didn’t want the marriage to proceed. The second original rune song describes the hero fishing the maiden of Vellamo.

In the second rune, Väinämöinen catches a fish with the spirit of a young woman who has been transformed into a fish. She then mocks the hero for not noticing this magical transformation before slipping away.