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The Great Bear: A Thematic Anthology of Oral Poetry in the Finno-Ugrian Languages

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There are 450 poems, songs, charms, prayers, and laments in "The Great Bear," organized in thematic sections such as "The Cosmos," "Hunting," and "Healing." All of the entries are presented in both the original language and English, with a scholarly introduction to each thematic section. This collection from the Oxford University Press represents the oral tradition of fifteen peoples scattered across Northern Europe from Scandinavia, deep into Russia and beyond the Urals, and of the Hungarians in Central Europe.

There are extensive footnotes that illuminate the tradition and meaning of the entries, some of which are fragments of larger, lost works. It is interesting to read a poem such as "To the Coffin-Makers," and then turn to the commentary that explains Karelian burial traditions:

"...The need to use timber from trees in which birds had not rested or sung (cf. II. 9-10) reflects a belief in soul-birds. It was essential to avoid upsetting the deceased---should he or she return in the form of a bird---by felling trees in which the soul might one day wish to rest."

One of the more recondite marriage traditions among the Finnish, Karelian, and Estonian peoples involved teasing the prospective bride and bride-groom: "The theme of seeking the best bride and finding the worst is a central feature....of the bride-teasing poems [that] were customarily sung by the groom's relatives at his home." Here are a few lines from "Teasing the Bride:"

"Listen, precious brother's son/ if you could but have taken an apple from higher boughs/ from the top of other trees!/...Attendants, you maid's brothers:/ take this away when you go/ the one you brought when you came!/ Don't take her along the road--/ take her over the big swamp!/ If you take her by the road/ even horses will stampede/ horseflies will take to their heels..."

The oral tradition of our ancestors was often somber. It often attempted to explain our symbiosis with the natural and spiritual world. However, it could also be joyous. It could make people laugh.

I think we've neglected the humorous, celebratory side of song-making and poetry in our modern world. "The Great Bear" reminds us that poems and songs were meant to reflect all facets of our humanity, not just grief, longing, and pain.

There are 450 poems, songs, charms, prayers, and laments in "The Great Bear," organized in thematic sections such as "The Cosmos," "Hunting," and "Healing." All of the entries are presented in both the original language and English, with a scholarly introduction to each thematic section. This collection from the Oxford University Press represents the oral tradition of fifteen peoples scattered across Northern Europe from Scandinavia, deep into Russia and beyond the Urals, and of the Hungarians in Central Europe.

There are extensive footnotes that illuminate the tradition and meaning of the entries, some of which are fragments of larger, lost works. It is interesting to read a poem such as "To the Coffin-Makers," and then turn to the commentary that explains Karelian burial traditions:

"...The need to use timber from trees in which birds had not rested or sung (cf. II. 9-10) reflects a belief in soul-birds. It was essential to avoid upsetting the deceased---should he or she return in the form of a bird---by felling trees in which the soul might one day wish to rest."

One of the more recondite marriage traditions among the Finnish, Karelian, and Estonian peoples involved teasing the prospective bride and bride-groom: "The theme of seeking the best bride and finding the worst is a central feature....of the bride-teasing poems [that] were customarily sung by the groom's relatives at his home." Here are a few lines from "Teasing the Bride:"

"Listen, precious brother's son/ if you could but have taken an apple from higher boughs/ from the top of other trees!/...Attendants, you maid's brothers:/ take this away when you go/ the one you brought when you came!/ Don't take her along the road--/ take her over the big swamp!/ If you take her by the road/ even horses will stampede/ horseflies will take to their heels..."

The oral tradition of our ancestors was often somber. It often attempted to explain our symbiosis with the natural and spiritual world. However, it could also be joyous. It could make people laugh.

I think we've neglected the humorous, celebratory side of song-making and poetry in our modern world. "The Great Bear" reminds us that poems and songs were meant to reflect all facets of our humanity, not just grief, longing, and pain.