Sampo

This article is about a mythological artifact from Finnish mythology. For one of the main districts of Tampere, see Sampo (district). For other uses, see Sampo (disambiguation).

The Theft of the Sampo, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, 1897

In Finnish mythology, the Sampo (pronounced [ˈsɑmpo]) or Sammas (pronounced [ˈsɑmːɑs]) is a magical device or object described in many different ways, constructed by the blacksmith, inventor and originally the sky god Ilmarinen, and which brings riches and good fortune to its holder, akin to the horn of plenty (cornucopia) of Greek mythology. A central myth in Finnish mythology is the idea that the sampo was once in Pohjola but a group of heroes attempt to steal it. Sammas as something at the center of the world also exists in Estonian mythology.

The Sampo or Sammas has multiple other names in runic songs as well, including Samppu, Samppi and Kirjokansi (pronounced [ˈkirjoˌkɑnsi]).

Interpretation

The Sampo has been interpreted in many ways: a world pillar or world tree, a compass or astrolabe, a chest containing a treasure, a Byzantine coin die, a book, a decorated Vendel period shield, a Christian relic, etc. In the Kalevala, compiler Lönnrot interpreted it to be a quern or mill of some sort that made flour, salt, and gold out of thin air. The world pillar/tree hypothesis was argued for by figures such as theosophian Pekka Ervast, historian of religions Uno Harva and the linguist Eemil Nestor Setälä in the early 20th century.

In Estonian runic songs, the Sammas, an oak or an ash (akin to the Yggdrasil) is something which stands at the center of the world. According to the archaeologist Elena Kuz'mina, the Sampo mill myth originates from the Indo-European skambhá ("support, pillar, column"), and was borrowed into Finno-Ugric. In the Atharvaveda, the skambhá is a creature that supports the universe, analogous to the World Tree – the Sampo has been claimed to be the Finnish equivalent of the world tree. At the top of this tree is the kultakätkyt ("golden cradle"), which according to Forest Finn tietäjä Kaisa Vilhunen is a veśkoaŕ ("rainbow"), which works as a bridge between heaven and earth.

The world pillar or tree is attached to the center of the sky, turning it around, while also working as a path between the different layers of the world. Vilhunen gave a detailed explanation of the Sammas which supports the theory of its nature as the world pillar. She described it as a golden pillar with a golden head and a copper foot. The golden head is Polaris, which attached the Sammas to the sky. The pillar went down deep underground like the roots of a tree and was attached to a copper mountain there. The dome of the sky spun around Polaris, which Vilhunen described as the Sammas "grinding". According to her, the root has three guardians: Tuokkoi, Pajas and Ruoskakup ("whip guy"). They make sure no one can dig up the gold at the root of the pillar so it won't snap. The identities of these guardians are a mystery, but Pajas could mean Ukko: the Forest Finnish Sammas myths originate from Savonia, where Ukko also has the name Pajainen. Jenuveeva (Genevieve) sat at the top of the pillar, at the center of three branches.

The mill-like qualities of the Sampo connect it to the Grotti mill from Norse mythology, which like the Sampo is a source of wealth and everything good. Martti Haavio saw the two as different branches of the same myth of creation. He also connected it to myths from Ancient Indian literature. He thought Sampo's name comes from *tšampa, which would also be the origin of sammakko ("frog"). Connection to Ancient India holds up, as Sampo is possibly a loan from Indo-Iranian languages, but the frog theory is not supported in contemporary research.

For runic singers, the Sampo was a representation of growth and its mythic origin, and initially not an object. Ilmarinen was able to forge the Sampo because he is a god, the one who had also created the sky. Anna-Leena Siikala thought that the concepts of the theft of the Sampo and its mill-like qualities are a sign of influence born out of contacts with the Norwegians. A runic song from Satakunta mentions a smith creating a noitakone ("witch/shaman machine"), the nature of which is a mystery, unless it's a Sampo-like magical object.

Matti Kuusi described the purpose of the Sampo myth as a ritual song of the birth of agriculture.

Runic songs from Kainuu and White Karelia describe Sampo, Sammot, Samppu or Samppi as something which has words in it: Aukasen sanasen arkun, / Virsilippani viritän, / Jott'ei samppu sanoja puutu / Eikä Sämpsä siemeniä, / Umpilampi ahvenia, / Eikä kallio kiviä ("I open my chest of words, / Tune my box of songs, / So Samppu would not lack words / Nor Sämpsä seeds, / A closed pond perches, / Nor a rock stones").

In the Kalevala

The Sampo is a pivotal element of the plot of the epic poem Kalevala, compiled in 1835 (and expanded in 1849) by Elias Lönnrot based on Finnish and Karelian oral tradition.

In the expanded second version of the poem, the Sampo is forged by Ilmarinen, a legendary blacksmith, to fulfill a task set by the witch queen of Pohjola, Louhi, in return for her daughter's hand.

"Ilmarinen, worthy brother,

Thou the only skilful blacksmith,

Go and see her wondrous beauty,

See her gold and silver garments,

See her robed in finest raiment,

See her sitting on the rainbow,

Walking on the clouds of purple.

Forge for her the magic Sampo,

Forge the lid in many colors,

Thy reward shall be the virgin,

Thou shalt win this bride of beauty;

Go and bring the lovely maiden

To thy home in Kalevala."

• 
  Ilmarinen Forges the Sampo, Berndt Godenhjelm, 19th century
• 
  The Forging of the Sampo, Väinö Blomstedt, 1897
• 
  The Forging of the Sampo, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, 1893
• 
  The Forging of the Sampo, Joseph Alanen, 1910–1911
• 
  The Forging of the Sampo, fresco in the National Museum of Finland by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, 1928

Ilmarinen works for many days at a mighty forge until he finally succeeds in creating the Sampo:

On one side the flour is grinding,

On another salt is making,

On a third is money forging,

And the lid is many-colored.

Well the Sampo grinds when finished,

To and fro the lid in rocking,

Grinds one measure at the day-break,

Grinds a measure fit for eating,

Grinds a second for the market,

Grinds a third one for the store-house.

Later, Louhi steals the Sampo, and then Ilmarinen and Väinämöinen enter her stronghold in secret and retrieve it. Louhi pursues them and combats Väinämöinen. In the struggle, Louhi is vanquished but the Sampo is destroyed.

• 
  The Retrieval of the Sampo, showing Lemminkäinen ploughing up its roots with a bull. Mosaic by Veikko Aaltona, 1940
• 
  The Theft of the Sampo, Väinö Blomstedt, 1897
• 
  The Defense of the Sampo, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, 1896
• 
  Crossbowmen defending the Sampo, sketch pastel by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, early 20th century
• 
  The Defence of the Sampo, Joseph Alanen, 1910–1912

Similar devices

In the Aarne–Thompson classification systems of folktales, tale type 565 refers to a magic mill that continuously produces food or salt. Examples include Why the Sea is Salt (Norway, based on the poem Grottasöngr), Sweet porridge (Germanic), and The Water Mother (Chinese). Such devices have been included into modern tales such as Strega Nona (1975, children's book). Variants on the theme with a cautionary tale and pupil-master relationship include The Master and his Pupil (English), and Goethe's 1797 poem The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

The cornucopia of Greek mythology also produces endless goods, and some versions of the Grail myth emphasize how the Grail creates food and goods.

The Japanese folktale Shiofuki usu speaks of a grindstone that could be used to create anything. Like the Sampo, it too was lost to the sea, endlessly grinding salt.

The Sanskrit epic the Mahabharatha tells of the Akshaya Patra, a vessel or bowl capable of creating food that stops at the end of the day when the lady of the house has had her last meal. Similarly, in the Irish myth of the Cauldron of the Dagda (coire ansic or "un-dry cauldron") is a magical vessel that satisfies any number of people.

Influences

Main article: Kalevala § Influence

• The 1959 Soviet-Finnish film Sampo is loosely based on the story.
• The Finnish TV series Rauta-aika (The Iron Age, 1982), based on Kalevala, has an extended sequence where Ilmarinen and his smiths build the Sampo, which is a Byzantine coin die.
• In The Quest for Kalevala, a Donald Duck story by Disney cartoonist Don Rosa based on the Kalevala, Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck and Huey, Dewey, and Louie travel to Finland trying to reveal the location of the remains of the Sampo, a mythical machine that can produce gold.
• In 1933, A. A. Öpik named a genus of fossil brachiopod Sampo.
• Asteroid 2091 Sampo is named after the artifact.
• The Finnish heavy metal band Amorphis has a song called Sampo on their 2009 album Skyforger.
• The Finnish symphonic power metal band Amberian Dawn has a song called Sampo on their 2010 album End of Eden.
• The Semantic Computing Group at Aalto University has used Sampo as a generic name for their cultural heritage Web services, most recently BiographySampo (2018).

See also

• Quern-stone
• Cornucopia
• Uchide no kozuchi
• Bag of Holding