Kalevalan

Kalevalan is the genitive form of Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. In Finnish grammar, the genitive suffix -n is attached to a proper noun to express possession or association, similar to the English “of.” Kalevalan therefore appears in phrases such as Kalevalan runot (the runes or poems of Kalevala) and Kalevalan tarinat (the tales of Kalevala).

Kalevala is a national epic compiled by Elias Lönnrot from oral folklore gathered among Finnish and Karelian-speaking communities in the 19th century. The first edition appeared in 1835, with a substantially revised and enlarged second edition published in 1849. The work is composed in trochaic tetrameter and draws on traditional Finnish mythology, heroes, and the mythic Sampo cycle. Its central figures include Väinämöinen, Ilmarinen, Lemminkäinen, and Louhi, and its narrative explores creation, journeys, magic, and conflict. The Kalevala has played a foundational role in Finnish literature, language development, and national identity, and it has inspired countless adaptations in music, theater, and art, as well as translations into many languages.

As a grammatical form, Kalevalan illustrates Finnish noun inflection and how proper nouns take case endings to indicate relationships with other words. It is not a separate concept from Kalevala but a morphological variant used to express possession, association, or relatedness in context.