eiväkeä

Eiväkeä is a term from Finnish folklore, used to describe a class of beings perceived as "not people" or "unpeople" living at the margins between human settlements and wild landscapes. In traditional narratives, eiväkeä are not fully human; they inhabit liminal spaces such as marshlands, old cabins, and forest edges, and they may interact with humans only sporadically and on unusual terms. The concept has persisted in regional storytelling and has been adopted in contemporary fiction and games as a symbolic figure rather than a historical belief.

The name is constructed from the negation ei- with väkeä meaning "people" in Finnish. The composite echoes common folk terms for social outsiders and reflects a long-standing folkloric habit of naming beings by their perceived difference from ordinary people.

Descriptions of eiväkeä vary. They are often described as shadowy or elusive forms, sometimes as cold winds, whispers, or glints in the corner of the eye. They are typically described as shy or evasive, and direct contact with them is considered risky or ill-omened. In some tales, aiding or harming encounters depend on offerings, respect for thresholds, or adherence to village rules.

In rural communities, the concept functions as a narrative tool to explain unaccountable events or to enforce social norms, such as hospitality, quietness, and respect for space around the old and the isolated.

Today eiväkeä appears in literature, art, and role-playing games as a figure exploring themes of invisibility, borderlands, and the treatment of marginalized groups. Scholarly treatment treats the term as part of oral tradition rather than a fixed belief system.