Aino is a figure in the Finnish national epic
Kalevala. It relates that she was the beautiful sister of
Joukahainen. Her brother, having lost a singing contest to
Väinämöinen, promised Aino's "hands and feet" in marriage if Väinämöinen would save him from drowning in the swamp into which Joukahainen had been thrown. Aino's mother was pleased at the idea of marrying her daughter to such a famous and well born person, but
Aino did not want to marry such an old man. Rather than submit to this fate,
Aino drowned herself (or ended up as a nix). However, she returned to taunt the grieving Väinämöinen as a salmon. The name
Aino, meaning "only", was invented by
Elias Lönnrot who composed the Kalevala. In the original poems she was mentioned as the "only daughter" (
ainoa tytär). Painting by
Akseli Gallen-Kallela, depicting the Aino Story of Kalevala on three panes:
The left one is about the first encounter of Väinämöinen and Aino in the forest.
The right one depicts mournful Aino weeping on the shore and listening to the call of the maids of Vellamo who are playing in the water.
The central pane depicts fishing Väinämöinen having thrown away a small fish, now turning out to be Aino, who laughs at him and vanishes forever. This beautiful set of three cards were given to me by My Dear Friend
Merja.
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