GIANT, DEVIL OR DEATH? THE FINNISH KOLJO IN MYTHOLOGY, TOPONYMS, FOLKLORE AND ARCHAEOLOGY

Abstract

As described above, koljoand its variants have several different layers ofmeaning that have remained partly parallel and have partly changed. Ac-cording to the traditional view, the meanings of many terms relating to theancient world of belief changed with the adoption of Christianity to accommodate the needs of the new religion (Koski, 1967, 226). The Finnish koljo, a wordoriginally meaning death and significant terrain features, changed to becomepredominantly a name for a mythical giant, with negative connotations at-tached. In many cases, words signifying the spirit of deceased have later ac-quired a negatively loaded content, now meaning an animal, evil spirit or devil(Mikkola, 1905, 9; see also Krohn, 1914, 249; Tommola, 1955, 27). In the case of theword koljoand its variants, the strong association to the biblical Goliathmighthave contributed to the strength of the negative component of meaning.From the etymological and mythological point of view, places called Koljoare not unusual in their nature. Finnish hiisi-places and Estonian hiis-placesare similar in their connection to giant mythology as well as sacrificial sitesand burials (Koski, 1967, 225–226). Koljoand hiisitoponyms also have a closesimilarity in terms of their reference to topographical features associated withsupranormal beings, and in terms of the stories and other elements. Koljomustalso be attached, at least partially, to the rich tradition and group of namescontaining mythological elements. Names, in particular, have contributed tothe spread of the hiisi tradition. The archaeological finds made on the basis ofa koljo name and its possible derivatives make this word especially interesting.Through these names, the interpretation of places of the hiisi type and othersites with similar characteristics and topographical attributes awaits re-evalua-tion in the near future.