Myth of the Week 004

Tuonela (also Tuoni, Manala, and Mana), in Finnish and Estonian mythology, is the realm of the dead, synonymous with the Greek Hades, or Hell.

By the River of Tuonelaby Akseli Gallen-Kallela, 1903.

It's most recognizable for its appearance in the 19th-century Finnish national epic poemThe Kalevala. In the 16th song of the work, the protagonist and shamanistic heroVäinämöinentraveled to Tuonela seeking certain knowledge and magics which only the dead can impart. On the way, he met the ferryma...