(Quilt Art) Väinätär, Veen Emo, Mother Goddess of the Watery Ways, Creation of the world by Kaarina Kailo

Kaarina Kailo, ”Väinätär, Veen Emo, Mother Goddess of the Watery Ways, Creation of the world”   2011, 40 x 40 cm, Photo by Mari Miikkulainen

According to Kalevala, Ilmatar as the first created being floated in the great nothingness, finally lifting her knee so a teal (sometimes an eagle) could lay its egg on it. The egg rolls into the water, breaks, and its different parts create the universe. The moon is created from the white of the egg, while the yolk yields as its Gift the yellow sun. The Earth and the luminaries (the sky, moon, and stars) are thus the fruit of the cosmic female womb.  Ilmatar cannot be separated from the Mother of Watery ways and both are portrayed floating on the primal seas. Veen emo is clearly an ancient shaman figure as she can transform herself according to the needs of her role as Primal Creatrix using both water and air as her primal ingredients. This quilt work honors also a more recent water mother, Väinätär, as the mother of Väinämöinen, the main hero of Kalevala.

(Meet Mago Contributor) Kaarina Kailo


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