To celebrate crossing the midpoint in my science-fantasy novella, I’m sharing the Filipino & Finnish mythology & folklore I’ve incorporated in my work so far. This includes The Quiet is Loud, Twist the Branch (formerly known as Seeker of the Lost Song), TTB’s sequel, and the novella.
Folklore/mythology from the Philippines:
✦ Nuno sa punso, a nature spirit who takes the form of an old man living in a mound of earth
✦ Tikbalang, a half-horse, half-human trickster who lives in the forests and mountains
✦ Siyokoy, a humanoid sea creature with a scaled body, large red eyes, and sharp teeth
✦ Engkanto, an umbrella term for various enchanted spirits
✦ A certain deity that I can’t reveal because it’s a spoiler but SO COOL
✦ Actually, make it two, why not?
Folklore/mythology from Finland:
✦ Tuonela, the land of the dead, popularly appearing in the Kalevala
✦ Ukko, the god of thunder, the sky, and weather
✦ Haltija/Haltia, a guardian spirit that protects places or people
✦ Spell-song, which is featured in the Kalevala and also in real-life poem-singing competitions called kilpalaulanta
Honestly, nothing feels more life-affirming than combining the mythology and folklore of both of my wildly different cultures into a cohesive whole that works together. I don’t think it’s too cheesy to say that it feels healing.