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, Seeker of the Lost Song, and Seeker’s sequel as well as 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.