Estonian epic poem ''Kalevipoeg''

One way nature is portrayed in literature is through epic poems that describe how our world came about. In Estonian folkore there is a book called ''Kalevipoeg'' that is in this genre. In Estonia, specifically in Tallinn, there is a lake called Ülemiste and a passage in Kalevipoeg describes how this lake appeared. A woman named Linda was grieving over the death of her man, whose name was Kalev. While burying him under some stones Linda got tired and accidentally dropped one of the boulders. She was too exhausted to pick it back up so she sat on it and started crying. Her sadness was so big and she cried for so long that her tears formed the Ülemiste lake. In real life you can even see the two big stones in the lake that Linda supposedly cried on and they are called the Lindakivi. Besides this, the rocks Linda was burying Kalev under formed Tõnismägi, a place that also exists in real life. 

Silmalauge vesi valgus

Laiaks loiguks lagedalle,

Loigust tõusis tiigikene,

Tiigist jälle järvekene

Linda pisarate loiku,

Lese leinanutu järve

Võite näha tänapäeval,

Mis kui Ülemiste järvi

Laagna mäe peal lainetamas,

Vetevooge veeretamas.

Translated to English:

The water of her eyelids flowed,

gathering, into a pool.

The pool grew to a pond,

the pond swelled to a lake.

The pool of Linda's tears,

the lake of the widow's tears,

the lake of the widow's weeping,

can be seen today

as Ülemiste Lake,

shimmering on Lasnamägi,

wheeling its waves.

Eversince the 14th century the Ülemiste lake has been a supplier of water for Tallinn. Due to the growth of industry and the population the water of the lake was not enough for the city. Because of this connections with other water sources were made to guide more water into the Ülemiste lake. On very dry years the water level can still drop significantly. There are markings on the Lindakivi (the rock Linda cried on) that signify when the water level was extremely low that even the rock was not submerged. That happened in the years of 1826, 1887, 1908, 1960, 1970 ja 1975.

https://ajapaik.ee/photo/12574/postkaart-tallinn-linda-kivi-ulemiste-jarve/

This picture originates from ca 1925. Here we can see that the rocks are on grass and not in water. 

Ilme Parik, 2012

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23436260

This is what the rocks look like in the more recent years. From these pictures we can conclude that Tallinn's water usage systems have improved over time. Eventhough the city has more residents than in 1925 the water levels are higher. In 2013 there were talks about opening the lake to the public for swimming purposes. However, this preposition was declined to make sure that the lake did not get polluted and the water stayed sanitary. This also made sure that the filtration of the water was as easy as possible and the water cost friendly to the consumers. Now the lake is completely fenced off and only the autorities have access to the lake. Thanks to this the lake is very clean and provides excellent drinking water for the residents of Tallinn. It is positive to see this progress because we must preserve something that was described so poetically in the book Kalevipoeg. 

Besides this nature is described in other places throught the book. For example, Kalev uses these sentences to describe Linda:

Linda, kallis lillekene,

Kulla kullerkupukene

Linda, kallis kaasakene,

Läänes kasvand lillekene,

Tedremunast tõusnud tütar

Translated to English:

Linda, sweet blossom,

golden globeflower

Linda, sweet wife,

flower reared in Lääne, 

daughter risen from a grouse-egg

We can assume that Kalev was in love with Linda, and of all things he chose flowers to compare her to. From this we can conclude, that he saw nature as something beautiful and worthy of comparing his wife to. 

When reading Kalevipoeg ecocritically Estonians must imagine the places and landmarks described in the book. I think we are lucky because the places described in our poetry actually exist in real life. Reading about our nature creates an emotional link between us and our environment. We must come together as a nation to protect and preserve these special places of our country. 

                                                                                                                                                Jana Vinkel