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Aino, a MythSource painting
Finnic

Aino

01Identity

Aino in Finnic tradition

In Crawford's 1891 English translation of the Kalevala, Aino refuses the ornaments Wainamoinen offers her and says she would rather stay with her parents. Her mother has promised her to Wainamoinen, and Aino tells her that the promise has made her grieve. She says it would have been better if her mother had sent her below the salt-sea surges. Later Aino tells her family that she will go to Tuoni, the realm of the departed. She asks them not to blame or mourn her and describes sinking beneath the sea foam. She climbs onto a stone in the water, which falls into the sea with her clinging to it. Aino vanishes below the surface. The account later returns to the loss in the singers' song. This description reports only Crawford's witness and makes no claim about a universal Finnish or Karelian tradition.

SourceThe Kalevala, Volume I (John Martin Crawford translation, 1891): The Fate of Aino, pp. 48, 56, 58–59· The Kalevala, Volume I (John Martin Crawford translation, 1891): The Fate of Aino, p. 65

Top questions

The quick answers

02Family

Aino’s family, at a glance

AinoJoukahainen
03The myths

The myths of Aino

1 myth, with sources recorded for each.

Aino's forest encounter and sea aftermath

In the forest, Wainamoinen offers Aino ornaments and asks her to wear them for him. She refuses. She says she will not wear the cross or ribbons for him or for anyone else, and would rather dress plainly, eat barley bread and remain with her parents. Her answer refuses his gifts and says she will stay with her parents.

Aino's mother has promised her to Wainamoinen, and Aino later explains that this promise is the cause of her sorrow. She says it would have been better if her mother had sent her below the salt-sea surges. Her grief does not pass. Aino tells her father, mother, sister and brother that her time in the world is ending and asks them not to blame or mourn her. She says she will sink beneath the sea foam and make her home in the water. She climbs onto a stone in the sea; the stone falls, and Aino sinks with it, clinging to its edges. She vanishes beneath the surface. Later, the singers remember Aino and the suitor who continues to sing for her after she is gone.

Aino's forest encounter and sea aftermath, a MythSource painting of the scene

5 sources· checked 2026-09-28

  1. 1The Kalevala, Volume I (John Martin Crawford translation, 1891)T1
  2. 2The Kalevala, Volume I (John Martin Crawford translation, 1891)T1
  3. 3The Kalevala, Volume I (John Martin Crawford translation, 1891)T1
  4. 4The Kalevala, Volume I (John Martin Crawford translation, 1891)T1
  5. 5The Kalevala, Volume I (John Martin Crawford translation, 1891)T1

Also mentioned in

Stories elsewhere on MythSource that mention Aino, each on that figure’s page.