Specific folktales pertaining to the Ajattara in Finnish lore
My question isn't really a question, but more of a request for anyone from Finland or possessing information about Finnish folklore (myths, legends, hearsay, fairy tales, etc.) to detail any folktales about the Ajattara creature they happen to have knowledge of.
More specifically, I'm pleading with anyone who might have a Finnish folktale or fairytale book and would be willing to share any and all stories about the Ajattara (also spelled Ajatar, Aiatar, etc.). I want to collect a few stories along the vein of, "Peasant girl meets Ajattara in forest" or, "There was once a family who had something weird living in their cupboards." You get the idea.
When I search for "ajattara", Google finds me loads of information on the five-piece heavy metal band with the same name, but nothing on the Finnish creature of folklore. Googling "ajattara folklore" gets me links on GoogleBooks which, unsurprisingly, lack the pages where the entries for this creature are located. It did lead to the entry in Pantheon for "Ajatara", and then for "Aitvaras" as a related creature in Lithuanian folklore. On Dracopedia I get four sentences.
My search is not going too well for me. I've visited Wikipedia already, by the by. I consulted an encyclopedia of folklore at the library, but it tends to focus on Western myths more than anything.
Thank you in advance.
18/11/07: Thank you for all your help. I'll keep looking until I find something more definite.
More specifically, I'm pleading with anyone who might have a Finnish folktale or fairytale book and would be willing to share any and all stories about the Ajattara (also spelled Ajatar, Aiatar, etc.). I want to collect a few stories along the vein of, "Peasant girl meets Ajattara in forest" or, "There was once a family who had something weird living in their cupboards." You get the idea.
When I search for "ajattara", Google finds me loads of information on the five-piece heavy metal band with the same name, but nothing on the Finnish creature of folklore. Googling "ajattara folklore" gets me links on GoogleBooks which, unsurprisingly, lack the pages where the entries for this creature are located. It did lead to the entry in Pantheon for "Ajatara", and then for "Aitvaras" as a related creature in Lithuanian folklore. On Dracopedia I get four sentences.
My search is not going too well for me. I've visited Wikipedia already, by the by. I consulted an encyclopedia of folklore at the library, but it tends to focus on Western myths more than anything.
Thank you in advance.
18/11/07: Thank you for all your help. I'll keep looking until I find something more definite.
