47: The root “häme” - “Suomi” - “samay” and polygonal masonry in Finland

 

Written and published by Linden Alexander Pentecost only on this webpage (and never previously); published on the 24th of November 2024. Published in the UK. This article contains the sub-sections:“Häme” - “Suomi” - “Samay” and Polygonal masonry at Hämeenlinna and elsewhere in Finland. This article contains 1121 words.

“Häme” - “Suomi” - “Samay”

 

What is now Finland was once the territory of several different tribes, with their own languages, all of which somehow lead us to the Finnish language today. The tribe known as the Tavastians were an indigenous people of inland areas of southern and western Finland. Their language differs somewhat from Finnish as a whole, although no doubt in some more ancient time, their language would not have been Finnish as such, but perhaps some kind of pre-Finnish. 

In Finnish they are referred to as hämäläiset, from the root häme-, which is also the name of this region in Finnish, Häme. The root also gives its name to the ancient castle town as Hämeenlinna, “Häme Tower” or “Häme Castle”. The root häme is likely related to the Finnish word Suomi - “Finland, Finnish” and to the name that the Sámi peoples call themselves, and their land, Sápmi. The word Suomi in Finnish also bares a resemblance to the word suo - marsh, swamp, and suomu - “the scale of a fish”, and sumu - “fog”. 

I have previously written about the similarity between Suomi and sumu and Quechua samay - which means “breath” or “spirit”, and I will add here that perhaps the original root of these words could even be cognate to the English word “same”. This would imply that the original root could encompass the meanings of: “same, one, oneness, breath, spirit, water vapour, fog”. If this is true I believe it essentially implies the idea of a universal god or creator, recognised in Quechua as samay, the spirit force or breath in all living things. Finland, Suomi and Suomalaiset - “Finns”, and Sápmelaččat “Sámis” might then essentially have named themselves from this root, thus their name might mean “People of the original (same) creative force”, “people of the sacred (same) mists of the creator”. 

Note: please see my books for further elaboration on these subjects and for far more detailed discussions on Finnish and Quechua similarities.

 

Polygonal masonry at Hämeenlinna and elsewhere in Finland

 

Please see my extensive other works (and works yet to be published) on the similarities between Finnish and Quechua. Quechuan languages are many, but Cusco Quechua is the variety spoken in the Sacred Valley of the Incas (Willka Qhichwa). This valley contains many famous examples of polygonal masonry, which seems to have been created in part by ancient peoples who wanted to create structures that would last. The polygonal masonry walls at for example Saksaywaman, Machu Pikchu and in Cusco itself are to a large degree “earthquake proof”, but these special structures no doubt were built for many purposes, most of which are impossible to understand. These structures are not found all over the Andes and seem to be primarily specific to the Willka Qhichwa in Peru, including Ullantaytampu and the aforementioned places, and with some examples elsewhere for example at Inka Uyo near Lake Titicaca (I have discussed this temple elsewhere in a book).

Note: when writing another article for this website not long ago, titled 45: Part two of miscellaneous etymological and pre-IE discussions, I discuss the Quechua word uyay "attention" or "understand" and Finnish ujo "shy" and their possibly relationship to the spirit figure Uyulala mentioned in Michael Ende's Die Unendliche Geschichte "The Neverending Story" in English. When writing the aforementioned article I did not think of how Quechua uyay may also be present in the place-name of the temple Inka Uyo, nor did I pick up on this connects when writing about the temple in one of my books.  

 

In continuation on the subject of polygonal masonry: it is also extremely curious that Hämeenlinna castle in Häme, Finland, also, fascinatingly, has sections of wall where a similar style of polygonal masonry can be found, similar to that in the Willka Qhichwa in Peru. The “polygonal masonry” at Hämeenlinna castle does not seem as sophisticated as that found in Peru, but nevertheless the construction design seems to be more or less the same. There is a long, more or less vertical wall of this type at Hämeenlinna castle, with a form of polygonal masonry that gives the impression that the megaliths “snake away”, up and down as one follows the contours of the wall. This is more or less identical to the design and positioning of megaliths in sort of “snake like” formations in some of the megalithic walls near Cusco. 

Whilst the polygonal masonry at Hämeenlinna castle is not as sophisticated as that in Peru, it nevertheless shows that this kind of method for creating buildings was known in Finland, rather interestingly, and who is to say exactly how old these particular walls are at Hämeenlinna castle? As is the case in Cusco, the polygonal masonry at Hämeenlinna castle seems to occupy the lowest levels of the structure, implying that this polygonal masonry might be earlier than the later, more typically medieval castle style stone work on the higher levels of the castle.

Hämeenlinna city park also contains a number of folly structures, some of which, have again, exhibit polygonal masonry. These are again not as sophisticated as those in the Willka Qhichwa in Peru, but nevertheless, they look impressive. And I am also inclined to doubt that these follies in Hämeenlinna city park are indeed follies, considering that polygonal masonry is also found at the much older Hämeenlinna castle. Could this imply that the “follies” within Hämeenlinna city park are in fact not follies, but older megalithic constructions? I did not know about these sites at Hämeenlinna when I was last in Finland, and I have not visited the city at all, so I hope that somebody in Finland will read this and be able to carry on this research from here, although I myself am continually learning Finnish and would like to visit too.

Whilst there are other examples of large, strange megalithic sites in Finland, the only other place where I know polygonal masonry exists is on the Åland Islands, Ahvenanmaa, where the Bomarsund fortress contains plenty of polygonal masonry, although that at Bomarsund fortress includes a lot of hexagonal blocks making up the masonry; which contrasts to the constructions at Hämeenlinna, which more closely resemble some of the megalithic walls around Cusco and on Easter Island/Rapa Nui.

I hope that this article was an interesting read, thank you for reading.
Kiitos (thank you in Finnish)
Solpayki (thank you in Cusco Quechua)