KINGDOMS T he Princess and ½ the Kingdom – A Story of Womanhood

This is a story about two kingdoms, a land of princes and princesses. One is located in the west and the other in the east. One is called Yang and the other Yin. From the princes’ kingdom, a small, almost imperceptible path leads to the right side, to the land of princesses. This path passes through a dangerous stream and a rope bridge over a gorge. It is considered so dangerous that only the bravest princes have dared to go to the other side. Not much is known about that other side in the princes’ land and it is a place shrouded in mystery.

There are many stories about it, the truth of which the princes are now eager to find out. A few volunteer groups have set out to explore this unknown region and more volunteers are currently being recruited for the great expedition that will begin soon. Many of these expeditions have been made from the right, the Yin side, and they have helped to gather a lot of information about the western kingdom. It has been easier to make expeditions from this side, because a wide path leads from the right side to the other side and a bridge has been built over the gorge over time. 

Explorations

In fairy tales, the explorer on the left is a prince who has heard of a beautiful princess living in a distant land and decides to go in search of her. He braves thorn bushes or evil fairies as he makes his way to the princess of his dreams. He has to face his own fears and fight fire-breathing, multi-headed dragons, perform feats or find or prepare magical treasures that contain magical powers in order to win the princess for himself. And finally, the king is convinced of the prince's love and agrees to give him his most precious treasure, his daughter, as a half-sister (half-sister) and, most amazingly, the prince also gets HALF THE KINGDOM in addition to the princess. And so they live happily ever after. True and selfless love unites the kingdoms.

Pohjola - Terra Feminarun

Half the Kingdom fairy tales mythologically refer to the desire to return to a time before separation, to a time of happiness that can be perceived as paradise. The balance of the right and left hemispheres of the brain, yin and yang, is exactly that. The Kalevala is also divided into two kingdoms, Kalevala, the land of suitors, and Pohjola, the land of maids. Pohjola, North, where the lovely Maid of the North lives, is ruled by a queen, the mistress of the North, instead of a king. Perhaps modern Finland has been known as a land of women in the past. History knows the Kvens, or Kainus, who inhabited the “Land of Women” in Norra Botten. This was the Terra Feminarum of the tales. 

Maiden of the North - Mai Niemi North Wedding collection

Heroic feats

The heroes of the Kalevala must turn to To Louhi, the Mistress of the North,if they want to woo the Maiden of the North. The North region, ruled by women, is a dark (Yin) place that arouses the heroes' curiosity, and there is a beautiful maiden there who must be won by any means. Ilmarinen is the brave hero who finally succeeds in his wooing. First, he has to plow the snake fields, defeat the dragons of his mind, perform many heroic feats, and earn his bride by forging Sampo. The Maiden of the North represents the divinity within us, our Higher Self, the wealth of our Inner Kingdom. Sampo and the Maiden of the North are the riches that are sought after. In the Kalevala, spiritual wealth is identified with physical wealth. There is no one without the other.

Louhi, the Mistress of the North styling

Disguise

The prince of fairy tales must overcome himself, his own fears, to reach the princess, his own Higher Self. But he can make this journey as himself, without disguising himself. The princess of fairy tales lives in a carefully guarded golden cage from which there seems to be no way out. But the princess is resourceful and when she wants to get out of her “prison” she disguises herself as a boy and sets off on an exploration journey to the land of princes. Disguise is necessary so that she does not end up raped by bands of bandits, in the clutches of white slave traders or enslaved in a harem. Dressed as a boy, a maiden can peacefully observe the world to which she otherwise has no access.

There are numerous fairy tales, plays and modern films (e.g. Barbra Streisand’s Jentl) in which a girl disguised as a boy seeks knowledge, solutions to her problems and even human dignity from where it is otherwise impossible for a woman to find it. Many female authors have written under a male name in order to get their books read (e.g. George Sand). In Finland, Pirkko Saisio has managed to win a literary award after writing under a male name. Ingenuity is a girl's way of surviving. Rapunzel used her long hair to help her escape from the tower, her prison. 

 All means are permissible

There are other ways a girl can gain the respect and esteem she craves. One is through sacrifice through imprisonment. A pure-hearted princess who is the target of a plot is led into the forest or locked in a dungeon and has to prove her purity by serving or by weaving straw into a golden cloth to make amends to the king for her supposed transgression.

The fairy tale tells of 11 enchanted swans who are saved when their sister weaves nettle blouses for her brothers, which transform them into princes again. A common theme in these stories is handicraft. It has been a demonstration of women's skill, a measure of respect, and also a means of salvation. It has once been a magical way to gain respect.

How does all of this fit into the present day?

Feminine memory – Knitted Kalevala

In mythology, memory is a collection of layers, (Sommelo, that was brought down from the attic of the barn in the Kalevala), which contains the past, future and present together. Female memory is stored in our bodies, in a collective memory and once the thread has been caught, nothing can stop it from opening.

Using both hands at the same time develops the coordination of the cerebral hemispheres. Today, waving knitting needles has become a craze again, not only among women, but most surprisingly, among young boys. Femininity opens in men as well as in women. When femininity opens in women, masculinity opens in women and femininity opens in men. Knitting is a meditation that releases stress and allows you to get in touch with your inner self.

Handicraft has been a way to cope with demands that seem impossible. Another way to release creativity and emotions has been singing lullabies, making up nursery rhymes and fairy tales. 

Shererazade top by Mai Niemi design

The most famous fairy tale teller is probably Sheherazade, who saved her life by telling the tales of One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights). Creativity is a tool of the right hemisphere of the brain. The feminine side of the body has all the stories from the beginning of time in their original form. Written history can be falsified and destroyed, but experienced history lives and is both good and bad in a woman. Nature is as intelligent as our bodies. 

Pythagoras is said to have said that God hid himself in the last place a man would look for it: in the heart.

Are we finally ready to free women from the shackles of centuries? Is it finally safe for women to walk without veils and masks?