The Genre of Trolls - Doria

exceptionally friendly. The traveller was content with the offer, and the two of them
kept company to a remote forest to make a fence. While they were working, a raven
came flying, crying: “Today, today, brother shall kill brother!” The returned brother
understood all this, but not the other one. A moment later yet another raven flew over
them and screamed awfully the same words: “Today, today, brother shall kill brother!”
Only the stranger understood this but said nothing about it to his brother. At midday a
raven came flying over them again and screamed the same words more awfully and
vehemently than the previous two. Now the returned brother could no longer contain
himself but said: “Is it true that you intend to kill me?” “How do you know that?” the
master of the house asked. “The raven has flown here three times crying: ‘brother shall
kill brother’”, the other replied. “Are you my brother?” the master of the house asked
and confessed that he had intended to bury the axe in his head and steal his money. “Yes,
I’m your brother, and do you not remember when I was taken by the Russians and you
managed to run away? Now I’ve returned from Russia.” As he had said this, the two
brothers walked home and held a proper homecoming festival there.
It is the food served that induces this marvellous ability, similar to the consumption
of the apple in the Garden of Eden (text 10) and the “soul water”
in the record from Munsala (text 14). Other variants of this narrative feature
a white snake as the ingredient effecting illumination, which may also
imply a veritable apotheosis, achieving omniscience—and only God is
omniscient (see Finlands 1931: 606).
The notion of receiving linguistic proficiency through a miracle is chiefly
associated with a New Testament text, the descent of the Holy Ghost in
Acts 2. The quotation below was read in Finnish churches at Pentecost in
the first year of the lectionary cycle, here quoted according to the text in
the hymnal of 1886:
22) Då pingstdagen fullkomnad war, woro de alla endrägteligen tillsammans. Och wardt
hastigt ett dån af himmelen, såsom ett mägtigt stort wäder kommit hade, och uppfyllde
allt huset, der de sutto. Och dem syntes sönderdelade tungor såsom af eld; och blef sittande
på hwar och en af dem, Och de wordo alla uppfyllde af den Helige Ande och begynte
till att tala med andra tungomål, efter som Anden gaf dem att tala. (Apg. 2: 1–4)
22) AND when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in
one place.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it
filled all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of
them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the
Spirit gave them utterance.
(Acts 2: 1–4)
Blindness and Illumination 169