| Names: | Kalehva  
Kalehvo
Kalerva 
Kaleva   
Kalevo
Kanerva |
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Kaleva, described first as the "ancient eternal giant" and "father of old Väinämöinen" was born out of "Kunotar", whose womb he spent thurty summers in before freeing himself. As he was born, he was already a warrior in full armor with a sword and a stallion. It is not known who this "Kunotar" is, thought according to one theory, it is Maatar.
As the eternal giant, he is called "Iku-Turilas", in which "turilas" stands for "giant". According to Agricola, "Turisas" was a god who granted victory in war. It is a bit difficult to know which giant is intended in different situations: there are also mentions to a Meri-Tursas (sea giant) and tulinen Tursas (fiery giant) in runosongs. According to Ganander, Meri-Tursas who impregnated Louhi with waves, and the Turisas who is a war god, are not the same figure.
Actually, in the runosong of the birth of Väinämöinen's father, he is called Kave ukko Pohjan Herra "Lord Kave, Lord of the North". That is a bit weird, as in literally any other instance, "kave" refers to goddesses; Kave-eukko to the sky maiden specifically.
Kaleva is truly a cosmic, primordial entity, as there is a constellation named "Kaleva's sword" (Orion's belt). He is, however, not much present in the myths himself: that role goes to his children, the numerous sons of Kaleva. According to Ganander, he has 12 sons. They include Soini, Kullervo, Kihovauhkonen, Hiisi, and Väinämöinen, and Ilmarinen is also listed among them typically, even though he is not given this epithet in runosongs. As Joukahainen is stated clearly to be Väinämöinen's brother, he might also be a part of this group. Ganander also mentioned "Liekiöinen", but it is unclear exactly who that is.
Though never mentioned in runosongs, folklore also talks of the daughter of Kaleva. They are giants who can carry boulders in their aprons with their massive strength. These giants escaped as human settlements increased.
Kaleva's name often appears in contexts where it is used to give a magical, mythic feeling: for example, Louhi baptized her children in the "well of a son of Kaleva". The lake of the Underworld, Aluen järvi, is also called Kalevan järvi "Kaleva's lake" in Savo.
We can't exactly call Kaleva a very loving father: when Kullervo said he was going to go to war and asked his parents if they'd cry if he died, his father stated he wouldn't as he could just make another, better son. No wonder Kullervo, in the end, ends up such a war-crazed person himself that he dies on the battlefield. There are no runosong mentions of Kaleva's interactions with any other of his sons, though his son Soini was sold into slavery; I'm not sure if he had any say in that though. Some runosongs imply that Soini and Kullervo are the one and the same, but runosongs from North Ostrobothnia and Kainuu imply otherwise.
Like how Osmo is connected to barley, and Vento to wheat, some Ingrian runosongs connect Kaleva to oats.
| Kaleva, variants | Ain't that the million dollar question! One (Finnish) theory suggests an origin in Baltic kálvis "smith", but apparently this isn't very reliable from the perspective of linguistics. An Estonian theory suggests a connection to kale(a) "hard, cool". The newest theory connects the name to Proto-Germanic *χᵃlewaz "sea, sea-god giant", which would also be the origin of the name of the Norse sea giant Hlér. |
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Only in Finnish, sorry. This is the source material.