Today I wanted to write about Lalli, a folkloric Finnish figure who’s sometimes invoked for revenge against an oppressor, Lalli may also have associations with bears.
In Finnish folklore Lalli is only mentioned in one story, when he killed Bishop Henry, one of the first Christian missionaries in Finland. Bishop Henry stopped at Lalli’s home asking for food and hay but Kerttu, the wife of Lalli, refused; so Henry and his men took it by force. When Lalli found out about this robbery he tracked down the Bishop and murdered him with an axe over a frozen lake. Lalli then takes the Bishops hat and jewelry as trophies but when he puts them on they fuse to his skin taking off his scalp and fingers when he tries to remove them.
Up until the 20th century Lalli was viewed as an evil doer whose actions served as a warning but the narrative would eventually display him as a pagan rebel against crusades and imperialism.
Ganymedes' guide. 