Origin of Horse

by Nina Pommelin

From Hiisi is the horse’s origin, from the mountain
– in a room with a door of fire,
in a smithy with an iron ridge;
its head was made of stone,
its hoofs of rock,
its legs were formed from iron,
its back was made of steel.

Horse was the most valuable animal to Finnish people. The Finnish horses are sturdy and very versatile which made them extremely useful. A man’s horse was said to be the measure of his value.

Originally people believed that the horse came from Hiisi, home to demon or trickster-like entities. There is one well-known horse in Finnish mythology, the Hiisi horse (also “Devil’s horse) which was an artificial horse made of iron and flames. Despite the demonic origin the horse was only believed to have originated from Hiisi because people respected this powerful animal so much.

Another thing that speaks of the importance of the horse are all the stories where a hero is give a quest. This quest oftentimes involves horses somehow. The hero may need to track, capture or harness a horse (which may also be the Hiisi horse) in order to win the favor of a maiden or the quest-giver.

This painting is from my “Old Gods – Origins” series in which I explore various origin myths and how animals are involved in them.

Painted in ink and gold medium on 300 g/sqm Lanaquarelle hot press watercolour paper. The painting is unframed.

$500 $500

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Nina Pommelin

Nina Pommelin, appearing online as ShinonArt, is an artist based in Finland who specializes in creature design and creating realistic and visually believable illustrations.

Nina works flexibly in digital and traditional media and her traditional work is done in watercolours and inks. Nina's work is inspired by nature, fantasy and folklore, especially Finnish mythology and its animistic features, which she explores a lot in her work.