Kalma

Kalma is the Finnish goddess of death and decay, her name meaning "The Stench of Corpses". Her favorite places to linger are graveyards and cemeteries; in fact, one Finnish word for graveyard is kalmisto, derived from her name. Some sources state that she moves on a vehicle of odors, much like a puff of smoke. Her father is Tuoni and her mother Tuonetar. Kalma may also have several sisters, Kipu-Tyttö, Kivutar, Loviatar, and Vammatar, all of whom live in the Finnish underworld realm of Tuonela. Kalma is accompanied and protected by Surma, a dog-like creature whose name literally means "death" (though the word surma is usually used to refer to someone being killed, as opposed to dying of natural causes).

Character

Goddess

33%

Darkness is characterized by the absence of visible light. The emotional response of humans to darkness has led to many culturally different metaphorical usages. For example, in Christianity the first narrative of creation begins with darkness. Darkness is said to have existed before the world, then light was introduced. Death is perceived as the ultimate form of darkness, there has not been a single culture in the history of humankind that has not spent a significant amount of time thinking about death and darkness. It should be no surprise, therefore, that we attribute the mysterious processes of death and darkness to supernatural forces. Consequently, we have envisioned beings that usher souls from the mortal coil into the afterlife. These perceptions of darkness and death are largely associated with evil. However, this has not always been the case. In the past, darkness and death were seen as a part of natural order, something that had existed since the beginning of time.