The tursaansydän or tursan sydän[2] (lit. 'heart of Tursas' or 'heart of octopus'), also called mursunsydän (lit. 'heart of the walrus'), is an ancient symbol used in Northern Europe. The symbol originates from prehistoric times. The tursaansydän was believed to bring good luck and protect from curses, and was used as a decorative motif on wooden furniture and buildings in Finland. During the 18th century the simple swastika became more popular in Finnish wood decoration than the more complex tursaansydän.
In modern usage
editAuthor Ilmari Kianto used the tursaansydän as his logo. Kianto had found a tursaansydän carved into his childhood home's granary's door in Suomussalmi.[3]
The Slavic Union used the tursaansydän in their logo, before being banned in 2010.
The Finnish Alliance approved of the tursaansydän as their symbol in 1998.[4]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Forsman, Jaakko; Wecksell, J. A.; Havu, I.; Salovaara, Hannes, eds. (1926). "Hakaristi". Pieni Tietosanakirja [Small Encyclopedia] (in Finnish). Vol. I: A–Isonzo (2nd ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otavan [Otava Publishing Company]. pp. 1089–1090. Retrieved 9 February 2018 – via Project Runeberg, University of Stockholm.
- ^ "Tursan Sydän". Tursa.fi (in Finnish). 2007. Archived from the original on 3 October 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
- ^ "Ilmari Kianto -seura". www.kianto.org. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
- ^ "Suomalaisuuden liiton tunnus". 2008-01-29. Archived from the original on 2008-01-29. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
- Talve, Ilmar (2012). Suomen Kansankulttuuri [Finnish Folk-culture] (in Finnish). Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura [Finnish Literature Society]. ISBN 9789522224149.