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Tursaansydän

Variations of the tursaansydän symbol[1]

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 swastika-like 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. A brick dating to the 14th or 15th century bearing a tursaansydän motif was found during restorations of the Häme Castle.[3]

The symbol was known as mursunsydän in Nivala, and tursaansydän and turskansydän in Kainuu. In Nurmes, mursu meant the same as Tursas: a scary haltija that lived in a nest of red ants.[4]

During the 18th century the simple swastika became more popular in Finnish wood decoration than the more complex tursaansydän.

Tursaansydän carved in a 12th-century church in Kruszwica, Poland.

In modern usage

Author Ilmari Kianto used the tursaansydän as his logo. Kianto had found a tursaansydän carved into his childhood home's granary's door in Suomussalmi.[5]

The Slavic Union used the tursaansydän in their logo, before the organization was banned in 2010.

The Finnish Alliance approved of the tursaansydän as their symbol in 1998.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ "Tursan Sydän". Tursa.fi (in Finnish). 2007. Archived from the original on 3 October 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  3. ^ "File:Tursaansydänaiheinen kuviotiili Hämeen linnasta.jpg - Wikimedia Commons". commons.wikimedia.org. Retrieved 2025-06-15.
  4. ^ Häkkinen, Kaisa (2007). "Mursun ja norsun jäljillä". Virittäjä. Vol. 4. Society for the Study of Finnish. p. 484.
  5. ^ "Ilmari Kianto -seura". www.kianto.org. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  6. ^ "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.
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