Väinämöinen in Finnish mythology was the son of the primal goddess Ilmatar. He possessed the wisdom of the ages from birth, for he was in his mother's womb for thirty years.

He was the 'eternal sage', who exerts order over chaos and established the land of Kaleva, that so many of the events in Kalevala revolve around. His search for a wife brings the land of Kaleva into, at first friendly, but later hostile contact with its dark and threatening neighbour in the north, Pohjola.