Here is the lovely Viola Uotila singing a traditional Finnish lullaby entitled “Lenna Lenna Leppakertu” (Fly, Fly, Ladybug) in her native Finnish, and accompanying herself on a kantele.The kantele is the national musical instrument of Finland. It resembles a dulcimer and is a member of the psaltery family (see my posts about Joni Mitchell, 12/16/14 and Grego and Mazja, 11/30/14, for more about psalteries and dulcimers).
This is a traditional Finnish “Kalevala” lullaby. “Kalevala” is the name given to the Finnish oral tradition in poetry and contains work dating as far back as the Iron age. The poems survived as a singing tradition and were collected and published by Elias Lönnrot in the mid-1800s.
This little traditional song about a ladybug is still sung to Finnish children by their parents as a lullaby.
