What is a Kantele?

The kantele, Finland’s national instrument, is a powerful symbol of Finnish cultural heritage and is closely connected to the national epic, the Kalevala.

In the Kalevala, the wise hero Väinämöinen creates the first kantele from the jawbone of a giant pike, stringing it with the hair of a stallion. After losing that instrument, he fashions a second kantele from birch wood. According to Kalevala, the music of the kantele holds magical power. When Väinämöinen plays, the entire natural world grows still to listen—people, animals, forests, and even the waters.

The kantele later became an important national symbol during Finland’s 19th-century cultural awakening, when the Kalevala helped strengthen Finnish identity under Russian rule and prepared the nation for independence in 1917. Today the instrument remains central to Finnish folk music, ranging from traditional five-string kanteles to modern forty-string concert instruments.