Kalma (goddess)


Kalma is the Finnish goddess of death and decay, her name meaning "The Stench of Corpses". Her favorite places to linger are graveyards and cemeteries; in fact, one Finnish word for graveyard is kalmisto, derived from her name. Some sources state that she moves on a vehicle of odors, much like a puff of smoke.
Her father is Tuoni and her mother Tuonetar. Kalma may also have several sisters, Kipu-Tyttö, Kivutar, Loviatar, and Vammatar, all of whom live in the Finnish underworld realm of Tuonela. Kalma is accompanied and protected by Surma, a dog-like creature whose name literally means "death".
Their stories are recited in the Finnish national epic Kalevala.