We made this preparation task together because we work as colleagues, Finnish teachers,  in same school. We chose the subject together, gathered information and wrote this in co-operation.

Nature has always been an essential thing for us Finns. Finland is known for it’s pure nature, and especially for it’s lakes and woods. Therefore we decided to take a closer look at two creatures which are among some legends related to each other but which however belong to different places: the actual hiisis to forests and the water hiisis (vetehinen) to lakes.

Hiisi has been a way to explain things that don’t seem to have natural explanation, like big rocks in the middle of the forest (hiidenkivi), big holes in the rock foundation (hiidenkirnu) or big piles of rocks (hiidenkiuas). 

People used to believe that hiisis lived before at the same areas that people nowadays populate. The spreading of the people has caused the change in the living areas of the hiisis from near people to distant areas.

Hiisi has been contrasted to giant, but mostly people have thought that hiisi is a small creature. In estonian language the word hiiglane means a giant.

There are two kinds of hiisis: some live in the forests and others live in the lakes. The ones that live in the water are called vetehinen (there is a reference to the Finnish word water, vesi, in the name). In the Finnish mytology and folklore vetehinen is some kind of fairy of the water, sometimes good and sometimes evil. 

The evil vetehinen could be understood as the soul of the drowned person that could lure the people living on the ground to water. However in stories of the good vetehinen people could ask blessing from the vetehinen to get better catches from the lake. Vetehinen could even be called as the fish God in the Carelian area. 

Source: Wikipedia

Taras, while doing sacrificial rites on the river bank, fell into his waters and his body was never found again. The conviction spread that his father, Neptune, had decided to take him back in order to make him a hero: for this reason a temple was built to honor him, and was revered as a god by those who lived in the city. Taranto takes its name from the mythical founder, Taras, and currently has as its civic symbol the hero riding a dolphin, while holding a trident and the chlamys, the mantle that Greeks used to wear in battle. It is obviously inspired by the image on the Magno-Greek coins, in fact on the ancient coins of Taranto Taras is depicted on a dolphin holding a trident in his left hand (symbol of Neptune) and in his right hand a sacrifice vase that refers to propitiatory rituals that the young man used to do to the god of the sea. The subject on the ancient coins of Taranto is also identified with the Spartan Falanto which, according to the legend, during his journey to Italy, would have been saved by a dolphin after being shipwrecked.

The legend tells that Marco and Pietro evangelized Puglia and arrived in the city of Massafra, they built a crypt dedicated to the Virgin Mother of Christ in the Rosarum Valley.

In 102, the people of Massafra let a picture of the Madonna, called the Prisca, be painted inside the crypt above a stone. In 324 the village of Massafra was hit by a violent earthquake. The crypts of the ravine were destroyed and among these also that of the Madonna Prisca and his painting.

Time passed and one day, about a century after that devastating earthquake, two hunters came upon a beautiful doe. They tried to catch it, but in vain. They chased it until the deer suddenly stopped and knelt on a large boulder.

The intrigued hunters approached and cleaned the boulder and incredibly, they found the painting of the Madonna with the child. Excited they returned to the village to tell what had happened.

With a procession in honor of the Madonna Prisca, the people of Massafra brought festivities, the sacred icon in the church of the town.

The next day, the image disappeared and believing that someone had stolen it, they set about searching until they found it where the hunters had discovered it. Thus it was decided to build a small church there where it was possible to keep the sacred icon that was called Madonna della Cerva.

Another legend says that on the occasion of the feast of Our Lady, protector of the city, two hinds, mother and daughter, went to the church. The mother suddenly burst and her flesh was cooked and, suddenly multiplied, it was used to feed the thousands of pilgrims.

The people of Massafra really believe in the miracles of the Madonna and for this they pray fervently. When on February 20, 1743, at 23.00 a terrible earthquake occurred, it was to her that they relied. Many cities in the Province of Taranto were affected, but the city of Massafra remained unharmed.

In 1776, the Madonna della Scala was named patroness and protector of Massafra. The bishop of Mottola established that there should be two feasts in honor of the Madonna. A religious to be celebrated on February 20, and a civilian on the first Sunday of May, the month of the Madonna.

ALTAR OF THE CHURCH.

To the sides the statues of two deer. 

 

Every cave was formed by two or three rooms: one was used for cooking, eating and sleeping; the other one was a sort of warehouse for food and objects. In same caves there were animals; others possessed a small well to keep wheat, cereals, wine and olive oil. On the ceiling there were holes to hang oil-lamps and cheese.

The biggest ravine in Massafra is called “Madonna della Scala’s ravine” for the presence of a religious Sanctuary inside. Here there is the Cave of the Magician Greguro and his pharmacy. The aspect of this cave is peculiar for the presence of hundreds of holes on the rock. 

According to a legend, in the year 1000 A.D. this cave was inhabited by a magician called Greguro and his daughter Margheritella. The magician used this cave for making ointments and keep herbs, that were kept in the several loculus carved on the walls.

Greguro collected herbs and plants from the ravine in order to prepare ointments for the sick people of the village. His daughter helped him. Margheritella was very beautiful and many people (both men and women) were envious. For this reason, the girl tried not to show herself for not attracting these negative attentions. She also decided to help her father by gathering plants in the night, so that nobody could see her. But all was useless. In fact, people accused her of being a witch who practiced sorcery in the night and seduced men with her filters and magic. Therefore, she was condemned to the stake. Luckily, during the execution, the religious chief of the village stopped the death penalty and saved the girl because she was innocent. According to the legend, the old Greguro painted a portrait of the Virgin in order to thank Her for the received miracle. This picture can still be found in a crypt near the Sanctuary. 

It is a mysterious creature, of demonic origin, a fantastic being and its own characteristic of the Valencian imaginary of fear and that was used to scare the ill-fated children and those who did not listen and were wrong. It is one of the scares that adults used to scare the children who did not listen and were wrong: "Come to sleep, children! Close the latch, it is not the thing that comes with the Quarantamaula!".

In Tibi they say that it is a half human monster and half a chicken, with half of the body covered with feathers, long legs and neck like a vulture and that has its tail between the canes of the swamp. In the Vall d'Albaida it is said that it is a witch that looks like a cat and does what they like doing such as climbing the rooftops, going from house to house, make noise and frighten children. In other areas it even adopts the harmless form of snail or cat. In any case the idea of ​​being a creature that goes by the roofs and makes noise with stones against the windows repeats itself. This creature that has so many forms reminds us that the forms of evil are endless and even take the body of harmless beings as perhaps a cat.

It is said of the Quarantamaula that takes children, especially those who misbehave and are disobedient. To carry out his evil purposes, he throws a stone against the houses in which the little ones live so that the adults, when they hear the noise, go out and see what happens. At that time, take the opportunity to enter and take the children who have behaved badly. If someone hears it, you must warn by shouting: "The Quarantamaula!", So the population can lock themselves in their homes. When that happens, all activity ceases. The shops close the doors and people suspend their daily tasks.

 

Besides the noise it makes, it is known that it is close because of the putrid smell of its breath. It is so toxic that the facades of houses deteriorate, iron objects rust, and weeds invade streets and squares.

 

It is not proven, but there are those who claim that in its lair it hides a fabulous treasure, the result of the looting and blackmail to which its victims and relatives are submitted.

Shrouded in myth and legend and dating back many hundreds if not thousands of years, this dance was thought to have been the only cure for a tarantula bite, or, metaphorically, for someone possessed by the devil...

When the alarm went that someone had been bitten, usually while working in the fields, the local band would pick up their instruments (traditionally violins, mandolins, guitar, flute, accordion and large tamburine) and rush to the house of the afflicted.

Once there they would begin to play, slowly at first, while the patient, usually in a high fever by this time, began the dance. As the music got faster, so to did the steps of the dancer, whose aim was to expel the poison (or malignant spirit) through sheer force of motion and perspiration. Often family and other villagers would join in in a show of solidarity. 

The dance would continue "prestissimo" until the main protagonist collapsed to the floor, utterly exhausted, but hopefully cured.

Other versions of the dance exist, including more romantic ones requiring a partner, but the real excitement comes when purification and/or exorcism is called for!

Taranto, 272 BC, the City of Two Seas, capital of Magna Graecia.  An ancient legend tells that, at the time of the siege conducted by the armies of Rome, a beautiful girl named Kalimera lived in Taranto. One morning, facing the walls that protected the city,she cast her eyes on the camp of the Roman enemy, meeting that of Tumulus, the commander of the Roman forces. It was the classic love at first sight. The two tried in every way, and for many times, to meet, however the firm and massive doors of the city, as well as the careful surveillance of the Tarantini people, prevented one from entering and the other from leaving the city. One night, managing to evade the vigilance of the sentinels, Kalimera managed to open one of the doors, allowing Tumulo to break into the city, under the command of his forces.  The warrior blood of the Spartan ancestors had not, however, abandoned the Tarantini who, with a desperate counter-offensive conducted home by house and street by street, succeeded in driving the invaders beyond the walls, capturing a large number of prisoners including Tumulo. .  At that point the betrayal of Kalimera was also discovered which, according to the laws of the city, was condemned to be burned at the stake. A high pyre was erected in the center of the city and the desperate lover was hoisted over it, then the fire was given under the impotent cheek of Tumulus, forced to watch the execution. As the flames began to lick the unfortunate girl, with a last desperate effort, Tumulo managed to free himself from the guards who immobilized it, rushing to the pyre to embrace his beloved at least once. The fire consumed them tightly together, while the wind dispersed their ashes. Their hearts finally were united, indeed, they merged into eternity. The fire consumed them both and it is said that even today, in some streets of Taranto, their whispers of love mixed with screams of pain and suffering are heard in the wind