Tuonela: other world in the system of the universe coordinates in Karelian epos

The article deals with the views on the mythical country of Tuonela in Karelian epos and its place in Karelian world picture on the basis of the epic runes texts. The study reveals the features of the mythical topos localization, provides a description of characters inhabiting it, and presents semantic interpretations of images and motifs. The method of textological, structural and semantic analysis of the runes texts is used in the research. Kalevala metric runes, collected during different periods in northern and southern Karelia and published in several collective volumes, were used as research material. The study indicates that Tuonela's image accumulates the notions of the otherworld, a faraway land, the realm of the dead, which is not only localized in the horizontal plane beyond some watershed, but also has some signs of correlation with the underworld, which demonstrates the vertical structure of the universe.