Oxonmoot 2024

This essay investigates the ‘shamanic’ nature of Tom Bombadil, examining his role in the legendarium, the ecocentric values he embodies, and potential resonances with the eternal bard Väinämöinen from The Kalevala. While the influence of this Finnish/Karelian mythic corpus on Tolkien’s First Age materials (particularly the tale of Túrin) is well attested, the Bombadil affair arguably better reflects the elements of The Kalevala that Tolkien found most enchanting: namely the folkloric and animistic spirit of the work, the ennoblement of simple things, and the magic of song. As an indigenous or (in Tolkien’s own words) ‘aboriginal’ figure, Bombadil serves as an important foil for the relative modernity of the hobbits, equipping them with the skills to metabolise their fears and confront the high strangeness of the wild world. He is, much like Väinämöinen, a distinctly shamanic figure, initiating both the hobbits and the reader into the Perilous Realm of myth and natural magic.