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In Finnish folklore, Hymylä (variants: Himola, Huikkola, Hyvölä, Hytölä, Hämälä, Hölmölä) is a mysterious place for the banishment of a child who failed in a children's game, usually, the game of riddles.
With a chant, e.g., "Hyys, hyys, Hymylään! kun et sitäkään tiedä" ("Off, off, to Hymylä! You don't know anything!") a failed child is banished somewhere outside the children's circle, e.g., outdoors, if the game is indoors. Upon return the child is demanded to tell a story about his trip. Most commonly the story describes some kind of ridiculous, topsy-turvy world. People there stir porridge with an axe and chop firewood with a ladle, etc. Sometimes a trip to Hymylä involves some kind of forfeit: some silly work, trifle money, or suffering. A trip to Hymylä is perceived as a kind of disgrace.[1][2]
The earliest account of the tradition was reported by Cristfried Ganander in his Aenigmata Fennica ("Finnish Riddles") in 1783.[2]
Over time, places with these names were perceived akin to Gotham, the Three Wise Men were from, a settlement of proverbial fools.[3]
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