Finnish mythology
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Finnish mythology has many unique features that it shares with other Finnic mythologies, like the Estonian mythology, and also elements similar with non-Finnic neighbours, especially the the Balts and the Scandinavians. Finnish and other Finnic mythologies are also slightly related to mythologies of other Fenno-Ugric speakers, like the Lapps. Finnish mythology is very diversified and extensive. The archive of gathered Finnish folklore is the biggest in its kind in the world.
Elements of Finnish mythology survived within oral tradition of mythical poem-singing and folklore well into the 18th century.
Although the gradual influence of surrounding cultures raised the significance of the sky-god in a monolatristic manner, the father god "Ukko" (Old Man) was originally just a nature spirit like all the others. The most sacred animal, whose real name was never uttered out loud, was the bear. The bear was seen as the embodiment of the forefathers, and for this reason it was called by many euphemisms: "mesikämmen" ("mead-paw"), "otso" ("wide brow"), "kontio" ("dweller of the land").
The first historical mention of the beliefs of the Finns is by the bishop Mikael Agricola in his introduction to the Finnish translation of the New Testament in 1551. He describes many of the gods and spirits of the Tavastians and Karelians. Wider studies into Finnish mythology were made only in the 18th century by the preacher-ethnologist Lars Leevi Laestadius in his treatise of Lappish beliefs. The greatest studies were made through historians in the 19th century recording old rural poetry and folklore, most notably Elias Lönnrot who compiled the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic.
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[edit] The origins and the structure of the world
The world was believed to have been formed out of a bird's egg exploding. The sky was believed to be the upper cover of the egg, alternately it was seen as a tent, which was supported by a column at the north pole, below the north star.
The movement of the stars was explained to be caused by the sky-dome's rotation around the North Star and itself. A great whirl was caused at the north pole by the rotation of column of sky. Through this whirl souls could go to the underground land of dead, Tuonela.
Earth was probably believed to be flat. At the edges of Earth was Lintukoto, "the home of the birds", a warm region in which birds lived during the winter. The Milky way was called Linnunrata, "the path of the birds", because the birds were believed to move along it to Lintukoto and back. The Milky Way is still called "Linnunrata" in Finnish.
Birds had also other significance. Birds brought a human's soul to him at the moment of birth, and took it away at the moment of death. In some areas, it was necessary to have a wooden bird-figure nearby to prevent the soul from escaping during sleep. This Sielulintu, "the soul-bird", protected the soul from being lost in the paths of dreams.
Waterfowl are very common in tales, and also in stone paintings and carvings, indicating their great significance in the beliefs of ancient Finns.
[edit] Tuonela, the land of the dead
The Finnish version of Hades, the land of dead was Tuonela. It was an underground home or city for all the dead people, not only the good or the bad ones. It was a dark and lifeless place, where everybody slept forever. Still a brave shaman could travel to Tuonela in trance to ask for the forefathers' guidance. To travel to Tuonela, the soul had to cross the dark river of Tuonela. If he had a proper reason, then a boat would come to take him over. Many times a shaman's soul had to trick the guards of Tuonela into believing that he was actually dead.
[edit] Ukko, the God of sky and thunder
Ukko ("old man") was a god of the sky, weather, and the crops. He was also the most significant god in Finnish mythology and the Finnish word "ukkonen" (thunder) or "ukonilma" (Ukko's weather), is derived from his name. In the Kalevala he is also called "ylijumala" (overgod), as he is the god of things above. He makes all his appearances in myths solely by natural effects when invoked.
Ukko's origins are probably in Baltic Perkons and the older Finnish sky god Ilmarinen. Also Thor is related to Perkons. While Ukko took Ilmarinen's position as the Sky God, Ilmarinen's destiny was to turn into a smith-hero. In the epic poetry of the Kalevala, Ilmarinen is credited with forging the dome of the sky and the magic mill of plenty, the Sampo.
Ukko's weapon was a hammer, axe or sword, by which he struck lightning. While Ukko mated with his wife Akka ("old woman"), there was a thunderstorm. He created thunderstorms also by driving with his chariot in clouds. The original weapon of Ukko was probably the boat-shaped stone-axe of battle axe culture. Ukko's hammer, the Vasara (means merely "hammer"), probably meant originally the same thing as the boat-shaped stone axe. While stone tools were abandoned in the metal ages, the origins of stone-weapons became a mystery. They were believed to be weapons of Ukko, stone-heads of striking lightnings. Shamans collected and held stone-axes because they were believed to hold many powers to heal and to damage.
The viper with the saw-figure on its skin has been seen as a symbol of thunder. There are stone-carvings which have features of both snakes and lightning bolts.
[edit] Heroes, gods and spirits
- Ahti (or Ahto), god of the depths, giver of fish.
- Ajattara (sometimes Ajatar), an evil forest spirit.
- Akka ("old lady"), female spirit, feminine counterpart of "Ukko".[citation needed]
- Äkräs, the god of fertility and the protector of plants, especially the turnip.
- Antero Vipunen, deceased giant, protector of deep knowledge and magic.
- Hiisi, demon, originally meaning a sacred grove, later a mean goblin.
- Iku-Turso, a malevolent sea monster; probably same as Tursas.
- Ilmarinen, the great smith, maker of heaven. Originally a male spirit of air.
- Ilmatar, female spirit of air; the daughter of primeal substance of creative spirit. Mother of Väinämöinen in Kalevala.
- Jumala, a generic name for a major deity. Originally the name given by the Finns to the sky, the sky-god, and the supreme god. Later taivas and Ukko were used as the names for the sky and the sky-god. The word means god and was later used for the Christian God. The origin of the word is unknown – some possible explanations are derivation from Jomali, the supreme deity of the Permians and origination from the Estonian word jume.
- Kalevanpoika (son/man of Kaleva), a giant hero who can cut down forests and mow down huge meadows, identical with Estonian national epic hero Kalevipoeg.
- Kave, ancient god of sky, later the deity of the lunar cycle. Father of Väinämöinen. Also Kaleva.[citation needed]
- Kotitonttu, tutelary of the home.
- Kullervo, tragic antihero. Model for Túrin Turambar in Tolkien's Silmarillion.
- Lemminkäinen (Ahti Saarelainen, Kaukomieli), a brash hero.
- Lempo, originally a fertility spirit,[citation needed] became synonymous with demon in the Christian era.
- Lalli, Finn who slew Bishop Henry on the ice of Lake Köyliö, according to a legend.
- Louhi, the matriarch of Pohjola, hostess of the Underworld.
- Loviatar, the blind daughter of Tuoni and the mother of Nine diseases.
- Luonnotar, spirit of nature, feminine creator.
- Menninkäinen, a fairy spirit, gnome.
- Mielikki, wife of Tapio, the goddess of the forest.
- Nyyrikki, the god of hunting, son of Tapio.
- Näkki, the fearsome spirit of pools, wells and bridges. Same as Nix.
- Otso, the spirit of bear (one of many circumlocutory epithets).
- Pekko (or Pellon Pekko), the god of crops, especially barley and brewing.
- Perkele, the Devil. Originally Perkele was not the Devil but a god of thunder and can be seen as an earlier form of Ukko. Related to Baltic Perkunas and Germanic Thor.
- Pellervo (or Sampsa Pellervoinen), the god of harvest.
- Pihatonttu, tutelary of the yard.
- Piru, spirit, demon. Probably later loan word related to "spirit".[citation needed]
- Päivätär, the goddess of day.[citation needed]
- Rahko, the Karelian god of time; Rahko tars the moon describes the phases of the moon.[citation needed]
- Surma, the personification of a violent death.
- Saunatonttu, tutelary of the sauna.
- Tapio, the god of the forest.
- Tellervo, the goddess of the forest, daughter of Tapio and Mielikki.
- Tonttu, generally benign tutelary. Originally, a patron of cultivated land, keeper of lot.
- Tuonetar, name referring to both the mistress and the daughter of Tuoni.
- Tuoni, the personification of Death.
- Tursas, the Tavastian god of war. May be same as the Norse Tyr and the Germanic Thurisas.
- Tuulikki, daughter of Tapio and Mielikki, goddess of animals.
- Ukko ("old man") the god of the sky and thunder, related to Thor (Estonian Taara).
- Vellamo, the wife of Ahti, goddess of the sea, lakes and storms. A current image of Vellamo can be seen on the coat of arms of Päijänne Tavastia.
- Vedenemo ("mother of waters"), Karelian goddess of water.[citation needed]
- Väinämöinen, the old and wise man, who possessed a potent, magical voice. The central character in Finnish folklore and he is the main character in the Kalevala.
[edit] Places
- Kyöpelinvuori (Raatikko); where women who die as virgins go.
- Tuonela; (also Manala, Pohjola) abode of the dead, Underworld.
- Kalevala
- Pohjola
[edit] Animals
- Brown Bear; the bear was considered the most sacred of animals, only referred to by euphemisms (see taboo). The killing of a bear was followed by a great feast in honour of the bear (peijaiset), where a substantial part of the celebrations consisted of convincing the bear's spirit that it'd died accidentally and hadn't been "murdered". Afterwards, the bear's skull was hung high upon a pine tree so its spirit could re-enter the heavens. Kalevala on the bear.
- Swan of Tuonela; (Tuonelan joutsen).
- Elk of Hiisi; (Hiiden hirvi).
[edit] Artifacts
- The Sampo, a magical artifact that brought good fortune to its holder. According to Lönnrot's interpretation in the Kalevala, it was a mill that made flour, salt, and gold out of thin air.
- Väinämöinen's magic kantele which he made from the jaws of a huge pike.
- Väinämöinen's great sword, which shines like sun and is extraordinarily sharp.
[edit] Ahistorical traditions
Saint Urho
It should be noted that no legend of a "St. Urho" exists in the Finnish mythology. He is supposed to be the holy man who drove away the grasshoppers from Finland using the incantation "Heinäsirkka, heinäsirkka, mene täältä hiiteen!" ("Grasshopper, grasshopper, go from hence to Hell!"), thus saving the Finnish grape crops. (An alternate version of the legend uses frogs in place of grasshoppers.)
Credit for the creation of St. Urho has been given to Richard Mattson, who worked at Ketola's Department Store in Virginia, Minnesota. Mattson is credited with conjuring up the legend of St. Urho in the spring of 1956, but many others have contributed to the legend since then. The legend in the St. Urho was originated as a joke, copied from the Irish St. Patrick's Day tradition to give the Finns their very own equivalent of St. Patrick's Day. It is celebrated today among many Finns, primarily in America, as St. Urho's Day but is acknowledged as a joke. The selection of the name Urho is likely came from former Finnish President Urho Kekkonen, but it also has a meaning of 'a brave one' (from 'Urheus' - 'Bravery') .
St. Urho's Day is celebrated on March 16 (the day before St. Patrick's Day) every year. His feast is supposed to be celebrated by wearing the colors Royal Purple and Nile Green.
There are St. Urho fan clubs in Canada and Finland as well as the US. The original statue of St. Urho is located in Menahga, Minnesota. There is a beer restaurant called St. Urho's Pub in central Helsinki, Finland.
