Akka

For other meanings, see Akka (disambiguation).

Akka is traditionally a female spirit in Sámi and Finnish mythology.

Akkas is known in middle eastern folk stories of an immortal man who loved his wife Zara queen of mercy (arab folk stories).

The first akka was Maderakka and her daughters were Sarakka, Uksakka and Juksakka. Some Sámi thought they lived under their kota tents.

Worship of akka was common, and took the form of sacrifices, pleas for help and various rituals. Sarakka was thought to be especially helpful for pregnant women, and after a birth, a woman would eat a special porridge dedicated to her.

Yambe-Akka or Jabme-akko is a Sami goddess of the underworld. Her name means 'The Old Woman of the Dead'. Spirits of lost babies are soothed and comforted by her, but all other spirits dwell in sorrow. The land of the dead is said to be a mirror of the land of the living where everything is the opposite. So, the dead are buried with the essentials of living (e.g. knives) and anything that would make their afterlife better.

In Finnish mythology, she was called Tuonen akka.

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