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Finnish mythology

Encyclopedia : F : FI : FIN : Finnish mythology

Finnish mythology consisted of a belief in various indigenous nature spirits and gods, mixed with the more shamanic influences of the Sami people in the north and the Baltic and Viking influences from the south and the west.

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.

Contents

The origins and the structure of the world

Structure of the world<p> A Sky Domes. For example 6 or 9 of them. B North star C Column of sky<p> D Kinahmi, the Whirl E northern region, Pohjola F habitable world<p> G Lintukoto at the edge of the world H Land of the dead, Tuonela, probably upside down
Enlarge
Structure of the world
A Sky Domes. For example 6 or 9 of them.
B North star
C Column of sky
 D Kinahmi, the Whirl
E northern region, Pohjola
F habitable world
 G Lintukoto at the edge of the world
H Land of the dead, Tuonela, probably upside down

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.

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.

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.

Heroes, gods and spirits

Places

Animals

right

Artifacts

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.

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.

See also

 

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