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Finnic mythology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Finnic mythology

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The mythology of the Finnic (Finno-Lappic) peoples of Northern Europe share many aspects among themselves as well as with broader Circumpolar mythology and Shamanism in Siberia on one hand and with Indo-European Baltic and Germanic mythologies on the other.

Finnic pre-Christian deities included a sky-god known by local names as Jumala in Finnish, Jumal or Taevataat (Sky Grandfather) in Estonian, Jumo in Mari. [1]

Contents

[edit] Finnish

Main article: Finnish mythology

Finnish mythology survived in Karelia region as an 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 Jumala 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").

[edit] Estonian

Main article: Estonian mythology

A traveler called Wulfstan reported to the king Alfred the Great (971-899) about the Estum or the Estonian burial customs that included holding the dead unburied in the house of their relatives and friends, who hold a wake of drinking until the day of the cremation. The rite of cremation is thought to be related to belief that it was speeding up the dead's journey to afterlife and the dead would not become earthbound spirits which were thought to be dangerous to the living. Henry of Livonia records that even in 1222 the Estonians disinterred Christian dead and burned them. [1]

Henry of Livonia describes in his chronicle a legend from Virumaa, Estonia that speaks of a mountain and a forest where the god called Tharapita was born and from where he flew to Oesel , Saaremaa an island in Estonia. During the battles in Livonian Crusade Oeselians, the proto Estonians from Saaremaa were described by the chronicle to cry out, rejoicing in Tharapita. [2]

Not much is known about authentic pre-Christian Estonian mythology, as it was a purely oral tradition and systematic recording of Estonian folklore started in only in the 19th century, by which time most of the old myths had faded.[citation needed]

The social organization of these tribes was rather homogenous; there was no organized religion[citation needed], no professional priests,[citation needed] no scripture and indeed no written tradition at all. Similarly there was no complex pantheon or advanced system of myths.[citation needed] This was perceived as a shortcoming by 19th century Estonian and Baltic-German literati who started to create a "proper"[citation needed] mythological basis for an emerging nation, following the Herderian lines of national romanticism. Today it is difficult to tell how much of Estonian mythology as we know it today was actually constructed in the 19th and early 20th century. One should also note that some constructed elements are loans from Finnish mythology and may date back to the common Baltic-Finnic heritage. Says Endel Nirk: "the so called pseudo-mythology has played a greater role in Estonian national movement and the people’s life than for some other people their proven authentic mythology."[citation needed]

[edit] Lappic

Main article: Sami religion

The knowledge of the Sami religion is primarily based on archeological remains and written sources from missionary works in northern Scandinavia during the Middle Ages and up to the early 18th c. Some objects date back to 800-1300s, and the sites are usually termed "Samic metal depots", due to the large findings of metal objects. The objects are mostly coins from Germany and England, and parts from weapons (e.g. arrow-heads). Some minor findings consists of horn from reindeer.

The religion was a form of shamanism, practiced by the noaide for the most miscellaneous problems. The instrument used for ceremonies was the rune drum, but even a domestic flute, the so-called "fadno", was used. The traditional Sami chant, joik, was used in ceremonies where the noaide fell in trance and left his or her body to transcend into the divine world of "saivo", where he or she could negotiate with gods, spirits and forefathers to improve the fate of the group he or she represented. As with other circumpolar religions, the Sami religion contains a hunting ceremony especially for bears, known as the bear cult. We find elements of Norse mythology as well as Christian ideas in the religious practice in the later years of Sami religion.

[edit] Deities

[edit] Estonian

Main article: Estonian deities
  • Peko - god of fertility, crops and brewing
  • Pikne (lightning) - god of thunder
  • Tharapita - god of war, also known as Taara
  • Vanemuine (the ancient one) - god of music (possibly a spurious later development)
  • Uku - superior god
  • Ilmarine - smithgod

[edit] Finnish

Main article: Finnish deities

There are very few written documents about old Finnish religions; also the names of deities and practices of worship changed from place to place. The following is a summary of the most important and most widely worshipped deities.

  • Ahti (or Ahto) - god of streams, lakes and sea
  • Loviatar - One of Tuoni's daughters. Goddess of pain.
  • Mielikki - Tapio's wife, the Goddess of forests
  • Otso - son of a god, king of the forest, whose carnal form is the bear
  • Pekko (or Peko) - God/dess (the actual gender is obscure) of fields and agriculture
  • Perkele - god of thunder (originally a Lithuanian deity of thunder, Perkunas; adopted into Finnish tradition at a late date)
  • Rauni - Ukko's wife, Goddess of fertility
  • Tapio - god of forest and wild animals
  • Tuonetar - The wife of Tuoni
  • Tuoni - god of the underworld
  • Ukko - god of heaven and thunder, the over-god. same as Jumala, later the Christian God.

[edit] Sami

This is a list of deities in the old Sami religion prior to Christianization in the 17th century.

  • Aske or Manna - The god of the Moon.
  • Atja - The god of thunder, also called Bajanolmmai, Dierpmis or Hovrengalles, which means "Thor- man".
  • Beaivi or Biejje - The great Goddess of the Sun, mother of human kind.
  • Bieggagallis - The god of the storms, father of human kind, consort of Beaivi.
  • Bieggolman - God of the summer winds.
  • Biegkegaellies - God of the winter winds.
  • Biejjenniejte - Goddess of healing and medicine; her name means "Daughter of the Sun" or "Maiden of the Sun", and she was especially helpful against sickneses caused by her mother, the sun.
  • Jabbmeaaakka - Goddess of death and queen of the underworld and the kingdom of death.
  • Jipmel - "God"; possibly this was a late name of the Christian god, but it could also have been a name to include all good deities.
  • Juoksahkka - The protecter and guardian of children; "The woman with an arrow".
  • Lieaibolmmai - God of the hunt, the god of adult men.
  • Maadteraahka - Mother of the tribe, Goddess of women and children, she who gives humans their body; women belonged to her, and boys belonged to her until they were declared men. Maadteraahka is popular among modern sami feminists.
  • Maadteraajja - The father of the tribe, husband of Maadteraahka; while his wife gives humans their body, he gives them their soul; and thus, they are born.
  • Mubpienålmaj - "The evil one"; possibly the Christian god of evil, but also a name that included all the evil deities.
  • Oksaahka - The former of the fetus; she shaped the fietus in the mother's womb and gave humans their gender. She was the sister of Juoksahka.
  • Raedie or Väraldarade - The main god, the great creator ot the world; he was, however, passive, some say even sleeping, and not very included in active religion.
  • Raedieahkka - Wife of Raedie.
  • Rana Niejta - Daughter of Raedie. "Rana" was a popular name of Sami girls.
  • Raediengiedte - Son of Raedie.
  • Ruohtta - The god of sicknesses and therefore also a death-god. He was depicted riding on a horse.
  • Saaraahka - The Goddess of fertility, menstruation, love, sexuality, pregnancy and childbirth. Saaraahka was the most important female god; she is sometimes sister of Juoksahka and Oksaahka, sometimes they are a trinity of the same Goddess.
  • Stallon - The feared giant of the woods.
  • Tjaetsieålmaj - The men of water.

[edit] References

  • Herman Hofberg, "Lapparnas Hednatro"
  • Uno Holmberg, "Lapparnas religion"
  • Rafael Karsten, " Samefolkets religion"
  • Edgar Reuteskiöld, " De nordiska samernas religion"

[edit] See also

[edit] External links


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