Finnish mythology commonly refers of the folklore of Finnish paganism , of which a modern revival is practiced by a small percentage of the Finnish people . It has many shared features with Estonian and other Finnic mythologies, but also with neighbouring Baltic , Slavic and, to a lesser extent, Norse mythologies.
25-537: In Finnish mythology , the Sampo ( pronounced [ˈsɑmpo] ) is a magical device or object described in many different ways that was constructed by the blacksmith and inventor Ilmarinen and that brought riches and good fortune to its holder, akin to the horn of plenty (cornucopia) of Greek mythology. When the Sampo was stolen, Ilmarinen's homeland fell upon hard times. He sent an expedition to retrieve it, but in
50-457: A chest containing a treasure, a Byzantine coin die , a decorated Vendel period shield, a Christian relic , etc. In the Kalevala , compiler Lönnrot interpreted it to be a quern or mill of some sort that made flour , salt , and gold out of thin air. The world pillar/tree hypothesis was argued for by figures such as theosophian Pekka Ervast , historian of religions Uno Harva and
75-501: A harvest-time festival. Cristfried Ganander 's Mythologia Fennica , published in 1789, was the first truly scholarly foray into Finnish mythology. In the 19th century, research into Finnish folklore intensified. Scholars like Elias Lönnrot , J.F. Cajan , M.A. Castrén , and D.E.D. Europaeus travelled around Finland writing down folk poetry sung by runo (poem) singers, many of whom were tietäjät (traditional ritual specialists). The genres they collected included material like
100-462: A mighty forge until he finally succeeds in creating the Sampo: Later, Louhi steals the Sampo, and then Ilmarinen and Väinämöinen enter her stronghold in secret and retrieve it. Louhi pursues them and combats Väinämöinen. In the struggle, Louhi is vanquished but the Sampo is destroyed. The Sampo has been interpreted in many ways: a world pillar or world tree , a compass or astrolabe ,
125-537: The synnyt , which give mythical accounts of the origins of many natural phenomena. From this material Lönnrot edited the Kalevala as well as the Kanteletar . The wealth of folk poetry collected in the 19th century often deals with pre-Christian pagan themes, and has allowed scholars to study Finnish mythology in more detail. The world was believed to have been formed out of a bird's egg or eggs. The species of
150-589: The 17th century, Geoffrey Keating drew on a version of the former for his Foras Feasa ar Éirinn . The first recension of Lebor Gabála describes the Tuatha Dé Danann as having resided in "the northern islands of the world", where they were instructed in the magic arts, before finally moving in dark clouds to Connaught in Ireland. It mentions only the Lia Fáil as having been imported from across
175-477: The 19th century. Of the animals, the most sacred was the bear , whose real name was never uttered out loud, which was thought to be unfavorable to the hunt. The bear ("karhu" in Finnish) was seen as the embodiment of the forefathers, and for this reason it was called by many circumlocutions: mesikämmen ("mead-paw"), otso ("browed one"), kontio ("dweller of the land"), metsän kultaomena ("the golden apple of
200-530: The Dagda In the Mythological Cycle of early Irish literature , the four treasures of the Tuatha Dé Danann are four magical items which the mythological Tuatha Dé Danann are supposed to have brought with them from the four island cities Murias, Falias, Gorias, and Findias when they arrived in Ireland. Together the four treasures form the subject of at least three Middle Irish texts: In
225-580: The Devil). Due to the lists, Agricola is considered to be the father of the study of Finnish religious history and mythology. Later scholars and students commonly quoted Agricola's lists as a historical source; only in the late eighteenth century did scholars begin to critically re-examine Agricola's work, finding that most of the figures on his list were not gods, but local guardian spirits, figures from folk mythology or explanatory legends, cultural heroes, Christian saints under alternative names, and, in one case,
250-823: The Sampo, it too was lost to the sea, endlessly grinding salt. The Sanskrit epic the Mahabharatha tells of the Akshaya Patra , a vessel or bowl capable of creating food that stops at the end of the day when the lady of the house has had her last meal. Similarly, in the Irish myth of the Cauldron of the Dagda ( coire ansic or "un-dry cauldron") is a magical vessel that satisfies any number of people. Finnish mythology Finnish mythology survived within an oral tradition of mythical poem-singing and folklore well into
275-606: The Sky God, Ilmarinen's destiny was to turn into a smith-hero, or the god of the rock. In the epic poetry of the Kalevala, Ilmarinen is credited with forging the stars on 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 and his wife Akka ("old woman") mated, there was a thunderstorm. He created thunderstorms by riding his chariot over
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#1732772013788300-429: The bird and the number of eggs varies between traditions. In the Kalevala the bird is a pochard that lays seven eggs (six of gold and one of iron). Examples from other stories include a swallow , a loon , and a mythical giant eagle, kokko . 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
325-505: The clouds. The original weapon of Ukko was probably the boat-shaped stone axe of battle axe culture . Ukko's hammer Vasara (lit. "hammer") probably originally meant the same thing as the boat-shaped stone axe. When stone tools were abandoned in the metal ages, the origins of stone weapons became a mystery. They were believed to be weapons of Ukko left behind after a lightning strike. Shamans collected and held stone axes because they were believed to hold supernatural powers. Cauldron of
350-525: The ensuing battle it was smashed and lost at sea. The Sampo is a pivotal element of the plot of the Finnish epic poem Kalevala , compiled in 1835 (and expanded in 1849) by Elias Lönnrot based on Finnish oral tradition . In the expanded second version of the poem, the Sampo is forged by Ilmarinen , a legendary blacksmith , to fulfill a task set by the witch queen of Pohjola , Louhi , in return for her daughter's hand. Ilmarinen works for many days at
375-731: The forest"). It was not strictly seen as a god. The first historical mention of Finnish folk religion was by the bishop and Lutheran reformer Mikael Agricola (1510–1555) in the preface to his 1551 Finnish translation of the Psalms . Agricola supplied a list of purported deities of the Häme (in Swedish, Tavastia) and Karjala (Karelia). It detailed twelve deities in each region with their supposed functions briefly set out in verse form. (Some commentators state that only eleven deities were listed for Häme, not counting Agricola's mention of Piru ,
400-587: The linguist Eemil Nestor Setälä in the early 20th century. According to the archaeologist Elena Kuz'mina the Sampo mill myth originates from the Indo-European skambhá (support, pillar, column), and was borrowed into Finno-Ugric . In the Atharvaveda the 'skambhá' is a creature that supports the universe, analogous to the World Tree – the Sampo has been claimed to be the Finnish equivalent of
425-476: The sea. One of the recensions of Lebor Gabála , Cath Maige Tuired and a separate text elaborate on these events. CMT and LG tell that there were four cities located on the northern islands of the world ( i n-insib tūascertachaib in domain ), called Falias, Gorias, Findias and Murias. "The Four Jewels" also refers to the cities, but appears to locate them at Lochlann and contends that the Tuatha Dé crossed
450-542: The seas in their fleet rather than in a mist. The Tuatha Dé Danann—described as the offspring of Béothach son of Iarbonel—landed here to be instructed in the magic arts, embracing druidry ( druidecht ), knowledge ( fis ), prophecy ( fáitsine ) and skill in magic ( amainsecht ). Each island is said to have had its poet ( fili ) who was skilled in occult arts. When the Tuatha Dé migrated to Ireland, they are said to have brought four magical instruments from these cities: A. C. L. Brown and R. S. Loomis equate Lug's spear with
475-476: 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 a column of sky. Through this whirl, souls could exit the world to the land of dead, Tuonela . Earth was believed to be flat. At the edges of Earth was Lintukoto [ fi ] , "the home of the birds", a warm region in which birds lived during
500-530: The theme with a cautionary tale and pupil-master relationship include The Master and his Pupil (English), and Goethe's 1797 poem The Sorcerer's Apprentice . The cornucopia of Greek mythology also produces endless goods, and some versions of the Grail myth emphasize how the Grail creates food and goods. The Japanese folktale Shiofuki usu speaks of a grindstone that could be used to create anything. Like
525-420: The winter. The Milky Way is called Linnunrata, "the path of the birds", because the birds were believed to move along it to Lintukoto and back. In Modern Finnish usage, the word lintukoto means an imaginary happy, warm, and peaceful paradise-like place. Birds also had other significance. Birds brought a human's soul to the body at the moment of birth, and took it away at the moment of death. In some areas, it
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#1732772013788550-525: The world tree. In the Aarne–Thompson classification systems of folktales, tale type 565 refers to a magic mill that continuously produces food or salt. Examples include Why the Sea is Salt (Norway, based on the poem Grottasöngr ), Sweet porridge (Germanic), and The Water Mother (Chinese). Such devices have been included into modern tales such as Strega Nona (1975, children's book). Variants on
575-422: Was a dark and lifeless place, where everybody slept forever. A sufficiently brave shaman could travel to Tuonela in trance to ask for the forefathers' guidance. This required crossing the dark river of Tuonela. If the shaman had a proper reason, a boat would come to take them over. Many times, a shaman's soul would have to trick the guards of Tuonela into thinking that they were actually dead. Ukko ("old man")
600-492: Was a god of the sky, weather, and the crops. The Finnish word for thunder, "ukkonen" (little Ukko) or "ukonilma" (Ukko's weather), is derived from his name. In the Kalevala he is also called "ylijumala" (overgod, Supreme God). He makes all his appearances in myths solely by natural effects. Ukko's origins are probably in Baltic Perkons and the older Finnish sky god Ilmarinen . While Ukko took Ilmarinen's position as
625-473: Was necessary to have a wooden bird-figure nearby to prevent the soul from escaping during sleep. This Sielulintu [ fi ] , "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 was the land of dead: an underground home or city for all dead people, without moral judgement. It
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