Peijaiset (in dialectal forms peijahaiset, peijaat or peijaajaiset) is a Finnish concept, dating to pre-Christian times, denoting a memorial feast (akin to a

wake Wake or The Wake may refer to: Culture *Wake (ceremony), a ritual which takes place during some funeral ceremonies *Wakes week, an English holiday tradition * Parish Wake, another name of the Welsh ', the fairs held on the local parish's patron s ...

) that was held in the honour of a slain animal, particularly the

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

, the animal most sacred to ancient Finns. In modern-day usage, it often refers to the celebrations following a successful

elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

hunt Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, et ...

, or a feast at the end of a hunting season. It may also be used in a figurative sense, denoting any memorial held for things that have come to an end ("peijaiset" over e.g. bankrupt companies). Traditionally, it referred to wakes for humans and animals, but also other celebrations, depending on the region in question. Karhunpeijaiset is a celebration held for the soul of a bear after a bear hunt. Traditionally, a bear was never "hunted"; it was merely ''brought down''. A single man could claim to have hunted and killed a bear, but when the entire community was involved, the bear was simply said to have died. The bear's spirit had to be told that it had fallen into a pit or that it had otherwise killed itself by accident, not by the hunters: this was done to appease the bear's spirit so that it would not be offended and possibly exact revenge upon the hunters. The ceremony was always a much more elaborate affair than what the most influential member of the community would have merited. In eastern Finland it would have copious mourners and wailers, and the people would address the bear as a relative, or the son of a god. Its flesh was not eaten – that would have been cannibalism – or, if it was, an elaborate show was made to symbolically render the meat into that of another animal, e.g. venison. The bear's head was usually mounted on the top of a young tree, or on a pike, so as to help the bear's spirit climb up into the stars, where it was believed bears' souls had come from. Carrion-eaters would then eat it, leaving only the

skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, the ...

, which would then become an object of veneration. A courtyard would also be cleared around the skull. Traditionally, only bears were honoured thus. Sometimes the ceremony was performed in the fashion of a sacred

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

rather than a wake. In such cases the bear was either propped up inside of a frame or strapped to a cross. With all due ceremony, the chosen bride or groom would symbolically marry the bear. In the present day, ''peijaiset'' usually refers to a celebration at the end of a successful hunt or the end of a hunting season, and they are usually only held for

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...

and

bears Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the North ...

. On many occasions, this involves a festive evening meal for the hunters, made from the latest kill. Similar customs have been reported from many other northern people who share their habitat with bears.

References

{{reflist Animal sacrifice Bears in religion Finnish paganism Marriage and religion Animal festival or ritual Finnish culture

See also

References