Peko (Finnish spelling Pekko, Pekka, Pellon Pekko) is an ancient

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n and

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

god of crops, especially barley and brewing. In the area of

Setumaa Setomaa (; russian: Сетумаа, seto, Setomaa) is a region south of Lake Peipus and inhabited by the Seto people. The Seto dialect is a variety of South Estonian. The historic range of Setomaa is located in the territories of present-day E ...

, between Estonia and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, inhabited by the Seto language-speaking

Setos Setos ( seto, setokõsõq, , et, setukesed, ) are an indigenous Finnic peoples and linguistic minority that have historically lived in the borderlands between modern day Estonia and Russia. Setos have historically spoken the Seto language and ...

, the cult of Peko was alive until the 20th century. Today, the

Seto Seto may refer to: Places * Seto, Aichi, production place of Japanese pottery and venue of Expo 2005 * Seto, Ehime, facing the Seto Inland Sea *Seto, Okayama, adjacent to Okayama, in Okayama Prefecture *Seto Inland Sea of Japan * Setomaa (''Seto ...

people (an ethnic group of Estonians in the south-east of the country) also revere Peko as their national hero and king, the name and figure are widely used as a national symbol.

Legend

In Finland, Peko is known as ''Pellon Pekko'' (Peko of the field). He is the protector of the fields and brewer of the beer, first mentioned by bishop

Agricola Agricola, the Latin word for farmer, may also refer to: People Cognomen or given name :''In chronological order'' * Gnaeus Julius Agricola (40–93), Roman governor of Britannia (AD 77–85) * Sextus Calpurnius Agricola, Roman governor of the mi ...

in 1551 as the god of

Karelians Karelians ( krl, karjalaižet, karjalazet, karjalaiset, Finnish: , sv, kareler, karelare, russian: Карелы) are a Finnic ethnic group who are indigenous to the historical region of Karelia, which is today split between Finland and Russi ...

. Peko is sometimes associated with Estonian Pikne (Pitkne), Baltic

Perkūnas Perkūnas ( lt, Perkūnas, lv, Pērkons, Old Prussian: ''Perkūns'', ''Perkunos'', Yotvingian: ''Parkuns'', Latgalian: ''Pārkiuņs'') was the common Baltic god of thunder, and the second most important deity in the Baltic pantheon after Di ...

or even Christian

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...

Traditions

Before

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...

festivities, before the dawn broke, young Seto men held a ritual fight until the first drop of blood was shed. The bleeding person became the host of the next year's feast. Black candles were lit to revere wooden idols of Peko. The people chanted "Peko, Peko, come to drink the beer" and some older men called the priests of Peko made sacrifices. The second holiday dedicated to Peko was held after the harvest. Peko was also revered during

Candlemas Candlemas (also spelled Candlemass), also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the Feast of the Holy Encounter, is a Christian holiday commemorating the presentati ...

and

Midsummer Midsummer is a celebration of the season of summer usually held at a date around the summer solstice. It has pagan pre-Christian roots in Europe. The undivided Christian Church designated June 24 as the feast day of the early Christian mart ...

feasts. The carved idols of Peko were kept hidden in granaries around the year. The head of the idol typically had holes for candles. A third holiday was held around August 4, in which the people of Setomaa sing the local anthem, host a musical competition, and elect the next representative of Peko for the year (known as ''ülebtsootska'', the "vice-king"), before they end the celebrations with a military parade.TOP Estonian folk festivals
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Modern appearances

Seto folksinger

Anne Vabarna Anne Vabarna (21 December 1877 in Võpolsova – 7 December 1964 in Tonja) was a Seto singer. In her lifetime she recorded over 140,000 verses, most notably her composition of the Seto national epic 'Peko', depicting the tale of the Seto hero ...

has created the epic "Songs of Peko" where Peko is depicted as a Seto hero. Peko is in eternal sleep in the cave. When someone calls his name, he brings the rain to the fields. If people of his kin remember his advice and work hard, Peko sends them abundant crops. Peko is praised as a warrior who frees the country, as a hunter who gives bear skins to villagers and as a host of wedding feasts. He ploughs the field with a wooden plough and protects the people against evil spirits who make people to drink too much. Pekos' spirit can also fly around as a butterfly. The supposed grave of Peko is under an old oak tree near the

Pskovo-Pechersky Monastery Pskov-Pechory Monastery or The Pskovo-Pechersky Dormition Monastery or Pskovo-Pechersky Monastery (russian: Пско́во-Печ́ерский Успе́нский монасты́рь, et, Petseri klooster) is a Russian Orthodox male monaster ...

. He also appears in the name of a song by

Korpiklaani Korpiklaani (Finnish: ) is a Finnish folk metal band from Lahti who was formerly known as Shamaani Duo and Shaman. History Shamaani Duo While other folk metal bands began with metal before adding folk music, Korpiklaani started with folk music ...

, a Finnish

folk metal Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for exampl ...

group. The song is called "Pellonpekko" and appears in their album ''

Spirit of the Forest ''Spirit of the Forest'' is the debut studio album by Finnish folk metal band Korpiklaani. It was released in 2003 through Napalm Records. Track listing All songs written by Jonne Järvelä, except where noted. Personnel Members * Jonne J ...

''.

References

* {{cite book , author1=Suhonen, S. , author2=Hagu, P. , name-list-style=amp , title=Peko , location=Kuopio , publisher=Snellman Institute , year=1995 , isbn=951-842-166-8

External links

The second part of the Song of Peko by Anne Vabarna (in the Seto language, with a foreword in Estonian)
Finnish gods Agricultural gods Estonian gods