Finnish polytheism
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Baltic Finnic paganism, or Baltic Finnic polytheism was the indigenous religion of the various of the Baltic Finnic peoples, specifically the Finns, Karelians, Estonians, Vepsians and Izhorians, prior to Christianisation. It was a polytheistic religion, worshipping a number of different
deities A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...
. The chief deity was the god of thunder and the
sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...
, Ukko; other important deities included
Jumala (), () or ( Mari)A History of Pagan Europe, P. 181
means "god" in the
,
Ahti In Finnish mythology, Ahti () is a heroic character in folk poetry who is sometimes given the epithet Saarelainen (, "Islander"). Ahto is a Finnish sea god. The connection between the hero Ahti and the god Ahto, if any, is unclear. Descript ...
, and Tapio. Jumala was a
sky god The sky often has important religious significance. Many religions, both polytheistic and monotheistic, have deities associated with the sky. The daytime sky deities are typically distinct from the nighttime ones. Stith Thompson's ''Motif-In ...
; today, the word "Jumala" refers to a
monotheistic God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
. Ahti was a
god of the sea A water deity is a deity in mythology associated with water or various bodies of water. Water deities are common in mythology and were usually more important among civilizations in which the sea or ocean, or a great river was more important. Ano ...
, waters and fish. Tapio was the god of the forest and
hunting Hunting is the human activity, 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 (skin), hide, ...
. Baltic Finnic paganism included necrolatry (worship of the dead) and
shamanism Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a Spirit world (Spiritualism), spirit world through Altered state of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, such as tranc ...
( tietäjä(t), literally "one who knows"), and the religion was not always uniform across the areas it was practiced, as customs and beliefs varied during different periods of time and regions. Baltic Finnic paganism shares some features with its neighbouring
Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
, Norse and Germanic pagan beliefs. The organic tradition was sidelined due to Christianisation starting from ca. 12th century and finally broken by the early 20th century, when folk Magic and oral traditions went extinct. Baltic Finnic paganism provided the inspiration for a
contemporary pagan Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various Paganism, historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of No ...
movement
Suomenusko Modern Finnish paganism, also known as Finnish neopaganism or the Finnish native faith ( fi, Suomenusko: "Finnish Belief / Belief of Finland"), is the contemporary revival of Finnish paganism, the pre-Christian polytheistic ethnic religion of t ...
(), which is an attempt to reconstruct the old religion of the Finns. It is nevertheless based on secondary sources.


Deities

Baltic Finnic pagans were polytheistic, believing in a number of different deities. Most of the deities ruled over a specific aspect of nature; for instance, Ukko was the god of the sky and thunder (''ukkonen'' and ''ukonilma'' Ukko's air"are still used in modern Finnish as terms for thunderstorms). These deities were often pan-Finnic, being worshipped by many different tribes in different regions. The Baltic Finnic pagans were also animists, worshipping local nature deities at site-specific shrines to that particular deity. These shrines are thought to be mainly "tree-gods": wooden statues or carvings done in trees or treestumps, depicting human figures, and have been scarcely preserved. One confirmed Stone Age wooden statue has been found in Pohjankuru, and folklore about worshipping tree-gods has been documented. Another kind of shrine are "cup-stones" (Finnish: '' :fi:kuppikivi''), large natural stones into which cup-sized recesses have been drilled. Votive offerings of food or drink were left in these cups. Despite Christianization, offerings on these cup-stones continued up to the early 20th century.


Major deities

Several key deities were venerated by all the Baltic Finnic peoples and some other Finnic peoples, these pan-Finnic deities controlled many aspects of nature. * The chief deity was Ukko (also hought to beknown as
Perkele Perkele () is a Finnish word meaning "evil spirit" and a popular Finnish profanity, used similarly to English " god damn", although it is considered much more profane. It is most likely the most internationally known Finnish curse word. Origins T ...
), who was the ruler over the sky and thunder. A corresponding figure is known in countless other cultures of the world. * Another deity that appeared very significant to the Baltic Finnic pagans, but about whom modern scholars know very little, was Jumi, whose name is related to "
Jumala (), () or ( Mari)A History of Pagan Europe, P. 181
means "god" in the
", the modern
Finnish language Finnish ( endonym: or ) is a Uralic language of the Finnic branch, spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by ethnic Finns outside of Finland. Finnish is one of the two official languages of Finland (the other being Swedish ...
word for a monotheist God. * There were many other important deities who ruled over a specific aspect of the natural world. Such as the deity of water was often called
Ahti In Finnish mythology, Ahti () is a heroic character in folk poetry who is sometimes given the epithet Saarelainen (, "Islander"). Ahto is a Finnish sea god. The connection between the hero Ahti and the god Ahto, if any, is unclear. Descript ...
, and the deity of the forest was Tapio. * Other major deities included Äkräs, the god of fertility; Mielikki, the goddess of the forests and the hunt; Kuu, the goddess of the moon; and Lempo, the god of wilderness and archery. * Deities, who turned into Great heroes, who had, in mythology, once been human, such as Väinämöinen and
Ilmarinen Ilmarinen (), the Eternal Hammerer, blacksmith and inventor in the ''Kalevala'', is a god and archetypal artificer from Finnish mythology. He is immortal and capable of creating practically anything, but is portrayed as being unlucky in love. He i ...
, were also objects of worship, in a way similar to the Greek pagans' worship of mythical human heroes like Herakles.
Ilmarinen Ilmarinen (), the Eternal Hammerer, blacksmith and inventor in the ''Kalevala'', is a god and archetypal artificer from Finnish mythology. He is immortal and capable of creating practically anything, but is portrayed as being unlucky in love. He i ...
was previously a sky god, being replaced by Ukko.


Ukko

Ukko is the chief deity in Baltic Finnic paganism, he the god of the sky, weather (mostly thunder, rain and clouds) and a god of
harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...
and fertility. He is also given the
epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...
''Ylijumala'' ('Supreme God' or 'Highest God'The epithet ''Ylijumala'' ("Supreme God" or "Highest God"), can be interpreted in two ways; either that he really was the greatest, "highest," of the gods, or simply that he lived up in the sky.) in at least the Finnish,
Karelia Karelia ( Karelian and fi, Karjala, ; rus, Каре́лия, links=y, r=Karélija, p=kɐˈrʲelʲɪjə, historically ''Korjela''; sv, Karelen), the land of the Karelian people, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for ...
n and Ingrian regional variants of the pagan faith. He was associated with the sowing season during
springtime Springtime may refer to: * Spring (season), one of the four temperate seasons Film and television * ''Springtime'' (1920 film), an American silent comedy starring Oliver Hardy * ''Springtime'' (1929 film), a ''Silly Symphonies'' animated Disney ...
according to Mikael Agricola. Ukko also had characteristics of a war god, and would be prayed to help in battle. Ukko would also often be mixed up for the
God of Christianity God in Christianity is believed to be the eternal, supreme being who created and preserves all things. Christians believe in a monotheistic conception of God, which is both transcendent (wholly independent of, and removed from, the material u ...
, however the extent is debated upon, examples of this are, Ukko sometimes being given the epithet ''Isäinen ylinen Luoja'' ('Fatherly Supreme Creator', a reference to
God the Father God the Father is a title given to God in Christianity. In mainstream trinitarian Christianity, God the Father is regarded as the first person of the Trinity, followed by the second person, God the Son Jesus Christ, and the third person, God t ...
), and serving as the heavenly judge, in which he would have an heavenly kingdom, and held ('court') in the clouds alongside various spirits. Ukko is perhaps to a significant extent derived from the various
Baltic peoples The Balts or Baltic peoples ( lt, baltai, lv, balti) are an ethno-linguistic group of peoples who speak the Baltic languages of the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. One of the features of Baltic languages is the number ...
. The Latvian (''Pērkons)'' and
Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...
(''Perkūnas)'', which are the same thunder deity, are known to be the origins for the Finnish word ''Perkele'' (which is also hought to beanother cognomen for Ukko). Before the influences of the Balts, the various Finnic people robablyalso had an earlier, original sky god.
Ilmarinen Ilmarinen (), the Eternal Hammerer, blacksmith and inventor in the ''Kalevala'', is a god and archetypal artificer from Finnish mythology. He is immortal and capable of creating practically anything, but is portrayed as being unlucky in love. He i ...
, who is known as the blacksmith in the Kalevala, is the earliest known to be sky god of various Finnic peoples. The Udmurt sky god corresponds to the Finnish
Ilmarinen Ilmarinen (), the Eternal Hammerer, blacksmith and inventor in the ''Kalevala'', is a god and archetypal artificer from Finnish mythology. He is immortal and capable of creating practically anything, but is portrayed as being unlucky in love. He i ...
. Memories of Ilmarinen's status as the sky deity have been preserved in Kalevala myths, such as the belief that he forged the firmament and the
Sampo In Finnish mythology, the ''Sampo'' () is a magical device or object described in many different ways that was constructed by the blacksmith Ilmarinen and that brought riches and good fortune to its holder, akin to the horn of plenty (cornucopi ...
.


Tapio

Tapio is a major deity in Baltic Finnic paganism, he is the king and god of the forest and
hunting Hunting is the human activity, 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 (skin), hide, ...
. Tapio was prayed to for luck in
hunting Hunting is the human activity, 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 (skin), hide, ...
, because of his control over
game A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...
. Tapio would often be
sacrifice Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...
d to, by sacrificing of animals, such as birds. Tapionpöytä (( Picea abies')'', literally 'Tapio's table') are spruce trees where sacrifices were made to Tapio. Tapio was extremely significant due to the tribal nature of the Baltic Finnic peoples during the time when Tapio was worshipped, as hunting and game was extremely important for survival, making Tapio one of the most important deities. Tapio possessed over various spirits and was himself also a spirit, possessing ('Tapio's spirits/elves'), the spirit beings were central to the hunter's catch, and Tapio's spirits were thought to live in the deepest ravines of the forest and took care of plants and animals, in the darkness of the deep forest, which was called . Tapiola was a kingdom which Tapio ruled over, and was sometimes used as the name for Finland by the Baltic Finnic pagan believers during the Early Middle Ages.


Agricola's list of deities

In 1551, Mikael Agricola published a present across Tavastia and
Karelia Karelia ( Karelian and fi, Karjala, ; rus, Каре́лия, links=y, r=Karélija, p=kɐˈrʲelʲɪjə, historically ''Korjela''; sv, Karelen), the land of the Karelian people, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for ...
, most of the deities were also widespread and known to those who practiced the pagan faith outside of those regions.


Haltija

Local animistic deities, known as
haltija A haltija (haltia) is a spirit, gnome, or elf-like creature in Finnish mythology that guards, helps, or protects something or somebody. The word is possibly derived from the Gothic ''haltijar'', which referred to the original settler of a homestea ...
s or haltias, were also worshipped. Haltijas would act as spirits,
gnome A gnome is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature. Its characte ...
, or elf-like creatures in that guard, help, own, or protects somethin or somebody. These haltijas could be male or female, and could take a human or another animal's form. Haltijas could be found everywhere in nature, both in the biotic and abiotic parts. Every human has a haltija, usually called haltijasielu (haltija soul) or luontohaltija (nature haltija), which is one of the three parts of a person's soul. The tradition blends with the Swedish tomte: the Finnish ''tonttu'' was a being analogous to haltija, but which lives in a building, like a home (''kotitonttu'') or a sauna (''saunatonttu'').


Maan haltija

Certain "haltiat", known as "maan haltija" (literally "tutelary of land"), guarded the property of an individual, including their house and livestock. Votive offerings would be given to these haltijas at a shrine, as thanks for the help given and also to prevent the haltija from causing harm. Sometimes haltijas of certain families and farms acted against other families and their farms by stealing their wealth or making the animals infertile, for instance. Many local haltijas were believed to have originally been the sacred spirits of ancestors. In some cases a haltija was the first inhabitant of a house. Sometimes while making a new house a local spirit of nature could be "employed" to work as a maan haltija.


Väki

Different elements and environments had their own haltijas. Haltijas were grouped into types or races called
väki Väki is a supernatural power in Finnish mythology. It was believed by Baltic Fins that väki resided in natural sites, objects, and animals. Väki has been compared to mana. However, according to Laura Stark, väki is about an impersonal power r ...
. "Väki" has multiple connected meanings of "strength", "force", "throng", "military troop"; in the magical context, it referred ambiguously to magical strength and numbers. There were, for instance, different väki of water, forests, and graveyards. Väkis could become angry if people acted in a disrespectful manner in their area. For example, cursing close to water made the väki of water angry. When angry, väkis could cause diseases and other misfortune to befall the human victim. Some väkis were always angry, like the väki of fire, explaining why every time you touch fire it burns, no matter how respectful you are around it. Each tribe of väkis belonged to specific environments and if they were misplaced, problems occurred. For example, most väkis were misplaced if they attached to a human being, and they made the human being ill because they were in the wrong place. Illnesses were removed by sending väkis back to their right places. Shamans who cured diseases were returning the cosmic balance. For example, it was believed that on contact with the ground, as in falling on one's face, diseases could spread to the human, caused by the "väki" of the earth. Similarly, löyly ( sauna steam) was believed to contain a väki spirit (löylyn henki), which could cause open wounds to get infected. According to the concept of väki being divided in two (into power and folk of haltijas) the ancient Finns believed that the world was totally animistic in that no force of nature or intelligent life existed without väkis or haltijas. In other words, nothing happened in the universe without it being caused by a group of spirits. Even a person's soul consisted of many spirits.


The Universe


Birth of the Universe

In Finnic mythology, there are two different theories on the
creation of the universe The chronology of the universe describes the history and future of the universe according to Big Bang cosmology. Research published in 2015 estimates the earliest stages of the universe's existence as taking place 13.8 billion years ago, with ...
and the earth. This includes the , in which the god sent a Black-throated loon into the Alkumeri ( Finnish: ) to collect
mud A MUD (; originally multi-user dungeon, with later variants multi-user dimension and multi-user domain) is a Multiplayer video game, multiplayer Time-keeping systems in games#Real-time, real-time virtual world, usually Text-based game, text-bas ...
and sand to build the earth. This
myth Myth is a folklore genre consisting of Narrative, narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or Origin myth, origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not Objectivity (philosophy), ...
is common in various Siberian ( Chukchi, Yugaghir and
Ainu Ainu or Aynu may refer to: *Ainu people, an East Asian ethnic group of Japan and the Russian Far East *Ainu languages, a family of languages **Ainu language of Hokkaido **Kuril Ainu language, extinct language of the Kuril Islands **Sakhalin Ainu la ...
), Tatar and North American native folklore. Another creation theory is that the world was born from the
egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...
of a waterfowl. This myth was originally said to be from India, however it had made its way to the
Uralic people The Uralic languages (; sometimes called Uralian languages ) form a language family of 38 languages spoken by approximately 25million people, predominantly in Northern Eurasia. The Uralic languages with the most native speakers are Hungarian (w ...
s, however this myth was only well-known among the Sámi, Finns, Komi and Mordvins.


End of the World

There is said to be no eschatology (the end of the world) in Finnic mythology. However based on similarities in other Uralic beliefs, it can be assumed that Finnic paganism included the idea that the world is in cyclicity and that it will be recurring at regular intervals.


Soul, death, and the afterlife


Soul

The Finnic pagan belief about the soul dictated that the human soul is composed of three different parts: ''henki'', ''luonto'' and ''itse''. Each of the three were autonomous beings on their own. Similar beliefs about multiple autonomous souls are found amongst other peoples speaking Uralic languages, such as the Khanty and Mansi, who believe in two souls: the shadow and the ''lili'' (löyly). '' Henki'' (translated as "life", "breath" or "spirit", sometimes also referred to as ''löyly'') was a person's life force, which presented itself as breathing, the beating of one's heart and the warmth of their body. ''Henki'' was received prior to birth and it left at the moment of death. The word ''hengetön'' (lit. "one without henki") can be used as a synonym for dead in the
Finnish language Finnish ( endonym: or ) is a Uralic language of the Finnic branch, spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by ethnic Finns outside of Finland. Finnish is one of the two official languages of Finland (the other being Swedish ...
even now. '' Luonto'' (translated as "nature") was a guardian spirit or protector. ''Luonto'' has also been referred to as the ''haltija'' of a person. A strong willed, artistic or otherwise talented person was believed to have a strong ''haltija'' who granted them good luck and skills to complete their tasks well. A weak ''luonto'' could be strengthened by various spells and rituals. ''Luonto'' could leave a person's body without the person dying, but its lengthened absence would cause problems, such as alcoholism and other addictions. Unlike ''henki'', ''luonto'' was not received prior to birth but instead either at the time of getting the first teeth or being given a name. A newborn child was thus considered to be particularly vulnerable. These concepts share similar basics with the idea of ''hamr'' (life force) and '' Hamingja'' (luck) in Norse belief. ''
Itse ''Itse'' (Finnish "self") is the debut studio album by the Finnish dark metal band Ajattara. It was released in 2001 on Spikefarm Records. Track listing Personnel * Ruoja - vocals, guitars, keyboards * Atoni - bass * Malakias I - drums Additio ...
'' was a spirit received at the time of birth or a few days after. It was believed to define one's personality and receiving ''itse'' made one a person. In modern-day Finnish the word ''itse'' means "self", but in old days ''itse'' was different from one's self, ''minuus''. Like ''luonto'', ''itse'' could leave one's body without the person dying but long absence would cause illnesses and misery. Depressions, for instance, was seen as a result of having lost one's ''itse''. If a person was diagnosed to be ''itsetön'' or ''luonnoton'' (without one's ''itse'' or without one's ''luonto''), a shaman or a sage could try locating the missing part of the soul and bring it back. Although ''itse'' and ''luonto'' were usually lost after a traumatising event, it was possible to purposefully separate one's ''itse'' from their body. This was required if a missing part of the soul needed to be found. ''Itse'' could also leave the body to appear as an ''etiäinen'' (a sort of false arrival apparition). At the time of a person's death their ''itse'' joined the other deceased of the family or, in some cases, stayed among the living as a ghost; much like the Norse concept of '' Fylgja'' (follower).


Burial

In some traditions, it was a habit to pause at a half-way point while transporting the dead body, from the dwelling to the graveyard. Here, a karsikko-marking was made on a big pine tree. The marking was for people to remember the person; and in the event that the spirit were to awaken and try to make its way back home from the graveyard, it would see its own karsikko-marking, then realize that it is dead and instead try to find the path to the spirit realm. A forest with karsikko-marked trees was a kind of supernatural barrier between dwellings of the living and the burial grounds. After a person died there was a transitional period of thirty to forty days while their soul searched Tuonela, the land of dead, and tried to find their place there. During this period, the soul could visit its living relatives either as a ghost or in the form of an animal. The soul visited relatives especially if it was unhappy. To please an unhappy soul, one would show respect by not speaking ill of the deceased or by having a sacrifice in the spirit's name. After this transitional period, the soul moved permanently into Tuonela. However, the soul could still come back if it were unhappy, or if it were asked to return by its relatives who needed help. Some souls were not able to settle down or were not welcomed in Tuonela, and they continued haunting, i.e. bastard children who were killed and buried outside a cemetery usually ended up as permanent haunters of some place, typically screaming in terror, until someone digs up their bodies, blesses them, and buries them in a graveyard.


Ancestor veneration

People were afraid of ghosts, but spirits of ancestors could also help their living relatives, and they were asked to help. A shaman could be sent to Tuonela to ask for knowledge of spirits or even to take a spirit to the world of living as luonto. A Spirit of the dead had to be honoured by giving him/her sacrifices. Places where sacrifices were given to ancestors were called Hiisi ( = ''sacred forest'', also a kind of open air temple, often included the Offering-stone, ''uhrikivi'', collective monument for the dead of the family). Christianity held hiisi to be evil creatures and places. The old sacred places were often desecrated by being used as the building sites for the churches of the new religion, and the old sacred trees were hacked down.


Afterlife

The Finns believed in a place of afterlife called Tuonela, or sometimes also called Manala. In most traditions, it was situated underground or at the bottom of a lake, though sometimes it was said to exist on the other side of a dark river. Tuonela was ruled over by the god Tuoni, and his wife, the goddess Tuonetar. Tuonela was a dark and lifeless place, where the dead were in a state of eternal sleep. Shamans were sometimes able to reach the spirits of their dead ancestors by traveling to Tuonela in a state of trance created by rituals. He had to make his way over the Tuonela river by tricking the ferryman. While in Tuonela, the shaman had to be careful not to get caught: the living were not welcome there. Shamans who were caught could end up decaying in the stomach of a giant
pike fish ''Esox'' is a genus of freshwater fish commonly known as pike or pickerel. It is the type genus of the family Esocidae. The type species of the genus is ''Esox lucius'', the northern pike. ''Esox'' has been present in Laurentia (which later ...
with no hope of returning to normal life. If the shaman died during the trance ritual, it was believed that he had been caught by the guards at Tuonela.


Mythology

The pagan Finns had many myths about their gods and their great heroes. Because they lived in a non-literate society, the stories were taught orally as folklore, and they were not written down. Finnic mythology survived Christianisation by being told as myths. Many of these myths were later written down in the 19th century as the '' Kalevala'', which was created to be a national epic of Finland by Elias Lönnrot.


Sanctuaries


Rock paintings

Rock paintings were common in Baltic Finnic paganism, and were often done with red clay during the
Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...
. These paintings would often symbolize common animals such as deer and fish, along with humans and palm prints. Folk poetry may have also been preserved on these rocks, however they have not survived on these rock paintings, and instead have been carried through generations via oral tradition. It is believed that most of these rock paintings were done by the Comb Ceramic culture.


Hiisi

Hiisi or sacred woods were places where people often went to during pilgrimages or served as a burial site to take
sacrifice Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...
s. Within these sacred woods, there would often be a special enclosed area for sacrifices, in which it was forbidden to enter, except for those who were doing the sacrificing to the deities. In Baltic Finnic folklore, hiisi sites were also likened to be the creation of the Hiidet ( giants), and through oral tradition, jotuni or giants were said to dwell in hiisi sites.


Wetlands

Wetlands, such as
bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...
s,
swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
s, springs and
stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...
s were holy places, especially for the use of sacrificing. The archeological findings of flint and tinderbox has shown that they have been used for the execution and disposal of those unwanted people in the tribe. Children who were born out of wedlock or those who had disabilities would also be killed in the wetlands. The word "Suomi" () is also thought to come from the word "Suo" ().


Sacred animals


Bears

Finns heavily relied on hunting for survival before and during the Middle Ages. As such the animals that they hunted became vital to their survival, and they were treated with respect. 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 ...
was considered sacred and was venerated in the pagan beliefs of the Finns. Peijaiset, which was a memorial feast held to honour a slain animal, the most common animal to hold peijaiset to was the bear, and during the peijaiset, the bear was eaten and the bones were buried, and the skull placed on a venerated pine tree known as , kallohonkas were sacred places and it may have been a metaphor for the
world tree The world tree is a motif present in several religions and mythologies, particularly Indo-European religions, Siberian religions, and Native American religions. The world tree is represented as a colossal tree which supports the heavens, thereb ...
. Peijaiset are also an important part of other Finno-Ugrics ( Khanty and Mansi) and Siberians (
Yugurs The Yugurs, Yughurs, Yugu (; Western Yugur language, Western Yugur: ''Sarïg Yogïr''; Eastern Yugur language, Eastern Yugur: ''Šera Yogor''), traditionally known as Yellow Uyghurs, are a Turkic peoples, Turko-Mongolic peoples, Mongolic ethnic ...
). According to a pagan folk belief, the first bear came to people's dwellings to do evil, however a Giant slapped the bear on the ear, and the bear had to beg for mercy. A deal was made: the bear promised to stay in the forest from then on, eat berries, and dig up common ants; the bear also promised to sleep all winter soundly in his nest. However, if it came back, people would then shoot and spear it. It kept its promise otherwise, which now sometimes ate cattle from the forest, from its own area. The story also follows a belief about why domestic animals came to the attention of people: to escape from the bear.


Other animals

In Karelia and Eastern Finland, before going hunting, hunters would pray to the emuu, the ancestral mother of the animal species being hunted, for help. The word ''emuu'' is Karelian and is related to the word ''emo'' "animal mother". Each species had its own emuu. From ancient drawings,
petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...
s, it is clear that the
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 ...
was a very important animal. Elk is also very important to other peoples of the region, such as the
Komis The Komi ( kv, комияс, ' also ', also called Komi-Zyryans or Zyryans, are an indigenous Permian ethnic group whose homeland is in the northeast of European Russia around the basins of the Vychegda, Pechora and Kama rivers. They mostl ...
, who depict their sky god Jenmar as half-human and half-elk. It appears much more than bears do, and it is theorised that the bear was such a holy animal that it was forbidden to depict it. Also, the bear's name was almost forbidden to say, so many
euphemism A euphemism () is an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that is deemed offensive or suggests something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the user wishes ...
s were developed. The most usual Baltic Finnic word for bear in modern language, ''karhu'', is just one of the many euphemisms, and it means "rough fur." Among the many names of bear ''otso'' is probably the original "real" name, as suggested by the wide spread of the word otso and related words among many of the Uralic languages. Many euphemisms for bear are local. Many water birds were holy for Finns and other
Baltic Finns The Baltic Finnic or Balto-Finnic peoples, also referred to as the Baltic Sea Finns, Baltic Finns, sometimes Western Finnic and often simply as the Finnic peoples, are the peoples inhabiting the Baltic Sea region in Northern and Eastern Europe ...
. They were often depicted on petroglyphs. It was believed that if you killed a water bird, you would die soon after. The holiest water bird was the swan. With its long neck, it could look to all the levels of the world, including '' Tuonela'', the land of the dead. Birds are found often in Uralic mythology. For example, there are many stories about a bird creating the world. A very common Uralic myth is where a hunter (Finnish:
Lemminkäinen Lemminkäinen () or Lemminki () is a prominent figure in Finnish mythology. He is one of the heroes of the ''Kalevala'', where his character is a composite of several separate heroes of oral poetry. He is usually depicted as young and good-loo ...
, Mari Salij) travels to the underworld to marry a woman and comes across the primordial waterbird on the river of the underworld, the hunter shoots the waterbird with his bow, but the waterbird escapes and terrible things happen to the hunter. In many traditions it was believed that the world was created by the egg of a bird. In other traditions it was believed that the world was created on mud that bird took in its beak while diving. In Karelia it was believed that a bird brings the soul to a newborn baby, and that the same bird takes the soul with it when that person dies. This soul-carrying bird was called ', "soul-bird". In some traditions people carried artifacts depicting their sielulintu. Sielulintu was believed to guard their souls while they slept. After the person died, the artifact-bird was inserted to sit on the cross at the person's grave. Such crosses with soul birds still exist in graveyards in Karelia. This is one example how Christian and Pagan beliefs still existed side by side hundreds of years after the Christianisation of the Finnish and Karelian people.


Shamanism

Shamanism Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a Spirit world (Spiritualism), spirit world through Altered state of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, such as tranc ...
played a big part in Baltic Finnic paganism, as it did (and still does) in Siberian ( Chukchi, Yugaghir and
Ainu Ainu or Aynu may refer to: *Ainu people, an East Asian ethnic group of Japan and the Russian Far East *Ainu languages, a family of languages **Ainu language of Hokkaido **Kuril Ainu language, extinct language of the Kuril Islands **Sakhalin Ainu la ...
) as well as in other Finno-Ugric pagan faiths. A '' tietäjä'' ( shaman, literally "one who knows") is a wise and respected person in the community, believed to have a special relationship with the spirit world. Shamans go into a trance to commune with spirits and ancestors or to take a journey into the spirit realm, the shaman would go into these trances via aid, such as witch drums, bear teeth and paws, and dancing. During trances shamans may ask their ancestors or various nature spirits for guidance. They believe that nature has the answers to all questions. Shamans were typically men of high standing in the local society, often landed peasants; it was thought that wealth was evidence of magic powers. Shamans would most often play the roles of medical doctors, and would receive their medical information through their trances by visiting spirits and deities. Shamans would also have important religious influence, as tietäjä were fortunetellers, prophets and priests. Among the Finns' western neighbours, the Norse of Scandinavia, it was a common belief that the Finns were wizards. In the Norse sagas, inclusion of a Finnish element almost always signifies a supernatural aspect to the story. According to tales, foreign seafarers bought ropes tied with three knots from Finns. By opening one knot, a seaman could raise a wind to make his ship go faster. However, opening all three knots would raise a storm. Finnish wizards were known and feared by neighbouring peoples around the Baltic Sea.


Christianisation

The Christianisation of Finland, Estonia and Karelia began in Finland with Christian missionaries to entering Finland in around the 1000s.


In Finland

Swedish Crusaders entered Finland in and with the conquests by Sweden of Finland, Christianity began to have influence across Finland, however the native pagan religion persisted. Christianity began to gain more influence and power to convert with the establishment of the Bishopric of Turku in 1276, and with the Protestant Reformation, when Mikael Agricola translated the New Testament ("''Se Wsi Testamenti''") into the Finnish language.


In Karelia

With the conquests of East-Karelia by the Novgorod Republic and various Finnish-Novgorodian wars, Eastern Orthodoxy began to have influence over much of Karelia. Written information about Baltic Finnic paganism began to be collected in the 1800s, especially in Karelia, when Christianity was already the main religion across much of the Finno-Ugric community. Despite this, especially in Orthodox Karelia, many old beliefs and myths survived. The stories about Jesus and Väinämöinen, as well as the stories about Ukko and the
God of Christianity God in Christianity is believed to be the eternal, supreme being who created and preserves all things. Christians believe in a monotheistic conception of God, which is both transcendent (wholly independent of, and removed from, the material u ...
, lived side by side and sometimes even got mixed up. Much information about the pagan faith has been preserved as part of
folk tales Oral literature, orature or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung as opposed to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used vary ...
, which, especially in
Karelia Karelia ( Karelian and fi, Karjala, ; rus, Каре́лия, links=y, r=Karélija, p=kɐˈrʲelʲɪjə, historically ''Korjela''; sv, Karelen), the land of the Karelian people, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for ...
.


Songs and incantations

In the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, Baltic Finnic folk magic often incorporated chanted or sung incantations. These incantations might bring healing or presage a '' tietäjä's'' ( shaman, literally "one who knows") ecstatic trance. In the twentieth century, an American researcher in Minnesota reported sung charms for summoning cattle, avoiding hiccups, and avoiding cold based on interviews with a Finnish immigrant.


Baltic Finnic Neopagan movements

In the 20th century, with the rise of the
Neopagan Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...
movement across the world, Finnish Neopaganism arose as a reconstructed form of the old religion. It is mainly practiced in Finland where it has had an official minority religion status since 2013. Finnish neopaganism accounts for a relatively small percentage of the population, the majority being members of the state Lutheran Church or professing no religion. In 2020, the registered religious community of Finnish neopaganism, Karhun kansa (''The Folk of the Bear''), had approximately 80 members. In Estonia,
Estonian neopaganism Estonian Neopaganism, or the Estonian native faith ( Estonian: ''maausk'', literally "Land faith"), is the name, in English, for a grouping of contemporary revivals (often called "Neopagan", although adherents of Estonian native religion general ...
was also founded in the early 20th century, Estonian neopaganism adapted many beliefs and myths of the ancient faith.Jüri Toomepuu.
Maausk, the belief system of indigenous Estonians
'. Presentation at KLENK 2011, published on January 7, 2012. St. Petersburg, Florida.
There are two major sects of Estonian neopaganism, which includes Maausk and Taaraism. Maausk is considered an 'umbrella' of native faith movements, encompassing deities, nature worship and earth religion, while Taaraism is a monistic faith centered around Tharapita, who is a pagan god similar to the Finnish Ukko. There were 3,860 self-declared adherents of Maausk and 1,770 adherents of Taarausk in 2021, in Estonia.


Holidays

In
Finland under Swedish rule In Swedish and Finnish history, Finland under Swedish rule is the historical period when the bulk of the area that later came to constitute Finland was an integral part of Sweden. The starting point of Swedish rule is uncertain and controversi ...
, the practice of Baltic Finnic paganism was forbidden from the 1600s onwards, however there were still sacred groves where the pagan faith was practiced during the 1700s, which churchmen and authorities tried to eradicate. Among the current official mainstream holidays in Finland,
Laskiainen Laskiainen () is a celebration with Finland, Finnish origins, which includes both pagan and ecclesiastic traditions, and is often described as a "mid-winter sliding festival". In clerical sense, Laskiainen is associated with Shrove Tuesday (a.k. ...
, Midsummer, Kekri and Christmas were originally celebrations that belonged to Baltic Finnic pagan faith. Many ancient holiday practices have gone extinct over the years, however holidays such as , Vakkajuhlat, and are still sometimes celebrated by helped celebrate by village associations or are celebrated by neopagans.


See also

* Estonian mythology *
Finnic deities Finnic mythologies are the mythologies of the various Finnic peoples: *Finnish mythology *Estonian mythology *Komi mythology *Mari mythology *Sámi shamanism See also * Baltic mythology * Bear worship * Dorvyzhy * Hungarian mythology * Mastorava ...
* Uralic neopaganism


Notes


References


External links

{{Finland topics Karelian-Finnish folklore