Máttaráhkká (also Maderakka, Madderakka and Maadteraahka; ) is a mother goddess in

Sámi shamanism Traditional Sámi spiritual practices and beliefs are based on a type of animism, polytheism, and what anthropologists may consider shamanism. The religious traditions can vary considerably from region to region within Sápmi. Traditional Sá ...

. She lives in the ground under the

goahti A goahti (Northern Sámi), goahte (Lule Sámi), gåhte (Pite Sámi), gåhtie (Ume Sámi) or gåetie (Southern Sámi), (also ''gábma''), (Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''gamme'', Finnish language, Finnish: ''kota'', Swedish language, Swedish: ...

. She is connected to childbirth and has been said to give child its body and make female humans and animals fertile. It's been recorded drinks were offered to her so she'd be merciful towards a pregnant woman. In Western

Sápmi is the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sámi people. Sápmi includes the northern parts of Fennoscandia, stretching over four countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. Most of Sápmi lies north of the Arctic Circle, boun ...

, she was thought to have three daughters:

Sáráhkká Sáráhkká (also Sarakka, Saaraahka, Sadsla-akka and Saredne) is a goddess in Sámi shamanism connected to childbirth. She is one of the daughters of Máttaráhkká along with Juoksáhkká and Uksáhkká. After Radien-attje hands a fetus to M� ...

Juoksáhkká Juoksáhkká (also Juksakka, Joeksaahka ; Stäukedne ) is a goddess in Sámi shamanism related to childbirth. She is one of the daughters of Máttaráhkká along with Sáráhkká and Uksáhkká and lived in the ground under the goahti, at the bac ...

and

Uksáhkká Uksáhkká (also Uksakka, Oksaahka ) is a goddess in Sámi shamanism related to childbirth. She is one of the daughters of Máttaráhkká along with Sáráhkká and Juoksáhkká and lived in the ground under the goahti, below the door specifically ...

. In Eastern Sápmi, such as in the area of modern-day

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, these daughters were not known. This has lead some researchers to conclude the daughters were born out of later

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

n influence. According to

Christfried Ganander Christfried Ganander (21 November 1741 in Haapajärvi – 17 February 1790 in Rantsila) was a Finnish compiler of folk culture, a priest and lexicographer. Ganander's greatest achievement was the compilation of the first fully extensive Finnish-l ...

in 1789, Máttaráhkká received a child from Radien-attje and gave it life, handing it over to Sáráhkká who then put it in the woman's womb. Her, as well as her daughters, are primarily known as helpers of women. After the arrival of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

, she came to be associated with

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. On some

Sámi drum Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise n ...

s, she is given the husband Máttaráhttje, but he has a much smaller role and has thus been assumed to be a later addition. The Sámi of

Kola Peninsula The Kola Peninsula (; ) is a peninsula in the extreme northwest of Russia, and one of the largest peninsulas of Europe. Constituting the bulk of the territory of Murmansk Oblast, it lies almost completely inside the Arctic Circle and is border ...

had the word ''mändir-ähke'' ("parent's grandmother"), due to which

Kaarle Krohn Kaarle Krohn (10 May 1863 – 19 July 1933) was a Finnish folklorist, professor and developer of the geographic-historic method of folklore research. He was born into the influential Krohn family of Helsinki. Krohn is best known outside of Finla ...

thought that Máttaráhkká (as well as the Finnish Manteren akka) was originally a female ancestor buried in the ground and worshipped by later generations, primarily women.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mattarahkka Sámi goddesses Fertility goddesses