We show you the most relevant facts about Finnish Mythology. Discover its myths, legends, creatures and most unique facts in this article.
Finnish Mythology
Finnish mythology is the set of beliefs and legends of the times before Christianization reached all Finnish peoples. Their beliefs survived even until the 19th century through oral traditions and sung poems.
Despite the influences of other cultures and Christianity wanting to eradicate their gods, through the years in Finnish mythology remained the belief of the god Ukko and the Bear as the most sacred animal.
This mythology is full of stories and legends of heroes, gods and mythical beings who did legendary feats that greatly influenced the lifestyle of the Finns. Their most important work was “The Kalevala”, which is considered their “national epic”.
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History of Finnish mythology
Bishop Mikael Agricola, was the pioneer of Finnish mythology, because he was the first person who made mention and translation of the beliefs of the people ends which he published in 1551. Where he detailed a list of deities belonging to each region of Finland.
In his publications, he establishes a list of twelve deities with their functions and characteristics for each region; however, it was not until the 19th century that further research of his writings showed that not all of them were gods.
Of the twelve deities, some were gods; but others were simply guardians or protective spirits, and some were even local heroes. In spite of this Mikael Agricola is still named “father of Finnish mythology”.
After the studies made in the 19th century, books such as the Kalevala and the Kanteletar were created; in which many historians describe through poems and songs the whole history of Finnish mythology. From their pagan beliefs and customs before the arrival of Christianity to the present day.
Gods of Finnish mythology
- Ukko: is the god of the sky, main deity in the book of the Kalevala; also known as god of thunder. After Christianization he was named “Perkele”, which means “Devil”, this with the purpose of disguising him before Christianity in order to hide and follow his belief in the god Ukko.
- Louhi: is the queen of Pohjola, or better known as the underworld. She has the power to change into any form she wishes and is a powerful witch.
- Tapio: plays a very important role in Finnish mythology for his exploits, he is generally known as the god of the forests.
- Pellervo: god of harvest.
- Pekko: is related to the god Pellervo, as he is considered the god of fertility; protector of barley. For this reason he is also called the god of beer.
Heroes of Finnish mythology
Väinämöinen
He is the main hero of Finnish mythology, and this is because he plays a fundamental role in the creation of the world. This hero is described with the appearance of a wise old man with a white beard; he is the son of the goddess Ilmatar.
He has unusual magical powers, as they are related to music and singing. He also possesses a giant sword as bright as the sun with which he defeats his enemies along with his songs and magical music. According to the stories of the kalevala, Väinämöinen was the creator of the Kantele.
Seppo Ilmarinen
He was the creator of the artifact “Sampo”, which was the magical mill of abundance; he is part of the creation of the world and his striving for dominance and control, which led him through wars, quests, adventures and constructions significantly influenced Finnish mythology.
Among his exploits, the most notorious was that of shaping the sky with his magical powers and artifacts. Seppo Ilmarinen was the creator of all the magical artifacts that appeared during the history of Finnish mythology.
Myths of Finnish mythology
Creation and structure of the world
In Finnish mythology, it was believed that the creation of the world was due to the explosion of an egg of aythya, which was a water bird that existed before the origin of the world. The shell of this egg was the sky and was supported by a pillar that was located under the polar star at the north pole.
According to the legends of Finnish mythology, when the pillar supporting the sky was removed, this caused a whirlpool at the north pole that caused the stars in the sky to rotate. When this rotation occurred the souls of the dead could pass into the Tuonela world, as they called the world of the dead.
The Finns believed that the earth was totally flat and on its edges lived the birds, for this reason the edges were called “Lintukoto” which means home of the birds. The milky way was called “linnunrata”.
It was believed that the milky way was the route taken by the birds to travel to the Lintukoto, to nest in the winter, to bring the souls for the birth of humans and to take the souls back when men die.
Ukko
His name means “old man”; he is the most important deity in Finnish mythology, the god of the sky and thunder. His origin comes from the Baltic god Perkünas; although it is also believed that he comes from the god Thor.
However, in Finnish legends Ukko generally comes from the god Ilmarinen; ancient god of the sky. The story goes that Ukko took Ilmarinen’s place as the new sky god, causing Ilmarinen to become the blacksmith god.
It is still unclear what form Ukko’s weapon took, but it is believed to be somewhere between a hammer, an axe or a sword. Through his weapon he could hurl lightning from the sky, and create thunderstorms. His weapon had both healing and destructive power.
Finnish mythology cults
The Finns in ancient times had a strong belief that the world was made up of three worlds. The first world was the sky where the gods lived; the second world was the earth where humans lived; and the third world was Tuonela, which was the world of the dead.
The souls of the dead, when they crossed over to the Tuonela, did not leave their family duties with the world of the living; the family bond was so strong that in some way or another the dead influenced the lives of their descendants. Cults in Finnish mythology were in honor of Tuonela.
For this reason it was of great importance that the living fulfill their function of observing and watching over the rituals and spiritual cults on earth in order to maintain this family bond and help their ancestors to fulfill their mission with their descendants.
If the soul honoring cults in Tuonela were not well performed, the ancestors’ souls would be left in sorrow. Then, instead of bringing peace and family unity; they will bring misfortunes in the homes of future family generations.
Relevant aspects in Finnish mythology
The Kalevala
It is a book that was written in the 19th century by Elias Lönnrot, it is about Finnish mythology. In its content, through poems and songs, it contains all the myths, legends, beliefs and customs of the Finns before the arrival of Christianity.
He managed to create a general drama where he was able to connect all the stories and tales of Finnish mythology, because in his journey through the Finnish world and its history, not all the stories were complete and even some did not make sense.
The Kalevala has been a great influence in Finnish culture, among its stories we find the greatest hero Väinämöinen and other heroes and gods that are an essential part of Finnish mythology.
Not only has influenced the culture of this country, has been a great source of inspiration for many artists and has left its mark on all branches of popular art. Paintings, music, poems, books and even films, among others.
Today, the Kalevala is considered the most important literary work of Finland as the best representation of national identity. Even after being under the rule of the Swedes and Russians.
Main characters of the Kalevala
- Aino: she was betrothed to Väinämöinen, but she drowns because she does not want to marry him.
- Ilmarinen: is the blacksmith god, and is the creator of the Sempo.
- Ilmatar: is the goddess of air.
- Joukahainen: named after a group of wicked young men who challenged Väinämöinen in a singing duel.
- Kuura: connected with the story of Lemminkäinen’s journey to Pohjola.
- Lemminkainen: the name given to the bravest and handsomest of the adventurers.
- Louhi: is the mother of the queen of Pohjola, the most evil woman who ever lived.
- Queen of Pohjola: she is an evil woman but she is extraordinarily beautiful. Väinämöinen, Ilmarinen and Lemminkäinen were attracted by her beauty and proposed to her.
- Väinämöinen: wise old man and greatest hero of Finnish mythology.
Tuonela
It was called the world of the dead, described as a dark place where the sunlight did not reach and the souls of the dead were found. They could never sleep there; and the bravest shamans were the only ones who could transport themselves to this world.
To consult their ancestors, shamans entered a trance-like state where they traveled across the river surrounding Tuonela. If they were worthy to visit the land of the dead they were presented with a boat sent by the guardians of Tuonela to enter that world.
The Living World
The Finns believed that there was a living world, in which all things and objects had a kind of soul; however, this soul was very different from that of men who have life after death.
On the contrary to the soul of things better known as an “essence”, it is inalienable and when the object dies it dies with it; this kind of soul was given the name of “haltijat”. For this reason all things from a well to a house had the essence of life and they had to show them tributes of gratitude that were rewarded in protection.
Shamans
They were the ones in charge of communicating with the ancestors of the families, and the only ones authorized to travel to the world of the dead. They had a magic drum called “quodbas”; which was used to enter the trance state to travel to Tuonela, some even used some special mushrooms that when eaten entered into that trance state.
During the Middle Ages they were feared by the Norwegian kings and suspected of their mystical work, they tried to forbid their subjects to have any contact with the shamans of Finland. Even during the XVI and XVII centuries, the Swedes, wanting to eradicate the shamans, tried to stop their functions by taking away their magic drums.
Sacred animals and artifacts
The most sacred animals in Finnish mythology are the brown bear, the Tuonela swan and the Hiisi moose. Even the bear being the main one of them all they made a great celebration in his honor when they decided to hunt one of them. This celebration was so that the spirit of the bear would ascend to the heavens with the conviction that it was not killed.
The most relevant mystical artifacts were: the Sempo, a mill that brought abundance and according to some legends produced gold from nothing; the Kantele, created by Väinämöinen; and Väinämöinen’s sword, which was magical and shone like the sun.
Conclusion
Finnish mythology is full of stories, songs and tales that narrate the exploits of the different gods, heroes and spirits that existed in Finland in its pagan era, that is, before the arrival of Christianity and that were transmitted orally for generations.
It has a great similarity with the culture of the Estonians in its stories; it was a great source of inspiration for the culture and popular art through the years after the book of the kalevala was created.
Their greatest god was Ukko, and even survived through time. There is a great variety of mystical beings that this mythology presents; and it is worth mentioning that although the feminine side took place in goddesses that dominated nature, day and night. The gods did not let them reign over the earth.
