Ukko

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Ukko
God of the sky, lightning, thunder, and harvest
Perkwunos
Norse equivalentThor
Baltic equivalentPerkūnas
harvest, and thunder[5] in Finnish mythology
.

Ukkonen, the Finnish word for thunder, is the diminutive form of the name Ukko.[a][b]

Indo-European sky god especially in the form of Thor.[6][7] Some believe that Ukko's original name was Baltic Perkūnas.[8]

Ukko is considered to be the most significant

common noun or generalised epithet for multiple deities instead of denoting a specific god.[10]

thunder gods
. A Finnish type, B Swedish type, C Wolf's cross.

Origins

Corded Ware culture boat-shaped battle axe from Närke, Sweden.

It is likely that the figure of Ukko is mostly

Balto-Slavic god Perun-Perkūnas and the Norse god Thor. Tuuri, a Germanic loan and cognate of Thor, was possibly an alternate name for Ukko.[11] Tuuri is rarely encountered in Finnish mythology, and had been relegated to the mere role of deity of harvest and success.[citation needed
]

It is possible that when Ukko took the position of the preceding sky god

Uralic
sky deity is regardless highly questionable. Some researchers hold Ilmarinen and Ukko equivalent.

The

Sami worshipped a similar deity, called Aijeke, probably as result of cultural cross-contamination or common origin. The god was equated with Horagalles
.

Finnish folklore

Simplified drawing of a stone carving type found in Karelia, which is believed to have characteristics of both snakes and lightning.

Ukko possessed a weapon, often a

pendants depicting hammers and axes similar or identical to Scandinavian specimens have been unearthed in Finland. Like Mjölnir, Ukko's weapon has been linked by some to the boat-shaped battle axes [de] of the Corded Ware culture
.

stone tools such as battle axes, which were employed as thunderstones
to be buried at the corners of dwellings

Akka lit. 'old woman'.[citation needed] He also was believed to cause thunderstorms by driving his chariot
through the skies.

Russian Karelia which have features of both snakes and lightning. It is, however, uncertain whether these are directly connected to the figure of Ukko. Evidence for worship of snakes is found among different cultures around the Baltic, including the Estonians and Finns.[14]

There is evidence that the

Old Norse: *raunir.[10]

The

great mullein (Verbascum thapsus) is ukontulikukka (Ukko's fire flower), is also linked to worship of Ukko.[15]

Festivals dedicated to Ukko

See also: Vakkajuhlat

Before the advent of

Juhannus after John the Baptist (Finnish: Johannes Kastaja), was held in honor of Ukko and called Ukon juhla (Festival of Ukko). This tradition carried to the 19th century.[16]

Also dedicated to Ukko were the Vakkajuhlat (Vakka festival) also known as Ukon vakat (Ukko's vakkas) or simply vakat (Vakkas). Vakkas were commonly held in May coinciding with the spring sowing. During Vakkas it was customary to consume or otherwise offer a container or some other vessel (Finnish: vakka) of an alcoholic beverage or food as sacrifice. It appears that often the festival was held in the community's sacred grove or hiisi where an animal sacrifice was sometimes also performed as part of the same festival. This ceremony was believed to guarantee good weather for the coming year and thus a good harvest.[5]

It appears that the vakka tradition was rather lively. The last uncontested reports of Vakkas being held originate in the 19th century, although sporadic reports also surface in the 20th century.[5] The festival is also mentioned by the Finnish reformer Mikael Agricola in his account of what from his point of view was Finnish idolatry.[17]

Eponymy

A number of

toponyms
in Finland and surrounding regions contain some form of the name Ukko.

Finland

Modern influence

The Weather Channel list of winter storms for 2012 list Ukko as one of the alphabetic names they used.[18]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Compare to thunder (
    Proto-Germanic *þunraz and originally synonymic with appellations of the thunder god
    .
  2. ^ In Finnish, diminutive formations do not carry the same pejorative or belittling connotations they do in some other languages, for example Latin.

See also

  • polytheistic reconstructionist
    movement

References

  1. ISBN 0-19-513677-2
    .
  2. ISBN 951-717-712-7
    .
  3. ^ "Äijät ja ämmät, vaarit ja muorit. Isovanhempien nimitykset suomen murteissa". Archived from the original on 2015-12-25. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
  4. ^ Sapas, J. (October 1919). "Heathan religions of the ancient Estonians". The Esthonian Review. Vol. 1, no. 4. London, UK. pp. 145–146 (re:Uku). Retrieved 2023-07-04 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ a b c d Haavio, Martti (1967). Suomalainen mytologia. Porvoo Helsinki, FI: WSOY.
  6. ISBN 951-649-695-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
  7. ISBN 978-0941694940
    .
  8. ^ Siikala, Anna-Leena (2013). Itämerensuomalaisten mytologia. Helsinki: SKS.
  9. ISBN 951-649-695-4. A chronological and interpretative study of ancient Finnish religion: Old Norse and Finnish religions and cultic place-names.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
  10. ^ a b Haavio, Martti (1959). Karjalan jumalat. Porvoo: WSOY.
  11. ^
    ISBN 978-952-222-160-5
    .
  12. ^ Crawford, John Martin, ed. (1888). "Rune X". The Kalevala. stanza 17.
  13. ^ Елисеев, Ю.С. (1959). "Древнейший письменный памятник одного из прибалтийско-финских языков" [The most ancient written monument of one of the Baltic-Finnish languages]. Изв. АН СССР (in Russian). 18 (1). Отд-ние лит. и языка: 65–72.
  14. ^ "Suojelevat käärmeet". taivaannaula.org. 4 April 2011.
  15. ISBN 951-0-19804-8
    .
  16. ^ "Juhannus, mittumaari, vuotuisjuhlista vehrein". Archived from the original on 2012-03-16. Retrieved 2012-07-18.
  17. ^ Agricola, Mikael. "3. B. Selostus suomalaisten vanhoista epäjumalista". 3. Alcupuhe Psaltarin päle, 1551. Otteita esipuheen runomuotoisesta loppuosasta. vvks.info (Report). Archived from the original on 2013-02-18. Retrieved 2012-07-18.
  18. ^ "Why we name winter storms". The Weather Channel (weather.com). 1 October 2012. Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
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