Baltic Finnic paganism


Baltic Finnic paganism, or Baltic 'Finnic polytheism' was the indigenous religion of the various Baltic Finnic peoples, specifically the Finns, Estonians, Võros, Setos, Karelians, Veps, Izhorians, Votes and Livonians, prior to Christianisation. It was a polytheistic religion, worshipping a number of different deities. Ukko was the god of weather; other important deities included Jumala, Ahti, and Tapio. Jumala was a sky god; today, the word "Jumala" refers to a monotheistic God. Ahti was a god of the sea, waters and fish. Tapio was the god of the forest and hunting.
Baltic Finnic paganism included necrolatry and shamanism, 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, 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 movement Suomenusko, 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. 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", 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.
  • Ukko was the ruler over the sky and weather. 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", the modern Finnish language 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, and the deity of the forest was Tapio.
  • Other major deities included Äkräs, a fertility goddess; Mielikki, the goddess of the forests and the hunt; and Kuutar, the goddess of the moon.
  • Deities such as Väinämöinen and Ilmarinen were turned into great heroes in some later storytelling. Ilmarinen was previously a sky god, being replaced by Ukko.

    Ukko

is the god of the sky, weather, a god of harvest and fertility. He is also given the epithet Ylijumala in at least the Finnish, Karelian and Ingrian regional variants of the pagan faith. He was associated with the sowing season during springtime according to Mikael Agricola. Ukko also had characteristics of a war god, and would be prayed to help in battle.
Ukko was sometimes given the epithet Isäinen ylinen Luoja, and Salo notes that this could also be related to the sky-god *Dyēus of Proto-Indo-European religion.
Ukko is perhaps to a significant extent derived from the various Baltic peoples. Ukko is thought to have entered Baltic Finnic paganism in the first millennium BC, replacing other chief deities who were more unique per region, such as Taara in Estonia. Before the influences of the Balts, the various Finnic people had an earlier, original sky-god. Ilmarinen, who is known as the blacksmith in the Kalevala, is the earliest known to be sky-god of the various Uralic peoples. The Udmurt sky god corresponds to the Finnish Ilmarinen. 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.

Tapio

is a major deity in Baltic Finnic paganism, he is the king and god of the forest and hunting. Tapio was prayed to for luck in hunting, because of his control over game. Tapio would often be sacrificed to, by sacrificing of animals, such as birds. Tapionpöytä 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 , 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.

Ilmarinen

is a major deity and former chief deity, in the form of a sky deity in Baltic Finnic paganism, alongside the Proto-Uralic religion until his replacement as the chief deity. Ilmarinen may have also been a thunder deity under the name Ilmaričče. Other names for Ilmarinen are Ilmorinen and Ilmollini, as found from runes. Ilmarinen is also described in the pagan faith as the forger of the firmament, aurora borealis and the colors of the morning and evening. Ilmarinen was said to have the achievements of inventing iron and "" according to folklore.
He is also described as a blacksmith and is thought to have gained his smith status through Proto-Finnic contact with iron-working cultures such as the Balts or Germanic people.

Agricola's list of deities

In 1551, Mikael Agricola published a present across Tavastia and Karelia, most of the deities were also widespread and known to those who practiced the pagan faith outside of those regions.
Modern Finnish translationEnglish translation
Epäjumalia monia tässä, / muinoin palveltiin kaukana ja läsnä.
Näitä kumarsivat hämäläiset / sekä miehet että naiset.
TAPIO ''metsästä pyydykset soi / ja AHTI vedestä kaloja toi.
VÄINÄMÖINEN virret takoi, / kuun mustaksi jakoi.
 ruohot, juuret ja puut / hallitsi ja senkaltaiset muut.
ILMARINEN rauhan ja ilman teki / ja matkamiehet edesvei.
TURSAS antoi voiton sodasta, / murheen piti tavarasta.
TONTTU huoneen menon hallitsi, / kuin PIRU monta villitsi.
KAPEET myös heiltä kuun söivät. / KALEVANPOJAT niityt ja muut löivät.		Many idols here, / were once worshipped far and near.
These were revered by the Tavastians / both men and women.
TAPIO gave game from the forest / and AHTI brought fish from the water.
VÄINÄMÖINEN forged songs, / darkened the moon.
 controlled herbs, roots, and trees / and others of that kind.
ILMARINEN made peace and weather / and guided travelers.
TURSAS gave victory in war, / guarded treasures.
TONTTU managed the household, / like PIRU who misled many.
KAPEET also devoured the moon. / KALEVANPOJAT struck down meadows and more.
Vaan karjalaisten nämä olivat / epäjumalat, joita he rukoilivat.
RONGOTEUS ruista antoi, / PELLONPEKKO ohran kasvun soi.
VIRANKANNOS kauran kaitsi, / muutoin oltiin kaurasta paitsi.
ÄKRÄS herneet, pavut, nauriit loi, / kaalit, liinat ja hamput edestoi.
 huhdat ja pellot teki, / kuin heidän epäuskonsa näki.
Ja kun kevätkylvö kylvettiin, / silloin UKON malja juotiin.
Siihen haettiin UKON vakka, / niin juopui piika ja akka.
Sitten paljon häpeää siellä tehtiin, / kuin sekä kuultiin että nähtiin.
Kun RAUNI UKON nainen härskyi, / jalosti UKKO pohjasta pärskyi.
Se siis antoi ilman ja vedentulon. / KEKRI se lisäsi karjan kasvun.
HIISI metsäläisistä soi voiton, / VEDENEMÄ vei kalat verkkoon.
NYYRIKKI oravat antoi metsästä, / toi jänikset pensaasta.		But these were the idols of the Karelians / whom they prayed to.
RONGOTEUS gave rye, / PELLONPEKKO granted the growth of barley.
VIRANKANNOS took care of oats, / otherwise there would be no oats.
ÄKRÄS created peas, beans, and turnips, / brought forth cabbages, flax, and hemp.
 made the slash-and-burn fields and meadows, / as he saw their unbelief.
And when the spring sowing was sown, / then UKKO'S toast was drunk.
For this, they fetched UKKO'S festival, / so the maid and the old woman got drunk.
Then much shame was done there, / as was heard and seen.
When RAUNI, UKKO'S woman, was aroused, / nobly UKKO splashed from the bottom.
He thus gave the weather and rainfall. / KEKRI increased the growth of the cattle.
HIISI granted victory over the forest folk, / VEDENEMÄ brought the fish to the net.
NYYRIKKI gave squirrels from the forest, / brought hares from the bush.
Eikö se kansa vimmattu ole, / joka näitä uskoo ja rukoilee?
Siihen PIRU ja synti veti heitä, / että he kumarsivat ja uskoivat näitä.
Kuolleiden hautoihin ruokaa vietiin, / joissa valitettiin, paruttiin ja itkettiin.
myös heidän uhrinsa saivat, / koska lesket huolivat ja naivat.
Palveltiin myös paljon muuta, /, kantoja, tähtiä ja kuuta.		Isn't that a furious people, / who believe and pray to these?
To this PIRU and sin drew them, / that they bowed to and believed in these.
Food was taken to the graves of the dead, / where they lamented, mourned, and wept.
 also received their sacrifices, / because widows grieved and remarried.
They also served many other things, /, stumps, stars, and the moon.''