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THE MYTHOLOGY OF ALL RACES
Volume IV
FINNO-UGRIC
PLATE I
Grave-Houses in Russian Karelia
(See page 32.)
Water-colour by V. Soldan-Brofeldt.
FINNO-UGRIC, SIBERIAN
BY
UNO HOLMBERG, PH.D.
DOCENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FINLAND, HELSINGFORS
VOLUME IV
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF AMERICA
MARSHALL JONES COMPANY • BOSTON
M DCCCC XXVII
I
Copyright, 1927
By Marshall Jones Company
Copyrighted in Great Britain
All rights reserved
Printed January, 1927
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY
THE PLIMPTON PRESS • NORWOOD • MASSACHUSETTS
BOUND BY THE BOSTON BOOKBINDING COMPANY
EDITOR’S NOTE
I N place of a preface, Dr. Holmberg has asked me to say
that much in his account of Finno-Ugric and Siberian
Mythology is the result of personal acquaintance with various
tribes. In the summer of 1911 he lived among the heathen
Votiaks. In the summer of 1912 he travelled in Siberia (Dis-
trict Turuchansk) among the Siberian Arctic peoples. And in
the summer of 1913 he lived among the Cheremias.
J. A. MacCULLOCH
Editor
CONTENTS
FINNO-UGRIC PAGE
Editor’s Note v
Introduction xv
Chapter I The Belief in Souls 3
II Death and Burial 17
III Memorial Feasts for a Particular Dead
Person 37
IV General Memorial Feasts 60
V The Fife Beyond 72
VI Animal Worship 83
VII The Seides of the Lapps 100
VIII Family Gods 113
IX Heroes 139
X Household Spirits 159
XI Forest Spirits 175
XII Water Spirits 19 1
XIII Gods of Sky and Air 217
XIV Fire 235
XV Deities of the Earth and Vegetation . . . 239
XVI Deities of Birth 252
XVII Sacrifices to Nature Gods among the Volga
Finns 262
XVIII The Shaman 282
SIBERIAN
Introduction 299
Chapter I World Pictures 306
II The Origin of the Earth 313
III The Pillar of the World 333
IV The World Mountain 341
1 ^ 9 9 9
JLt "xj> O (J
CONTENTS
PAGE
viii
V The Tree of Life 349
VI Destruction of the World 361
VII The Creation of Man 371
VIII The Fall of Man 381
IX The Origin of the Mosquito 386
X The Heaven God 390
XI The Sons of God 402
XII The Great Mother 413
XIII The Stars 417
XIV Thunder 439
XV Fire 449
XVI The Wind 457
XVII The Earth 459
XVIII The “Masters” of Nature 463
XIX Dreams, Sickness and Death 472
XX The Realm of the Dead 483
XXI Shamanism and Totemism 496
Notes, Finno-Ugric 527
Notes, Siberian 545
Bibliography, Finno-Ugric 563
Bibliography, Siberian 581
ILLUSTRATIONS
FULL PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS
late facing page
I Grave-houses in Russian Karelia — Coloured . Frontispiece
II A Karsikko or Memorial Tree 26
III I. Lapp Grave 36
2. Graves of the Northern Ostiaks Erected over the
Ground 36
IV At the Grave. Ingermanland 56
V Sacrificial Tree of the Dead among the Eastern Votiaks
— Coloured 58
VI Bear Worship of the Voguls 84
VII Masker’s Frolic at the Vogul Bear Feast 96
VIII The Holy Rastekaise Mountain in Utsjoki — Coloured 104
IX 1. Lapp Seides Made of Tree-stumps or Posts, roughly
Carved in Human Form 1 10
2. The Rastekaise Mountain with two Sacred Stones 1 10
X 1. Samoyed Stone Family-god Clothed and Lifted on a
Tree Trunk 114
2. Family Gods of the Ostiaks 114
XI Votiak Kuala or Sanctuary of the Family-gods .... 118
XII 1. Votiak Case for the Vorsud or “ Luck-protector ” . 122
2. Votiak Village or Great Kuala 122
XIII Vorsud Case Venerated by the Votiaks — Coloured 126
XIV 1. Remains of an old Votiak Sacrificial Kuala .... 130
2. Vorsud Case of the Votiaks, with other Sacrificial
Apparatus 130
XV. I. The Little Kudo or Dwelling of the Kudo-spirit
within a Cheremiss Hut or “ Great Kudo ” . . 136
2. Cheremiss Kudo 136
XVI 1. Ostiak Holy Place with Images of Gods or Spirits 140
2. Ostiak Place of Sacrifice 140
XVII 1. Votiak Sacred Grove or Lud with Surrounding Fence
and Gate 146
2. Storehouse of the Ostiak Idols near Vasyagan ... 146
X ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATE FACING PAGE
XVIII I. Votiak Lud-kuala, formerly a Storeplace for
Offerings, Sacrificial Vessels, etc. 150
2. Votiak Lud-kuala, Birsk District 150
XIX 1. The Image of the Samoyed “ Master of the For-
est ”, Carved on a Tree-trunk 156
2. Cheremiss Horse-sacrifice to the Keremet-spirit
in Time of Sickness 156
XX The Aino Episode in Kalevala — Coloured . .. 192
XXI I. Votiak Sacrifice to the River Buj after the Break-
ing-up of the Ice 200
2. Votiak Sacrifice to the River Buj after the Break-
ing-up of the Ice 200
XXII The Eastern Votiaks Sacrifice a White Goose to the
Ilcaven God 204
XXIII Ostiak Sacrifice of a White Animal to the Heaven-
god 208
XXIV The “World-pillar” of the Lapps 212
XXV Sacrificial Meal among the Russian Karelians . . 216
XXVI Old Sacrificial Grotto of the Thunder-god among
the Finnish Lapps 220
XXVII Drawings on a Lapp Drum 224
XXVIII Drawings on a Torne-Lapp Drum 228
XXIX Ostiak Sacrifice 232
XXX Cheremiss Sacrifice to the Field-gods 242
XXXI The “Feeding” of the Sickle among the Chere-
miss — Coloured 248
XXXII The Sacrifice-grove among the Cheremiss — Col-
oured 262
XXXIII Cheremiss Sacrificial Loaves, Bowls and Coins at
the Festival to Nature-gods . 268
XXXIV Cheremiss Sacrificial Prayer 272
XXXV A Cheremiss Priest Praying to the Accompaniment
of a Stringed Instrument — Coloured . . 276
XXXVI Cheremiss Priests at the Festival to Nature-gods . . 280
XXXVII 1. Lapp Shaman’s Bowl-drum. Front, Back and
Side Views 284
2. Lapp Shaman’s Sieve-drum. Front, Back and
Side Views 284
XXXVIII The Living Sacrifice-tree Bound with the Sacrifice
Girdle — Coloured 288
ILLUSTRATIONS
xi
PLATE FACING PAGE
XXXIX Samoyed Shaman 294
XL An old Turkish Image and Memorial Stone in
North Mongolia 302
XLI Boat-gods and Boats of the Yenisei Ostiaks . . . 308
XLII Tortoise-shell Shaped Stone Representing the
World-bearing Tortoise 338
XLIII Old Turkish Memorial Image and Landscape in
North Mongolia 352
XLIV Old Turkish Memorial Image in North Mongolia 372
XLV Phallus before a Mongol Monastery 396
XLVI I. Dolgan Shaman Pillars Representing the Nine
Storeys of Heaven 400
2. Yakut Trees Representing the Storeys of Heaven 400
XLVII Hides of Buriat Offerings 410
XLVIII Shaman Drums from the Minusinsk District ... 432
XLIX Shaman Drums from the Minusinsk District . . . 444
L Mongol Shaman with his Drum 452
LI Mongol Stone Heap (obo) 458
LII Dress and Drum of a Mongol Shaman 462
LIII Shattered Tomb of a Yakut Shaman 466
LIV Mongol Seer Prophesying from a Shoulder-blade . 470
LV Yenisei Ostiak Shaman with Drum. Front and
Back Views 476
LVI Buriat Shaman-tomb and Ongons 482
LVII 1. Buriat Shaman with his Hobby-horses .... 488
2. Hides of Buriat Shaman-animals 488
LVIII Dress of a Yakut Shaman. Back View 494
LIX I. Breast Cloth of a Yakut Shaman 504
2. Lebed-Tatar Shaman 504
3. Drum of a Lebed-Tatar Shaman 504
LX 1. Dress of a Yakut Shaman (Bird Type). Front
View 508
2. Dress of a Yakut Shaman (Bird Type). Back
View 508
LXI Dress of a Tungus Shaman (Bird Type). Front
and Back Views 512
LXII Dress of a Yenisei Ostiak Shaman (Animal Type).
Back View 518
LXIII Drum of a Yakut Shaman, Showing Inner and
Outer Sides 522
ILLUSTRATIONS
xii
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT
FIGURE PAGE
1 Ostiak Grave-house with Coffin of the Deceased . . . . 31
2 Graveyard in Russian Karelia 33
3 Lapp Christmas Custom 67
4 Lapp Seide-stone 101
5 Lapp Sacrificial Posts 108
6 Sun Ring 225
7 Moon Ring 227
8 Lapp Sacrificial Board of the Thunder God 230
9 Drawing of Heaven on Shaman Drums 250
10 Sacrificial Bread 267
1 1 Sacrificial Accessories 274
12 Shaman Hammer 289
13 Dolgan Shaman-pillars with Figures of Birds . . . 334
14 Two-headed Birds of Iron which Hang on the Dress and
Drum of the Yenisei-Ostiak Shaman 335
15 A Kalmuck World-picture 347
16 Signs of a Twelve-divisioned Period 437
17 The Tungus Thunder-bird 439
18 North-Siberian Tombs 480
19 Koori and Bucu, Spirit-birds of a Golde Shaman . .. 509
20 Dolgan Shaman-attributes and the World-tree with the
Two-headed Lord of the World 51 1
21 Head-dress of a Yenisei-Ostiak Shaman (Reindeer or Stag
T ) ; P e ) 5 U
22 Head-dress of the Soyot Shaman (Bird Type) 513
23 Tungus Shaman-boot (Bird Type) 513
24 Tatar Shaman (Bird Type) in Minusinsk District ... 515
25 Left Boot of Yenisei-Ostiak Shaman (Bear Type) with all
the Bones of the Bear’s Left Legs 517
26 Shaman Drum with Bird-shaped Hand-grip 5 20
27 Hobby-horse of a Buriat Shaman 521
28 Relics of a Buriat Shaman Found in the Earth 521
MAP
Finno-Ugrians, Siberians
FACING PAGE
. . 2
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
BY
UNO HOLMBERG
DOCENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FINLAND, HELSINGFORS
INTRODUCTION
I N THE course of thousands of years the Finno-Ugric race,
which once possessed a common home and a single lan-
guage, was divided, for reasons which we no longer know, into
a number of smaller peoples} and these, intermingled with
alien stocks, and influenced by divergent civilizations, are found
as widely separated from each other as are the Baltic and the
River Ob, or as the Arctic Ocean and the Danube.
The nearest to the Finns, both in linguistic and in geographi-
cal aspects, are the Esthonians (about 1,250,000 in number),
who live south of the Gulf of Finland} the Livonians, an
almost extinct people who dwell on the northernmost point of
Courland and give Livonia its name} the Votes (about 1000)
and the Vepses (about 26,000), the former of whom inhabit
western Ingermanland (now part of the Russian Government
of Petrograd) in the vicinity of the city of Narva, while the
latter are to be found south-west of Lake Onega. Among the
Finns themselves, who number about 3,500,000, various lin-
guistic groups are distinguishable: Tavastlanders in the west,
Karelians in the east and along the Finno-Russian boundary,
between Lake Ladoga and the White Sea, the Russian Kare-
lians, the most northerly of whom seem to be mentioned in the
old Norse sagas under the name of Bjarmar} the Ingrians of
Ingermanland are also included among the Karelian stocks.
In the seventeenth century Finnish Karelian families migrated
as far as the Russian Governments of Novgorod and Tver}
and some of the Finns are found in Scandinavia. At the
beginning of our era all the peoples mentioned above — i.e.,
the so-called Baltic Finns — may still have spoken approxi-
mately the same language.
XVI
INTRODUCTION
From many borrowed words we may infer that at an early
period Finnish influence prevailed among the Lapps, who,
about 30,000 in number, inhabit a wide region which extends
from Trondhjem in Norway to the White Sea in the east, and
who thus belong to Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia.
Anthropologically, however, the Lapps appear to belong to a
race different from the Finnish, although their language is
held to be Finno-Ugric. Of the remaining Finno-Ugric
peoples, those most nearly related to the Baltic Finns are the
Mordvins, who number about 1,400,000, and whose language
falls into two distinct dialects — Moksha and Erzya. The
Mordvins are divided into a multitude of small clans through-
out the vast region in inner and eastern Russia south of the
great curve of the Volga, and along that river and its tribu-
taries in the Governments of Tambov, Nizhniy-Novgorod,
Pensa, Simbirsk, Saratov, Kazan, Samara, Ufa, and Orenburg.
At an earlier date, however, the Mordvins appear to have in-
habited a more uniform region, and one which was so far to
the west that they were in contact with the Lithuanian peoples,
as is shown by the Lithuanian loan-words in their language.
Next to the Mordvins, the nearest kindred of the Finns
are the Cheremiss, who number about 400,000 and dwell for
the most part along the central Volga in the Governments of
Vyatka, Kazan, Nizhniy-Novgorod, and Kostroma. From
the character of the regions which they inhabit, the Russians
usually designate those living to the left of the Volga as
“ Meadow Cheremiss,” and those to its right as “ Hill
Cheremiss.” During the last century a portion of the Chere-
miss also colonized a large district to the east on the Kama in
the Governments of Ufa and Perm; and these are generally
termed “ Eastern Cheremiss.”
Near to the Volga Finns is the dwelling-place of the Votiaks
(about 450,000 in number), who, with their kinsfolk, the
Siryans (to the number of about 300,000), constitute the so-
called Permian linguistic stock. The former live chiefly in
INTRODUCTION
xvii
the Governments of Vyatka and Kazan, but have in part later
migrated across the Kama into the Governments of Perm, Ufa
and Samara. The latter dwell north of the Votiaks in the
vast expanse along the rivers and streams of north-eastern
Russia.
All the peoples whom we have thus far mentioned form a
single great linguistic group, from which the so-called Ugrian
stock seems to have separated at an early date. To them
belong the Voguls (about 5000 in number) on both sides of
the Ural in the Governments of Perm and Tobolsk, and also
the Ostiaks (of whom there are about 19,000) on the Ob and
its tributaries. Their nearest congeners are the Hungarians,
or Magyars, who number about 10,500,000, and who, break-
ing off from the parent stock in the migrations of the peoples,
wandered to their present land of Hungary toward the close
of the ninth century.
Of all these Finno-Ugric peoples only the Hungarians, the
Finns, and the Esthonians have been in a position to attain a
superior degree of civilization. Some — especially the Lapps,
the Ostiaks, and the Voguls — who live principally by fishing
and the chase, or else are nomads wholly dependent on the
reindeer for food and raiment, stand on the humble level of
primitive folk. The same statement holds true of the Samo-
yeds, whose vast territory lies on the tundras along the Arctic
Ocean, stretching from the region of Archangel in the west to
Cape Chelyuskin, the northern-most promontory of Siberia, in
the east. As their language clearly shows, they have been in
closest relation to the Finno-Ugric peoples. In conformity
with their principal dialects, several groups of Samoyeds are
usually distinguished, the most numerous being the Yuraks, of
whom there are about 12,000, and who dwell furthest to the
west, between Archangel and the mouth of the Yenisei. East
of them are the Yenisei Samoyeds and the Awam Samoyeds,
who are but few in number and are a dying race. The tundras
between the Ob and the Yenisei, as well as the forest regions
INTRODUCTION
xviii
in the northern part of the Government of Tomsk and the ad-
joining portions of the Governments of Tobolsk and Yenisei,
are the home of the so-called Ostiak Samoyeds, of whom there
are about 4000 ; and the northern slopes of the lofty Sayan
Mountains are the habitat of the scanty remnants of the Ka-
mass stock, which, though once so numerous, is gradually be-
coming either extinct or Tatarized.
Of the remaining Finno-Ugric peoples only the northern
Siryans are nomads relying upon the reindeer for support;
for all the others agriculture constitutes the principal means
of livelihood, even though it is very primitive in many places.
In different regions and at various periods the Finno-Ugric
stocks have been subject to heterogeneous civilizing influences,
as is shown, among other evidences, by their language. The
eastern branches have long lived in contact with the Turco-
Tatars, the chief focus of civilization in the east having ap-
parently been the Bolgar kingdom on the Volga, for the
Turkish people which established itself on the central por-
tion of that river about 600 a.d. sustained far-reaching con-
nexions with all the nations that dwelt about it. Their de-
scendants are the Chuvashes, the greater part of whom inhabit
the Governments of Kazan, Simbirsk, Ufa, Saratov, etc.; and
among them the investigator may find traces of the relatively
high pagan civilization of the Volga Bolgars, as well as of
their ancient religious concepts and customs. In 922 the Bol-
gars embraced Islam; but in 1236 the Tatars put an end to
their power and for a time remained the ruling race in eastern
Russia. Through this people Arabo-Muhammadan civiliza-
tion made its way in some measure among the eastern Finno-
Ugric stocks; but despite this, the ancient paganism of the
Bolgars has left deep traces, particularly as regards the reli-
gious concepts and customs of the Cheremiss. At a later
period Russian folk-belief also penetrated everywhere side
by side with Russian colonization.
The Baltic Finns and Lapps, on the other hand, received
INTRODUCTION
xix
their deepest impress from the Teutonic race; and the Scan-
dinavian Lapps, in particular, borrowed from their neighbours
a host of religious beliefs and usages which actually cast light
on the ancient Scandinavian religion as well. The Baltic
Finns, moreover, came in close contact with the Lithuanians,
traces of whose language, as already noted, are likewise found
among the Mordvins; and these latter, at a time subsequent
to that of their separation from the Baltic Finns, were influ-
enced by some Indo-European people from whom they actu-
ally received their name for “ God ” (Pas, Pavas; cf. Sanskrit
Bhagas, Old Persian Baga, Old Church Slavic Bogu). The
ancestors of the Finno-Ugric peoples, however, were in con-
tact with the forefathers of the Indo-European stocks at a very
remote period, as is shown also by certain mythological desig-
nations; while numerous borrowed words demonstrate that
the Magyars have been subjected to Turco-Tatar, Slavic, and
(later) Teutonic influences.
Though all the Finno-Ugric peoples have now come into
contact with Christianity, this religion is held only superficially
in many places among the stocks that live in Russia. The an-
cient sacrificial customs still survive, despite the fact that in
some localities the saints’ days of the Christian Church are
substituted for the pagan days of sacrifice. Occasionally —
as among the Siryans, the Russian Karelians, and the Orthodox
Esthonians — certain saints have begun to take the place of
ancient gods in receiving propitiation by means of sacrificial
gifts. A like custom prevailed among the Finns during the
Roman Catholic period, and even later. At a very early date
the Magyars, the Baltic Finns, and the Siryans were led to ac-
cept the Christian faith; but among the Volga Finns mission-
ary activity did not begin until after the fall of Kazan in 1552,
and first began to bear visible fruit in the eighteenth century.
Even at the present day there are some thousands of unbap-
tized Cheremiss and Votiaks, part of whom (at least among
the former) cling with great tenacity to the beliefs and cus-
-
XX
INTRODUCTION
toms which they have inherited from their fathers. Baptism
of the Ostiaks, Voguls and Samoyeds began in the eighteenth
century. Though only a small number of unbaptized are still
to be found among the Ugrians, nevertheless the sacrificial
rites of paganism survive in many places} and it was not until
the eighteenth century that Christianity gained firm footing
among the Lapps.
Simultaneously with missionary labours, interest was awak-
ened in recording and describing the ancient heathen beliefs
and customs of the people. Of these accounts the least com-
plete are those which deal with the religions of the peoples
that were earliest converted to Christianity. Such is the state
of affairs, for example, with the Magyars, who began to sur-
render their ancient faith about the year IOOO} whereas the
Ostiaks and the Voguls of the present day may throw light
upon the early religion of the Ugric stock. One of the most
important of the oldest sources is G. Novitskiy’s A Brief De-
scription of the Ostyak People , written in 1715, but not pub-
lished till 1884. The foremost collectors and investigators in
this domain have been the Finn M. A. Castren and the Hun-
garians A. Reguly and B. Munkacsi, who have published large
works in Hungarian and German} the German O. Finsch, the
Russians N. L. Gondatti and S. Patkanov, and the Finns K. F.
Karjalainen and A. Kannisto, who lived for several years
among the Ostiaks and the Voguls respectively, engaged in
linguistic studies. Castren also collected data for the elucida-
tion of Samoyed religion} a little older source is a description
of the Yuraks by the Russian Archimandrite Veniamin, pub-
lished in 1850. Concerning the latter a young Finnish lin-
guist, T. V. Lehtisalo, has gathered new material. In similar
fashion another Finn, K. Donner, has undertaken the task of
investigating the language, customs, etc., of the eastern
Samoyeds.
The oldest accounts of the religion of the Siryans are con-
tained in the biography of their apostle, St. Stephen, who died
INTRODUCTION
xxi
in 1396, the chief importance of this lying in the fact that for
many subsequent centuries no one made any notes whatever
regarding their religion during a period when the S'iryans were
adopting Orthodox doctrine and Russian folk-beliefs in ever
increasing measure. Here also the collecting of the ancient
beliefs is still in progress, the foremost name in this connex-
ion being that of the indefatigable Siryan scholar, V. Nalimov,
who has sought to gather together such scanty remnants as
may yet be obtained in obscure districts.
We possess far more knowledge of the ancient faith of the
Votiaks, the kinsfolk of the Siryans, although the earliest
sources date only from the eighteenth century. During re-
cent decades the literature on this subject has become rela-
tively abundant. The most valuable authorities are the Finns
T. G. Aminoff and Yrjo Wichmann, the Russians N. Per-
vuchin, B. G. Gavrilov, G. Verescagin, P. Bogayevskij and
J. Vasiljev, the work of the scholar last named having also
appeared in German, the language in which Max Buch wrote
his ethnographical account of the Votiaks.
Records of the Cheremiss religion were gathered by A.
Olearius during his travels in 1636, and of the numerous
studies which have been subsequently made in various districts
the most valuable is from the pen of the Cheremiss G. Jakov-
lev and V. M. Vasiljev.
The ancient faith of the Mordvins fell for the most part
into oblivion until modern scholarship discovered it. As early
as 1740 and the following years the Mordvins adopted
Orthodoxy, but it was not until the middle of the nineteenth
century that valuable and trustworthy accounts of the vanish-
ing remnants of their paganism began to appear. This reli-
gion has been described by the Russians P. Melnikov, V.
Mainov and others ; Mainov’s work, which was also published
in French, has been used by scholars, although it is unreli-
able to the highest degree. By awakening interest among the
people themselves, the Finnish linguist H. Paasonen has en-
XXII
INTRODUCTION
deavoured to do all that is still possible by way of collecting
material and elucidating the ancient Mordvinian religion ; nor
should we forget the Russian scholar I. N. Smirnov, who, in
his great ethnographical treatises on the Cheremiss, Votiaks,
Siryans and Mordvins, has sought to gather whatever was
then known regarding their religious life.
The character and the development of the ancient faith of
the Volga Finns receive some measure of elucidation from the
religious beliefs, customs, and usages of the Chuvashes, hence
a knowledge of their religion is of great moment in Finno-
Ugric studies. The most valuable account of their religious
life is afforded in the works of the Russian V. Magnitskij and
of the Hungarian G. Meszaros.
The Lapps being the last of the western stocks to adopt
Christianity, we possess relatively voluminous accounts of their
paganism. The most important contribution was collected by
missionaries in the Norwegian and Swedish Lapp districts
toward the close of the seventeenth and the beginning of the
eighteenth century ; and during recent years all the chief
sources have been published by K. B. Viklund, J. Qvigstad,
E. Reuterskiold and I. Fellmann. Certain earlier investiga-
tors, however, had already gathered accounts of this heathen
faith for their descriptions, the first being J. Schefferus’s Lap-
ponia (1672), which was translated into several languages;
while somewhat later E. J. Jessen (1767) and Knud Leem
(1767) issued their well-known delineations. The abundance
of material has been still further enriched in our own time,
and has induced a number of scholars to describe the ancient
religion of the Lapps, notably J. A. Friis, G. von Diiben, J.
Fritzner, Axel Olrik, E. Reuterskiold, etc.
The oldest records of the early faith of the Esthonians and
Livonians are preserved in the Chronicle of Henry the Lett,
written at the commencement of the thirteenth century; and
the chief later sources are J. GustlafPs description of the sanc-
tuary at Wohanda (1644) and Joh. Forselius’ collection of
INTRODUCTION
xxiii
the ancient beliefs, customs, and usages of the Esthonians,
published in German by J. W. Boeder (1685), the language
in which F. J. Wiedemann issued a general survey of Estho-
nian religion. Very recently a voluminous and important col-
lection of folklore has been made by J. Hurt, M. I. Eisen,
O. Kallas, and others.
The very oldest reports of the ancient religion of the Finns
are extremely brief. In an Old Norse saga recounting the
expedition of certain Vikings to conquer the land of the B jar-
mar along the White Sea in 1026 we find the first occurrence
of the word Jomali, which is plainly identical with the Finnish
Jumala (“ God ”) ; but the earliest record of real value con-
cerning the Finnish heathen pantheon dates only from the be-
ginning of modern times. To his translation of the Psalter
(1551) Bishop Agricola prefixed a versified introduction which
included a short list of the old gods of the Tavastlanders and
Karelians; and for a long period this catalogue constituted the
sole source until, in the seventeenth century, the historian
H. G. Porthan began to seek illustration of the ancient civil-
ization and religion of the Finns from Finnish magic songs,
in which he believed that he might find trustworthy survivals
of Finnish paganism. With the help of these songs, C. E.
Lencqvist wrote his De superstitione veterum F ennorum theo-
retica et practica (1782), and Christfrid Ganander his Mytho-
logm Fennica (1789), which long remained the most impor-
tant and the most utilized source for investigation along these
lines. An interest in comparative study was already aroused
in Ganander, who gave consideration to the Lapp religion,
which, he was convinced, would also elucidate the Finnish, and
for certain names of deities he even sought to find analogues
in Scandinavian mythology.
Real depth of interest in all Old Finnish investigation was,
however, first awakened by Elias Lonnrot’s publication of the
Finnish epic of the Kalevala (in 1836 and 1849); the elucida-
tion of the ancient religion of the Finns was the task of the
XXIV
INTRODUCTION
famous linguist, Castren. Before the completion of the work
which he had planned, Castren had travelled extensively
among the Lapps, Samoyeds, and Siberians j and during this
time it became clear to him that a correct comprehension of
the religious beliefs and customs of the ancient Finns re-
quired a knowledge of the religions and the cults of the other
stocks belonging to this family. His work on Finnish myth-
ology appeared first after his death in 1853, and the chief
merit of the contribution is that it constitutes the earliest at-
tempt at a comparative study of Finno-Ugric religion.
Castren’s presentation of Finnish mythology is based chiefly
on the Kalevala , which is compiled from Finnish folk-songs.
With all the caution with which its collector, Elias Lonnrot,
endeavoured to proceed, it is plain that the popular songs
which he employed, and which were later recorded in count-
less variants, must themselves form the basis of all investiga-
tion. Yet even in the study of this purely popular material
due account must be taken of the manner in which it devel-
oped during its centuries of migration and extension, whether
from western Finland or from Esthonia (by way of Ingerman-
land) to eastern Finland and the Government of Archangel,
where we find the most highly evolved and the most com-
posite variants. In the utilization of this material the geo-
graphical method, which was discovered by Julius Krohn, and
which was later applied by Finnish scholars to the study of
the national sagas as well, must be applied. We must also
note that most of the Finnish magic songs and a large part of
the epic poems in the Kalevala arose in the Middle Ages, dur-
ing the Roman Catholic period, hence they can be used for
the interpretation of pagan times only under the restrictions
of a vigilant and critical caution.
Some of the names of heroes in the Kalevala were con-
strued by Castren as having been originally appellations of
divinities, and his view long prevailed. More recently, how-
ever, the historical explanation has again been adopted. For
INTRODUCTION
XXV
example, the old bard Vainamoinen has been interpreted as
a sage or hero whose appellation, like the names of other
heroes mentioned in the Kalevala , may also be used to desig-
nate a giant or a divine being} and in like manner the smith
Ilmarinen presents a contamination of the name of the Finno-
Ugric air-god, Ilmari (Votiak Inmar), with the name of the
hero Ismaroinen, who figures in the folk-songs of Ingerman-
land as the maker of the Golden Maid.
With the aid of newer and richer sources Julius Krohn
planned the preparation of a comparative presentation of all
the beliefs and usages of the Finno-Ugric race; but at his
premature death only four chapters had been completed, these
being published in Finnish in 1894 by his son, Kaarle Krohn,
under the title The Pagan Worship of the Finnish Stock.
This already antiquated work has been translated into Hun-
garian, with some additional material, by the Magyar scholar
A. Ban. Among later comparative presentations mention
should be made of M. Varonen’s Ancestor-Worship among the
Ancient Finns , published only in Finnish, H. Paasonen’s Uher
die urspriinglichen Seelenvorstellungen bei den fmnisch-ugri-
schen Volkern und die Benennung der Seele in ihren Sprachen ,
and the present writer’s Die Wassergottheiten der fnnisch-
ugrischen Vdlker.
During the last few years, the publication of complete de-
scriptions of the religions of the different Finnish stocks has
begun at the initiative of Kaarle Krohn. Under the collabora-
tion of several specialists, the following volumes have already
appeared in Finnish: Kaarle Krohn’s Religion of the Finnish
Songs (1914— 15), the present writer’s Religion of the Per-
mians (1914), Religion of the Cheremiss (1914), and Reli-
gion of the Lapps (1915), and K. F. Karjalainen’s Religion
of the Ugrians (1918).
-
FINNO-UGRIC
MYTHOLOGY
CHAPTER I
THE BELIEF IN SOULS
T HE BELIEF of the Finno-Ugric people regarding the
soul presents a very primitive concept. According to
the Lapps, life does not cease altogether at death, but in some
form continues as long as the skeleton remains, an example
of this conviction being afforded, for instance, by their bear-
feast ; and in like manner they hold that the gods let new
flesh grow on the sacrificial victim’s bones, all of which are
preserved with great care . 1 If we may draw inferences from
the sacrificial ceremonies, this belief was formerly general
throughout the Finno-Ugric stock. As an instance of the con-
cept which holds that the soul vanishes when the body is an-
nihilated we may cite the Vogul custom whereby, lest the
bear should do grave harm to any one, the injured man,
instead of worshipping the animal, endeavours to free him-
self from it by completely destroying all parts of its body.
Charuzin, who describes this usage, remarks that by it they
purpose “ to kill the victim’s soul together with its body .” 2
This concept is likewise found in the cult of the dead. In
his account of the burial rites of the Pite Lapps the missionary
Graan records that for several years after the death of any of
their number they crumbled barley bread into small bits and
strewed it on the graves “ until the sinking of the grave-
mound showed that the body had decayed.” 3 Among the
Ostiaks, in like manner, the belief has been found that after
4 FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
the body has decayed the dead no longer survive . 4 Even at
a very late period the Ingermanland Finns were wont to go
to the burial places to weep and to carry food to the graves
of their tribesmen so long as it was conceivable that the bodies
had not yet crumbled} for after that they believed that “the
soul itself ceases to exist.” 6 If the deceased is supposed to
be dangerous, the corpse is cut in pieces or even burned to
ashes; and in a village in the Circle of Birsk the Votiaks pur-
sued a like course after the lapse of several years in the case
of a death which the sorcerers declared to have given rise to
a severe epidemic. To this day the Ostiak Samoyeds fear
certain corpses which are believed to go about at night and
injure the living, though they become powerless as soon as
the sun rises. A whole host of stories tells of contests be-
tween such corpses and living men; but they may be prevented
from rising out of their graves by being pierced with a stake
and pinned fast to the ground . 6
Side by side with this belief in a soul inseparably connected
with the body, the Finno-Ugrians seem to have held that
each limb and organ likewise had its separate soul. Accord-
ingly, at a sacrifice a small portion of all the parts of the vic-
tim’s body was taken and dedicated, together with the bones,
to the deity. Souls or (more properly) soul-powers are hid-
den especially in the most important organs, such as the heart,
the liver, and the blood; and the circulation of the blood has
obviously given rise to the Cheremiss belief that the “ soul ”
or the “ life ” ( tson ) can wander about within the body. If
a blow which reaches some part of the body proves to be
mortal, the “ soul,” according to this view, has been in that
portion just at the fatal instant; but even though a man’s skull
were fractured, the Cheremiss maintain that death would not
ensue if the “ soul ” chanced not to be in the head at the
moment . 7 The concept of the material character of the quali-
ties of the soul is also evidenced by the belief that one may
acquire them for his own by devouring the organs containing
THE BELIEF IN SOULS
5
the soul-qualities of another. Gondatti states that the ancient
Vogul heroes ate the hearts and livers of their slain enemies
“ that their strength might be transferred to their own bodies
and that the foe might never again be able to rise from the
dead.” 8 Beliefs regarding the potencies hidden in the heart
recur in a Chronicle of 889, which states that the Hungarians
cut the captives’ hearts in pieces and ate them as some sort
of remedy ; and to this day the sacrificial priest of the Cher-
emiss prays God to protect men against “ those who cut out
the heart and the liver.” The same belief was doubtless held
by the forefathers of the Finns, for among their Esthonian
kinsmen it was still flourishing in the thirteenth century, since
the Sakkala peasants are said to have torn the heart from the
breast of a living Danish Crusader, and after roasting it, to
have divided it among themselves and eaten it “ in order to
be brave against the Christians.” By drinking another man’s
blood the Voguls and others believe that soul-powers pass
from one body into another. 0 Even in such insignificant parts
of the body as the hair, nails, and teeth a soul (or soul-power)
is believed to lie concealed. How else could the means of
guarding the soul against falling into evil hands be explained?
Novitskiy expressly relates that a Vogul sacrificial priest
warned his people against the Russian missionaries in the fol-
lowing words: “Take care, my friends . . . when they start
to cut your hair, they cut off your souls.” In this connection,
it may be mentioned that the Ostiaks believed that by scalping
an enemy they could prevent his ghost from walking. 10 Even
those objects which have been in contact with a man sustain a
certain relation to the soul. Among causes of illness the Lapps
recognize the power of a dweller in the underworld to take
to himself some article of attire which has been in contact
with the sick, such as cap, gloves, or boots ; 11 and from this
is deduced the magical theory of pars pro toto which finds
application likewise in rites of sacrifice.
In close relation to the remains of the deceased stands his
6
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
shape, or shadow, which can occasionally free itself from the
body even during life. Of a man who is unconscious the
Cheremiss says that his “ shape ” or “ shadow ” (6V/) has left
him; and in like manner, if any one gives him a severe fright,
he declares: “Thou drivest mine ort away.” If a Cheremiss
dreams of a city, he is convinced that his ort has wandered
thither by night ; otherwise, he argues, he could not have seen
the city exactly as it is. Dreaming is also called “ the ort's
wandering”} and when the man awakes, his ort returns to his
body . 12
The ort of the Cheremiss corresponds to the urt of the
Votiaks. If the urt does not succeed in coming back to its
abode before the man wakes, he falls ill, is pale, and begins
to pine away, so that a sleeper must not be aroused suddenly . 13
In general the disappearance of the soul is regarded as a cause
of grave illness, and in such a contingency it is advisable to
have recourse to a magician or shaman in order that he may
seek the lost soul and bring it back to the body. Sometimes
it happens that the “ soul ” of the dying goes to the nether
world, but returns after a while} and then the man recovers.
Thus an Ostiak song tells of a hero who, in battle, received
a sword-stroke on his head and lost consciousness. For a time
his “ shadow ” ascended to heaven, only to return when his
dead brother’s “ shadow ” informed him that his hour was
not yet come . 14 A very wide-spread belief holds that the
shaman’s “ shadow ” can go to the underworld to seek aid
there.
The closeness of the connexion between a man’s body and
his “ shadow ” is shown by an account of Lapp shamanism
which dates from the thirteenth century. This states, among
other matters, that during a shaman’s journey in the nether
world a hostile “ shadow ” struck out the stomach of his
“ shadow,” the mishap being clearly visible in the magician’s
real body, which was lying in the tent} 15 and several similar
instances will be cited in a subsequent chapter on the shamans.
THE BELIEF IN SOULS
7
Death does not in the least sever the bond of union between
the “ soul ” and the corpse. When asked why the bones of
the sacrificial victim are not broken, the Finnish Lapps
answered: “On certain nights the victims which we have
offered wander as ‘ shadows ’ from burial-place to burial-place
together with the folk of the underworld.” 16 The general
concept is that after death the “ shadow ” takes up its abode
where the body has been buried.
In Finno-Ugric belief man has also another soul which can
release itself from the body, and which is called “ breath.”
The source of this concept is to be found in the last expiration
of the dying. At death the Ostiak lit, Vogul lili, Hungarian
lekek y Siryan lol , Votiak lul (“ expiration,” “ soul ”), and the
Esthonian leil (“ expiration,” “ soul,” “ steam,” cf. Finnish
loyly, “ bath-vapour ”) leaves its abode through the mouth
or nostrils; and “ the breath’s departure ” is a common synonym
for death. Obviously the “ breath ” was originally under-
stood to be simply a vital function which revealed itself as
respiration or vapour 5 and Nalimov states that, in Siryan
belief, at death the lol evaporates in the air like vapour.
The Finnish stocks are convinced that when the soul
liberates itself from the body, it can appear not only in a
quasi-human shape — which is the form which it most fre-
quently takes — but may also assume some other guise, often
that of an animal. Nalimov has noted a Siryan tradition
which tells how, while a woman slept, her lol came forth
from its abode and in the form of a little mouse danced about
on her breast. For a time her mouth was hidden by the cover-
let j but the soul again transformed itself into vapour and thus
re-entered the body, so that the sleeper could wake up. 17 The
Votiaks believe that one of the forms in which the soul appears
during sleep is that of the bat; and an old Votiak declared
that the reason why these creatures are never seen by day is
because men are then awake; they appear only at night, when
men are asleep. If a bat approaches any one, it is a sign
8
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
that it is in reality the soul of some kinsman or acquaintance}
and the old man just mentioned even related a tradition that
the bat is, as a matter of fact, a soul-bird. “ A man went to
rest, but his companions sat up in the yard. They saw how a
bat flew round certain places} and when the sleeper awoke,
they asked him what he had dreamed. The man declared
that in his slumber he had wandered to the very places where
the bat had flown, and from this his comrades inferred that
the bat which they had seen was the soul of the sleeping
man.” Sometimes the soul also appears in the form of a little
grey butterfly. In the Circle of Birsk the present writer
heard it said that when the urt leaves a man’s body because
of severe fright, the services of a witch are sought, and she
begins to spy after it with a white cloth in her hand. After
she has hunted everywhere, she finally notices a little grey
butterfly, and when she has caught it in her cloth, she takes
it into the room and at night binds both cloth and butterfly
about the sufferer’s neck. On the following morning observa-
tion of the shapes assumed by molten tin dropped into water
determines whether the captive soul-butterfly is really the
sick man’s urt.
In like manner the soul of a sleeping man moves about as
a butterfly in a tradition recorded by the present writer from
the Circle of Mamadysh. “ Two men went to the forest to
cut down trees, and at midday, while they were resting, one
of them fell asleep, whereupon his comrade saw the lul issue
from his mouth in the form of a butterfly and go to a pail
of water which they had with them in the woods. From
the water it flew to a cavity in a linden, thence back to the
water-vessel, and from there to the sleeper’s mouth. Waking
from his slumber, he said to his companion: 1 I was asleep
and dreamed that I floated over a river on whose farther
shore was a tree in which was a hollow containing many pieces
of gold.’ After finishing their work the men returned home,
but a little later the comrade, who had seen where the sleeper’s
THE BELIEF IN SOULS
9
soul moved about the tree, went by night to the forest, sought
out the tree, and there found a number of coins.” 18
The “ souls ” of the dead have power of motion like those
of the living. When a little grey butterfly was seen to come
in by the window during the memorial feast in honour of a
Votiak child’s father, its mother said to it: “His soul has
come in the form of a butterfly.” It is also believed that the
souls of the departed may find concealment in the guise of
other sorts of insects, this explaining the Cheremiss custom
that whenever many caterpillars begin to appear in the grain-
fields, sacrifice is made to such of the departed as have died
without leaving kinsfolk. A belief in soul-mice among this
same people is implied by a similar offering which is given if
many mice begin to be found in the yard . 19 According to
the Ostiaks, the deceased transforms himself into a beetle and
is thus revealed to the living; and a like idea seems to have
been known to the Finns, as is evident from a peculiar custom.
Maidens are wont to take beetles in their hands and ask them
whither they go to wed, hither or thither or “ in the swart
earth’s bosom.” If then the beetle flies to the churchyard, it
is an omen of death. Similar beliefs occur among other
European peoples.
Certain Finno-Ugric peoples are also convinced that the
departed appear as birds, and the Lapps tell how a dead man
who had been buried on a small island and who haunted it
by day flew across the water in the form of a great bird . 20
Like wicked men the dead may likewise manifest themselves
as wolves j and when the Votiaks drive away spirits which
roam about at Easter, one of their cries is: “ Go, wolves, go! ”
“ Souls ” may also be seen in other guise than that of ani-
mals, and the belief is very general that a man’s soul may
Wander around as a whirlwind. In the Circle of Birsk the
present writer heard the Cheremiss tell how a wayfarer hurled
his knife into such an eddy, which, with the knife, immedi-
ately vanished. The man continued on his journey till evening
10
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
came, when he was about to pass the night in a hut along the
road. There, to his amazement, an old man sat with a knife
in his cheek; whereupon the traveller forthwith recognized
his own knife and perceived that the master of the bothie
was the old man who had wandered about as an eddy of wind.
The soul of the living as well as of the dead can likewise fly
around as a a fire-serpent,” in other words, as a meteor. Ac-
cording to the Cheremiss its course can be stayed by tearing
off the wristband of one’s shirt or the band of one’s lime-
bark shoes, or by splitting a wooden pitch-fork, together with
which the meteor falls to the ground and is changed back
into the man who flew about as the “ fire-snake.” In Siryan
belief the soul ( ort ) of the departed may even manifest itself
as a blue flame burning on the ground ( ort-bi , “ ort’s fire ”).
Shadow-souls may sometimes lose their original meaning
by being transformed into the D op-pel- ganger or tutelary
genius of the person in question. Thus the Siryan ort , in the
form in which the popular mind now most usually conceives
it, recalls the guardian spirit of the man rather than the real
shadow-soul. Every one has an ort which constantly dwells
near its protege, acting as a guardian-spirit ; it appears in
dreams, generally in the shape of the person in question, and
occasionally pinches blue spots in one’s skin. In some places
its abode is believed to be wholly separate from the man,
whence the assertion is made, for example, that it has its home
in birds. Yet one of the proofs that the ort was originally
nothing else than the man’s “ shadow ” is found in the belief
that, after his death, his soul is blended with his ort, so that
both form one and the same being. It is further believed that
the ort of the deceased reveals itself in the form of the
departed for forty days after death, and then vanishes . 21 As
a portent of someone’s death the ort manifests itself chiefly in
the shape of a bird; and the same belief is found among the
Voguls: “ The urt lives in the forest. When a human being
must die, his urt cries out; when a little child comes to his
THE BELIEF IN SOULS
1 1
last hour, the urt speaks with a child’s voice ; if an adult
passes away, the urt y s voice is that of an adult. Its exterior
is parti-coloured, and its wings resemble those of a bat.”
Shamans can always see it near them. Should any one hear
its call, he turns to it with the words: “ If one of my kins-
folk is to die, draw thou nigh to me.” If some relative is
actually the person in question, the urt approaches the inquirer ;
but otherwise it withdraws from him. According to Friis,
the Norse Lapps called such a bird, heard by night lamenting
with a human voice, a Suoje-lodde (“ Suoj e-bird ”), the
word Sueje being used in the Swedish Lapmark to denote
the shaman’s “ tutelary genius,” the appellation having
apparently meant primarily “ shadow.” The spectres of
shamans are especially liable to metamorphosis . 22
The tutelary genius of a man is called Haltia (“ Ruler ”)
by the Finns ; and each individual has his own, which pre-
cedes him. A man might be blessed with such a potent
Haltia that, for example, it would reach home a little earlier
than the man himself, whose approach it announced with
clamour and crash. A man’s Varjohaltia (“ Shadow-ruler ”)
could inform him beforehand of coming events, as, e.g.,
whether he would reap a good or a bad harvest. It was be-
lieved in some districts that a child made its own Haltia when
it was three days old; before the expiration of that time it
was dangerous to leave the infant alone, for a changeling
might be substituted in its stead. That the Haltia manifested
itself in the form of the culprit is obvious from such phrases
as “ it was not he, but his Haltia,” or “ the dead themselves
do not walk, it is their Haltias which appear as ghosts.”
The Saattaja (“ guide ”) — an expression which is com-
paratively rare — and the Onni (“ fortune ”) seem to denote
precisely the same being as the Haltia ; and a man’s “ fortune,”
which might be propitious or the reverse, never left him till
death. Like the Haltia the “ fortune ” precedes the man and
announces his coming. When any mischance happened on
12
-
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
the road, the “ fortune ” warned its owner as he returned
homeward, his ears beginning to ring, or his eyes or nose to
itch, etc. 1 he Haltia of the Finns has its analogue in the
Radare or Ra (“ ruler ”) of the Swedes, and their Saattaja
finds its counterpart in the Fylgja of the Scandinavians . 23
The word employed by the Finno-Ugrians and peoples
influenced by them to denote “ shadow-soul ” often means
originally “ shadow,” “ appearance,” and “ image.” When
the Yurak Samoyeds make images of the sun, moon, or human
beings, they call them “shadows ”5 and the Vogul term for
a man’s “ soul ” (is, Finnish itse, “ self ”) is also employed
when they speak, for instance, of the “ shadow ” of a tree or
of a house. The Ostiaks call their “ earthly gods ” and the
wooden figures of these deities by a name (, tongk ) which
originally meant “ shadow ”; and the word haamu , which
signifies “ shadow-soul ” in Finnish, means “ form,” “ figure ”
in Lappish and “countenance” in Mordvinian ; while in
Cheremiss the Tatar loan-word tys is occasionally employed
to denote the “ shadow-soul,” though properly it signifies
“ countenance ” or “ image,” as when it is applied, for ex-
ample, to the leaden figure representing the sacrificial animal,
as we shall see later. The Mordvinian word for “ soul ”
( tsopatsa ) is also applied to the image of a god.
If “ soul ” or “ image ” were thus an identical concept, it
would be natural to infer that the prototype would be inti-
mately affected by whatever happened to the image. Orig-
inally the Finno-Ugric peoples were extremely cautious in
regard to the delineation of themselves, and to this day many
of them are most reluctant to permit themselves to be photo-
graphed or otherwise pictured. A certain anxiety also lurks
in the words which a Cheremiss girl repeats when she sees
herself in a mirror: “Take not from me my appearance or
image and this fear is especially associated with showing a
mirror to a small child. By injuring their enemy’s image the
Lapps believed that they could cause their foe himself to
THE BELIEF IN SOULS
13
feel pain. In the notes of the missionary Randulf we read
the following account: “When the Lapp wishes to injure a
man with whom he is angry, whether he dwells close by or
far away, he employs for this purpose a little bow made of
reindeer horn, together with the arrows belonging to it, one
blunt and one pointed. If he desires to make his enemy’s
hand, foot, or other member useless, he shoots the blunt
arrow into the corresponding part of the body of an image
supposed to represent the person in question} but if his inten-
tion is rather to cause an open wound or a constant subcutane-
ous pain, he shoots the sharp arrow into the relevant portion
of the effigy.” 24
Generally speaking, persons of superior importance, such
as primal ancestors, shamans, and heroes, survive their bodies
in images or “ shadows ” which are made after them.
Just as men speak of the “ shadow ” or “ soul ” of a human
being or of an animal, so various things are supposed to
possess a “soul,” which can free itself from the object to
which it belongs. Thus, for example, everything which grows
has its “ soul.” According to the Votiaks, the “ soul ” (urt)
of the corn can assume the form of a little butterfly, pre-
cisely like the soul of a man} and the Cheremiss speak,
furthermore, of the “soul” (ort) of the earth, fire, water,
etc. When “ souls ” vanish out of the earth, it can no longer
produce vegetation} if the “soul” of the water disappears,
it begins to sicken and is turbid and nauseous to the taste 5 and
if a man drinks of such water, he falls ill. Even the bothie
or hut has its “ soul,” which flees if men are noisy and quar-
relsome in the room. “You are driving the 1 soul ’ of my
bothie away,” cries the Cheremiss if any one commits a breach
of the peace in his home. When the “ soul ” has fled, the
bothie is no longer “ happy,” and “ life is heavy there ”;
while no “ soul ” is found in a deserted, uninhabited house.
In the fantasy of the Cheremiss the “ bothie-soul (port-ort )
cannot assume any shape whatsoever. When asked what he
i4
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
means by the “ soul ” of the bothie, he answers that it is not
any distinct entity, but the “luck,” “joy,” or “health” of
the hut. Both farm-yard and threshing-floor have their
“ souls.” When the former possesses it, “ the cow-yard re-
joices ; the cattle thrive and multiply.” Of the latter it is
said that “ where the £ soul ’ flourishes, even small quantities
of seed yield a blessing; but if it leaves the place, great heaps
of seed wholly lack their proper usefulness.” If no seed is
found on the threshing-floor, neither is any “ soul ” dis-
coverable there.
According to the belief of the Finno-Ugrians, the very
smallest things have a “ soul.” This explains the custom of
breaking objects intended for the dead, such as wooden spoons
and bowls, clay pots, and the like, “ so that the departed may
take them with him to the invisible world.” Doubtless this
reflects the concept that even things have an invisible part
which is separated from the visible by being broken; in other
words, an object must be deprived of its life in order that its
“ soul ” may leave it. Or, as in Mordvinian usage, the ob-
ject which is given to the dead may simply be scraped with a
knife, its “ soul ” being thus released. At the offerings in
their groves the Cheremiss violently shake the objects em-
ployed for the occasion; and when we recollect that the
sacrificial victim which shivers, like the man who is frightened,
loses its “ shadow,” we understand what beliefs are connected
with this peculiar custom. Just as there is a “ tutelary genius ”
of a man’s “ shadow,” so there is a “ nature god ” of a “ nature
soul ”; and water, earth, forest, tree, house, and the like
possess a Haltia, just as we have seen the Finns apply the
term to the Doppel- ganger of a man.
The name must also be reckoned in the category of belief
in souls, and this explains, among other matters, why the
Votiaks call the rite of choosing a name “ the seeking of the
soul ” ( urt kuton ). 25 When a child cries a great deal or falls
THE BELIEF IN SOULS
15
ill, or when a “ mark ” caused by the dead rises on its skin,
this is interpreted to mean that it has chanced to receive a
wrong name. To remedy this, sundry magic ceremonies are
employed to determine what new name the child should re-
ceive in order that it may thrive and recover. From the
names which are enumerated during these rites, and which
have usually been borne by departed forefathers, the inference
may be drawn that the “ soul ” or “ spirit ” which is sought
for the child is the soul of some ancestor. That this was
actually true in the beginning is shown by the corresponding
beliefs and ceremonies of the Lapps. They held that a preg-
nant woman could indicate, either in dreams or through
shamans, which of the kindred dead was willing to live anew
in the child. The name was given by an old woman, who
baptized (a later custom) the child, saying: “ I baptize thee
with the name of such and such a departed one. Mayest
thou have the same fortune and happiness that he (or she)
had in this world.” In addition they believed that, with the
name, the child received the “ guardian spirit ” which had
once belonged to the former bearer of the name. “ Guardian
spirits ” could also appear in visible form, as in that of a fish.
Sacrifice should be offered to the dead whose name was given
to the child. If the right name was not immediately found,
the appellation cf the child might afterwards, in case of sick-
ness, be changed several times. 26 According to the Northern
Ostiaks, after a number of years the spirit of the deceased
could be born again to earthly life in a child belonging to his
kindred 5 and then the name of the dead man must be found
in order that the child might thrive and be strong. 27 Side by
side with this custom another is met with among the Eastern
Finno-Ugrian peoples, according to which a name was given
to a child from the first object or phenomenon to attract the
attention of the parents or the midwife at its birth. 28
That the giving of the name was a custom of immemorial
1 6
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
antiquity among the Finno-Ugric peoples is shown by the
fact that the word for “ name ” is common to them all, so
that the Finnish term niini, is actually used also in Samoyed
{nlm'). Probably it is the same word which also occurs in the
Indo-European languages ( naman , ovo/jia, nomen , name y etc.).
CHAPTER II
DEATH AND BURIAL
A MONG all the Finno-Ugric peoples, the customs and
beliefs connected with death, though varying locally,
will be found to possess certain general affinities.
The most significant ceremonies arise out of a desire to do
everything possible for the departed on their last journey,
and from precautionary measures by the living against the
dead, as these are believed to seek companions with whom to
enter the other world.
Immediately the “ breath had departed,” the Finns opened
the smoke-outlets, in Russian Karelia the boards forming the
roof of their chimneyless houses even being lifted three
times, so that the soul might quicker fly away. The Estho-
nian custom was to open the doors. If a wind arose while
someone lay dying, it was called “ the wind of the dead.” 1
The Permian peoples believed that on the death of a shaman,
a storm was sure to arise . 2
When a death occurs, the relatives of the deceased gather
round the body. Forgiveness is implored of the dead one.
The Cheremiss say: “ Forgive me, be not angry with me if
I have used hard words against thee.” 3 Probably after a
Russian custom, the Mordvins and the Ingrians, etc., im-
mediately life has departed, place a bowl of water on the
window-sill, “ so that the soul can cleanse itself .” 4 More
general is the custom of cutting the throat of a hen when
death occurs. When this is done by the Chuvash, they say:
“ soul for soul and body for body ” or also “ this hen shall
lead thy soul.” The Eastern Cheremiss slaughter the fowl
first at the gate, as they follow the dead to its grave, and they
iS
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
observe whether the hen remains within the courtyard or flies
headless out into the road. The former is accounted a sign
that a new death will soon occur in the house. At the spot
where the hen is killed, it is believed that the deceased meets
with the spirits of his departed relatives, which come forth to
meet the new arrival. The reason for the actual act of
slaughtering has been interpreted in different ways. Some
say that the hen gathers together in the other world the
nails of the departed, which have been scattered about in this.
In other places, it is the custom to say to the dead at the
slaughtering: “ Save with this blood thine own blood from
death! ” With the first drops of the hen’s blood, the Chere-
miss paint the eyebrows of the dead. The fowl is not pre-
pared for food, but is left lying on the road for dogs to feast
on . 5 A later custom is the preparing of the flesh of the
fowl, slaughtered at the moment of death, for the funeral
repast. A relic of the hen-sacrifice is found among the Finns
in Savolax, who, when the coffin is being borne away, cast a
living hen on to it, to prevent the dead from taking the
“ poultry-luck ” away with it . 6
The dead must be escorted as soon as possible to the peace
of the grave. The first service consists of the washing of the
body of the dead, a practice followed by all the tribes, though
it cannot be regarded as a purely Finno-Ugric custom. The
person carrying out the washing is often chosen during the
lifetime of the deceased. In some places, the left hand only
is used during the performance. If any one of the persons
engaged in the washing is displeasing to the deceased, the
latter holds himself stiffly, clenches his fists, etc. Where the
body remains soft and plastic, the washers are all agreeable
to the dead. The corpse must be clad in clean garments, even
down to its underclothing. The Volga Finns, like the Baltic
Finns, accoutre their dead as for a long journey. A hat is
placed on the head of the corpse of a male, and clean foot-
wrappings are wrapped round its feet, which are fitted with
DEATH AND BURIAL
19
lime- or birch-bark shoes 5 other clothes are placed with it
also. The Votiak wife lays a clean suit of undergarments
by her dead husband to enable him to change when necessary.
The husband gathers into his wife’s coffin kerchiefs for the
head, towels, and trinkets worn on the breast. Many gar-
ments and kerchiefs of all descriptions are placed in the
coffin of a young girl, “ as the men who have died unmarried
are thought to be quicker in proposing marriage to girls with
a bountiful marriage portion.” A staff is placed in the hand
of an old man. Naturally, all the tribes fit out their dead
according to their scale of living, means and opportunities.
The more northern peoples appear to have used very simple
wrappings in which to swathe their dead. To conclude from
remains dug up, the Lapps, in olden days, used only wrappings
of birch-bark. In certain districts, both Lapps and the North-
ern Ostiaks were accustomed to swathe their dead also in rein-
deer- or bear-skins.
In addition to clothing or protective swathings, the dead
had to be supplied with provisions for the journey, and with
money, weapons, and all kinds of implements and household
articles. Among the objects laid with the dead may be men-
tioned fire-tools, bow and arrows, an axe, a knife, fishing-
gear, skis, a sickle, pots, dishes, wooden spoons, boats and
vehicles, etc. The corpse was supplied with everything it was
supposed to need. With women, distaffs, pieces of cloth,
scissors and needles were laid 5 with children, toys. The lame
received their crutches, a shaman his drum, a hunter his dog
and his spear. Above all, the Volga Finns never forget to
give the dead for their last journey the tools needed for the
making of bast shoes. Smaller objects were laid in the coffin
of the dead, larger ones were placed around the grave. In
some places among the Cheremiss it was further deemed
necessary to place a rod in each hand of the corpse, so that in
the underworld it could protect itself against attacking hounds,
serpents, or evil spirits.
20
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
Among the articles and coins laid in the dead man’s coffin
by the Ostiaks were also some which were sent along with the
deceased to some relative who had died earlier. It is said of
the Cheremiss, that some of them poured nuts into the pocket
of the dead man, saying while this was being done: “ Greet
our kinsmen when you arrive; we send sweets to their chil-
dren; when you meet them, divide the sweets amongst
them.” 7
A noteworthy custom among all the Finno-Ugric peoples
is the breaking-up of all the objects which the dead receive
with them. That a like usage was followed in Finland, ap-
pears from a report from Savolax, according to which, on the
placing of the corpse on the sleigh, some object from among
the most valuable in the house had to be dashed in pieces,
with the remark: “This you may have, but nothing else.”
In this way the spirit of the dead was prevented from return-
ing after the burial with any demands for his property.
Similarly, in Ingria, when the master or mistress of the house
was borne out, the spoon of the deceased was carried three
times round the coffin, after which the spoon was broken and
the pieces thrown after the coffin, with the words: “There
hast thou thy portion, more thou shalt not receive.” This
was done that the dead might not appear afterwards and de-
mand more at the division of the inheritance . 8 Apparently
it was believed that by “ killing ” an article, its “ soul ” or
“ shadow ” was released to follow the deceased into the world
of shadows.
An important part in the burial ceremonies is played by all
kinds of protective measures, performed by the survivors ob-
viously with a view to protecting themselves against dangers
which the dead are believed to be able to cause. The belief
of the Lapps that the dead wishes to take along with him
“ his family, his children, and his dependants ” is common to
all the Finno-Ugric peoples . 9 A very widespread measure of
protection is to cover, immediately death occurs, the eyes and
DEATH AND BURIAL
21
mouth of the deceased. To prevent the dead from doing
harm to its own with its glance during the time the corpse lies
in the house, the Samoyeds cover its eyes with copper-coins or
with small stones. The Ostiaks cover the face of the deceased
with a cloth, in addition to covering the eyes, nose, and mouth
with silver or copper coins, or with brass buttons . 10 The
Cheremiss close the eyes and mouth of their dead, and cover
the eyes, ears, and nostrils with little bunches of thread. The
Chuvash act in the same way, saying: “If the dead over there
ask of thee if there are others to come after thee, answer
them: £ My ears heard none, my eyes saw nothing, my nostrils
knew no scent.’ ” 11 Missionaries relate that when the Lapps
covered up their dead in shrouds, they were very careful to
cover up the body completely . 12 This was most likely done
for fear that the soul of the deceased, which was supposed to
dwell in the body even after death, would otherwise leave its
dwelling-place and come to frighten those left at home.
The Cheremiss are so cautious that as soon as signs of im-
minent death are forthcoming, they remove the sick from
their beds to a litter of straw. According to the Hill-
Cheremiss the person dying on a bolster of down must reckon
up the number of feathers in the coming life, and similarly,
those dying on hair-mats must count the hairs of the same . 13
Obviously, the removal of the sick to the litter of straw has
its origin in the fear that death contaminated a bed.
As a means of protection articles made of metal have been
used widely. The Finns cast a copper coin in the water in
which the corpse is washed. It was believed in some places,
that unless one gave a copper coin to the person who washed
the corpse, his hand would become diseased . 14 Among the
Scandinavian Lapps, the one washing and covering up the
dead had to bear, on his right arm, a ring of brass, given to
him by some relative of the deceased “ so that no evil could
befall him.” 15 In Russian Lapmark the coffin and the grave
of the deceased are prepared by such men whose womenfolk
o o
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
-
are not pregnant, or have ceased to suckle their children;
otherwise, the child might be smitten with a mortal illness . 16
A further very widely spread custom was that no one, often
not even the neighbours, might go about his ordinary occupa-
tions while the corpse was still in the village, but that every-
one had to be prepared, if necessary, to serve the dead.
According to the Samoyedic idea, it is extremely reprehen-
sible to go hunting or fishing during a similar period; they
forbid even the crossing of a stream . 17 Among the Esto-
nians it is strictly forbidden to chop wood, to heat the bath-
house, to wash clothes, to sweep the floor, and to comb
one’s hair while the body is in the house. Neither is it suit-
able to visit friends or to receive visitors. Even to sell, or
give away anything from the house is forbidden during this
period . 18
If the corpse is kept over night in the house, no one may
undress, but must, instead, watch by the body, as “ if one were
to lie down and sleep, it would be easier for the deceased to
take one’s soul along with him to the kingdom of the dead.”
Singing and shouting are also forbidden while the dead is in
the house. The Cheremiss declare that the relatives and
neighbours of the dead must sit silently watching by the dead,
in order to see if the spirit of the deceased should return to its
dwelling-place. If there is a mirror in the room, it must be
turned round or covered, in order that the dead may not, by
means of the mirror, look out a comrade for itself among
those present . 19
To prevent the dead from visiting their old home, many
means of leading them astray are used. The Lapps and the
Samoyeds do not bear out their dead through the door, but
directly out under the canvas tent from the spot where they
were stricken by death; in order that the dead and the living
may not come in each other’s way. The Lapps declare that
were they to bear out their dead through the door, a new death
might be expected soon after . 20 The Ostiaks removed their
DEATH AND BURIAL
23
dead through the windows . 21 The Votiaks attempt to deceive
their dead by removing the door through which the corpse is
carried from its hinges and passing it through an opening on
the side of the hinges . 22 The Volga Finns were in the habit
of placing the coffin on the end of a log and spinning it round
three times in a contrary direction to that of the sun. Often
the footmarks of the funeral procession are swept away . 23
The most general protective or cleansing measure is the strew-
ing of ashes: thus both the Lapps and the Baltic Finns used
to throw ashes and fire after those following the hearse . 24
In some places, all tables, benches, etc., in the house were
thrown down on their sides at the removal of the coffin . 25
Against infection from death, articles of steel, axes and knives,
or heated stones, glowing cinders, ashes, salt, flour, etc., were
placed on the spot where death had stricken its victim . 26 A
custom of the Baltic Finns is to hammer in a nail in the place
where death occurred, or where the corpse was washed, often,
also, into the threshold over which the coffin was borne. The
people say, that if a nail has been driven in where a death has
taken place, no sickness need be feared if one happened to
receive a shock there. 2 '
The Russian Lapps leave their homes open and empty
after the death of a member of the family. In earlier times,
the nomad families would remove altogether to some other
place. A mark, such as for example, a stone, would be left
to mark the place of death . 28 A more prevalent custom is to
smoke a room, or to beat the walls with branches. When the
Voguls smoke out their homes, they create a din at the same
time, shriek, jingle sleighbells, and pound in every corner to
drive away death. Among the Ostiaks the fire may not be
allowed to go out for five nights when a male dies, and four
nights when a female . 29 The dread felt for death is increased
by the belief that the relatives of the dead man who have died
earlier come to take him away. The Lapps declare that they
have actually seen these with their own eyes in the twilight.
24
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
Generally, however, these spirits of dead relatives are in-
visible to human beings, but animals can see them . 30
When the Lapps transport their dead for burial the corpse
is always placed in the last sled , 31 and among the Ostiaks at
Tremyugan the escort never goes after the coffin, but before . 32
The escort may not in any circumstances look behind it.
Neither may the other inhabitants of the village look at the
funeral procession through their windows. The Cheremiss go
so far as to hide their windows with coverings in order “ not
to follow the dead one.” 33
Measures of protection are carried out also on the return
from the burial. To prevent the dead from following the
trail of the escort, all footprints are swept over at the burial
mound . 34 According to Lehtisalo, the Yuraks, on their return
from a burying, are in the habit of going three times round
the grave in widening circles. In addition, a gateway is erected
“towards the night,” or towards the north, with the saying:
“ Here is thy way, wander thine own way.” Returning from
a burial, one may not look back. To cleanse oneself utterly
from the contact with the body, a gateway of two sticks is
erected before the door of the tent. Through this the rela-
tives of the dead must pass, taking with them all their
belongings . 35 The Votiaks strike at one another at the
cemetery gate with branches of fir, saying to the dead: “Go
to thy home, do not remain with us.” Or a branch of juniper
is waved with the cry: “Come not with us, go to your
home ! ” 30 In some places, a channel is cut by dragging an
axe or some other sharp instrument across the way or round
the escort of the dead. When the house is reached again, a
fire is usually made, over which one must jump, or the hands
are rubbed with ashes, or a bath is taken. In Finland the
coffin was sometimes carried to the cemetery between two
fires of straw “ so that the soul should not return home to
disturb the sleep of the living.” 3|
The sleigh, or carriage, in which the corpse is transported,
DEATH AND BURIAL
25
is either left at the cemetery, or must stand for at least three
days in the village street before it can be used again . 38
The Eastern Cheremiss have a custom, according to which
they fell a tree on their return from a burial, leaving a
stump about a yard high. This is generally done about
half-way between the cemetery and the village, “ so that
the dead, when looking around, may notice the stump, and
realize that his old home is still far away, and so return to
his grave.” 39
About half-way between the cemetery and a village, one
sees very often among the Volga Finns, a place by the way-
side where all kinds of objects, clothes, etc., have been placed
on the ground or hung up in the trees. To this place the
clothes worn by the deceased at his death, the bark-sponge
used in washing him, the shavings from his coffin, and ob-
jects regarded as having become infected with death have been
carried. The Cheremiss say that were one to burn up the
shavings gathered after the making of the coffin the deceased
would break out in blisters or an eruption on his face. At
these widely-feared places, the Votiaks sacrifice at times of
serious illness. Also after certain memorial-feasts held at
home, the bones of the sacrificed animal are taken to the above-
mentioned place, where they are hung up in the trees. Thus,
in some districts, sacrificial gifts have been laid down at this
place instead of at the cemetery, where they really should be,
and in many places even to this day, are laid. In the District
of Mamadysh the Votiaks have erected little posts with a
small table in front, to the memory of such dead as have died
in strange places, “ so that their souls may return to their
native village.” On the table, sacrificial food is placed on
the anniversary of such deaths . 40
Among the Finns in Savolax and Karelia, a tree, the
karsikko , on the road leading to the cemetery, was stripped of
its lowermost branches as a memorial of the dead. Often, a
cross would be carved on the tree together with the initials of
2 6
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
the dead, and sometimes also the year of death. Or these
might be cut on a piece of board which was then fastened to
the tree. The practice of carving a cross for each corpse
borne by was carried out with the intention of preventing the
dead from coming any nearer to their former home. Offer-
ings were also made, or at least, everyone had to drink spirits
to the memory of the dead. Strips of clothing, bindings,
etc., were also often hung here . 41
A similar custom prevailed amongst the Esthonians. In
some districts the crown of a young tree was chopped off, in
others a cross was carved in a tree by the way, or a nail
hammered in, so that the soul of the dead should not
approach any nearer home from the cemetery . 42
It is said to have been the custom in Savolax for a settler
to mark out near his home a suitable thicket of firs to the
memory of the dead. In a thicket of this description, which
was called karsikko , a tree was denuded of its branches at
each death of a dependant of the house, whether an adult or
a child. Immediately such a tree was found in the thicket,
offerings were made there to the dead. This statement, the
origin of which is to be found only in K. H. Hornborg’s de-
scription, is not supported by actual folk-custom. Hornborg
seems to have confused the karsikko of the dead with the
so-called elatti'puu (Swedish vdrdtrdd) y a tree planted in the
vicinity of the house when first built, and to which sacrifices
of first-fruits were offered, and every autumn that of a sheep.
From this tree no branches were ever cut . 43 A growing fir
or pine in Finland has its branches removed so that only the
top remains in honour of one who for the first time is about to
begin a long journey or some more important enterprise, such
as hunting or fishing ; and in Russian Karelia this is done also
in honour of a bride. But to this karsikko - tree no sacrifices
were offered.
Some kind of protective measure is probably also at the
root of many customs, regarded nowadays merely as signs
-
PLATE II
A Karsikko or Memorial Tree, on the way to the
cemetery in Finnish Karelia, hung with offerings
and stripped of its lower branches in memory of the
dead. (See pages 25—26.)
After photograph by V. Mainov.
DEATH AND BURIAL
27
of mourning. The Ostiaks regard it as not correct for the
relatives to go barefooted during the first week after a death.
According to another report, Ostiak women wear their linen and
head-kerchiefs inside out for five months (or fifty days) if
the deceased is a man, and four months (or forty days) if a
woman. 44
A custom now regarded as a mark of mourning is the
Ostiak’s refusal to gird his belt around him for five or four
days, the time depending on the sex of the deceased. In
some districts this is done “ so that the dead shall feel itself
lighter and freer.” The Lapps have the same custom during
the trance of the shaman and child-birth. Probably, the
thought behind this Ostiak custom is that the journey of the
dead to the other world will be unhindered by knot or band.
For a similar reason, perhaps, the Samoyed and Ugrian
women allow their hair to fall unbound during a burial. 45
A method of expressing sorrow among the Ostiaks was to
scratch wounds that bled on one’s own face. Novitskiy writes
of this (1715): “ When anyone’s father or mother, a husband
or a wife, or any other member of a family dies, the relatives
following the corpse to the grave seek to express their sorrow
by tearing their hair, and, as far as is in their power, scratch-
ing wounds on their faces; the bleeding locks of hair are
thrown by them on to the corpse.” 46 Among the Mordvins
also the wounding of one’s face was regarded as a means of
expressing sorrow. 47 These last, like the Orthodox Finns and
the Siryans had the custom of singing “ weeping-songs ” to
the memory of the dead. In the villages were often to be
found women who made a profession of weeping at graves.
The singing of special weeping-songs seems with these to be
derived from the Russians, amongst whom the custom is
general. The “ weeping ” at the grave is, however, ap-
parently of older origin. In an old source it is written of
the Voguls: “They wail and cry greatly after the dead.”
The Ostiaks customarily use the relatives of the dead as
28
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
“ weepers.” The dead man is praised very greatly at the
same time, and his works are admired . 48
A strange custom of inquiring from the dead, who shall
be the next to die, is often connected with the burial cere-
monies. When the coffin has been borne out of the house
into the yard, the Cheremiss place on it a bunch of pieces of
thread of varying lengths, from which each of the partici-
pants in the ceremony draws out a thread, saying: “ Although
thou perhaps didst die too early, do not take me with thee,
see how long my thread is, let my life be equally long .” 49
After burning the straw on which the dead has departed this
life, the Esthonians look among the ashes for footmarks from
which to make out whether a human being or an animal will
be the next to die from the same farm . 50 The Finns kept an
eye on the horse that drew the hearse ; if it lifted its left foot
first, it was a sign that someone from the village would soon
follow the dead . 51 The Ostiaks attempt to obtain answers
from the corpse to certain questions, by lifting the lid of the
coffin in which the dead lies. Before they transport the dead
to the graveyard, they tie a rope round the coffin at the place
where the head of the corpse should be, and by the grip thus
formed one of the persons present tries to lift the coffin, each
time he does so directing a question at the deceased, for ex-
ample: “ Was it a spirit, that took thee? ” or “ Shall we all
live to the next year? ” and should the answer to this last
question be in the negative: “Tell me, who will be the
next to die? ” after which the names of all present are called
out at each attempt to lift the coffin. Should the coffin appear
to be heavy, it is regarded as an answer in the negative j if
the contrary, as assent. 5 '
It is, further, the duty of the survivors to take care of the
dwelling-place of the dead. According to the most wide-
spread custom now, the dead are buried in a coffin in the
ground. The coffin, called the “ house ” of the dead, is made
of boards; at each side the Karelians, Volga Finns, etc., make
DEATH AND BURIAL
29
a little square hole, the “ window,” “ through which light
reaches to the house of the dead,” and “ through which they
can observe what happens around them.” When the Chere-
miss makes the coffin, he says: “Now do I make thee a
house, be not angry if it please thee not.” 33
When the Cheremiss lift the corpse into the coffin, they
speak a few words to the memory of the deceased and wish
him a happy destination: “Farewell (with the name of the
deceased)! Over there may you enjoy a light, happy, good
and warm existence. Leave us not, but come and inform us
in our dreams, how joyful and pleasing thy life beyond the
grave has become! ” Other wishes are also expressed: “ Let
us not die too early, return not to us, make friends for thyself
among the other dead! ” 54
To an unmarried young man the parents say: “ In this
life we had not time to give thee away in marriage 5 choose for
thyself a good wife over there.” In certain districts the un-
married dead are escorted to the cemetery with the ceremony
attaching to a wedding. The horses are harnessed in gleam-
ing harness, a large bell is fixed to the bent bow of wood over
the horses’ necks, all the comrades and friends of the youth-
ful dead follow them to the graveside. When a young
virgin dies, the Cheremiss lay away with her, her needlework
and decorations, and in addition a char pan , the headgear of a
married woman, “ so that the deceased, when she celebrates
her wedding beyond the grave, will be able to array herself
as a married woman.” While the relatives fit her out, they
say with tears in their eyes: “Here you had not time to be
wedded, marry an honourable man over there! ” 55
In some Districts (Urzhum, etc.,) a thread is snatched
from the garments of the deceased, or they merely take hold
of the coffin, with the remark: “Take not the house, the
cattle, the seed, the fortune with thee 5 leave thy luck with
us! ” 56 The Eastern Votiaks have a custom according to
which one of the relatives of the dead tears a white cloth,
30
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
which he has brought with him to the cemetery, into two
pieces j the part remaining in the left hand, he leaves on the
breast of the dead, the piece in the right hand is taken home
and bound fast to one of the rafters or attached to the wall,
in which places it is allowed to hang a year. With the act
of tearing, they say: “ In the same way as a part of this
cloth remains here while the other part goes home with us,
mayst thou not altogether depart from us . 57
A custom of the Volga Finns, met with also among the
Ostiaks, is that when the face and the whole body of the dead
have been covered with cloths brought by the friends of the
deceased, a thread, of the length of the deceased’s body, is
laid from its head to its feet, or at times, even three threads
of different colours, “ along which the dead can climb up to
heaven.” By some, this is called the “ swing ” of the dead.
Sometimes a thread of the length of an adult is laid by a
child j “ so that it may in the other world grow to the length
of the thread.” 58
The Cheremiss regard it as essential that the persons watch-
ing by the body through the night should also follow it to
the grave. On the way to the cemetery all who meet the
procession must wish the dead a happy existence, warmth
and light. While the body is being lowered into the grave,
the coffin is lifted up three times, with the saying: “Fear
not! ” The grave is thereafter filled in again, during which
process the relatives of the dead in turn wish it a happy ex-
istence and a calm dwelling-place, and beg that it will not
frighten those near to it, but will protect its former home,
its family, and its herds. In a Karelian “ weeping-song ” for
the graveside, the wish of the dead is expressed, that when
the grave is filled in, a tiny crack, like the way of a mole,
will be left for the soul to move through . 59 When the Volga
Finns return from the graveside each one present sweeps a
little more earth on to the grave from its sides, saying:
“May the earth be light over thee! ” In both ends of the
DEATH AND BURIAL
3i
grave a little branch is stuck into the earth, and threads for
the dead are bound to these. For young girls kerchiefs are
bound to a pole planted in the grave, or to the surrounding
trees. A three-branched candle is lit on the grave . 60
The coffin in which the dead is borne to the grave is, how-
ever, of comparatively late origin. The Eastern Votiaks and
Cheremiss prepare the dwelling-house of the dead first at
the grave, to which the dead is escorted in full panoply, on a
sleigh in the winter, and on a carriage in the summer.
During the journey the widow of the dead sits or lies along-
side it. At the cemetery a low grave is dug, twigs of fir or
birch-leaves being strewn at the bottom} at the sides and ends
a couple of stout boards are then placed, between which the
dead is intended to be laid on its back. As a roof to this
“ house,” in one side-wall of which a window is introduced,
two boards are used . 61 Formerly and in many places at the
present time, especially dur-
ing the winter, the Sam-
oyeds and the most North-
ern Ostiaks had a custom
according to which the dead
were not buried in the
earth, but in a dwelling-
place erected over the
ground. Among the Os-
tiaks and Voguls a tomb of
this description built over
the ground resembles a
little low house. The roof, sloping on both sides, is made
of birch-bark and narrow logs} often this house of the dead is
furnished with a window . 62 Among the Lapps burial-houses
are also found, the roofs of which rise above the ground}
the dead being bedded in them on a layer of moss, reindeer-
hair, etc . 63
A further relic of the times when the above-mentioned cus-
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
32
tom of burial over the ground was prevalent among the Finno-
Ugric peoples, is the custom, met with among the Finns in Ka-
relia, of building, even after the dead had begun to be buried
in the earth, a little house of thin, round logs, carpentered
together, and furnished with a roof and windows. This
building would seem to have little actual meaning for the
dead, since these are buried in the earth, and it must there-
fore be connected with the old method of disposing of the
dead. Perfectly clear examples show how the method of
burial has gradually passed from the erection over the ground
to burial within it 5 an intermediate form being the low grave
which is not filled in again, but only covered with boards and
birch-bark. 64
The development of the dwelling-place of the dead to the
coffin is shown also by the old burial customs of the Finns.
In his work on the Iron Age in Karelia, Schwindt mentions
regarding the ancient burial-places examined by him, that an
erection resembling a house over the ground, joined together
with wood, with jutting-out corners, was lowered into the
grave j it was at times even fitted with a floor of boards, over
which skins were spread. The dead were laid in this building
clad in festive costume, covered most often with birch-bark
and supplied with all kinds of necessary articles. The build-
ing was covered with a roof of boards. A grave of this
description was filled in and covered with one or two layers
of stones. 65 Noteworthy also is the Volga Finns’ custom,
mentioned earlier, of furnishing their coffins with a win-
dow.
Of early origin would seem to be a custom, preserved
among the Ugrians and the Karelian Finns, of burying their
dead bedded in a boat or punt. Even at the present time the
coffin is called the “ punt ” ( ruuhi ) in some parts of Karelia.
Munkacsi has assumed, that the Ugrian custom of using an
oaken punt as a coffin, is a direct outcome of the belief which
they held regarding the world of the dead, and especially of
DEATH AND BURIAL
33
the journey there over water. It is argued against this by
Karjalainen, that the belief in a land of the dead to be reached
over water is not an original belief of the Ugrians. According
to this last investigator, the custom of supplying the dead with
a boat for their last journey, depends solely on the fact that
the dead were regarded as needing a boat in the world beyond,
with which to procure their means of existence . 66 In Russian
Karelia, remains of boats have been found which had not
been used as coffins for the dead, but lie capsized, often
shattered into two parts, over the grave . 07
Fig. 2. Graveyard in Russian Karelia
According to Blomstedt
In the same way as the Ugrians buried their dead in boats,
Lapp sleighs were used by the Lapps as coffins. In more
remote districts the Lapps, even to the present time, continue
to bury their dead in this way: laying sods of earth and
stumps of trees around them, as a protection against beasts of
prey. It is even related that the dead, on occasion, have been
34 FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
buried in a sitting position in a sleigh to which a reindeer was
harnessed . 1,8
A very old custom, which seems to have been general in
earlier times and of which traces can be found among most of
the Finno-Ugric stocks, is the use of a coffin made by hollow-
ing out the trunk of a tree, or a trough, as the protective
covering of the dead. Most of the dead were buried between
two hollowed logs, of which the lower formed the coffin and
the upper one the lid . 09 Among the Siberians such a coffin is
erected over the ground upon two or four pillars.
The oldest method of burial of the Finno-Ugrians is also
made clear by a word, meaning in Samoyed “ corpse ” ( halmer ,
kameloy etc.), in Mordvin “grave” ( kalmo , kalma ), and in
Finnish “ grave ” {kalma) and also “ death ” and “ the scent
of death.” In an explanation of this word Setala says: “ On
the grounds of the meaning of the word both in Finnish and
in Samoyed, we can assume that its original meaning was
£ corpse,’ ‘ the dead one.’ The oldest method of burial un-
doubtedly consisted merely in the laying-out of a body, a
habit prevalent, and followed even now, among many peoples,
which habit would explain why the same word can have the
two meanings ‘ corpse ’ and ‘ grave.’ ” 70
Reliable reports on the burning of bodies are to be found
solely among the Baltic Finns. In certain ancient remains in
Finland, burnt bones have been found in graves. Henry the
Lett relates in his Chronicle how the Esthonians, when they
returned to their old beliefs during the unsettled period of
the Crusades, “ took back their wives, whom they had forsaken
during the time they stood under the influence of Christianity,
exhumed their dead, whom they had buried in cemeteries, and
burned them in their old heathen way.” The other Finno-
Ugric peoples seem to have burned bodies only when the
dead were supposed to be dangerous to those surviving. We
may concur fully with Varonen, who says: “ As, therefore,
no reliable proofs exist concerning the cremation of the dead
DEATH AND BURIAL
35
among the Finno-Ugric stocks, except in those branches, which
continuously, and for the longest period, have been under
Germanic influence, we may conclude that the burning of
the dead did not originally form part of the burial-customs
of the Finno-Ugrians, and, where it may occasionally be found
among them, is merely in the nature of a temporary loan from
other peoples.” 71
The Finno-Ugric peoples bury their dead in certain burial-
areas, which, among the agricultural tribes, are often fenced
in. Every village has its own cemetery, or several villages
lying closely together may have a common one. This comes
from the fact that from the original mother-village, newer
ones have been formed in the course of time, the inhabitants
of which continue to use the burial-area of the original village.
In the same way as the old villages were family-villages, the
old cemeteries were family-cemeteries. That it was not the
custom to bury strangers in them is shown, among other proofs,
by the custom of the Votiaks, who besides their village-
cemetery, sometimes have a special one, often situated by the
main road, for the burial of wandering strangers, stricken by
death during their sojourn in the village .' 2
Usually, the cemetery is a consecrated thicket or wood,
where possible, of firs (Finnish, kuusikko\ where the Votiaks
and the Cheremiss hang up on the trees all kinds of garments,
cloths, kerchiefs, etc., presented to the dead, “ so that they
should not, lying on the ground, be turned to earth.” At
times, even the solitary graves are ringed round. According
to Rytschkov this was done “ so that the dead should not
leave their dwelling-place and trample down the surrounding
fields.” 73 The Eastern Cheremiss have, further, a custom of
placing on their graves a cuckoo made of wood, and fastened
to the end of a long pole .' 4 What the meaning attached to
this bird may originally have been, the present generation no
longer knows. Some say the cuckoo sounds its note for the
edification of the dead. Certain Siberian tribes have also a
3 6 FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
custom of setting up figures of birds on the graves of their
dead.
Whether the use of special cemeteries had its origin already
in Finno-Ugric times is doubtful. According to tradition, the
Lapps, in their earlier periods, did not possess special burial-
places, because their dead were buried at any spot. In the
summer, when it is extremely difficult, and even, at times,
impossible, to transport the corpses to the remote burial-
places, the Lapps have to our day buried their dead in the
forests and on the uplands, wherever they happened to be
dwelling, and then with the arrival of winter removed them
to the churchyard. 75
( -0> v; ; . ; • . /; ••'..) ;
. << I . fi' ' ' r "
• , c. hr.' ) .sr...' ?' : ..
PLATE III
1. Lapp Grave. (See page 36.)
After photograph by T. I. Itkonen.
2. Graves of the Northern Ostiaks erected over
the ground. (See page 31.)
According to Finsch.
CHAPTER III
-
MEMORIAL FEASTS FOR A PARTICULAR
DEAD PERSON
T HE duties of the living with regard to the dead do not
cease when the latter have been carried to the grave
with all honours. The dead continue to need the help and care
of the living. If a dead man is not given his rights, he may
resent it and, coming back, disturb the peace of his survivors.
Such of the dead as haunt their old homes are called by the
Esthonians “home-visitors” (Kodukaiat). Generally, they
are masters and mistresses who in their life-time were par-
ticularly order-loving, economical and strict. They are, of
course, seldom seen, but every now and then they are heard
making noises to remind their family of their duties, or they
may even attack their children if these have not arranged the
memorial-feast due to them . 1
Memorial feasts may be either general ones, celebrated in
memory of all deceased relations, or special, in which case a
certain deceased relative is the object of remembrance. Of
these, the latter seem to be of older origin.
The first memorial feast celebrated in remembrance of a
member of the family, takes place on the actual burial-day,
so that this first feast is at the same time a burial feast.
Lundius, the missionary, relates of the Swedish Lapps, that
when their dead were buried, they drank “ funeral beer.”
When the liquor was handed round, the Lapps first dipped
their fingers into it and smeared their faces. Having become
intoxicated, they began to praise the dead man, saying that he
was shrewd and strong, that he was an able forester, that he
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
38
understood well his wife and children, that he was a mighty
shaman, etc . 2 This wetting of the fingers and smearing of
the face can be traced to a corresponding custom among the
Norwegian Lapps of whom Randulf, the missionary, relates,
that before going to the Lord’s Supper, they used to take a
glass of beer or gin, if they had any, and dipping three fingers
into the drink, make the sign of the cross on their foreheads.
At other times they made, with fingers dipped into the drink,
three dots on the breast, one with each finger. This was done
by the Lapps in order to get their dead relations to protect
them/ The memorial drink, as well as the three finger-
marks, is with the Lapps a later Scandinavian custom.
The custom, however, of killing the reindeer that dragged
the dead man to his grave, seems to be an original Lapponian
usage. This sacrifice performance is described by Rheen, the
missionary, in the following way: — “Three days after the
funeral of the dead man, the Lapps take the reindeer which
conveyed him to the cemetery, kill it in his honour, and con-
sume it in company with their relations and dependants.
They collect all the bones, and having made a chest, put them
into it, burying the chest in the earth. They then make an
image of wood which is placed on the chest, the image being
large or small, according to the size of the dead man.” 4 Ac-
cording to Graan, three rods besmeared with blood, on which
were placed pieces of the heart and lungs of the reindeer, were
also buried with the bones . 5
Even after the funeral feast, the deceased was remembered
by taking some tobacco, or anything else he may have been
fond of, to his grave. Rheen mentions that if the deceased
was a rich man, reindeer were killed in his honour one, two or
even three years after his death. Here also the slaughtered
animal’s bones had to be hidden in the earth. A black piece
of thread had to be sewn into the ear of the reindeer chosen
for the sacrifice . 6
If sacrifices were not made to the dead man, the Lapps
MEMORIAL FEASTS
39
believed that they would be punished with poverty. Accord-
ing to Lundius, the Lapps believe that their reindeer, be they
many or few in number, “ will die after their master, as they
stand or walk, like grass.” 7
If, after the death of the deceased, he was given some
charge, e.g., as reindeer-herd, they were obliged to sacrifice
to him yearly during that time. J. Kildal relates how the
Lapp was able, by means of sacrifice, to make his father or
some other near relation from the lower regions guard his
reindeer for one, two or three years. After that time he
would go back to the dead . 8
The deceased are also remembered at ordinary feasts.
Randulf says that when a Lapp drinks the health of anyone
he always pours one part of the liquor, before drinking, on
the ground, in honour of the spirits, but in particular of the
deceased . 9 Lundius relates that at their feasts, they sacrifice
cheese, meat, fish, fat, marrow and other food, which they
put into a little trough and bury in the earth together with
an image . 10
Like the Lapps, the Samoyeds have no fixed memorial days
or annual feasts in honour of the dead. The reindeer which
dragged the deceased to his grave, is here also sacrificed.
Most frequently it is impaled on the grave, a meal being
sometimes prepared from the meat . 11 Muller says that the
Samoyeds tie up a reindeer or two, if the deceased has had
any, on the grave, where the poor beasts are left to starve to
death. In some districts they believe that the dead need the
care of their relatives until the shaman has taken their
“ shadows ” to the world of the dead. When, for some acci-
dental reason, e.g., during illness, they sacrifice a reindeer or
a dog to the deceased, the sacrifice is performed after sunset,
behind the tent. The head of the sacrificial beast must then
be directed to the west . 12
According to Pallas, the Ugrians of the North take to the
graveyard three of the best reindeer of the deceased on the
40
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
sleighs which follow that on which the corpse lies. Having
placed the body in the grave, they tie a strap to each of a
reindeer’s hindlegs, two men seize the straps and four others
pierce the animal with sharpened poles from different direc-
tions. In this way one reindeer at a time is killed. When a
rich man is buried, several reindeer are killed ; a noose is
placed round their necks and legs, and thus tied, they are
beaten along their backs with poles until they cease to breathe.
An animal killed in honour of the deceased is left on the
grave ; the straps are placed on a stand fixed above the grave
and the sleighs are overturned against it. Near the grave the
funeral meal is cooked, and when they have eaten enough,
the burial guests take the rest home . 13 According to later
custom the best-beloved reindeer of the deceased is killed, the
meat being eaten, and the bones and horns, together with the
sleigh and harness, are placed on the grave . 14
The funeral feast of the North Voguls is described by Gon-
datti. Immediately after burying the dead, they cook some
kind of cereal or meat-dish, which they then pour out against
the coffin. The bottom of the pan is knocked out, after which
it is left by the grave. If the deceased has been conveyed by
reindeer, the latter are strangled by the grave, the meat being
boiled and eaten on the spot, the hide buried, and the bones
placed by the dead man . 15
Like the Lapps, the Ugrians frequently remember their
dead, especially during the first period of their life in Hades.
In most districts, however, they have no fixed memorial days,
but settle these according to agreement with relations. Kar-
jalainen says that the Northern Ugrians celebrate memorial
feasts in honour of a dead man for fifty days, and of a dead
woman, for forty. The ceremonies are very simple: — they
cook some food, and, having kept it at the grave for a while,
they eat it at home. At Tremyugan the dead are remembered
after one or two months, a half-year, or a whole one, by
“ setting forth a dish or a trough made of birch-bark.” Fish
MEMORIAL FEASTS
4i
and meat are cooked and, together with other eatables, placed
in vessels either on the ground by the house against the door
on the side of the hinges, or taken to the cemetery, where
they are put on the ground above the head of the deceased or
below the window of the grave-house, if there is one. On
the ground tea, gravy, gin, and, finally, some cold water are
poured, whence the term “ water-pouring ” is derived . 16
According to Munkacsi, the Northern Voguls celebrate
memorial feasts on the third day after death, then, at the end
of “ the holy week,” and, after that time, thrice a year. They
make a fire by the grave and cook a dish, a small part of which
is placed in a vessel by the grave with the saying: “ Do not
remember us, thinking evil thoughts .” 11 Where outside in-
fluence can be traced, the memorial feasts are celebrated on
carefully fixed days. With the Southern Ugrians, such days
are the ninth, the sixteenth, and thirty-sixth, and a half-year
or a whole year after death . 18
A strange custom among the Northern Ugrians is the
making of a memorial doll of the deceased, of which Novit-
skiy says: “ A curious irrational and shameless custom is that
which is observed by their women after the death of their
husbands. The widow carves a wooden doll, resembling a
human being, to represent her dead husband, takes some of
her husband’s clothes, dresses the doll in them and provides
it with ornaments worn by the deceased, and putting it in the
place where her husband used to sit, cooks for this lifeless
block of wood all the dishes that used to please the deceased.
When they sit down in the place of honour to eat, she places
the image beside her, embracing and kissing the doll as if it
were a living being, fully believing that the deceased sees all
this and that his soul enters this image at times. She keeps
the doll for some time, going on with this nonsense for a
year or even longer, and then buries it with its clothes on in
the earth, exhibiting her sorrow by weeping and wailing.” 19
Castren and Pallas relate that memorial dolls of this descrip-
42
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
tion were made to represent persons who had been in some
way important. The image was kept in the tent of the de-
ceased and was shown the same honours as its precursor. It
was fed at every meal, dressed in the morning and undressed
in the evening, and a widow, who had loved her husband,
even went so far as to place it beside her in bed. According
to Castren the image was worshipped in this way for three
years, after which it was buried. They supposed that the
body of the deceased had disintegrated during these three
years . 20 In some places the image was kept for five years, if
the deceased was a man, and for four, if a woman. In our
days the image is burned after the course of the said time.
Yet the old idea also remains that the doll should be buried in
the grave of the deceased. Where they are in the habit of
building the so-called grave-houses, the doll is placed in these.
During the time when Finsch was travelling among the
Ugrians, he saw, among the most Northern, small buildings
on their graves of the size of kennels, provided with a door,
and within them a doll, dressed in Ugrian garments. These
dolls noticed by Finsch were plainly such as had been taken
to the graveyard at the end of the memorial-time and placed
in the grave-house . 21
The memorial doll is also to be found among some Sa-
moyed tribes, though the custom of making images of shamans
seems here to be more widely spread. According to Lehtisalo,
the Yuraks make a wooden image of the “shadow” of the
shaman, which resembles a reindeer-bull. This image is kept
by the wife or son of the deceased in a case, consisting of the
whole-flayed skin of a young calf . 22 The fact that the
“ shadow ” of the shaman is thus represented, springs from
the idea of the Samoyeds that the soul of the shaman, when
leaving his body, takes on the shape of a reindeer-bull . 23
Karjalainen suggests that the custom of the Northern
Ugrians of making an image of the deceased has developed
from a usage retained among the Southern Ostiaks and Voguls.
MEMORIAL FEASTS
43
Among the latter, the linen and bed-clothes of the deceased
are kept unwashed in his bed, among the former generally
under his pillow. These clothes are brought out at the me-
morial feast and placed in the middle of the bed. A spoon is
then placed in the dishes with its handle directed towards the
clothes. In some places a widow even keeps her late hus-
band’s clothes beside her when going to bed. Karjalainen
thinks that this method of representing the deceased has de-
veloped into the Northern Ugrians’ custom of making a par-
ticular image of the dead . 24 Yet it must be remembered that
the Lapps, who were not in the habit of worshipping the
clothes of the deceased, also used an image every time they
sacrificed to them. This image, which does not seem to have
been an object for worship at home, but was made only for
the occasion of the sacrifice, was not clothed . 25 Among most
of the Finno-Ugrian races the clothes of the dead man are
nowadays considered as visible representations of himself.
This is true of all the Volga peoples. Images are not seen
among them nowadays, but according to the most ancient
sources, the Mordvins seem to have had memorial dolls, which
were worshipped at the memorial feasts. A very common
usage is, further, to choose as the representative of the de-
ceased a living man who resembles him in appearance and
who dresses himself for the feast in the deceased’s clothes.
The fact that even the name of the deceased was later made
into a visible object of remembrance to the survivors, has been
mentioned already when speaking of the karsikko of the
Finns. The name karsikko was also given in North Savolax
to a piece of white paper on which were written the name of
the deceased and the year of his birth and death, this paper
being placed for the funeral day on a cloth spread on the back
wall of the hut . 26
Like the Chuvashes, the Volga Finns celebrate memorial
feasts in honour of some particular person on the funeral
day, and also on the third, the seventh and the fortieth day
44
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
after death. In some districts, the anniversary is also cele-
brated. These memorial feasts are often celebrated late at
night, and the time for them is calculated by the Volga Finns
not according to days but according to the number of nights.
For this reason they call the memorial feast of the third day,
“ the third night,” that of the seventh, “ the seventh night,”
and that of the fortieth, “ the fortieth night.” According to an
old custom, some animal, a hen at the very least, must be
killed during each memorial feast, for without bloodshed, as
the Votiaks say, a memorial feast cannot be celebrated. 27
The Votiaks begin their preparations for the first memorial
feast before the deceased is taken to the burial-ground. As
soon as the dead man is washed and dressed, he is placed on a
bench 5 the eldest female member of the family puts down
two bowls by the body and makes meat pies. The eldest male
member of the family then takes a pie and breaks three pieces
from it, placing these into one of the bowls ; into the other he
pours some gin, saying: “In this life you lived well, live
well also there. Do not torment and worry us. Protect our
cattle well. Protect our children well. Gather the dead
round you. Protect our good cattle from floods and preci-
pices. More I cannot say to you; do not be angry. Live well
in the life over there; do not take hold of us in front or from
behind; do not persecute us.” The eldest member of the
family having finished, the others do and say the same. 28
These ceremonies differ somewhat in different places. In
the district of Sarapul, where they believe that the relatives of
the deceased who died earlier have arrived to meet the new-
comer, they are believed to take part in the feast together
with the deceased. In honour of the latest deceased and of
the others, the men make wax-tapers and the women cook a
hen, if the deceased is a woman, and a cock, if it be a man.
At the door near the fireplace, a trough is placed on which,
as on the head of the bed, little wax-tapers are fixed. Into
the trough pieces of meat are thrown and some gravy poured
MEMORIAL FEASTS
45
when the names of the dead are mentioned, with an appeal to
them to eat and drink and to receive the lately deceased with
a contented mind into their company . 29 Such customs are
common to all the Volga Finns.
When the Esthonians are ready to take their dead to the
grave, they cook beans or peas (which fare among the Baltic
Finns seems to be a general memorial dish), and pour ladle-
fuls of these on to the coffin, on which they also place some
other food, white bread, etc. In some places they are in the
habit of pouring out beer or gin on the ground by the gate
while the deceased is being taken away, lest he should suffer
from thirst in the life to come . 30
Most frequently the Volga Finns, however, prepare the
funeral meal only when they have returned from the grave-
yard. Generally no one is invited to such a feast, but it is
everyone’s duty to know for himself that he must come and
honour the deceased. For the feast, everyone brings food
with him, no one coming empty-handed, and the attention of
the dead is generally called to what each has brought. For
the newly-buried a dish is placed on the table at the spot where
he is supposed to sit among his own people, but for those who
died earlier, a trough is placed by the door. For all the dead,
for the nearest relations and also for more distant ones, whose
memory still lives in the minds of the survivors, a wax taper
is lighted. Even the ruler of the kingdom of the dead and
that of the graveyard are remembered. The first cup and the
first morsels of food belong to the dead. If anything happens
to fall on the floor under the table, no one is allowed to take
it up. The food sacrificed to the deceased is afterwards taken
into the yard for the dogs. If the latter scorn the food, it is
believed that the dead are not satisfied with the feast ; should
the dogs fight while eating it is considered to be a sign that
the dead do not agree among themselves.
For the earlier deceased relations, who have arrived to meet
the newly deceased, there has thus been placed a dish of food
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
46
near the door. This custom is very common, as it is believed
that the place by the door is the place of residence of the
dead who arrive at the memorial feast.
Even to the graveyard all kinds of food are taken, and
there crumbled over the grave of the deceased. In some
places, they dig a pit above the head of the dead man, into
which they pour gin, a honey-drink or water. When doing
this, the Siryans say: “ Drink, drink.” 31
-
Nowadays, the Volga Finns seldom kill larger domestic
animals than poultry for the memorial feasts. Formerly, cir-
cumstances seem to have been different. Olearius relates that
during the first half of the sixteenth century, the Cheremiss,
when burying a rich man, killed his best horse, the surviving
friends eating the meat of the animal . 32 A hundred years
later Muller reports likewise: “ When some important person
dies, the Chuvash and Cheremiss put up two sticks in the yard,
between which they stretch a thick thread. On this thread
they place a ring. The young people then shoot at it with
bows and arrows at a distance of ten paces, and he who first
makes the ring fall, mounts the horse that the deceased used
to drive, but in case of the deceased being a woman, any
horse he may choose, galloping three times to the grave of the
deceased and back. The horse is then killed — the Cheremiss
carrying out this in the yard and the Chuvash in the graveyard
— the meat being boiled and eaten in memory of the
deceased.” 33
Numerous examples show that the Baltic Finns were also
in former times in the habit of killing a large domestic animal
in honour of the dead. Even in our days they believe, in
some places, that if a cow is not killed for the funeral of the
host or hostess, it will die in any case. A remainder of the
said funeral sacrifice is found in a custom among the Finns,
as well as among the Esthonians, of making the clergyman a
present of a cow after the death of the host or hostess, as a
fee for the burial ceremony. The Esthonians were in the
MEMORIAL FEASTS
47
habit of taking an ox to the clergyman after the death of the
host, and a cow after that of the hostess. Sometimes the
clergyman was expected to prepare a meal of these for the fu-
neral guests. In North Karelia the people were in the habit
of tying the cow due to the clergyman to a tree in the grave-
yard for some time, the clergyman having to take it from
there . 34
The different memorial days are celebrated by the Volga
Finns in varying ways, some of them being more solemn than
others. Thus, Georgi relates of the Votiaks, that at the first
memorial feast, which is celebrated on the third day, the
friends of the house of mourning are assembled only to eat
pancakes and drink beer, some of which is also poured out in
the yard for the dead, but on the seventh day a sheep is killed,
and on the fortieth, a cow or a horse . 35
The memorial feast of the third day among the Siryans
(District of Orlov) is described by Dobrotvorskiy. When the
guests have arrived, wax-tapers are lighted in the window
and on either side of the threshold. The door is opened for
a while, when the guests are sitting down at table, to invite
the soul ( lol ) of the deceased to the feast. In the farther-
most corner, a hat or a kerchief is placed, depending on the sex
of the deceased. On the place where the hat has been set
down, no one seats himself. On the table beside it, they
place a bowl filled with pancakes, porridge, milk and gin.
Every guest considers it his duty to put into the bowl of the
deceased some of the food displayed on the table . 36
The memorial feast of the seventh day is, in most places,
like that of the third day. Some one of the relatives of the
deceased goes to the grave to remember him. At home, they
light a candle on the brim of the vessel of food offered to the
deceased. When the first pieces of food are dropped into this
vessel, everyone utters a few words of remembrance, pointing
out that it is now the seventh day of the memorial feast. In
other places the seventh day is kept almost as solemnly as
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
48
the fortieth. The participants in the ceremony go to the grave
with two horses to invite the deceased j they kill a hen for
him, sometimes even a sheep 5 in the evening they go to the
bath-house with him 5 all night he is regaled ; and not until
dawn is he taken back to his new home. 37
According to a general idea of the Volga Finns and of many
other East European peoples, the deceased remains during the
course of forty days in a very near relationship to his old home.
The Votiaks say that the “ soul ” of the dead lives at home
for forty days after death. It is therefore the duty of his
people to show kindness and hospitality to the deceased, par-
ticularly during that time. In some places, it is customary,
during these forty days, to put down a bowl for the deceased
every time the family and servants sit down to take a meal. 38
The Siryans believe that after the funeral, the deceased
returns with the funeral guests to his old home and remains
there for the above-named time. For that time, therefore,
it has been customary to hang up a towel in some fixed place
in the hut, so that the deceased may wipe his face every time
he washes himself. No living soul may touch it, as death
might be the immediate consequence. 39
The Mordvins say that the deceased passes over to the
realm of the dead forty days or six weeks after his death. 40
The same idea is found also among the Baltic Finns who have
been under Russian influence. According to Groundstroem
the Votes dared not speak ill of the dead for six weeks, for
they believed that the soul of the deceased stayed for that time
in his home, mostly under the table. They were careful also
not to stretch their legs under the table, as they might easily
trample on the deceased. 41 Like the Siryans, the Karelians in
the Government of Tver were in the habit of hanging a towel
for six weeks on the back wall of the hut, so that the deceased
when coming home, might wipe himself. 42 A similar custom
is found among the Russians, from whom the Finnish tribes
seem to have borrowed it.
MEMORIAL FEASTS
49
As the forty-days’ memorial feast is at the same time a fare-
well feast, it has attained a particular significance and is cele-
brated more solemnly than the others. Among all the Volga
Finns, the ceremonies observed on this occasion were very
much alike. The following description was taken down by
the author among the Cheremiss in the District of Urzhum,
where, on the fortieth day, they kill a sheep, or at times even a
bigger animal, all the relations, neighbours and friends of the
deceased gathering together. The deceased himself is fetched,
with particular ceremonies, from the graveyard, members of
his own family being chosen to do this. When the sun is
highest in the heavens, the latter put the best horses before a
waggon, take meat and drink with them and drive with great
speed and tinkling of bells to the burial-ground. The cere-
monies had to be as solemn as at a wedding, and all the dead
were to know that they were now coming with two horses to
fetch “ so-and-so ” to the “ great feast.” The horses stop
by the grave, where honey, meat, gin and beer, and also bread,
cheese and pancakes are placed on a white cloth. Uncovering
their heads, those who have come to fetch the deceased now
remind him, kneeling, of the great day that has arrived: “ Get
up (the name of the deceased is mentioned), see what we
have brought thee — honey, mead, gin, beer, bread, butter and
pancakes, get up and eat! The ‘fortieth night’ is nearing,
come with us to the village. At home they have killed a
sheep for thee, thy widow and children await thee, thy rela-
tions want to meet thee. We have not come to thee for
nothing, we have come to take thee to the great feast.” They
then pour out drink on the grave, placing also some food on
it and repeating the words usual at memorial-feasts: “May
this be thy portion ! ” The deceased is called on to bring with
him the relations who died earlier, all the dead fathers and
mothers of the family; even the ruler of the lower world is
invited to the feast. When about to start, they place a soft
cushion in the waggon for the deceased to sit on. Having
50
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
regaled the dead man in every way and tasted of the food
themselves, they ask him to get into the waggon. The de-
ceased may seem shy, or puzzled, so they assure him: “ Thou
knowest us, and thy waggon thou knowest, thine own are the
horses too.” Having shaken up the cushions, the one who
gets into the waggon says: “ Sit down beside me, we will drive
together, we are going home.” Though the seat is empty,
the Cheremiss believes that the shade of the deceased is there.
He often turns to it during the drive and speaks to it. If
several persons have arrived to invite the deceased, the horse
by which he is taken is at the head of the procession. In some
places they drive three times round the grave before returning
to the village.
At the homestead, the widow comes to meet the deceased,
and kneels with her children by the steps. Before them stands
a solemn functionary with bared head, holding bread, cheese
and drink in his hands. He speaks kindly to the dead man,
calls him by name and asks him politely to step into the hut.
The widow and children look at the arriving guests with tears
in their eyes. When the deceased is supposed to have stepped
out of the waggon, the cushion is taken into the hut to a fixed
place where the deceased is asked to sit down. None of
the living people seat themselves on that place, and near it
all his clothes, even his bast-shoes, are hung on the beams.
Pointing to them, the widow says: “ Look, here are thy clothes,
no one has used them, nothing of them have we lost.” They
place meat and drink before the deceased, and when they
suppose him to have eaten enough, the men take him to see
the cattle, the corn-stacks and the farm implements, and it
is even customary to take him to the bath-house to have a
bath. Some of the relations living a long way off have already
arrived, but the feast proper does not begin until the sun goes
down.
Then all the relations and friends of the dead man arrive
at the yard. A common usage is for every family to bring
MEMORIAL FEASTS
5i
with them meat and drink of every kind. The member of
the family who receives the guests, says to the deceased: “ See,
thy friend (the name is mentioned) has brought thee this.”
Besides bringing meat and drink every guest takes also a
small wax-taper with him. The festival mood is heightened
above all by the numerous wax-tapers which are placed near
the back wall on a stand made for the purpose. In the middle
burns a thick wax-taper, one metre in length, twisted out of
three ordinary tapers. To the right of it stands a row of
smaller ones, one for each of the dead man’s relations who
have departed earlier, and to the left each guest places his
taper in honour of the deceased. When they are burnt out
fresh ones are lighted. The “ great taper ” that burns until
dawn has also been lighted for the actual guest of the day.
It is this last who is the object of everyone’s attention.
All eyes are directed towards the cushion on the bench in
the interior of the room below the tapers, where they believe
that the dead man is sitting. The women vie in carrying meat
and drink there j everything cooked is intended for the de-
ceased. Yet the living also get their share. The memorial
feast in honour of the dead man is no real festivity unless
everyone eats and drinks on this occasion. The Cheremiss be-
lieves, just as the Votiak does, that the more sated the guests
are, the more so is the deceased. For this last separate vessels
are set forth 5 a separate trough for meat, bread, pancakes,
pies and eggs, and a large round stoop made of birch-bark for
gin and mead. Every one going up to taste of the meat and
drink kneels by the seat of the deceased and throws or pours
a little into his vessel, inviting him to eat. A small piece of
each part of the slaughtered sheep is also placed in his trough.
Old men remain long kneeling before the deceased imploring
him to protect the family, and also the cattle from falling
down precipices or being torn to pieces by wild animals ; asking
him, further, to make the corn grow, to ward off insects from
the fields, mice from the store-house, etc.
52
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
At midnight the living, at least, begin to feel that they have
had enough. They are all in good humour, the gin-goblets
have been emptied every now and then, and also the “ stoop ”
of the deceased has gradually filled. The bag pipe which
until now has lain mute, tucked into the shirt-front of its
owner, is now brought out, and one and another invite the
“ shade ” of the deceased to come and dance. No one keeps
in his seat, all swing and whirl around. The tired hands can
hardly longer make fresh tapers and put them up. Even
the widow and children have for a while forgotten their grief.
Many old men move now only mechanically, and some of
them have already gone to sleep in the corners.
But there are people among them who have strength enough
to watch. The dancing and the murmur of the people cease
for a moment. Curiosity increases, when some one near the
door exclaims: “The dead man is coming,” upon which a
person, looking very dignified, steps into the hut and takes the
seat of the deceased. The widow hastens to embrace him,
calling him her husband, the old men press his hand, calling
him by the name of the deceased. The Cheremiss choose
some one resembling the dead man in size and appearance,
and for the night this substitute is dressed in the dead man’s
clothes. He is called “ the representative of the deceased,”
and every politeness and kindness is consequently shown him.
Every one wishes to regale him in the best possible way with
meat and drink, especially drink. The “ dead man ” relates
his observations on life beyond the grave and advises his re-
lations to remember him, to live in harmony and avoid quarrel-
ling, to work and to be economical. The survivors, for their
part, ask for the protection of the dead man.
The tapers gradually begin one after the other to go out,
only the biggest of them is still burning, when one of the
old men, coming in, wakes up the sleeping people, saying:
“ The day is dawning, the dead man wants his rest.” The
languid people then bestir themselves, as before sunrise the
MEMORIAL FEASTS
53
dead man must be conveyed with all honours to the peace of
the grave. But first a prayer is said, all kneeling and turning
their faces in the direction of the seat of the deceased. He
is told that it is now time for him to depart for his home
among the other dead. They wish him a pleasant time, advise
him to make friends with the “ old Cheremiss,” by which
name they mean those who have departed before. The latter,
who are considered to be present, are also addressed with good
wishes : “ May you have bread and salt over there in abun-
dance, do not go away from us hungry and thirsty, be rich
and happy, walk in light, help us too, to live, do not frighten
us, do not forget our cattle and do not disperse our family.”
Then one of them takes the taper-stand, another the food-
trough, a third the drinking-vessel, and the others, with the
widow at their head, carry the dead man’s clothes, and thus
they go out into the yard, the u representative ” being the
foremost. From the yard they step out into the village
street, wending their way to the burial-place. The women
weep aloud. They do not, however, walk all the way there,
but the procession stops at a hill situated outside the village,
where the rest of the burning tapers and the food and drinks
are thrown down. Even here, they remember the deceased,
wishing him a happy existence and exhorting him to live in
comfort in the society of those already there, and asking him
not to come home, at least not as an uninvited guest. Besides
giving him meat and drink, he is presented, on his departure,
with a wooden spoon and cup, which are shattered on the spot,
for otherwise — so say the Cheremiss — the dead man does
not get them.
It is usual among the Hill Cheremiss to kill a horse for the
memorial feast of the fortieth day, if the deceased is a man,
and a cow, if a woman. During the feast all the meat must
be consumed, as it is not right to reserve festival food for the
next day. The vessels and tapers of the deceased are here
placed by the threshold. When sacrificing to the deceased,
54
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
his own people say: “ In thy memory have we prepared meat
and drink} we, thy relations and neighbours, have all as-
sembled. Do not take it amiss if we have not entertained thee
enough, forgive us if we have hurt thee in thy lifetime, do
not be angry with us, and do not punish us by sending us
diseases and other misfortunes. Together with our friends
and comrades, we wish you, all ye dead ones, to be satisfied
with our feast} now go back to your dwelling, sated, singing
and dancing.” The deceased is then conveyed with music
and singing to a fixed place, where they put up in his honour
a little table with one foot. On this table, which is called
“ the table of the deceased,” they place a vessel for food and
three spoons. In some parts it is customary to lay a long pole
across chasms or rivulets, should any such be in the neighbour-
hood, so that the dead man may be able to cross them. The
pole is called the “ bridge of the deceased.” This seems to be
a symbol of the “bridge of the realm of the dead,” across
which, according to an idea descending from Iran, the de-
ceased had to wander to the other life . 43
Among the Eastern Cheremiss in the District of Rirsk it is
also customary, in some places, to go to bed on the fortieth
night. After the music, the dancing, and the entertainment
are over, the widow takes to her the cushion on which the
deceased is supposed to have been sitting during the feast and
says: “ Still for the last night will we sleep together.” Early
next morning the dead man is ceremoniously conveyed with
two horses back to the burial-ground . 44
In the province of Perm the Cheremiss are in the habit
of making one of the dead man’s relatives ride on horseback
to the burial-ground to invite the deceased. Having fulfilled
his task, the rider returns to the village at full gallop, crying:
“ He is coming, he is coming.” At the same moment, the
waiting crowd rush at the panting horse with knives in their
hands, slaughtering it at once. The meat of the horse is then
MEMORIAL FEASTS
55
boiled and eaten, but the hide is hung over the grave of the
dead man . 45
-
Similar ideas and customs are observed also among the
Mordvins. The dead man is fetched from the graveyard by
the horse promised him for sacrifice. The one who has dressed
himself in the clothes of the deceased relates his experiences
and describes the work of the dead, saying, among other things,
that such and such a person has fine horses, another walks in
the forest, this one has lost his property, that one has married,
such a one keeps bees, etc. Among other curious customs
occurring at funeral festivities, it may be mentioned here
that the Mordvins even make the “ dead man ” fell trees, if
he wishes it. They place the man who has dressed himself
in the clothes of the deceased on a chair provided with a
cushion, put a big knife into his hand and then carry him
sitting on the chair out of the hut to the drying-kiln, where,
beforehand, they have stuck a twig into the ground. The
dead man begins to chop it down with all his might. The
“ tree ” having been felled, the deceased is carried back to
the hut, taking the “ tree ” with him. At dawn the repre-
sentative of the dead man is taken to the graveyard, where
he is carried from the waggon on the cushion on which he has
been sitting, and seated on the grave of the deceased with his
back to the east. At his feet the others lay pancakes, mutton,
etc., asking the dead man to eat together with them for the
last time. Then, having eaten, they say good-bye to the de-
ceased, asking him to come again at harvest-time, when also
his portion is to be reaped. The deputy bows and hastily
steps from the grave . 46
Of the Siryans it is related that at the memorial feast of a
deceased female a woman appears as the principal guest of
the feast, and, at that of a male, a man, who, at the close
of the feast is the first to go out of the hut, attended by the
others with candles in their hands, for, according to their
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
56
ideas, the deceased withdraws from the hut in the person of
his deputy. In some places the latter is accompanied as far
as the first cross-road. 4 '
In Ingria the people used to go with food to the grave at
the “ six weeks ” festival, in order to invite the deceased to
the feast. Having returned home, they put the food on the
table with a spoon in it, which no one was allowed to touch.
Moreover, the eldest member of the family scattered some
salt, peas and slices of egg on the table for the benefit of the
dead. During the repast, a woman in the entrance sang a
“ weeping-song,” in which the deceased were implored to join
the circle of relations. After the repast these went, in the
order in which they left the table, out of the door into the
village street, turning their faces in the direction of the grave-
yard. At the same time each one stuck a fire-stick or a twig
into the ground, as a walking-stick for the dead man . 48
In Russian Karelia it was customary, when the relations
were going to the graveyard to invite the deceased to the feast,
to take with them, besides the other horses, one that was with-
out a driver and harnessed to an empty sleigh over which
was spread a white cloth, for the purpose of conveying the
deceased to his former home . 49
In some districts, among the Siryans and the Volga races,
there seems to have been the custom to celebrate also the
anniversary with a farewell feast.
According to the Eastern Votiaks the deceased then first
leaves his own people, among whom his “ soul ” ( urt ) has
up to that time lived and thriven. To accompany the deceased
all the relations arrive \ a sheep or a cow is killed for the feast,
and some of the food is taken to the grave. The white piece
of cloth which on the funeral day had been fixed to a rafter,
is also taken there and solemnly buried in the grave. After
that day the clothes of the dead man, which up to then had
been carefully kept and only produced on the occasion of
great memorial feasts, could be given away to the poor . 50
PLATE IV
At the Grave. Ingermanland
(See page 56.)
After photograph by J. Lukkarinen.
MEMORIAL FEASTS
57
According to one report the Votiaks believe that if they do
not celebrate a memorial feast then, the dead will not give the
new-comer a place in their community, but will make him
continue to wander about the village, as the deceased had done
in the course of the year . 51
The anniversary is celebrated by the Eastern Cheremiss,
in the District of Birsk, in such a manner that all the clothes
of the deceased are hung upon his favourite horse, which is
then taken to the grave and led three times round it. They
light a three-branched candle on the grave, saying at the same
time to the dead man that the anniversary has arrived and
promising to kill the horse in his honour. Having arrived at
the homestead, the horse is killed at once and a memorial
meal prepared of its flesh. While sacrificing, the relations
say to the deceased: “ Eat what we have prepared for thee;
we have not harnessed thy horse, we have not used it, now
take it with thee.” At the end of the feast, the bones of the
horse are taken to the graveyard, where they are hung in a
tree, but the hide is sold for the benefit of the poor and the
fatherless . 52
In honour of particular persons the Votiaks further cele-
brate a remarkable memorial feast, which, however, does not
take place at a specially fixed time, but sometimes a year or
several years after death.
This festivity, which is generally celebrated late in autumn,
is called by the Votiaks a “ horse-wedding ” or “ the wedding
of the dead,” these names being derived from the fact that
it is, above all, a cheerful feast with wedding-songs and wed-
ding-presents. The sacrificial animal, which is generally
killed in the yard, must be a horse, if the deceased in question
is a man, but a cow, if a woman. In some places where the
memorial feast is celebrated the first year after death, the
animal which the deceased liked best and which he used in his
lifetime, is generally sacrificed to him. All his relations are
invited, these alone partaking of the sacrificial meal, as it is
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
58
against custom to invite strangers. The most important per-
formance consists of the taking of the animal’s bones in the
evening, by candle-light, with music and singing, to the grave-
yard, where they are hung upon a tree . 53
A curious custom among the Mordvins is the “ harvest of
the dead.” Already when sowing in spring they pray to the
Lord to let the corn grow for the welfare of the living and
the dead. During the harvest-festival the relatives of the
deceased also reap the portion of the dead man, each of them
cutting only a few straws. The chief part is played by the
widow, who all day wears a belt of straw made by herself.
Cattle are slaughtered for this feast . 54 Among the Siryans,
traces of a memorial feast in the harvest-field have also been
found . 55
Besides feasts decided on beforehand, particular memorial
feasts are occasionally celebrated for some special reason. Ac-
cording to a general idea, the dead may remind the living in
in a dream, or by all kinds of signs, of their wishes. Memorial
feasts are chiefly celebrated in such cases of illness as have
been declared by a wise man to originate from some one among
the dead. Among the Mordvins, the patient must then creep
on all fours to the grave of the deceased to ask his forgive-
ness . 56 Should an animal — a horse or a cow — disappear
from the pasture-land, or go astray in the forest, one of the
dead relations, according to the Votiaks, has hidden away
the animal. Wax-tapers are then lighted, and just as at the
memorial feasts, food is sacrificed to the dead, in the hope that
they will not keep the animal, but drive it home. Even little
adversities, such as a failure in distilling brandy, or the loosen-
ing of a wheel on a journey, the restlessness of a baby, etc.,
may become reasons for preparing a memorial feast . 57 A
widow, at least, must always be on the lookout. If the
Cheremiss woman’s back aches, she believes that her deceased
husband has had sexual connexion with her during the night.
Then she must light a wax-taper and sacrifice to the dead
-
PLATE V
Sacrificial Tree of the Dead Among
the Eastern Votiaks
(Government Permission)
(See page 56.)
Water-colour by V. Soldan-Brodfeldt.
MEMORIAL FEASTS
59
man, saying: “ Make me well again. Here are pancakes and
a candle, eat and do not touch me any more.” 58 The customs
of Finnish widows are described by Agricola in the following
words: “The deceased (Manninkaiset) also received their
offerings when widows re-married.”
CHAPTER IV
GENERAL MEMORIAL FEASTS
B ESIDES memorial feasts in honour of some particular
person, general ones are also celebrated, on which occa-
sion all the deceased belonging to the family are remembered.
Such feasts are called by the Cheremiss “ taper-feasts,” be-
cause then, as at memorial feasts in general, a number of wax-
tapers are lighted. The Volga Finns seem to have two sepa-
rate memorial feasts each year, namely, one in spring at
Easter-time, and another in autumn, at the end of field-labour.
General memorial feasts are here celebrated either in such
manner that every family circle remembers its own dead by
itself, or that related families assemble at the house of the
head of a greater family, to celebrate in common the memory
of their mutual dead relations. At times even the whole village,
which in that case is a so-called family-village, will celebrate
in common the memory of its dead. Nowadays the first-
named way would seem to be most in use, but in many places,
even up to our days, remainders of the last-named also have
survived.
The ceremonies observed at the general memorial feasts
recall very much those of the special ones. To every relation
kept in memory a wax-taper is lit, meat and drink being also
sacrificed. To those no longer remembered a mutual taper
is also lighted. When crumbling bread and pouring gin into
the trough of the dead the Votiaks say: “ Ye long ago de-
ceased, may this food we are sacrificing to you reach you.”
In some places a farewell feast is still celebrated on the morn-
ing of the next day.
GENERAL MEMORIAL FEASTS
6 1
When the memorial feast lasts a day and night, the family
must see that the dead are not bored in any way and that
they do not go away hungry from the feast. In order to
amuse their dead relations, the Votiaks, among other things,
take them for a walk. They believe that near to every par-
ticipant in the feast there is a dead person of the same age,
who in his life-time was more intimate with him than with
anybody else, and it is therefore the duty of every participant
to amuse and regale the soul in his vicinity. According to the
belief of the Votiaks the deceased does everything that his
living relation of equal age does; the more cheerful the par-
ticipant is, the more cheerful is his dead friend; the more
sated he is, the fuller is the deceased. From this it follows
that, at the memorial feast, people eat and drink as much as
possible, so that the dead need not go away hungry. For the
same reason, it is not proper to work on this occasion, so as
not to vex the deceased by not only not amusing him, but by
actually compelling him to work. Therefore, also, people
do not go to bed during a memorial feast, as the deceased
who has been in company with the sleeping, might easily
sleep too long and thus remain among the living when the
other dead are taken to the burial ground . 1
The most remarkable of all the Volga peoples’ memorial
feasts is the one celebrated during Easter-week. The night
before Maundy Thursday is called “ the wandering-night of
the dead ” by the Votiaks. They believe that all the dead
then move about. On the night before, after sunset, these
rise from their graves and make for the villages. At night
one can even see them, if one turns one’s clothes inside out,
and, putting a horse-collar round one’s neck, goes up on the
roof of the house. But during this time the Votiaks take many
precautions. Thus, they do not work, nor do they heat the
oven, nor may they bring anything to the house, or take any-
thing away from it. In many places, they do not even feed
the cattle, at least not with their hands, the food being pushed
6 2
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
before the animals with their feet. In some parts the young
people are warned not to take even a stick or a distaff into
their hands, as the one who does this will be bitten by a snake
the following summer. In the night-time everything must be
still. Food must be set forth on every table, and it is even
carried to the bath-house, where the dead go to have baths.
During the feast, they place on a bench by the door pancakes,
pies, bread, cheese, eggs, etc., for the dead, and, in addition two
empty vessels, on whose brim they fix a little home-made wax-
taper for each of the dead relations retained in memory. On
the bench spoons are also placed for the invisible hands of
the spirits. When throwing food and pouring drink into the
vessels set forth for the dead, the Cheremiss say: “ Dead
people, eat, drink, give us health, peace, success and wealth;
multiply our cattle, make our corn grow, give us a good wind
for cleaning the corn, and protect us from destruction by fire,
water and evil spirits! ” In other places the door is opened,
and food is thrown over the threshold, with the saying: “Ye
deceased, eat and drink, do not be angry, do not go away
hungry, may ye live in light in the other world, may the
earth on your graves feel light, do not torment us, the sur-
vivors, with illnesses, do not attack our cattle and do not worry
us with other calamities!” The names of all the relations
retained in memory are mentioned at the feast. At the same
time the ruler of the graveyard is remembered. Even to the
dead that have no surviving relations they light a mutual
taper and throw some morsels of food. When the ceremonies
are over, the food of the dead is carried out into the yard,
where it is eaten by the dogs . 2
With this feast are frequently connected all kinds of pro-
tective ceremonies. Pervuchin relates of the Votiaks that on this
occasion they collect all sorts of weapons and go to the nearest
forest, shooting and shouting, in order to chase away wolves
and other beasts of prey. Having returned, they take a scythe,
a shovel or a spade, and some ashes from the hearth and draw
GENERAL MEMORIAL FEASTS 63
a ring round their houses to protect them from evil spirits,
who at this time are abroad everywhere. When going to bed,
they burn juniper in the hut, and shut the windows, the smoke-
hole and the openings under the floor, lest the spirits should
get in. In some places the young men sit armed all night on
the roof of the hut or the store-house to watch for these.
The spirits generally appear in the shape of a cat or a dog,
sometimes even in that of a wolf. Next morning, in the
yard, a fire of straw is made, over which the members of the
family jump one after another, to purify themselves. 3
The idea that the spirits of the dead walk about early in
spring is a common one among the Slavic and other East
European peoples. During the Christian era the above festival
coincided with the Easter festivities, but, in some parts, the
Cheremiss have retained for it a more original time, namely,
the first new moon in the month of March. 4
From the Russians, the above ideas reached the Orthodox
Esthonians, who were in the habit of celebrating a similar
memorial feast on Easter morning. The hostess spread a
clean table-cloth in the yard near the gate, and placing on it
every kind of food, milk, cheese, butter, meat, pies, etc., she
began calling the dead relations, saying: “Come, (the names
are mentioned), come yourselves and bring your children with
you, come and partake of our food and our drink! I invite
you in hospitable mood, with a tender heart} I serve you first,
and help myself afterwards.” Having kept silence for a
while, in order to give the dead people time to eat and drink,
she then began counselling them to return : “ Go away, let
it be enough of eating and drinking, go where ye were taken,
each to his place } lead the children by the hand, go away!”
The food of which the deceased had had their portion, was
taken back to the hut and placed on the table, round which
the family sat down to eat. 5
According to a general belief among the Baltic Finns, the
dead move about in autumn. The month of October is called
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
6 4
by the Esthonians “ the time of the spirits ” (Hingede aeg)
or “ the month of the spirits ” (Hingekuu). Occasionally,
this time lasts until November, which not infrequently is
called “ the month of the dead ” (Kooljakuu). The Catholic
festivities of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day were more
especially devoted to the dead. During these days it was
not permitted to shout or make a noise, huts were cleaned,
and food was set forth at night for the dead. The festivity
coinciding with the Catholic All Saints’ Day was called by the
Finns, Kekri, of which Agricola says: “ Kekri multiplied the
cattle.”
The oldest description of the Kekri-feast is to be found in
E. Castren’s narration about the neighbourhood of Kajana in
1754. He says that the Kekri-feast or All Saints’ Day was
celebrated in two different ways: partly in the pagan manner
in honour of the ancient Finnish god Kekri, partly in the
Catholic way, in honour of all the saints. According to the
heathen custom, a half-year-old sheep was killed either in
the evening before the feast-day or very early the next morn-
ing. The sheep was boiled, the bones being kept intact, and
it was not allowed to be tasted, not even to try its saltness,
before the carcase had been served whole on the table. Then
it had to be eaten until the last morsel had gone and no re-
mains were left. By Kekri other spirits also were meant, for
whom all sorts of eatables and drinkables were prepared on
the evening before the feast day, some in the cow-house for
the welfare of the cattle, others in the stable for luck with
horses, others under big trees and by huge stones in the fields
or in the forest, and yet others in all these places at once.
According to the Catholic way, the host received the saints
outside in the yard, in the darkness of the evening before the
feast, taking them to the bath-house, which had been particu-
larly cleaned and heated for their use and provided with cold
and hot water and “ bath-brooms.” A table with meat and
drink had also been placed there. The host waited on these
GENERAL MEMORIAL FEASTS 65
guests at certain fixed times, and finally, on the evening of
the following day, All Souls’ Day, late and in the dark, with
bared head, and pouring on the ground some beer and brandy,
he took his guests out of the yard. If, after the baths of the
“ saints,” there were straws in the water, it was the sign of a
good harvest, but if there were instead chips of wood or bits
of coal, it was a presage of famine. 6
To the celebration of the Kekri-feast belonged, further,
the custom of disguising oneself in curious costumes. Masks
for the face were made of birch-bark, paper, etc. People,
masked in this way, were called Kekritar. The latter wandered
unknown from house to house, from village to village, threat-
ening to pull down the ovens of the house, should these un-
common guests not be abundantly regaled and entertained.
During All Saints’ time it was also customary to regale beggars
with food.
As at the New Year’s festivities, the people tried to make
the spirits reveal coming events. The custom of casting tin,
and foreseeing events from the figure formed when the molten
tin was poured into water was of this character. Or, on the
night before Kekri, they walked under the windows to listen
to what was being talked about in the hut, and, from the con-
versation going on there, to infer what would happen during
the following year. Further, in the evening, they would
count the sticks in the oven, and if they were all there in the
morning, no one needed to trouble himself about possible
deaths in the following year, but otherwise there would be as
many deaths at the house as the number of the absent sticks
indicated. When making bread they took from the straw
as many ears of corn (rye) as there were members in the
family and pressed them into the bread. The one whose ear
was burnt up during the baking, would die before the next
Kekri-feast. When the loaves were taken out of the oven,
the master of the house cut a piece from one and let it
fall on the table. If the piece happened to fall with the
66
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
crust downwards, life would go well during the year; other-
wise some disaster was to be expected. In some neighbour-
hoods it was, moreover, customary, on the evening before All
Saints’ Day, to place on the window-sill one grain of salt for
each member of the family. He whose grain of salt melted
during the night, was to die. It was also customary to burn
Kekri-fires, most probably for the purpose of driving away
spirits. The fire was burnt on some hill and was made of
oakum mixed with straw. 7
A corresponding feast is known also among the Esthonians
and seems to be common among the Baltic Finns, though the
wandering-time of the dead has later been influenced by the
Catholics, who, since 835, have celebrated the first of Novem-
ber as All Saints’ Day and, since 998, the second of November
as All Souls’ Day. The name kekri or keyri seems further
to be known among the Russian Lapps ( kevre y kovre y “ a
sacrifice ”). 8
In Western Finland the belief prevails that the spirits
walk at Christmas. Even in our days young people are
in the habit of dressing up and masking themselves at Christ-
mas and going about the farms, where they are called
“ Christmas Mothers.” This custom together with the idea
behind it is borrowed from Scandinavia. Like the Scandi-
navians, the Lapps also believed that at Christmas the dead
left their underground dwelling and set out to wander through
the woods and fells. For this reason, the children had to keep
still during that time; if they made a noise, ghosts would
appear. When, on Christmas night, the shamans sat at the
entrance of their dwelling, they felt the spirits climbing over
their legs into the tent. Food, and particularly some water,
had to be set out when the spirits came. In order to protect
their wells from being destroyed by the spirits, the Lapps used
to throw pieces of metal into the water on “ the most danger-
ous evening.” If they did not treat the underground people
well, these might take a cruel revenge, e.g., suck out the brain
GENERAL MEMORIAL FEASTS 67
from a man’s head. These spirits, walking about at Christmas,
were called by the Lapps, “ the Christmas people.” 9
The keeping of Christmas by the Swedish Lapps in heathen
times is described by the missionary Graan, who says that the
Lapps then collected morsels from all the dishes prepared
for the feast and put them into a small trough of birch-bark,
shaped like a little sailing-boat with masts, sails and oars.
They then searched out the tallest pine-tree near the tent,
and into the tree nearest the pine they put the boat as high
up as their hands would reach, but in the trunk of the pine
they cut round figures on four sides. Into each
of these, every man in the village who had put
food into the trough, had to throw three spoon-
fuls of fat with his left hand. According to
Graan they also used to set up a tree, four yards
high, with twigs set half-way up it. This tree Lapp Christmas
was smeared with blood from a slaughtered
reindeer on Christmas Eve, and on its branches were put mor-
sels of the animal’s lungs, heart, tongue and lips. 10
Mallmer relates that at Christmas they made boats of fir,
three-quarters of a yard long, with masts, which were then
dedicated to “ the Christmas Master.” The boat with its
masts was smeared with reindeer-blood and here and there the
sign of the cross was drawn on it. 11 Hogstrom adds that the
sailing-boats were placed in tall trees, not in a hanging posi-
tion, but resting on branches. Even the pine was marked with
the sign of the cross and was smeared a good way upwards
from its root with reindeer blood. Moreover, it had been
customary, he says, to hang up a trough of birch-bark in tall
trees which were carved on two sides and marked with the
sign of the cross. Into the trough Christmas food, fish, cheese
and milk were laid. On its rim were stuck two spade-like
sticks, one foot long (most probably, as oars). This sacrifice
was made to a spirit called Ruotta, “ to prevent it from pierc-
ing the womb of the women.” 12
Fig. 3.
68
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
This sailing-boat sacrifice among the customs of the Lapps,
cannot fail to attract attention, as the Lapps themselves did
not use sailing-boats. With reason does Fritzner therefore
compare the “ Christmas people ” of the Lapps, who are fur-
thermore worshipped in connection with a foreign feast, with
the Icelanders’ Jolasveinar, who were also believed to move
about at Christmas . 13 Remains of this belief are met with still
in our days everywhere in Scandinavia. In Lapland the above-
named custom of sacrificing is limited to the Lapps of Scan-
dinavia.
A common feast in honour of the deceased, celebrated at a
time agreed upon by the relations, has been retained in East
Karelia. This feast was arranged by the owner of a farm
agreed on beforehand. Many animals were killed, and the
invited relations and friends brought with them food in abun-
dance. For the deceased a cloth was spread in a separate
room on a separate table, on which something, a spoon or a
dish, had to be laid every day for nine weeks. Into the walls
of the room many nails were driven, for the deceased to hang
their clothes on. The day before the feast the food was put
on the table, round which empty chairs were placed. The
windows were opened, after which all the family went to the
burial-ground to invite the deceased to the feast. Everyone
invited his kinsfolk, the women weeping aloud: “ Come and
bring with you your relations unto the ninth generation! Kins-
folk, bring all your acquaintances with you!” 14
According to the oldest sources, the Mordvins were earlier
in the habit of celebrating from time to time, after a longer
period, e.g., fifty years or so, a great common feast for a
large family, in honour of the deceased . 15
It is customary among the Cheremiss to celebrate a memorial
feast also in honour of the unknown deceased who have no
relations in life. Such deceased are called Utumo. Nowadays
these feasts are customary only among the Eastern Cheremiss.
The feast is celebrated in the village community in summer
-
GENERAL MEMORIAL FEASTS 69
when many insects and larvae have appeared in the fields,
hindering the growth of the crops. The guests put on their
holiday attire, and the ceremonies, which resemble those at a
wedding, are led by a host, who is called the “ head of the
wedding.” The “ wedding-women ” also appear, wearing
round their shoulders beautiful shawls embroidered with silk,
and also the “ wedding-dancers,” who are commanded by a
leader with a whip to which a bell is fixed. Further par-
ticipants in the festivity are a drummer and a bagpiper. As
in a wedding-procession — only without a bride and bride-
groom — the villagers, carrying with them pancakes, bread,
beer and brandy, with the functionaries and pipers at their
head, go to the corn-field, round which they drive or walk
three times, following the sun. Every now and then the
procession stops, a wax-taper is lighted and the festival food
is tasted, part of which is also sacrificed to the dead. All the
time music is played and wedding-songs sung. In the mean-
time the old people have started for the burial-ground, where
a black ox is to be sacrificed to the Utumo. The killing, the
cooking of the sacrifice-meat, and the eating of it take place
by the burial-ground, outside its enclosure. Having marched
or driven round all the corn-fields of the village, the wedding-
procession also arrives at the graveyard. Thinking of the
Utum5, everyone places a wax-taper on the fence. A prayer
noted down by the author in the District of Birsk runs thus:
“Utum man, Utum woman, protect our fields from larvae,
from butterflies! A large ox has been killed, come with your
family and eat. Do not touch the corn!” After the meal
the ox-hide is cut into one narrow strip, long enough to sur-
round the whole of the burial-ground. The bones of the ox
and certain parts of the meat are buried in the earth. The
sacrifice is, however, not often performed immediately; fre-
quently it is enough to make only a promise, which is done
in this way: — a bast-rope is wound by the old people of the
village round the tree dedicated to the Utumo in the grave-
70
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
yard. If the rope is wound one, three, five or seven times
round the tree, this means that the sacrifice will be per-
formed after so many years. The number must always be an
odd one. The old promise-rope is not burnt till the sacrifice
is performed. On account of its similarity with the wedding-
ceremonies, this memorial feast is called “ Utum-wedding.”
At times a single family must also perform an Utum-sacri-
fice. If there are many mice in the store-house, it is, accord-
ing to the Cheremiss, a sign that the Utumo claim a memorial
feast. It is generally not celebrated at once, but the father
of the family goes to the forest and hunts up as large a piece
of lime-bark as possible, which he then twists into a rope and
winds nine times round the aforesaid tree. Thus they need
not perform the sacrifice till nine years later. In the wedding
ceremonies only the members of the family participate. This
time they do not go to the corn-field, but instead wander three
times round the farm-yard, going into the store-house, the
larder and the cow-house. The sacrifice, which also now
consists of a black ox, is performed, cooked and eaten at the
burial-place . 16
Only a few of the innumerable dead can, in the long run,
avoid the fate of the Utumo, the identity of which becomes in
time quite effaced from the memory of the living. Castren
says of the Samoyeds that only their shamans remain “ im-
mortal.” However, some other remarkable persons, such as
famous ancestors, princes, heroes, etc., may be retained for a
longer time in the memory of their survivors and be wor-
shipped as household-gods and heroes.
The importance of ancestor worship in the social life of
the Finno-Ugric races will be further seen from their belief
that their deceased ancestors did not only create their customs
and found their religion, but even now protect and watch
over them. The Votiaks say that if the present people begin
to neglect the customs and usages of their ancestors, they will
be punished with diseases and years of famine.
GENERAL MEMORIAL FEASTS
7i
The near connexion between the worship of ancestors and
an instinctive nationalistic feeling, is very vividly described
by the Norwegian missionary Isaac Olsen (f 1730) in his
account of the Lapp’s belief in his underground spirits, whose
dwellings, clothes and language are perfectly similar to those
of the Lapps living above ground. The underground people
exhort the Lapps to “ have just such dwellings, ceremonies
and customs, clothes and language and other things as the
living have seen among the dead, impressing this especially
upon the shamans, whose duty it is to instruct the others and
educate them by a wise discipline. They speak the Lapp
tongue with them, as this language is the best of all, and warn
them not to speak any other language than that spoken by
their gods, which was created by their first shamans, the spirit-
folk, and other ancient beings. This they must do, if they
wish to live long and happily, to have success in their trades,
and to keep themselves and their cattle in good health.” 17
CHAPTER V
THE LIFE BEYOND
T HE MANNER in which life beyond the grave was
regarded appears plainly from the burial ceremonies.
The Lapps say that they fit out the dead with provisions and
various implements “ so that these may satisfy their hunger,
go fishing, or chop wood, as they did before, while alive.” 1
The “ ancient Cheremiss ” till and sow their fields over there,
practise cattle-raising, hunt, fish, keep bees, marry and go
visiting each other. As in their former life, the dead can
suffer from cold and hunger . 2 To help protect them from
cold, the Voguls, when they have warmed themselves in the
open at a fire of logs, leave a few pieces of wood behind in
order that the dead may also be able to warm themselves . 3
The dead may even find themselves in situations of mortal
danger in the life beyond. The Mordvins and Cheremiss
believed that the dead, having lived for a certain period in the
underworld, could die a second time . 4
A general belief is that the life beyond is lived under the
earth. The passage occurs in a Vogul song: “ The dead
people go to the land below ”j also, in Ostiak folk-poetry we
read: “We arrive at the sea belonging to the man living in
the underworld.” 5 In its nature this underworld resembles
the world we live in in everything, with the exception that,
seen with our eyes, everything there would appear inside out
or upside down. The Lapps believe that the dead walk
there with the soles of their feet against ours. According to
the Samoyeds the same rivers and streams exist there, but
flow in opposite directions. The tops of trees there grow
THE LIFE BEYOND
73
downward; the sun rises in the west and sets in the east. The
life of those over there runs also contrary to ours; they be-
come younger and grow smaller with the years, until they
disappear and become nothing or are born into the family
again as children. In this way, the “ shade ” lives as long in
the underworld as its predecessor on the earth . 6 The Ostiaks
say that the dead dwindle in the end to a little beetle . 7
The belief that everything is topsy-turvy in the under-
world, appears also in the worship of the dead. From this
springs the custom of washing the dead, or sacrificing to them,
with the left hand. When the Mordvins reap the portion
of the dead, they hold the sickle by the blade, throwing it
backwards over their heads . 8 To sacrifice backwards, contrary
to the sun’s motion, with clothes inside-out, or to place the
offering upside-down on graves, is characteristic of the Finno-
Ugrian cult of the departed. The idea of an inverted world
seems to have been derived from the reflection seen in the
water.
Just as the villages were formerly family-villages and the
graveyards contained only members of the same family in
their ground, it is believed that the dead live together in
villages, the coffin of each of their inhabitants forming their
private “ houses.” The Volga Finns call the first one to be
buried “ the graveyard ruler he is supposed to keep order
in the graveyard-community, and at commemoration feasts
a special candle is lit for him and food is sacrificed. That
discipline is actually upheld in the underground village is
shown by the Votiaks’ belief that the dead receive very un-
willingly into their ranks newcomers who have been noted
in life for evil ways and quarrelsomeness . 9 To meet with
death in a strange district is regarded as a great calamity, be-
cause the “ shade ” of the dead one, according to a prevalent
belief, is forced to dwell where the body lies, or at any rate
in its immediate neighbourhood, and is therefore prevented
from joining its relatives. When such a death occurs, certain
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
74
tribes, including the Voguls, perform a mock burial to entice
the dead to the burial-place of its home. 10
The Finns called the “ world beyond ” under the earth
Manala (orig. maan-ala = “ underground ” ) or Tuonela
(“ the home of Tuoni ” ). Tuoni, which occurs also in the
language of the Norwegian Lapps as Duodna, means “ the
dead one,” later, also “ death ” and the “ life beyond,” and is
probably a Scandinavian loan-word (cf . Swedish dana-arf , u an
inheritance falling to the State” ). In Tuonela everyone has
his own “ house,” as pictured by a Finnish folk-song in the
following words: “ Of the finest turf the roof, of fine sand
the floor is made, a fathom long is each side-wall, the hinder
one a yard in length.” That this “ house ” in Tuonela is the
grave itself appears plainly from lines in which the “ house ”
is described as being “ carpeted with women’s hair, supported
by men’s bones.” In an Ingrian weeping song “ Manalan
vanhimmat ” (“ the elders of the underworld ” ) are men-
tioned, which “ elders ” appear to hold some governing rank,
as they were not always inclined to permit the dead to pay visits
to the world of the living. 11
In folk-poetry Tuonela seems to be regarded as a common
underworld for all. On the way there, one had to cross the
“ black river ” of Tuonela, on which neither sun nor moon
shines and over which leads “ a bridge ” (Tuonen or Manalan
silta). These beliefs, probably of later origin, remind one
of the Scandinavian river of death, over which one also crossed
by means of a bridge. It is probable that they are part of the
mediaeval views met with also in the literature of the time.
Gregory the Great relates how a person being near to death,
saw a bridge under which a gloomy, black stream flowed.
On this bridge a judgment took place 5 should any of the un-
righteous attempt to pass over it, they fell down into the
dark evil-smelling waters. Besides the Christian peoples, the
Mohammedans also are acquainted with this originally Persian
idea 5 from these it has reached the Volga Finns. The Chere-
THE LIFE BEYOND
IS
miss believe that the poor dead, in order to reach “ the place
of light,” must travel slowly along a narrow pole over “ the
place of darkness,” also called the “ resin-cauldron,” as there
the souls of the wicked are tortured in burning resin. Only
the righteous come luckily over with the help of the “ Prince
of Death,” Kiyamat-tora (Arabic kiamat , “ the resurrection of
the dead”} tora , “judge”) or Tamek-vui (Turco-Tatar
tamyk , “ the world beyond ”} Cheremiss vui, “ head ”) and his
assistant Kiyamat-saus . 12
A more widely-spread idea in Finnish folk-poetry is, how-
ever, that the dead are transported over the river of Tuonela
in a boat. In one song, it is related that, when Wainamoinen
was on his way to the underworld, the daughter of Tuoni came
with a boat and ferried him over the river. Among the folk-
beliefs the view is expressed that the evil one makes a boat
out of finger-nails clipped on Sundays, in which he carries
the dead off with him to his own place. An identical boat
was called the “ corpse-boat ” by the Icelanders. Doubtless
all these beliefs about the crossing of a river of death in a
boat are derived from Greek mythology. The furiously-
barking Manalan-rakki (“the underworld’s hound”) re-
minds one of the Greek Cerberos. To the mediaeval ideas
belong also Tuonen-portti (“ the underworld’s gate ”) which
corresponds to the Helgrindr in Icelandic poetry.
The common dwelling-place of the dead is called Yabme-
aimo (“ the home of the dead ”) by the Scandinavian Lapps,
and is governed by Yabme-akka (“ Old woman of the dead ”).
The Lapps sacrifice to her, and to the dead in general, black
animals, which must be buried alive in the earth. The most
common are said to have been black cats or cockerels. During
the Christian period they believed that the dead, according
to their deeds, could come from Yabme-aimo to God in
Heaven (Radien-aimo, the “ Ruler’s home ”) or to the
“ gloomy ” Rut-aimo or Ruta-aimo, where the evil Rutu or
Rota tortured the dead. This Rutu was not originally re-
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
76
garded as a devil, as it was often the custom to make offerings
to him, especially during epidemics. The sacrificial animal
itself, a slaughtered horse, buried entire within the earth or in a
fissure among the rocks, points to a borrowing from the
Scandinavian. According to Randulf, Rutu appeared some-
times to the Lapps as a man dressed in blue. The wolf was
called “ Rutu’s hound.” Originally Rota or Rutu (from Old
Scandinavian throte , “ an ulcer ”) may have been the spirit
of the plague . 13
A mutual belief of both Scandinavians and the Lapps living
as their neighbours is, further, the idea that the dead dwelt in
certain u holy mountains,” 14 where, according to the Lapps,
they existed happily, living in tents, keeping themselves in
the same way and speaking the same language as the Lapps.
They describe the inhabitants of the mountain, who seem to
have composed a closed family, and paid visits to one another,
riding from mountain to mountain with reindeer, which were
sacrificed to them by the Lapps. These “ mountain spirits ”
were the protectors of the living; the Lapps having often
many such mountains to which they came when in need.
Forbus says that these mountains were not equal in regard
to the assistance they could give, “ one holy mountain might
be of greater help than another, its inhabitants more ready to
listen and quicker to act than those of the other.” 15 The
Lapps inherited these tutelary spirits from their forefathers,
or came into possession of them through marriage, and could
even raise them themselves by offerings, becoming the more
powerful and respected as the number of their “ spirits ” grew.
These spirits would sometimes attempt to take life; by calling
the “ soul ” of a Lapp to themselves before his time had come,
they caused sicknesses that could be cured only by the shaman
appeasing the “ spirits,” and leading the sick one’s “ soul ”
back to his body again. Leem relates that while a shaman lay
in a fit, those present tried to guess which “ holy mountain ”
his soul was at the moment visiting . 16 After death, the Lapps
THE LIFE BEYOND
77
hoped they would be received into the mountain, the inmates
of which had protected them most during life. “ There they
became spirits themselves, and could keep death away from
their relatives and friends for some time.” 17 In the more
southern districts, these “ mountain spirits,” there called
“ Saivo man ” and “ Saivo maiden ” (originally a loan-word
from Old Scandinavian sjo) , have borrowed their character-
istics from the Huldre-folk of their southern neighbours . 18
In West Finland, also, traces of a belief in “ mountains of
the dead ” may be found. In certain districts the people tell
how the gods have borne away the dead man from the grave
to an adjacent forest-hill, in which he must reside as a penance
for some crime committed during his life. This belief is found
lurking in some Finnish magic-songs, in which the name him
(originally “ forest ” and “ hill ”) appears with apparently
the same meaning, for example: “ I call for help from hiisi,
I seek for folk from the hill.” Hiiden vaki (“ Hiisi’s folk ”)
means often the same as the Swedish Huldre-folk.
The night being the time chosen by most spirits for moving
about in, the thought arises easily, that the underground world
of the dead lies towards the sunset, or towards the dark north.
In these directions offerings are generally made to the dead.
The Northern Ostiaks and the Voguls are of the opinion, like
many other North Siberian tribes, that the land of the dead
lies hidden somewhere in the Northern Arctic Ocean. Accord-
ing to the Voguls, the land of the dead is under the earth, but
the entrance to it lies far away in the north, where the waters
of the River Ob flow into the sea. Arrived at the entrance,
the road divides itself into three branches, at the mouth of
each of which are signposts, telling which way, according to
the deeds done in life, each soul must take. The ruler of
the land of the dead, who is greatly feared, is called Khul-
ater (“the Ruler of the dead ”). In the same place is situ-
ated the underworld of the Northern Ostiaks, in which there
are three storeys ; in the lowest, said to be of the height of a
-
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
78
dog’s tail, live those who have sinned most. The journey
to the “ world of the dead” appears to be across water ; songs
relate how the dead are placed sitting in the boat of Khin-ort’s
(“ Prince of sickness ”) son. In the sagas, a world of the
dead is also mentioned, from which the Prince sends his
assistants to bring over the dead on a boat. Although the
view that the dead are treated in the underworld according
to their deeds in life, is unquestionably of later origin, it is
still probable that the Ob itself, with its “ downward-running ”
waters, has suggested the idea of a chasm in the dark, mys-
terious north, where the waters of the river are swallowed
up and the underworld opens its gloomy portals. The journey
there in a boat receives in these circumstances its natural ex-
planation . 19
As among the Scandinavians, where the road to Hel led
“ downward and northward,” Finnish poetry tells of Pohjola
(“ northern home ”) as being the home of the dead. A cor-
responding idea to it is the Norrhem of Swedish magic-songs.
Where this “ gloomy ” and “ dark ” place, as such called
Pimentola ( pmea — “ dark ”) was supposed to be situated,
is made clear by another name, Sarajas (from which Sarantola,
etc.), meaning originally “ sea ” and denoting the Northern
Arctic Ocean. The Esthonians called it Maksameri (= the
Lebermeer of the mediaeval German sagas) and believed it
to be a gathering-place for sorcerers, witches, etc. As in
Tuonela, so also, according to Finnish folk-poetry, in Pohjola
flowed a gloomy river ; both names occurring in the same song,
and meaning, obviously, one and the same place. This death-
river is also envisaged as a turbulent rapid, and is then gen-
erally called Rutja’s or Turja’s rapids, the name of the place
denoting a mystic neighbourhood far away in the north. From
the songs themselves it would appear that this “ awful stream,”
that u swallows up all waters,” where u the trees sink down-
ward their crowns,” and where “ the reeds fall downward,”
being therefore of the nature of a vortex, has its origin in
THE LIFE BEYOND
79
the idea of the Maelstrom. Sometimes these “ rapids ” are
said to be a “ flaming whirlpool,” a name perhaps connected
closely with the Aurora Borealis, explained by the Finns as
being “ the Fire of the Arctic Ocean.” Pohjola, to which a
“ gate ” gives entrance, is described in the magic songs as a
place breeding sickness and death, or “ the man-eating village ”
where the evil Pohjan-akka or -emanta (“mistress”} cf.
Lapp Jabme-akka) ruled . 20
Mingled with beliefs from Greek mythology, the paradise
of the eastern lands, through the medium of the Russian
Orthodox Church, has crept into the views of the Russian
Karelians concerning the life beyond. In a “ death-song ”
taken down in the Olonetz Government, and sung the moment
the “soul has flown,” the journey of the dead to the other
world is described in detail. In the opening lines the dead is
asked: “Who were they who took thy soul? Were they the
Archangels Michael and Gabriel with their angels and apostles?
Did they meet thee bearing candles of white wax? Did the
chief apostles, Peter and Paul, meet thee bearing golden plates
and golden eggs? Did Abraham and Isaac meet thee bearing
the keys from Abraham’s time with which to open the doors
of that distant time? Hadst thou during life (by good deeds)
redeemed for thyself the guides to that world? Did they
escort thy soul over lands rich with berries, over highly beauti-
ful heaths? Couldst thou with thine own hands pluck the
berries? Surely they refreshed thy soul with them, wert thou
not over reluctant to give away of thine own berries to others
during life? ” The song goes on to tell that the way to the
other world leads over roaring rapids and swiftly-moving
streams : “ Did an escort come to take thee over these with
oaken boats and oars of gold? Did they come without thy
calling, or hadst thou to shout with thy tired voice to them? ”
Over the river a dense forest grows: “ Hadst thou during life
redeemed the services of 1 the woodcutters, the roadmakers ’? ”
After that come very wide bubbling marshes: “Hadst thou
8o
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
during life redeemed ‘ the guide over the marsh ’ ? ” In the
marsh creep the ever-watchful serpents: “ Hadst thou during
life caused them to sleep? ” From the edge of the marsh three
pathways lead: “ Hadst thou during life redeemed the right to
the one on the utmost right? ” On that road the soul comes
to the blue bridge with parapets of reed, at the end of which
is a spring of water with a golden ladle for the cleansing
of the besmirched soul. There is also “ the bed of fishbone ”
in which to rest the weary limbs: “ Hadst thou redeemed
also those during the days of thy life? ” “ After these,
very great stretches of lush grass and wide fields open out
before thee. On the grass a table is decked from ‘the air to
the edge of the air.’ On the table many foods of which thou
needst not even eat, only to breathe in their direction to satisfy
thy stomach. Along the table run ‘ rivers of milk ’ and at
the place of each soul, a tree has grown giving fruits sweet
as honey. At the eastern end of the table is a balance, in which
the events of thy life are weighed. Didst thou in life redeem
the weighers in thy favour? ” 21
Here we thus meet, in the same song, ideas already known
to the ancients. The honey-tree and the “ rivers of milk ”
have prototypes in the tree and rivers of life in paradise.
During the pagan period, separate worlds for the good and
the bad dead were unknown. But, already at that time, there
seem to have been views that the dead attained to different
worlds, not on account of their deeds during life, but accord-
ing to that which had been the cause of their death. Those
who died in battle or as the result of some accident did not
go to the underworld but peopled another world up in the
heavens. The Cheremiss say that “ those who die in battle
or are killed by lightning go to heaven.” 22 In an old ac-
count of the Ostiaks’ religion, we read the following words:
“ If the beasts of the forest tear one asunder, or he is shot
in battle, his soul goes upward, but the souls of those dying a
natural death at home go downward.” In the same manner,
THE LIFE BEYOND
81
Strahlenberg relates: “ those who meet with a violent death or
are killed in a fight with the bear, go immediately to heaven,
but those dying a natural death in their beds or elsewhere
must worship for a long time a stern god under the earth,
before they can go up to heaven.” 23 Similar ideas are met
with in the folk-poetry of the Ostiaks. In a song from the
Irtysh it is told how the soul of a hero who, in the clash of
battle, has received a blow on the head rendering him un-
conscious, leaves the body to climb by a narrow stairway to
heaven, and how he is met by three red-legged squirrels who
say to him: “ This is our word: we eat our food in the midst
of human blood, we drink our drink in the midst of human
blood, go back!” When the soul of the hero returned, con-
sciousness returned also to him. In another story a hero in
heaven is accorded permission by the Heaven god to return
to earth to help his comrades who are in a great difficulty . 24
According to the Finnish Lapps the Aurora Borealis is “ the
dead in battle, who, as spirits, still continue battling with one
another in the air.” The Russian Lapps also declare the Au-
rora Borealis to be “ the spirits of the murdered.” These live
in a house, in which at times they gather together and begin
stabbing one another to death, covering the floor with blood.
“ They are afraid of the sun, hiding themselves from its
rays.” The Aurora Borealis appears “ when the souls of the
murdered begin their slaughter.” Hence the Lapps fear it . 25
The Esthonians
-
The Esthonians also see in the Northern Lights a heavenly
war, “ Virmalised taplevad” (“Virmalised fight”). On the
island of Osel they say that during the holy nights when the
heavens open, one may see two armed fighting-men, eager
to give battle to one another, but God will not allow it, and
separates them . 26 Most probably the Finns also possessed a
similar belief ; in certain Karelian magic songs Pohjola is
sometimes mentioned as the residence of those who “ were
killed without sickness ” and where the inhabitants are
said to have “ blood-dripping garments.” 27 In a variation
82
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
on the “ song of the Great Oak ” that grows so high that
neither the sun nor the moon could shine on the earth, and
was therefore chopped down “ with its crown towards the
south and its trunk towards the north,” it is further re-
lated that the giant tree fell “ straight across Pohj ola’s
river ” as “ an everlasting bridge ” for those “ killed without
sickness.” 28 The author is inclined to believe that in this last
we meet again the idea of the Milky Way, regarded by some
Arctic tribes as being the trunk of a great tree, along which
those killed in battle wander. To the same folk-belief may
ultimately be traced the Scandinavian belief in Valhall, where
the souls of the dead in battle dwell, and, according to Gyl-
faginningy “ take on their accoutrements, go out into the yard
and fight and kill one another.” Other Arctic peoples also
have had similar ideas of the Aurora Borealis. The Chukchee
in the north-east corner of Asia believe that “the Northern
Lights is a dwelling chiefly for those who have died a violent
death,” 29 and even the Tlingits in North America, according
to Veniaminov, the Russian missionary, believe that the souls
of the dead dwell, not only in the “ underworld ” far away
in the north, but also up in the sky, where only the souls of
those killed in battle may go, and where, as the flames of the
Northern Lights, they battle with one another, predicting
bloodshed on the earth . 30
All the dead, however, do not attain to the Life Beyond,
wherever this may be regarded as being situated. The souls,
especially, of little children, killed and hidden by their
mothers, remain as ghosts in the worlds of the living. The
Lapps called these Apparas (Finnish ap'dr'd , “bastard”) and
the Ostiaks Vylep or Patshak. The Finnish Liekkio (“ the
flaming one ”) was probably originally a similar spirit, who,
according to Agricola, “ ruled over grass, roots and trees.”
All those lost in forests or drowned in the water, and who
were therefore denied the opportunity of resting peacefully
in a grave, became similar homeless, restless spirits.
CHAPTER VI
ANIMAL WORSHIP
L IKE many other primitive peoples the Finno-Ugric
stocks regard the fruits of the chase and of fishing as
holy. While engaged in either of these two occupations their
actions, having a significance beyond those needed in ordinary
tasks, follow closely certain rules. Their words for game are
used with meanings differing from those in everyday use.
The bear, especially, has many secret names. The Lapps call
him “ master of the forest,” “ the old man of the mountains,”
“ the wise man,” “ the holy animal,” “ the dog of God.”
The Ostiaks have names such as “ the fur man,” “ the dweller
in the wilds,” for him; the Finns speak of him as “honey-
paw,” “ great forest,” etc. They believe that were the actual
name of the prey to be used, it might hear it and become
angry. On hunting trips and at bear feasts even the different
parts of the bear and the hunting gear are given special names.
Similarly, on fishing expeditions, a special language is used.
The Livonians, for example, when out at sea, retain even to
this day the habit of speaking of their fishing gear in strange,
mysterious terms.
Cleanliness was essential in both hunting and fishing. Of
this, traces can be observed even to-day amongst all the Finno-
Ugric peoples. The most general methods of purification,
used both for people and for the implements of the hunter
or fisher, were smoking over a fire, jumping over fire, washing
in water, or being besprinkled with water. The opinion of
the Siryans that hunting is a “ pure ” occupation, animals lov-
ing only “ pure ” people , 1 is common to all the Finno-Ugric
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
84
stocks. The Ostiaks regard it as improper even for those who
stay at home to engage in any dirty work, such as scrubbing
floors, or washing clothes, on the day when they know that
the hunters have reached the lair of the bear . 2 The Samoyeds
do not hunt or fish or even cross the stream when there is a
corpse in the village ; they also avoid intercourse with women
at hunting or fishing times . 3
In earlier times, when the hunters or fishers among the
Lapps set out on an expedition, they did not use the ordinary
outlet when leaving their tents, but instead, a special opening
in the back of the tent that was regarded as holy and was
never used by womenfolk. This opening was called varr-lyps
(“ the bloody backdoor ”) by the Russian Lapps, the name
originating from the fact that the bleeding corpses of the
prey were always brought in by it . 4 Missionaries relate that
the Lapps threw in by this opening “ both the gifts of the
forest, viz, birds and animals, and of the sea, viz, fish.” 5
Traces of this custom can be observed among the Ostiaks, who,
on returning from the forest, carry in the head of the bear
through the window and, after the feast-night, carry it out
the same way to the storehouse . 6 Of similar origin is likewise
a custom among the Finns, whose hunters, when going out in
pursuit of a bear, lift the door from its bottom hinges and
pass through the opening between the door and the door-
post on the side where the hinges are . 7 One had also to set
forth with due secrecy on hunting or fishing trips and without
meeting anyone, women in particular. A very old custom
decrees that no woman may take part in hunting trips, but
instead must prepare to meet the returning hunters with spe-
cial ceremonies, obviously in order thus to avoid dangerous
contact. This was especially necessary when the prey was
some large animal. When the Lapp brought in the meat of
some fallen wild reindeer through the “ holy ” backdoor, his
wife had to have in readiness a liquid prepared from alder-
bark, with which the Lapp washed his face while being be-
? . t , '
PLATE VI
Bear Worship of the Voguls
The eyes and nose of the bear are covered over as
a protective measure, in the same way as those of the
corpse in burial rites. (See page 95.)
After photograph by J. A. Kannisto.
ANIMAL WORSHIP
85
sprinkled by his wife, believing that by this ceremony he
could assure himself of better luck among the wild reindeer . 8
Besides the special animals caught in or near the “ holy ”
places, a woman, according to the Lapps, was not allowed to
eat of every part of even birds, squirrels, hares, wild reindeer,
bears, in short, of any forest animal . 9 It is also to be noted
that slaughtering and the cooking of the meat were always
left to the men. The more northern stocks, the Lapps and
Samoyeds, do their slaughtering for the home-sacrifices also,
behind the back of the tent, where women are not allowed to
tread . 10
The bear has always been regarded among the Finno-Ugric
peoples as being the most holy of all wild animals. At least
the Lapps, Finns, Ostiaks and Voguls held feasts in its honour.
Among the Volga peoples, relics of these feasts are no longer
found, though many of the beliefs appertaining to the
bear are still general among them all. The bear is more in-
telligent and stronger than a man, say the Votiaks. It under-
stands the speech of men though it cannot talk ; when they
meet “ the old man ” in the forest they bare their heads, as
is fit and proper, before the master of the forest. Sometimes
they bow to it, go down on their knees, etc., as they believe
that if one shows due respect to a bear, it will not do them any
harm. Enemies are recognized by the bear even after its
death, and persecuted by him. For this reason it is unwise
to laugh near the body of a bear.
In the life of the community, among the more northern
peoples, the bear would seem also to have had some part.
The Samoyeds, Ostiaks and Voguls swore their oaths by the
bear. A delinquent would bite the hair of the animal, or its
nose, claws or teeth, saying: “ If I am wrong, so bite me as
I now bite thee .” 11
The festival ceremonies of the “ holy animal ” have been
preserved in their most original form among the Lapps ; Pehr
Fjellstrom and another unknown author having left us com-
86
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
plete accounts . 12 Both descriptions date from the eighteenth
century, and were made in the Swedish Lapp territory.
In the autumn the Lapps track the bears and seek their
hiding-places for the winter. When they have discovered one
of these spots they leave the bear there in peace until it has
snowed so much that it is difficult for the animal to move
freely. Often the bear is not awakened until March or April,
when the Lapp invites his nearest relations and friends to a
bear-killing. This is not, however, proceeded with at once,
the magic drum having first to be consulted as to whether
the hunt will succeed or not. When this matter is clear the
hunters arrange themselves in a fighting-line, and march one
after the other in a certain order to the winter-quarters of
the bear. As first man, marches the one who tracked the bear.
To the end of a pole which he bears in his hands a brass ring
must without fail be attached. After him comes the inter-
preter of the message of the magic drum, who in turn is
followed by the bravest of the company, their duty being to
fell the bear, and lastly the crowd according to rank. Each
of them has his own fixed duties in the bear feast ceremonies,
one having to cook the flesh, another to carry water, a third
to make the fire, and so on. When this procession finally
arrives at the lair, the bear is attacked with spear and gun, and
having been killed, is dragged out of its hiding-place. To
the accompaniment of much merry singing, it is then begged
for forgiveness that its sleep was disturbed, and thanked for
the little trouble it gave the hunters and that none of the
staves or spears was broken.
In all this, the Lapps follow many curious customs handed
down from their ancestors. They whip the bear with slender
twigs as soon as it has been dragged from its lair, or they lay
their skis against it as a token of their victory. It is also cus-
tomary to weave a ring of fir-twigs round the lower jaw of
the animal, to which ring the highest in rank among the crowd
fastens his belt and, accompanied by the merry singing of
ANIMAL WORSHIP
87
the others, drags the fallen bear a little way from its place.
The Lapps also indicate their bravery by swinging their spears
threateningly against the dead enemy as though it were still
alive. After this play the carcass is covered with branches of
fir and left lying there until the next day.
When the hunters approach their home after a successful
hunt, they indicate their success by a merry traditional singing
at the first sound of which the women in the tent begin to array
themselves in festive garments, answering meanwhile the sing-
ing of the heroes by a similar singing. According to Fjell-
strom the leader of the crowd usually plaits a twig of fir
( soive-rise ), at the end of which he forms a little ring.
With this twig he strikes three times at the backdoor of the
tent, saying: “ Soive-olmai,” if the prey be a male animal,
and “ Soive-neida ” if it be a female. The same name was
afterwards given to the hunter and his wife. From another
source we learn that the wife of the hunter or some other
person gives him a twig of birch, plaited solely for this occa-
sion, to which the womenfolk have to fasten copper rings . 13
According to Randulf, the slayer of the bear informs those at
home of his arrival by pushing an alder-branch under the wall
of the tent. When the wife notices this, she tries to take
hold of the branch, but the man draws it out again, repeating
this manoeuvre three times, from which the wife understands
that “ the holy hound of God ” has been felled. Before the
hunters enter the tent they sing for a while outside, until the
women are ready to receive them . 14
The women, who on no account may go near the bear, or
take part in its slaughtering, have now, as the men enter
through the sacred backdoor, to cover their faces with a cloth.
Should they wish it, they are allowed to cast a glance through
a copper ring at those entering ; but at the same time, according
to an old custom, they must spit the juice of chewed alder-
bark in the faces of the hunters, from which the men’s faces
become quite red. The same thing is done to the dogs which
88
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
have taken part in the hunt. Sometimes both men and women
paint their bodies with alder-bark juice — a ring round the
arms, lines on the breast and a cross on the forehead. The
women also sometimes paint their faces red . 15 It is further
the custom for women to decorate their husbands with brass
rings and chains, which are hung on the neck and, under the
garments, round one hand and foot. The twig described above
is now given into the care of the bear-killer’s wife; she wraps
it in a piece of linen and keeps it until the tail of the bear has
been cooked and eaten. The news of the killing of the bear
having thus been spread, the Lapps feast in honour of the
day on all the delicacies they can command, men and women,
however, eating in separate groups. Nothing else is even at-
tempted to be done on this day. Everyone goes to sleep in
the evening in the finery which has during the day fallen to
their lot, the husbands forsaking their usual couches with their
wives and sleeping, like the women, with their own sex only.
The next day measures are taken for the transport of the
bear. All the men do not go out for this purpose, some of
the hunters remaining behind to prepare a temporary dwelling-
place for the bear. This is formed of hewn boards and is
covered with branches of fir. Rooms of this description for
the cutting-up and cooking of the bear are built where the
bear, as, for example, at Jockmock, is not carried to the holy
back-compartment of the tent . 16 Most of the men, however,
go out to bring in the bear, all of them being, like the reindeer
detailed for the work, decorated with rings and chains of brass,
those of the reindeer being hung round its neck. It is also
usual to draw a ring with alder-bark juice on the neck of the
reindeer and a cross on its forehead, sometimes also other
figures. On the way the men sing merrily, and pray to the
bear not to send bad weather to inconvenience them. During
the whole time care must be taken not to cross over the track
of any woman. Neither is it advisable for a woman, for the
period, at least, of the ceremonies, to pass over the track left
ANIMAL WORSHIP
89
behind by the bear, and even the use of the reindeer which
has dragged in the bear is forbidden to women for a whole
year.
As the brave men near their home with their burden they
sing arrogantly: “Here come men from Sweden, Germany,
England and from all lands”; to which the women reply:
“ Welcome, ye noble men from Sweden, Germany, England
and all lands, ye who have felled the bear.” 17
The bear, brought thus ceremoniously from the forest, is
now placed in the cutting-up tent, generally built a stone’s
throw from the holy backdoor of the dwelling-tent, and often
decorated with garlands of hay in honour of the event. Here
the carcass is laid down outstretched, alder-bark juice is
sprinkled on it, and a small receptacle made of bark and filled
with this liquid is set before the bear’s nose. The knives are
decorated with rings of brass, which, like alder-bark, are used
on these occasions for magic protective purposes. Similarly,
all vessels used in the ceremonies are decorated. Round the
neck of the “ holy ” animal itself brass rings and chains are
bound. The children, who are allowed to be present on these
occasions, run frequently into the house to tell the women what
they have seen and heard.
During the whole time of the cutting-up the men sing their
varying moods, trying to guess the home district of the bear,
thanking it for its fur, or pointing out how great an honour
has fallen to its part. Further, they beg the bear to tell the
other bears of the honour shown it, so that these may more
willingly surrender themselves to their hunters. In songs
the men also try to guess what the women are doing in the
tent, and should they guess correctly, which can easily be
ascertained from the children running between the two tents,
this is regarded as a good omen.
When the animal has been skinned, the flesh is cut up very
carefully lest even the smallest bone should be damaged, or
some artery or muscle be broken. The whole of the flesh is
90
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
cooked at once, the women’s part separately. The blood is
cooked first and mixed with fat; this is devoured at once as
the greatest delicacy. With the blood of the bear, which is
believed by the Lapps to possess magical qualities, the hunters
also sometimes besmear their bodies, and in some districts they
even smear their wives and children and the door and the logs
bearing up the tent. The head of the animal with the wind-
pipe and all the entrails hanging from it is left untouched
until all the flesh has been cooked. It is skinned last, at which
operation the thin, hairless region of the mouth is cut out;
the person skinning the head is permitted the honour of bear-
ing this skin before his face for a time. The head is cooked,
with all its hanging burden of entrails, which are perfunctorily
cleaned but not detached from the skull.
While the flesh is being cooked the hunters sit on each side
of the fire according to their rank and position. First sits the
one who tracked the bear, then the interpreter of the magic
drum, the bear-killers, etc., all according to the importance of
the duty which they have had to do during the kill. The
vessel in which the flesh is cooked must be of brass, or at the
very least, ornamented with brass rings. It must be carefully
watched during the cooking, as the running-over of the tiniest
trifle of gravy into the fire is regarded as a very bad omen.
Should the gravy commence to boil too violently it is not
regulated by adding water or thinning out the fire, but one
of the men must go to the tent to see whether any of the
women has caused the trouble by unsuitable behaviour.
Should nothing blameworthy be found there, the chief person
of the gathering tries to stop the gravy from boiling over by
the customary singing.
-
When the preparation, which may not be seasoned with salt,
is finally ready, the chief person deals out to each his share of
the meat, which the men sitting in their places begin to de-
vour; the women’s share is taken over to the dwelling-tent.
In the division of the meat certain rules are followed. Thus,
ANIMAL WORSHIP
9i
women may not partake of the fore part of the bear, this
belonging to the men, and the oldest man of the party must
eat from the hind part of the bear the three or four last joints
of the backbone . 18 It is also forbidden for women to eat the
more noble organs, in especial, the heart, “ the holy flesh,”
which the men devour greedily as the greatest delicacy. The
kidneys also are of great merit, not only as delicacies, but as
awakeners of love. Some suck in the gall of the bear to harden
their natures. It is not, however, advisable to besmear one’s
boots with fat from the bear, as the latter might thus find
out who it was who killed him . 19 When eating bear’s-meat,
knives or other metal aids may not be used, only the fingers
or pieces of wood being allowable. Neither may one save
anything for another occasion, but the whole of the meat must
be eaten at one sitting . 20
The men who carry over the women’s share to the dwelling-
tent are received by the women with showers of alder-bark
juice in the face and with glances through a brass ring. This
is also done by the women to the children coming from the
cutting-up place, their festival-portion undergoing the same
treatment. The first bite is taken through a ring of brass,
or the ring is at least held before the mouth while eating it.
Sticks of wood must all the time be used by the women during
the meal, as women may not touch bear’s-meat with their hands
at all . 21 Lastly the bear’s tail, which has been cooked unskinned
in a little lard, is brought into the tent. The twig mentioned
earlier is brought from its hiding-place, and all the women and
children present bind brass rings to it as ornaments . 22 When
everything eatable has been chewed off the tail and the last
speck of lard sucked from among the hair, the tail is tied to the
branch and returned to the men. The women then cover their
faces and are kissed and thanked by the men for not having in
any way disturbed the bear feast.
In the notes of the unknown author of the eighteenth century
we find many of the songs sung at the bear feasts. From them
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
92
it would appear that the Lapps, like the Voguls and Ostiaks, had
some kind of dramatic ceremonies at these feasts, in which the
bear also is regarded as appearing. In the name of the bear
the Lapps sing: “ Now come I from great wide forests, where
I lived, to thickly-peopled districts,” or: “I thought of re-
turning to my old place, but these young men hindered my
journey.” 23
As mentioned earlier, the Lapps do not break the smallest
bone of the bear, but prepare a resting-place in a hole dug in
the ground of about the size of the animal, on the bottom of
which twigs form a soft bed. The bones are all placed in this
grave in the order which they occupy in the bear. Should a
dog have happened to devour or take away any of the bones,
the missing bone or bones are taken from the dog . 24 The skin
of the nose, borne hitherto by the flayer of the head, is now put
back in its place, likewise the sexual organs and the tail. The
rings hung on this last by the women are taken off, being used
afterwards, e.g., for decorating the magic drum; or the one who
tracked the bear may sometimes receive them as reward for the
bear’s-meat to which he has invited the others. The final fate
of the plaited birch-twig mentioned earlier, kept wrapped in a
cloth on account of its supreme holiness, and to the ring in the
end of which the tail was bound, is not given. It would appear,
however, from the notes left by the Lapp Spirri Nils that
“ when they have cooked the flesh of the bear they gather
together all the joints of the backbone, threading them on a
twig in their natural order, later fastening also the head to
it.” 26 In this way the tail attached to the twig would fall
naturally into its place. A vessel made of birch-bark and filled
with alder-bark juice is also placed before the nose of the bear.
The significance of this vessel is unknown. The custom of
the Ostiaks and Voguls of placing food in a vessel before the
nose of a fallen bear might be compared with the above.
Sometimes, other objects also were laid in the grave of a bear
— skis, a plane, a knife, etc . 20
ANIMAL WORSHIP
93
After having, as above, ceremoniously buried the bear, the
Lapps speak in a friendly manner to it, begging it to run about
and relate to the other bears the great honour that befell it,
so that these may not be afraid and show resistance when being
captured. The grave is then covered carefully with logs and
branches of fir to prevent dogs or beasts of prey from seizing or
disturbing the dead one. In some districts it is the custom to
set up a little wooden spear on the bear’s grave as a monument.
All the Lapps do not make the graves alike 5 some make
them smaller but deeper, and place the bones upright in them.
At the bottom they place the hind-legs, on these in their right
order the other bones, and finally the head, by which they place
the bark- vessel with its contents of alder-bark juice. Accord-
ing to other reports, the Lapps also tied together the bones of
the bear and hung them up in trees at the spot where the bear
was killed. 27
During the whole of the meal-time the bear’s skin, which,
especially at the head, had been decorated with all kinds of
brass ornaments and rings and sprinkled over with alder-bark
juice, has been hidden away under branches of fir. It is now
taken from its hiding-place and spread out on a snowdrift or
against a tree near the tent. And now comes the last of the
bear feast games. The women are led veiled from the tent
and a bow or a twig of alder is placed in their hands with which
they must, following the directions of the men, take aim at the
bearskin. Lucky the one who hits the skin, as this is regarded
as a sign that her husband will be the next to kill a bear.
Should she be unmarried, she can live cheerfully in the certain
hope of being one day the wife of a celebrated bear-hunter. 28
The honour of sewing crosses with metal wire on pieces of
cloth, which are then hung round the neck of every man who
has taken part in the bear hunt, falls also to her lot. Even the
reindeer used for dragging the bear is given one of these orna-
ments. The veils are then taken off the women and they are
allowed to look at the magnificent skin of the bear, but even
94
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
now, only through a ring of brass. The brass ornaments on
the skin are not taken away at this conclusion to the festival,
but are left on until the skin has dried and is ready for use.
When the bear feast is ended, the men do not at once go into
the dwelling-tent, but delay some time still in the cutting-up
tent. It is not seemly, according to the Lapps, for a hunter to
approach his wife for three days after the killing of a bear.
The leader of the expedition must abstain from his wife for
five days. They must also purify themselves by peculiar cere-
monies, carried out after sunset on the third day after the kill.
All who have taken part in the hunt wash themselves with a
solution of birch-ash in water and afterwards run three times
round the cutting-up tent, jump into the dwelling-tent through
the door and immediately out again, in again and out through
the holy backdoor of the tent. While running they imitate
the growling of the bear. Finally the wife of the bear-killer
catches hold of them and asks when the next bear feast is to be.
On these occasions she is said always to have mittens on her
hands. According to Rheen the purification takes place in such
a manner that the men run singing round the fire a few times
and then jump one after the other through the door, an old
woman throwing hot ashes after each as they do so. After this
the men take off their brass ornaments and may without danger
return to their wives . 29 To the memory of each bear killed,
the Lapps hammered a copper nail in their spears, their gun or
the magic drum, the felling of a bear having always been re-
garded as a great honour . 30
Like the bear of the forests, the polar bear is also an object
of worship among the Lapps. When the drift-ice sometimes
brings with it in the spring a polar bear to the shores of the
Kola Peninsula, the Lapps quickly capture it. Having suc-
ceeded in killing it, they are merry and play like children, e.g.,
they creep over the bear roaring as it used to do, extolling at
the same time their own bravery. They then make a log-fire
round which they sit long and sing. Now and then they rise
ANIMAL WORSHIP
95
and bow to the bear. Finally they place a piece of salt fish in
the mouth of the animal and say: “ Thou shalt not tell at home
that thou paidst a visit to us and received nothing, the others
may come also, them also shall we feed.” Their last words
express a pious hope that the bear will tell all its relations
what brave men the Lapps are . 31
The bear feast ceremonies of the other peoples mentioned
correspond in their main points with those related here. A
very common custom is to place the bear or its head or its
skin for the period of the feasting in the sacred back part of
the dwelling-place, where women are not allowed to go.
Somewhat resembling the magic protective use of alder-bark
by the Lapps is the Finnish custom of chewing a piece of alder-
wood before the skin of the bear is brought into the house
“ so that the forest shall not infect anything .” 32 Thus,
among the Ostiaks it is the fashion when the huntsmen re-
turn to the village with the bear-skin for the men and women
of the village to go out to meet them, some bearing a dish of
water and a “ smoke ” in their hands. The bear-skin is smoked,
and sprinkled three times with water. Very general is the
use of metal objects as means of protection. More difficult
to derive is the Ostiak custom of cutting a picture of the bear
on a flat surface chopped out of a tree-trunk and cutting over
this as many lines as there were hunters in the kill. While
the picture is being made, one of the men strokes the bear’s
head with dry branches, “ waking ” it to let it know that they
have arrived at the village. A means of protection used often
at burial feasts — the covering of the nose and mouth of the
dead — is met with among the Ostiaks and Voguls. Round
pieces of birch-bark are sewn on to the eyes of the bear, or
these are covered with silver or copper coins, and the nose
is covered with a piece of tin-plate which is fastened from its
sides by threads behind the ears. Thus arrayed, the bearskin
is placed in the sacred back part on a low table with the head
resting on the forepaws. A many-coloured cloth is spread
9 6 FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
over the back. In some districts a hat was placed on the head
of a male animal and a muffler round its neck, while a female
animal was decorated with a small shawl round its head and
a pearl necklace round its neck. Women and children slip
brass rings on to its claws “ so that it should not scare them
during berrying time in the summer.” On the table all kinds
of victuals and drink are placed before the bear, even the
neighbours bringing these. The skin is allowed to remain for
three or four days in the house, during which time festivals
are held each evening, banquets are eaten and much merriment
made in honour of the bear. The participants must arrive
“ purified,” and are sprinkled with water as they enter. The
festivals generally begin in the afternoons. Included in the
programme are bear songs in which the birth of the bear, its
adventures with the hunters, and its life after death are de-
scribed 5 dances are performed, the dancers wearing bearskins
turned inside out; the bear and its actions are imitated by pe-
culiar movements. 33 Among the Voguls these bear-feast games
have developed into a kind of drama in which masked men ap-
pear. The masks are made of birch-bark, generally with huge
noses, and are painted over with charcoal and red earth. Some-
times a beard is affixed to them made of a piece of hairy rein-
deer-hide or oakum. The purpose of the masks is said to be
to hide the actors from the bear so that should the latter be
offended by the play he will not recognize them. For the
same reason the performers alter their voices, talking chiefly
in a shrill falsetto. Everyone tries to make the bear believe
they are not from the village in question, but travellers from
a long way off. Without doubt the origin of the masks is to
be found in the fear that the bear might recognize its killers
after death and avenge itself. To the most original cere-
monies, i.e., those picturing the life and hunting of the bear,
others have been added later, some of these borrowing their
form from such modern sources as the Russian baptism cere-
monies. 34
H7 r, ?
t 'ij - , ol i ilno ni bailesra nn ??: k! ? ifi'T
9o 2) .msri) -gnt.yinio. :-ri rn n'i : - ad
.t>3>io r.r.^1 .1. .T . 7.d riqsrso.? :iq r
PLATE VII
Masker’s Frolic at the Vogul Bear-Feast
The players are masked in order to prevent the
bear from recognizing them. (See page 96.)
After photograph by J. A. Kannisto.
ANIMAL WORSHIP
97
At sunrise after the last feast night the skin is borne out
through the window to the warehouse-shed where the dish
first placed on the table before it in the house is placed in
front of it. After two or three days the hunters gather together
again in the house and then go into the shed, where each takes
a morsel of food from the dish and eats it “ for luck.” 30
From the prayers and wishes made by the Ostiaks to the
dead bear, it appears plainly that in doing honour to it they
wish to honour the whole race of bears. As an example of
this the words of the Ostiak woman as she places a ring in
the bear’s claw may be cited : “ When I go to gather berries,
go thou round one tree, round two trees.” When they set
food before the bear-skin they say: “ Do not touch my horse
or my cow, I placed the dish before thee.” 36
The Finns called the bear feast “ the wedding.” The
house had to be cleaned and everyone clad in his or her best.
A young man was arrayed as a bridegroom and a young girl
as a bride, or one only of these was chosen: a bridegroom if
the bear was a female, and a bride if a male. The head of
the bear was placed highest on the table and the rest of the
meat in its natural order. In the place of honour sat the
bridegroom and bride. The singing of runes in honour of
the bear was customary among the Finns, certain of these be-
ing sung while the bear was carried to the house. In these the
hunters endeavoured to show themselves innocent of the kill-
ing of the bear, declaring that the bear had wounded itself
or that they had taken its life by accident. Arrived at the
house-door the hunters asked singing whether the floor had
been scrubbed and the room cleaned, or also singing urged
the womenfolk to get out of the way and to beware of the
holy bear . 37
That the object of the ceremonies with the Finns was to
ensure good bear-luck in hunting, appears from the oldest
account of their bear feast ceremonies. Bishop Rothovius, in
his speech at the inauguration of the University of Abo in
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
98
1640, relates the following concerning the customs of the
Finns: “ When they capture a bear, they must hold a feast in
the dark, drinking the health of the bear from its skull, act-
ing and growling like the bear, procuring in this way further
success.”
The skull of the bear had to be left overnight on the table
and taken the following morning, ceremoniously as at a wed-
ding, to a certain tree. First went the “ bridegroom ” and
“ bride ” side by side, after these a man carrying beer in a
vessel, after him a singer, then the one who carried the skull,
and lastly the rest of the people.
The Samoyeds, who like the Finns specially preserve the
skull, hang it up in a tree or place it on the end of a long pole,
generally near a road. 38
Like the bear, other wild animals had also to be treated
with honour. More particularly the wild reindeer and other
scarce and valuable animals had to be received with special
ceremonies. The Ostiaks, when they kill a stag or an otter,
often cut pictures of these in a pine near the village as they
do with the bear. 39
• An important question is the original purpose behind the
Lapps’ method of carefully preserving all the bones of beasts
of prey. That this care was not only expended on the bones
of the bear is shown by an account from the year 1724: “ The
bones of the bear, the hare, and the wild-cat must be buried in
dry sand-hillocks or clefts between rocks where neither dog
nor other prowling animal can reach them. This is because
these animals lived on dry land; the bones of those living in
in the water are hidden in springs.” 40 Even today the Lapps
in some districts have a custom of throwing the bones of the
fish caught by them, as far as possible complete, into the water
again. 41 Sometimes the skeletons of wolves were hung up in
trees. 42 Similar accounts are preserved of the Samoyeds.
These also do not give the bones of forest animals to the dogs,
but, as far as possible, preserve them. The Yuraks, for
ANIMAL WORSHIP
99
example, hang up the bones of the fox and the skulls of many
other animals in trees . 43 In the slaughtering of domestic
animals similar ceremonies were also observed. The Lapps
exercised the same care for the bones of the reindeer, which
also they buried carefully in the ground . 44
Similar usages throwing light on these customs are found
among many other primitive peoples. Thus, for example,
we know that the American Indians arranged the bones of
the bison which they had killed in their natural order on the
prairies, with the intention that the animal might come to
life again for the next hunting season. The Eskimos throw
the bones of seals into the water in order to be able to catch
them afresh. In some mysterious way, life is held to exist
while the skeleton is in existence. That this belief was not
alien to the Finno-Ugric stocks is shown by the words of an
old Lapp who, when asked why he placed the head, the legs
and the wings of a capercailzie on a rock, explained that “ from
them new birds would grow which he could shoot again.” 45
The same belief has caused the preservation of the bones of
the bear. The unknown author, whose account has already
been cited, remarks in his description of a Lapp bear feast’:
“ They believe that the bear will arise again and allow itself
to be shot.” 46
-
In these circumstances the preservation of those parts of
the bodies of useful animals which were supposed to contain
the soul or the soul-force cannot originally have been a sacri-
ficial act, but had behind it purely practical motives. Not until
the original conception had paled could these actions have be-
come incorporated in a cult. Then in the throwing of fish
bones by the fisherman into the water, it was easy to see an
act of sacrifice to the Water god, and in the burial of animal
bones in the forest, a sacrifice to the Forest god.
CHAPTER VII
THE SEIDES OF THE LAPPS
A LREADY in the sixteenth century the stone gods of the
Lapps are mentioned in literature. Such gods of stone
were kept by the Fell Lapps on the mountains, by the Fisher
Lapps on the shores of the fiords, on capes reaching into the
sea, on islands, or near rivers and rapids. These stones, called
“ Seides ” by the Lapps, were to be found everywhere in
Lapland.
According to accounts by missionaries these Seides had not
been fashioned by human hands, but were natural stones,
often hollowed out by water, having, as such, often a peculiar
form, resembling human beings or animals. Those regarded
as the most valuable were the stones resembling human beings.
In some places, many Seide stones were placed together in the
same sacred place and were then believed to represent a family.
Even immovable rocks were at times regarded as Seides. As
late as the summer of 1908, a holy place was discovered at
Lulea (Vidjakuoika), containing several small mounds about
a foot in height, and around these ten Seide stones. When
the stones had been put back in their places, it was seen that
each mound had had one larger stone on it and several smaller
ones around it. These small ones were sometimes not more
than two decimetres in height. 1 The Seides of the Fisher
Lapps might, at times, be stones altogether surrounded by
water. 2
The Lapps gave a devoted attention to these sacred stones.
Wherever possible they were placed on green ground, where
the grass grew thick and lush in the summer-time. In addition,
THE SEIDES OF THE LAPPS
IOI
the place where the Seide stood was decorated in the summer
with birch-leaves and in the winter with branches of fir. The
foundation on which the Seide was placed had always to be
kept green, and whenever the leaves
or pine-needles withered, they had to
be renewed . 3
When the Lapp wished to ask for
something from his stone god, or to
inquire into the future, he went to the
holy place, and baring his head, took
the god in his hand and spoke to it.
While he was relating all kinds of
wishes, he would keep on attempting
to lift the stone. If this proved im-
possible, and the stone grew steadily heavier, it was regarded
as an answer in the negative. Even the very smallest stone,
said the Lapps, became heavy when the god was not willing to
give a positive answer. When the Lapp received what he had
wished for, he made an offering as a sign of thankfulness to
the stone, the nature of the offering being inquired after also
in the above-mentioned manner . 4
This method of turning to the gods was, however, not pos-
sible when the Seide was a great rock or a stone embedded in
the earth. Consulting these, the Lapp laid his hand on the
rock and began his questions in the unshakable belief that
his hand would stick to it and not be loosened until he chanced
to hit on the exact event that would happen to him . 6
The place where the Seide stood and its nearest surround-
ings were “ holy ” (passe) to the Lapps. The mountain on
which the stone gods were placed, was called in general “ the
Holy Mountain ” (Passe- vara). In the same way, the Fisher
Lapps called the rivers and lakes by which their Seides stood,
“the Holy River” or “the Holy Lake.” Names such as
these are met with in Lapmark even today.
The fear felt for these holy places forced the Lapps to
102
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
observe great caution. According to Leem, they only ap-
proached them clad in their festival clothes, beginning to make
genuflections at a distance, as they walked. Every year they
journeyed to them, and if it was impossible to make new
offerings, the bones of former offerings had, at least, to be
moved. Dwellings were erected very unwillingly near these
places, for fear of disturbing the gods by the crying of chil-
dren or other noises. When they travelled by a holy moun-
tain they dared not fall asleep as that was regarded as a sign
of irreverence. Neither would they speak loudly or shoot
birds or any other game within their precincts. If they were
wearing anything blue in colour, they would remove this as
they approached a holy place. Women had to hide their faces
or turn their heads in passing them. Even men were not
allowed to wear any garment that had been at some time worn
by a woman, not even foot-wear that had lain in the same
soaking-vessel as the women’s moccasins . 6 Hogstrom adds
that it was dangerous for a woman, even at a distance, to go
round a holy place. If during any journey she had passed to
the right of one of these places, she had, on returning, to
pass by on the same side, though it might mean a detour of sev-
eral leagues . 7 Mallmer relates further, that when a Lapp went
aside to make an offering, he tied up all his dogs very care-
fully, as should one of these cross his track, misfortune might
befall him; the wolves, for example, might worry his reindeer
to death. When coming out of or going into his tent on
these errands, the Lapps never used their ordinary doors,
but crept in through a little backdoor which was regarded as
so holy that no woman might either leave or enter through it . 8
Even today these beliefs persist in the more remote dis-
tricts. In Kola Lapmark there is a holy place, situated near
the Finnish frontier and composed of the narrow and steep
spur of a mountain, which is the object of the Lapps’ super-
stitious reverence. When rowing past the place in the sum-
mer-time, one must be careful to make as little noise as possible,
THE SEIDES OF THE LAPPS
103
wetting the rowlocks lest these should creak. In the winter
one drives by, step by step. One may not glance aside,
but must look straight ahead. Having reached a spot about
three hundred yards past the place, one must get up out of
the sleigh, and — at least when passing that way for the first
time — drink spirits in the god’s honour 5 earlier, one should
also have spilt a little on the ice as an offering. Not until
then may one let one’s reindeer run. Should one neglect
these precautions or in any other way insult the god, he would
cause a fateful blizzard to arise as a punishment, or, as has
sometimes happened, bind the culprit with his reindeer and
everything to the place so that he was unable to stir from the
spot. 9
By the Mutenia River in the Finnish Lapmark there is
also a Seide, of which the people relate that in earlier times,
when passing this holy stone, women were not allowed to sit
in the boats, but must travel by it along the shore on foot.
Near the stone they had in addition to dress themselves in
trousers. 10 The Russian Lapps believed, that women on near-
ing the holy places invariably were stricken with “ a certain
illness ” by means of which, even in strange districts, they
could tell the nearness of such places. 11
One of the best known holy mountains in Finnish Lapmark
is the Rastekaise in Utsjoki, on the top of which there are two
large stones, and which even today is regarded by the super-
stitious people with awe. When a storm arises on the moun-
tain they regard it as a sign of the wrath of the god. 12 Travel-
lers relate that the Lapps say this mountain will not willingly
show itself to strangers, hiding itself instead in mists.
The Lapp turns to his Seides in all his different needs, for
good luck on his journeys, to obtain plentiful fish or game, to
ensure the health and increase of his reindeer, but especially
when sickness or other misfortunes befall him. At first prom-
ises are made of offerings, the promises being then redeemed
when the sick become well again. If, in addition, one re-
i04
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
members that the Seides had the power of raising storms, one
can understand how powerful and many sided these spirits
were.
Whence arose the power of these dumb Seide stones, spread-
ing as it did a reflection of awe even over the ground on which
they stood? The Lapps themselves hardly longer knew at
the close of their pagan period. Signs are to be found, how-
ever, that the Seide-cult has its root in the worship of ancestors.
A significant feature is that the Seide is the protecting spirit
of a certain family or clan. A report made use of by Schefferus
says that “ every family and clan has in the land wherein it
moves and dwells,” its own Seide . 13 A Seide worshipped by
a larger clan seems to have been mightier than the Seide of
a separate family. Hogstrom relates concerning this, that
“ the power of these stones is adjudged according to the
number worshipping and offering up to them.” In another
place, he tells of a Seide that had “ long been worshipped by
a whole village.” 14 Family worship — for the Lapp-villages
were family-villages — is also pointed to in an account by the
missionary Tornaeus: “So many households, one can almost
say so many as there were Lapps, so many gods were there to be
found, situated in different places by the sea. But one was
always the highest and mightiest, and this alone was wor-
shipped by the whole population of a village. It was situated
on some hill, or other high place, so that it could be well seen
of all, and honoured j but other house and family gods were
placed in lower places.” 16 The duty of making offerings was
bequeathed by father to son. The missionary S. Kildal says,
that “ when the parents died, the children inherited the holy
mountains and the mountain gods.” 16
Among the Scandinavian Lapps, this Seide-cult is connected
with their beliefs in holy mountains with underground in-
habitants, as described in another chapter. Jessen says ex-
pressly that sacrifices to the Saivo spirits were made near a
stone . 17 But these spirits were originally the ancestors wor-
IIIV HTAJ3J
? -i r : :* r ni . ' v>oia >rrd‘.: vlori ? :T
__ ?' '
sv/jj AiVfJ hobisgrt • : 1 ' ?ju; m hsy 3 '^irJ
(.£01 sg£q 392) .zuoh'tliiyy!?. y<j
Jhblotfi-n ^!q< 2 .V d
PLATE VIII
The holy Rastekaise mountain in Utsjoki in Fin-
nish Lapland, on the top of which there are two
large stones. Even today it is regarded with awe
by the superstitious. (See page 103.)
Water-colour by V. Soldan-Brofeldt.
THE SEIDES OF THE LAPPS
105
shipped by the Lapp families or clans as guardian-spirits.
That also in the Swedish Lapmark a dim idea of the origin
of the Seide-cult has remained behind, is shown by the follow-
ing words of the missionary Rheen: “These stones were set
up on the mountains, in clefts between the rocks, or by rivers
and seas, on places where they at some time or other had heard
ghostly noises.” 18 The Finnish Lapps have also preserved
certain interesting knowledge. A man, who happened to sleep
the night near a holy place, saw in his dreams “ all kinds of
ghosts, animals and human beings.” It is also worth mention-
ing, that near these places one must never speak ill of the
dead, as otherwise those underground become angry . 19
The Lapps believe also that the Seide can appear to its
worshipper in human form. In the account of a sacrifice in
the eighteenth century, it is stated: “Then a being in human
form, like a great ruler, extremely good to look at, dressed in
expensive garments and trinkets, appears and sits down to take
part in their meal, speaks with them and teaches them new arts,
and says that he lives in the stone or mountain to which they
sacrifice.” 20 To the Lule Lapps the Seide appeared in the
form of a well-built, tall man, dressed in black like a gentle-
man, with a gun in his hand . 21 Also among the Finnish
Lapps Fellman heard a story about a man who was about to
destroy his Seide because of his poor luck at fishing, but de-
sisted when it appeared before him in human form . 22
The matter is still further illustrated by the belief that the
Seide is a human being turned to stone . 23 The following
account was written down in Russian Lapmark. Near the
Puljarvi Lake lived an old woman, whose husband, after his
death, would visit her in the night. The old woman, who
would have nothing to do with the dead, locked her door
and smoked out her house, but got no peace from the deceased
in spite of these precautions. She related her troubles to a
shaman who happened to visit her house. He tried to soothe
her, promising to remain overnight. In the evening he tidied
10 6 FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
the bothie, placing all the woman’s belongings on one side
and sweeping the other side clean ; in the corner he placed a
few fish-bones. Soon, both heard the deceased examining the
fishing-net outside, after which he came into the bothie, plac-
ing himself on the place that had been swept clean, where he
commenced to gnaw at the fish-bones. Then the shaman got
up and taking the dead by the hand, led him into the yard.
Having remained for some time outside, the shaman came
back, telling the woman that the deceased would no longer
trouble her. “ Look up at the sky tomorrow morning,” he
said when he had finished, and went away. When the woman
went out into the yard the next day, she saw something black
moving in the sky, and sinking down to the opposite shore of
the Puljarvi Lake. The visits of the deceased ceased from
that day, but at a slight distance from Puljarvi a Seide had
appeared. 24
The Russian Lapps have generally speaking had the same
views of their Seides as of their dead. According to their
ideas, they live a similar life to the Lapps, keeping reindeer
and dogs, building houses, preparing sleighs, etc. The Lapps
say they have heard how the Seide spirits hunt, how their
dogs bark and how the snow creaks as they travel on their
Lapp sleighs. They believe that the Seides are born and die,
and even, at times, celebrate weddings. 25 They are invisible
spirits, but have the power, like the dead, of appearing in
animal form, especially as birds. Thus, they relate how a
Seide often flew up out of a chasm in the mountains in the
shape of a raven. With this view of the Russian Lapps may
be compared the similar one of the Swedish Lapps that the
Seide is a bird, turned into stone as it sank down out of the
air; on this account one could often make out the general
outlines of a bird in these stones. 20
If we, finally, remember that many of these Seides might
be found together, forming a family, we need not be at all
uncertain as to the origin of this ancient cult. It is possible
THE SEIDES OF THE LAPPS
107
that some of these Seide places were former dwelling or
burial places, but that this is not always the case appears, for
example, from the following account from the Swedish Lap-
mark: “ They believe that the Seide spirits live in some places,
to which on account of the height of the mountain they can-
not reach } they, therefore, smear a stone with the blood of the
reindeer sacrificed in honour of the Seide and throw the stone
high up on the mountain, where the Seide spirit dwells.” 27
How closely connected were the “ spirit ” and the stone,
one may see from the belief of the Lapps, that the Seide
stone could move about and that it was dangerous for a human
being to pass over the “ wander-path ” of the holy stone.
The stone was also supposed to be impressionable and capable
of feeling} when necessary it could be punished by striking it
or by hammering out pieces from it. If it began to be re-
garded as a dangerous neighbour, the Lapps would destroy
it altogether by shattering, burning, or throwing it into the
water. This was the death of the Seide . 28
According to an inherited tradition, the Lapps near the
Sompio Lake were “ so modest and easily satisfied in the
choice of their gods, that they worshipped that which first met
their glance on going out from the tent — a stone, or the
stump of a tree. The next morning the Lapp would have a
new god should his first glance in the morning happen to fall
on some other object.” 29 According to this report, the only
one of its kind, the Lapps thus also worshipped the so-called
u accidental gods,” which certain investigators believe that they
have found among a few primitive peoples.
Besides the Seides of stone, the Lapps had also wooden
ones. They were either tree-stumps embedded in the ground,
or posts driven into it. The wooden Seides do not appear to
have possessed any definite shape. It is stated, however,
that on an island in the foaming Darra rapids in the Tarne
River certain posts resembling human beings have been
found. They stood in a line one after another, the first of the
108 FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
height of a man, the other four somewhat smaller; each had
something resembling a hat on its head. 30 Among the Finnish
Lapps the method of preparing Seides of wood has been pre-
served. A growing tree was chopped off about a yard or two
yards from the ground; the upper end was then shaped into
the resemblance of a funnel, and covered with a slab of stone;
in this way the tree was prevented from rotting. Pillars of
this description are said to have been formed by the Lapps
“ to the honour of the water,” near waters rich in fish. 31
Fig. 5. Lapp Sacrificial Posts
According to Appelgren
The “ sacrifice-stumps ” of the Swedish Lapps were from
two to three yards high. They were shaped roughly to re-
semble a human being, with “ head and neck,” which were
then smeared over with blood. The “ sacrifice-stump ” was
used only once, but “ in spite of this, it was never destroyed.”
For this reason, a missionary might at one and the same place
see “ a legion of wooden gods.” The relations between these
and the stone gods is made clear in a note by Hogstrom: “ Un-
doubtedly, they make some definite difference between the
times of sacrifice to the different gods; but this I have not
been able to ascertain. However, as far as I do know, they
THE SEIDES OF THE LAPPS
109
worship the stone gods when in the neighbourhood of these,
but otherwise gods of wood.” 32 It would appear, therefore,
that the wooden pillars were set up only as occasion arose,
perhaps to represent some spirit dwelling in a more distant
place. The stone Seides were regarded by the Lapps, accord-
ing to Hogstrom, as being much more holy than those of
wood . 33 These wooden Seides are not, however, to be con-
founded with the wooden images fashioned to represent
Nature gods.
Sacrifices to the Seides were naturally not offered up in pre-
cisely the same manner over the whole of the wide Lapland
area, but one may observe general main forms of an archaic
kind among them.
-
One of the very best accounts of a sacrifice, which has been
preserved for posterity, dates from the seventeenth century
and is from the Lule Lapps. When these had decided to
make an offering, they bound fast the sacrificial animal behind
the tent, thrust a knife into its heart and carefully gathered its
heart’s blood. The horns and the bones from the head and
neck, together with the hoofs, were carried to the holy place
in which their Seide stood. When the Lapp had come to the
Seide, he took off his hat, bowed low to the idol and smeared
it with blood and fat from the sacrifice. The horns were
piled in a great pyramid behind the stone, the pile being called
the “ horn-yard ” and containing sometimes as many as a
thousand horns. Of the meat of the sacrifice which was eaten
by those making the offering themselves, a small piece was
cut from every quarter, threaded on to a switch of birch and
hung on to the front of the horns. At times the slaughtering
might take place at the holy place, the meat being then pre-
pared and eaten there. Besides the bones, the hide of the
reindeer was also left on the holy mountain ; the head was
hung on a tree, where such were to be found in the vicinity
of the idol . 34
The Kemi Lapps had a custom of cutting down a tree near
no
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
the Seide stone, calling it the luete-muor (“ sacrifice tree ”).
Before the sacrifice the god was asked, by lifting him, what
he wished in return for giving assistance in some matter or
other. The animal chosen for the offering was bound fast to
the tree and slaughtered “ after a long speech.” Both the
stone and the tree were besmeared with blood, and when the
meat was prepared, small strips were cut out of it, threaded
on to a ring made of young pliable branches and hung up in
the sacrifice tree. After which, the sacrificial meal was begun.
Should anything be left over, it could not be taken home but
must be left at the place together with the animal’s hide and
horns . 36
The Norwegian Lapps, before the slaughtering, cut a small
piece out of each ear and the tail of the animal and placed
them before the god as a preliminary taste. The sacrificial
animal was killed by stabbing, and flayed in such a manner
that the horns and the hoofs remained fast to the hide. There-
after, several small sticks were prepared, lines and figures
being cut in them. The sticks were called “ the sacrifice tree ”
and were placed smeared with blood near the god ; their func-
tion was to represent “ wax candles.” We see from this that
the Lapps at that time tried to ape Scandinavian customs. When
the meat was carved, a piece from every quarter was cut out
for the idol. The fire was made in a fixed spot, near which
there had to be, where possible, a spring or brook; the whole
of the flesh of the sacrifice was cooked at once. With the fat
that rose in the cauldron and with the blood, the sacrificial
priest smeared certain curiously-shaped stones, placing them
afterwards near the god. Then, with his followers, he finished
off the whole of the carcase, taking due care not to spread the
bones about, but to leave all on the place of offering, where
the hide also was left. During the performance of the sacri-
fice, the Lapps sang their songs, which they call luete (= Fin-
nish luote , “ magic song,” Scandinavian blot, “ offering ”). 36
Slightly differing from the foregoing was the sacrificial
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PLATE IX
1. Lapp Seides made of tree-stumps or posts,
roughly carved in human form. (See pages 107—8.)
Drawn by Teringskiold.
2. Rastekaise, a holy mountain of the Lapps, with
two sacred stones. (See page 103.)
After photograph by L. Hannikainen.
THE SEIDES OF THE LAPPS
hi
custom of the Russian Lapps, as described by Genetz. Cer-
tain features of the performance seem to point to a sacrifice
in honour of Nature gods. The sacrifice had to be begun
early in the morning and the gods prayed to with the face
turned towards the east. After the flesh had been devoured,
the hide with horns and hoofs attached was built up with
branches of birch and fixed to a pole in a position resembling
that of a live reindeer . 37 Up to a few score years ago these
Lapps sacrificed as many as twenty-four reindeer at a time.
A great sacrificial feast of this description was not, however,
celebrated every year, nor were the reindeer killed all at once,
but during the space of several days, a few at a time. All
the participants in the feast had to cleanse themselves and
put on clean garments. The sacrificial food was regarded as
being so holy, that one might not spill any even on one’s
garments. During the ceremony the shaman stood alone, at
one side, with his face turned to the east. The reindeer hides
that were stuffed with birch-twigs were also placed with their
heads to the east. After the ceremonies the priests had to
cleanse themselves again . 38
Besides reindeer, the proper time for sacrificing which was
in the autumn, the Lapps also slaughtered other animals in
honour of their Seides, such as birds and other game, occa-
sionally also strange domestic animals procured from their
neighbours. Sometimes a dog might be offered up entire to
the Seide, or living animals, which were imprisoned in chasms
in the mountain or grottoes, or were left alive on some solitary
island as a gift to the gods. There are even reports of chil-
dren being sacrificed . 39
In like manner as the Mountain Lapps sacrificed their rein-
deer, the Fisher Lapps fed their Seides on fish. When a
fisherman went out to fish, he generally went first to the stone,
kissed it three times and said: “ If I now succeed in catching
fish in the sea or the river, I promise thee their intestines and
livers.” After making a catch, the promise was fulfilled.
1 1 2
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
Even as late as the middle of the last century, the Norwegian
Lapps are said to have sometimes smeared their stones in secret.
As sacrifices to the Seides in later periods, there are reports
of money being offered up, both in Finnish and Russian Lap-
mark; also rings of brass, tobacco, etc., all of which objects
were placed in small hollows in the stones . 40
If we follow the development of religious beliefs and cus-
toms among other related peoples, we can observe that the
Seides worshipped by the Lapps under the naked sky, contain
two different classes of spirits, of which the one, the so-called
house or family gods, little by little, are generally moved into
the dwelling-house of the worshipper; while to the other, to
whom might be given the Greek name “ heroes,” many people
began to build special small bothies.
CHAPTER VIII
FAMILY GODS
T HE TERM family gods is here meant to express such
tutelary genii as are worshipped by each separate family
and whose images are kept at home, or in the vicinity of the
home, and which the family carry along with them when re-
moving from one place to another. As already stated in an
earlier chapter, Tornaeus relates about the Seides of the Lapps
by the Torne Lake that among “ many gods ” there was always
one which was the highest and foremost, the principal god,
which alone was worshipped by the whole village. It was
set up in an elevated place, in order to be seen and honoured
by everybody, but those which were merely “ family gods,”
stood in lower places. Whether the Lapps carried their family
gods with them during their rovings, is uncertain, and also
whether they used to keep them in their tents.
The family gods of the Samoyeds are made of wood or
consist of stones only, the latter often of a peculiar form.
The father of the family may have as many as fifteen dif-
ferent “ dolls,” generally dressed in reindeer-skins or in
gowns of cloth. These clothes may not be sewn, but are
wrapped or tied around the god. When travelling, the gods
are conveyed in sleighs made specially for them, and during
the journey the “ sleigh of the gods ” must be the last in the
caravan. These images are well kept; they get new clothes
every year, and sacrifices are made to them from time to
time, though these are, indeed, very often of little value.
On the occasion of sacrificing, they are taken out of their
sleigh, which is outside the holy back of the tent, and set up
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
114
on a dais made solely for the occasion, or are carried into the
tent and placed in its sacred background. When sacrificing
reindeer to them, the Samoyeds besmear the mouths of the
images with blood and lard. When they make images of
their family gods, the shaman must conjure up a spirit to
live in them. Sometimes the gods have, ' in their vicinity,
small arms and tools made of lead, and, for company and
help, images of the spirits of animals . 1
Like the Samoyeds the Northern Ostiaks also preserve and
carry their family gods with them in a special sleigh. A more
common custom among the Ostiaks and also the Voguls,
seems to be the harbouring of them in the dwelling-house
itself near the back part of the tent, in a chest or case. Later
they have begun to keep them also in a barn, or in the attic.
The family gods may be made of wood, metal, hides, etc.
Besides all sorts of victuals, such as meat, fish, gin, they re-
ceive for clothing, offerings of hides, kerchiefs, pieces of cloth,
etc. The feeding of the family gods takes place, among the
above-named races, at hours that are not fixed beforehand . 2
Traces of the social signification of the family gods among
the Finno-Ugric peoples, have, however, been best preserved
among the Votiaks, who live a settled existence. By acquaint-
ing oneself with their beliefs and customs, one can clearly
discern that these family gods are really the late forefathers
of the family, who are worshipped from generation to genera-
tion as the tutelary genii of the family. In their capacity of
protectors of the family prosperity, a small building is devoted
to them on the Votiak farm. Its name kuala or kua is of
Finno-Ugric origin and corresponds to the Finnish kota.
The kuala is a barn-like, square building of timber, without
a basement. It has neither windows nor ceiling, and the floor
consists of hard-stamped earth. In the middle of the floor
there is a fireplace bordered with stones, and on this a large
iron cauldron is kept, resting either on the stones or attached to
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PLATE X
1. Samoyed, stone Family-god clothed and lifted
on a tree trunk. (See page 1 1 3. )
After photograph by K. Donner.
2. Family-gods of the Ostiaks. (See page 114.)
After photograph by Adrianov.
FAMILY GODS
u 5
an iron chain hanging down from the rafters. From the fire-
place the smoke goes out through an opening in the wooden
roof. The low door was formerly situated on the south side.
Sometimes we find the kuala divided into two parts, or an
extra building erected behind it. The inner part is generally
held sacred, and women are not allowed to enter it. At the
present time, the Votiaks use the kuala only as a depository
for household utensils, but in olden times, before their archi-
tecture had developed into its present form, the kuala was the
only dwelling-house of the Votiak family.
A reminiscence of these distant times, of which the Votiaks
still speak in their tales, is the custom in some districts of still
using the kuala , not only as a storehouse, but also as a room
for cooking and eating by the family, especially during the
warm season. In this case, it is generally fitted up like a
dwelling-house; along the walls run solid benches of red-
wood, and in the corner nearest the door there is a table round
which, in summer, the family assemble to take their meals.
At times there will be found, near the door, a cupboard for
holding household utensils. The most notable and remarkable
object is, however, a shelf of wood in the cupboard, dark with
age and situated at the height of a man, on which may be seen
in some districts even in our days, a little case with a lid. This
little case is the most sacred object of the Votiaks, for in its
vicinity the living believe they can approach departed genera-
tions. As a sanctuary, the kuala has been retained in its former
condition, though the Votiaks, now that agriculture has become
their principal means of existence, have begun to build more
modern dwelling-houses for themselves.
The resemblance of the kuala cult to the worship of the
spirits of the dead is seen in the fact that the kuala sacrifices
must always be performed within the particular family. A
person belonging to one family will never enter the sanctuary
of another family in order to perform a sacrifice. How par-
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
1 1 6
ticular the Votiaks are in this respect is shown by the fact that
if the family has a foster-son of another family, he must,
during the kuala sacrifice, go to the prayin g-kuala of his
own family, even though the latter be situated in another
village. Further, the alien position of a married woman in
her husband’s family is shown by the usage of the Votiaks
of calling her by the name of her kuala-iamAy as a distinction
from the family which she entered by her marriage. In the
beginning of her married life, she is even for a time obliged to
frequent her own family kuala , in order to sacrifice there,
when sickness or other troubles occur. From the above the
signification of the kuala cult in the social life of the Votiaks
will be clearly seen. As an uninterrupted tie of union between
those belonging to the same family or tribe, and not only be-
tween the living but also between the living and the departed,
this cult unites the present with the dark primeval time. Every
Votiak considers it his holiest duty to know his origin, even
after removing to a strange neighbourhood. This is, indeed,
not very difficult, as every Votiak family has a particular de-
nomination of its own. These family names are words, the
meaning of which has been generally forgotten, such as mozga ,
utsa , etc. By the family name kinsfolk may know each other
even in a strange place. This fact is of all the more importance
as the Votiaks consider it a crime to marry within the same
kuala family, obstacles to marriage being confined not only
to the nearest of kin but extended over a comparatively large
circle.
Originally, the Votiak villages were family villages ; hence
a village and a family living in it often bear the same name;
at times, a newly built village is called by the name of the
home village. If, in such a village, there are several families,
the village generally takes the name of the oldest family
Jiving in it. Certain instances from the District Sarapul will
show that the Votiaks really have a natural tendency to keep
together almost as one family. Some time ago, in a village
FAMILY GODS
ii7
called Norja, sixteen fathers of families still lived in such
economic nearness, that in spite of their inhabiting different
houses, they took their meals in common. In another village,
twenty men, living separately, were subordinate to one com-
mon head . 3
Besides by means of the family name, the Votiaks are united
by the stamp with which they mark their property. This
mark is generally the picture of some object, such as a goose-
foot, an axe, etc. (The Ostiaks at an earlier time used also
pictures of animals.)
The mark of the father is left to the eldest son, who lives on
in his father’s cottage. The other male members of the same
family, must therefore, when removing from the paternal
home, procure a new mark for themselves, which is generally
done by making a trifling addition to or slightly changing the
mark of their former home. Having received their own,
they do not, however, forget the mark of their fathers, which,
at the same time, belongs to the kuaia sanctuary still in exist-
ence in their former home. Left thus as an inheritance by the
father to the eldest son, a mark may sometimes be very old.
As in the case of the family name, blood relations may also,
by means of the mark, know each other in strange parts.
As a family inheritance, the eldest son, after the death of
the father, besides the homestead, the mark and the kuaia,
also receives the office of “ kuaia guardian,” whose duty it is
to perform family sacrifices. Should there be no male heir,
the office of “ kuaia guardian ” is inherited by the brother of
the deceased or by some other of the nearest male relations.
Besides worshipping in the kuaia sanctuary of the family,
which by its master is used at the same time as a storehouse
and a kitchen, and in which only the family in question wor-
ships, the Votiaks take part in the sacrifices also in the kuaia
whose guardian is, if possible, a lineal descendant of the
founder of the village family. Compared with the latter
the family sanctuary is called “ the little kuaia” Of little
1 1 8
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
kualas there are many to be found in a village, not so many,
however, as there are families, for every kuala is not a sanc-
tuary. This springs from the fact that every Votiak who has
founded a family and home of his own does not mark a sanc-
tuary for himself at once, but continues to worship in his
father’s kuala , and should he have none, in the kuala of his
grandfather, the guardian of which is a lineal descendant of
the latter, and, where possible, an eldest son. Thus we find
here another suggestion that the Votiak family was formerly
larger than at the present time, comprising several sub-fam-
ilies, who most likely lived in the same complex of houses,
obeying the same head.
-
Of “ great kualas ” there is, on the other hand, only one,
if the village is a family village, as are most of the old Votiak
villages. If, as often happens when founding a new village,
people descended from different families are included in the
population, there will be as many kualas in the village as there
are families. Every “ great kuala ” is called after its respec-
tive family: mozga kuala , utsa kuala y etc. The worshippers of
the kuala are likewise called after their family: mozga pijos
i 11 mozga sons”), utsa pijos , etc. From the number of the
great kualas one can thus easily find out how many families
there are in a village. Especially among the Eastern Votiaks,
there are villages formed of several different families which
have moved to strange parts as settlers. Where there are
several great kualas in a village, these are generally to be
found in the houses of their guardians} they differ in no way
from a private kuala and are also used like the last named as
store-rooms for household utensils. Should, however, the
village be inhabited by one family only, there being conse-
quently only one “ great kuala” the latter attains an entirely
different position from the other kualas. In its capacity of
the common property of the village, the “ great kuala ” or
“ village kuala ” is generally situated in the garden of its
guardian, or in a particular enclosure either in the village or
PLATE XI
Votiak Kuala or Sanctuary of the
Family-Gods
(See page 1 14.)
After photograph by U. Holmberg.
FAMILY GODS
119
near it. As a village sanctuary,, the kuala has attained an ex-
clusively religious significance, being sometimes considered so
sacred that, for instance, no women are allowed to enter it.
Thus, among the Votiaks, it has generally developed into a
kind of temple, which development, in the southern parts, at
least, has evidently been influenced by the Mohammedan
prayer-houses of the Tatar villages.
In the family kuala , as in the village kuala , the sacrifice
shelf is generally situated on the back wall, most often in the
left-hand corner there. On holy days, offerings are placed
on the shelf, but, generally, it is for the most part empty,
when not occupied by articles necessary for the sacrifices.
In some instances, there is, under the sacrifice shelf, a cup-
board about a yard high, in which are kept, besides the sacrifice
utensils, smaller offerings. The Votiaks believe that the
“ Luck-protector,” Vorsud, lives near the sacrifice shelf.
Formerly, there was, on the sacrifice shelf, a little case with a
lid to it made of linden bark, which is still to be found in some
parts, e.g., in the Government of Kazan. The size and form
of the sacrifice case vary somewhat in different places. For
the most part, they are round, but very often we also find
oblong and square ones. A sacrifice case may sometimes be
found to be very old and darkened by the smoke in the kuala y
having been handed down as a sacred heirloom from father
to son for generations.
In our time, the Vorsud case, in both family and village
kualas , is generally empty. But can it be possible that a re-
ceptacle regarded with such superstitious awe, forbidden to
women and strangers to approach, was always thus empty?
Several authorities, for the most part among the very oldest,
relate that they have seen many different objects in these
cases: ancient coins, the bones of birds, gaily coloured feathers,
squirrel skins, sheep’s wool, etc. But again, could these trifles,
possessing obviously more the nature of sacrifices than of ob-
jects of worship, have been venerated by the Votiaks? When
120 FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
one compares the sacred background of the kuala with the
corner of the bothies regarded as holy by both the Ostiaks and
the Voguls, and the sacrifice case with the god-chest of the
latter, which is not empty, but among these more primitive
peoples contains images of their tutelary genii, is it not more
likely that the Votiaks’ sacrifice case was also in former days
a similar home for their family gods? In our days, there are
certainly no images to be found among them. Even in the
oldest sources we find it written that the Votiaks possess
neither pictured nor carven images. But the memory of gods
who formerly dwelt in these cases has not altogether died out,
and the Christian Votiaks place even today a picture of a
saint on the same shelf that, earlier, held their spirit offerings.
The scanty traditions, however, give no clear idea of the
images of the Votiak family spirits. Assuming that the sacri-
fice cases, the circumference of which is, on an average, about
one hundred and twenty centimeters, and the height about
thirty centimeters, have not become very much altered in the
course of time, we may conclude that the images were not
very large. Most likely they were just such clumsy, dressed
wooden dolls as the Votiaks still make for themselves during
severe illnesses, in order to remove the illness from the patient
to the doll. Such would also seem to have been the images
of the Siryans, judging from the fact that in the life of St.
Stephen, their apostle, it is stated that their images resembled
human beings, had noses, mouths and even feet, and that they
were either carved, or hollowed out. As they were made of
wood, St. Stephen was able to chop them into pieces with an
axe and burn them. There was a great number of them “ both
in the villages and dwelling houses.” 4
When beginning their sacrifice, the Votiaks place fresh
green twigs on the corner shelf of the kuala , under the sacri-
fice case. In autumn or in spring, or, generally during the
time when the trees are leafless, they use, when sacrificing,
twigs of the silver pine ( Pinus fichta or sibirica ), but in the
FAMILY GODS
1 21
summer birch twigs. The use of green twigs certainly origi-
nates from very ancient times, for this custom has also been
observed among the Lapps, of whom missionaries relate that
they placed birch twigs under their images in the summer,
and fir twigs in the winter.
This custom of laying green twigs on the sacrifice shelf,
which, together with the sacrificing, belongs to the most im-
portant duties of the kuala guardians, has, curiously enough,
been kept up even in parts where the sacrifice cases, not to
speak of images, are no longer to be found. This is particu-
larly the case among the Eastern Votiaks. Among these we
seldom find sacrifice cases, but on the other hand we may see,
even in our days, on every sacrifice shelf, whether there be
sacrifice vessels there or not, twigs more or less faded, accord-
ing to the time that has passed since the sacrifice. In several
places, these twigs, which originally were of quite a secondary
importance compared with the images, are regarded with the
same superstitious awe as the latter. Only the officiating
priest, who on holy days burns the old twigs and places fresh
ones in their stead, is allowed to touch them. Certain investi-
gators have supposed that these same twigs have been objects
of worship . 5 This is, however, a mistake, though the twigs
have at times had the high honour of being removed from
their place under the “ case ” to the “ case ” itself, and in
this way the original idea became confused. That the kuala
cult is concentrated around the sacrifice shelf and the “ case,”
is proved, above all, by the custom of the sacrificing priest’s
standing, ’while praying, with his face turned towards the
sacrifice shelf.
We have stated earlier that not every Votiak kuala is used
as a sanctuary. This it may become only by means of particu-
lar inaugural ceremonies, generally performed in the summer.
On a day fixed beforehand, the person who intends to obtain
for himself a Vorsud of his own, invites a few guests, gen-
erally two men and two women. The guests having arrived,
122
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
the young master and mistress, with their guests, proceed to
the head of the family who is at the same time the guardian
of the Vorsud kuala , taking bread and gin with them.
On arriving, they begin to feast in the house of the chief.
The latter invites one of his neighbours and his wife, and these
officiate as host and hostess, the host of the feast entertaining
the men, and the hostess the women. When the guests have
been sufficiently entertained, the host and his wife begin
singing wedding songs, in which those present also join.
Lastly, the guests go to their neighbours for more hospitality
and return to the kuala guardian in the evening. On their
return, porridge is cooked by the guardian of the family kuala.
The one who intends to secure a Vorsud for himself, now
goes to the kuala , takes some ashes from the fireplace, and
wraps them in a clean white cloth, saying: “ I take the smaller
and leave the greater.” He then places the bundle of ashes
on the shelf of the kuala and sits down to the sacrificial por-
ridge together with the other guests. After the meal he goes
back to the kuala y takes the ashes from the shelf, and sets
out for home with his guests. During the journey home, the
escort of the Vorsud play and sing, the mistress of the new
kuala meanwhile keeping a copper coin in her mouth until they
arrive at the homestead. When starting out into the street,
on the way home, and on arrival, she dances to the music of a
stringed instrument. The ashes conveyed in this manner are
now placed on the shelf of the new kuala , the master saying:
“ I, thy master, have brought thee here with reverential
ceremonies, be not angry therefore, and when we pray to thee,
hear our prayers.”
In some places, the feast is held, according to an older cus-
tom, in the kuala itself, where a functionary, with a loaf
received from the guardian of the old kuala , turns to the
Vorsud with the following words: “ Vorsud, come with us to
another place; do not take offence, old ones, deceased ones.”
Later, he does the same thing with a loaf from the son,
PLATE XII
1. Votiak case for the Vorsud or “ Luck-pro-
tector ” with offerings on the sacrifice shelf. (See
page 1 19.)
After photograph by Y. Wichmann.
2. Votiak village or Great Kuala . (See page
1 18.)
After photograph by U. Holmberg.
FAMILY GODS
123
afterwards handing the father’s loaf to the son, and the son’s
to the father. When the son who has separated from the
home of his father, has received the bread, he reverently
carves a chip from the pot hanger of wood suspended from the
ceiling. He takes, further, ashes from the hearth, and conveys
these with the chip to the newly founded kuala of his new
home . 6
A curious statement is that he who carries the Vorsud must
not put his foot on the bare ground, but must walk all the time
on planks laid on the ground.
Many circumstances in the above descriptions recall the
customs followed at a Votiak wedding. The very tunes
played on this occasion are wedding tunes. In some places,
it is further customary to distribute presents at the kuala
feast, as at a wedding. In the District of Mamadysh a custom
recalling a wedding is connected with the above mentioned
ceremonies, namely, that the Vorsud is taken to the new home
like a bride in a sleigh with two horses and tinkling bells, the
women being dressed in wedding costume. That the Votiaks
themselves consider the Vorsud feast to be a wedding festivity
is seen from the name of this feast, mudor suan (“ mudor
wedding ”). Among the Votiaks, certain ceremonies recalling
those of the mudor wedding are now observed at the inaugura-
tion of the modern huts used in these days. They also call
this festivity “ hut wedding ” ( korka suan), on which occasion
as at a wedding a “ host ” (lord) officiates. As the Indo-Euro-
pean races observe similar customs, we may assume that the
Volga Finns acquired theirs through a foreign culture. The
fact, however, that the above named ceremonies refer to a
time when the Votiaks were still living in the old kuala , in-
dicates that they date from a comparatively distant time.
The very word mudor, which phonetically corresponds to
the Finnish mantere (“ earth foundation ”), recalls a different
kind of removing ceremony, described by Aminoff. w When
leaving his father’s home to found a household of his own,
124
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
the son descends under the floor of the hut, takes a little earth
from there, and also fire from the hearth of the hut and then
prays to the son of the family spirit to accompany him to the
new home.” 7 A similar custom, when removing, seems to
have been known also among the Siryans in former times.
This appears from the following statement by Nalimov: “ Even
in our days, everyone, on leaving home for a long journey,
takes with him a handful of earth from under the earth foun-
dation of his home. This earth protects him from accidents
and nostalgia.” 8 Similar beliefs are to be found among the
Baltic Finns. Among the Ingrians a custom has been found of
giving to a bride who is going to a strange neighbourhood, a
bundle containing earth from the earth foundation under the
floor of her native hut, to protect her from nostalgia. Like-
wise, they believe that a domestic animal removed to another
farm, will not miss its former home, if, when removing it,
some earth is also brought from the outhouse where the animal
was kept before . 9
In the earliest times, the founder of a new family, when
parting from the home of his fathers, seems to have received
one or several images of his family spirits, to take with him,
the Lapps believing these to descend as an inheritance from
father to son, like any other property. On account of the fact
that the Votiaks have not, for a long time, used images, no
exact statements concerning this custom are to be found. Only
a few traditions and customs point back to this distant time.
Wichmann relates about the District Urzhum, that on leaving
his father’s home, a son was given also a part of the contents
of the sacrifice case . 10 Another writer mentions that the
sacrifice case of the new kuala must be made in the old kuala ,
and before being removed, it must have lain for some time on
the sacrifice shelf of the old kuala . 11 This may be the origin
of the words in the above mentioned custom among the Votiaks
when removing the Vorsudj “ I take the smaller and leave
the greater.” To receive a Vorsud from his native home is
FAMILY GODS
125
of such great importance to the son that if for one reason or
another the father quarrels with his son and refuses to give
him a Vorsud, the son must procure it by robbery. If the son
who is angry with his father says, when taking the Vorsud:
“ I leave the smaller, I take the greater,” the consequence,
according to the interpretation of the magicians, is that the
son gets the older Vorsud, and, in a religious sense, stands
higher than his father. If, after this, any of his younger
brothers is in want of a Vorsud, he must apply to his brother
with his request and not to his father . 12
After the mudor wedding, the kuala, is a sanctuary ; the
Vorsud lives in it, and from that day, worship is carried out
there. To keep up this is the sacred duty not only of that
generation, but also of the following, for according to the
beliefs of the Votiaks, the sacrifices in a building consecrated
as a sanctuary must never be interrupted. He who does not
observe this rule, will meet with some great accident. The
people tell with terror how such persons have lost their prop-
erty, have gone mad, etc. If, for instance at the change of
guardians, the kuala should be removed from one place to
another, the building is pulled down, and the timber of the
walls is placed in the same order when built anew. The
ashes of the hearth, the stones, and the Vorsud case are taken
with ceremony to the new place, together with the timber.
Besides being removed when changing a guardian, the kuala
may also be taken away for some other reason. Thus, for in-
stance, it once happened that a sacrificial bull, when about to
be killed, broke loose and ran away from a “ great kuala ”
the sacrificers, in the midst of their devotions, having to leave
off and pursue it. The place where the animal was at last
caught, was considered to be so pleasing to the kuala spirit
that the whole building was removed there . 13 If, from any
cause, people are obliged to destroy a kuala , the sacrifice case
and the stones of the hearth may not on any account be lost.
As an instance of the superstition of the Votiaks the following
126
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
legend is mentioned: A man destroyed his kuala and built in
its stead a barn, leaving the sacrifice case and the stones under
the hearth. Once, some young men who had gone there to
sleep were awakened suddenly by groans from under the barn,
like the wailing of a sick man. The next night the same wail-
ing was heard. At last, the master himself went to sleep there,
and found that it was none other than the Vorsud who was
moaning. He then promised to remove the stones and the
case into a new kuala , which he did, and thenceforward there
was silence in the barn . 14
Considering that the name of Vorsud, at the sacrifice meet-
ings of the Votiaks, is generally used in the singular, most
frequently in connection with the kuala family’s name, as
“ mozga Vorsud,” “ utsa Vorsud,” etc., it would seem as if
every Votiak kuala had possessed only one family spirit. This
was, however, not so in olden times, as is proved by the cir-
cumstance that the Votiaks consider themselves able to dis-
tribute them among their descendants. In one prayer the
name of Vorsud is also used in the plural . 15 The idea of
several spirits in one kuala appears, moreover, in the follow-
ing legend: A certain Votiak became a Christian and re-
nounced the ancient customs of sacrifice, but did not destroy
his kuala. After some time the spirits began annoying him;
when lying in bed, he seemed to feel a heavy stone pressing
on his breast; when he went to the barn to sleep, the spirits
came there, too, to annoy him. At last, the man made up his
mind to shoot them, and one night he walked about, gun in
hand, waiting for them. At midnight three persons in white
came out of the kuala> the first a beardless youth, the second
also young but with the beginnings of a beard, the third, a
woman. The man fired, and the vision vanished at once.
After that they did not show themselves any more, but re-
moved to another place, sending the man a severe illness as a
punishment . 16
The above story, showing that in one and the same kuala
-
PLATE XIII
Vorsud Case Venerated by the Votiaks
(See page 1 19.)
Water-colour by V. Soldan-Brofeldt.
FAMILY GODS
127
there were several family spirits, points also to their human
origin. According to the belief of the Votiaks, the kuala
spirits generally appear as human beings. At times, however,
though rarely, the Vorsud may reveal itself in some other
form. In a story of the Votiaks in the District of Glazov, a
kuala sanctuary is mentioned as having been on the site where
the present town of Vyatka is situated. It is related that
when the Russian settlers, after having driven out the Votiaks
from their then dwelling-places, began pulling down the kuala ,
a bird flew out of the sanctuary, meeting its death beside the
church just erected, as if stricken by an invisible power . 17
The Votiak, having founded for himself a kuala of his
own, still visits the old kuala , and sometimes even the still
older mother kuala. The first, in comparison with the second,
is a “ little kuala ” likewise the second in comparison with the
third, while the second, compared with the first, is a “ great
kuala ” and in the same way, the third in comparison with
the second. According to their kuala worship the Votiaks are
commonly divided into two groups, to both of which the same
person may belong — the family of the “ great kuala ” and
the family of the “ little kuala.” To illustrate the present
kuala cult of the Votiaks and the relations of the different
family groups with each other, it may be mentioned that the
same Votiak in the village of Ostorma-Yumya in the District
of Mamadysh, besides visiting the “little kuala” which is
situated in his own yard and in whose sacrifices, besides himself,
the families of his three younger brothers take part, also fre-
quents the “ great kuala ” situated in the same village and
visited by seventy-three families in all. The other families in
the village, belonging to other clans, go each their own way to
sacrifice. The above mentioned seventy-three families visit
also the kuala in the neighbouring village or Staraya-Yumya,
from which Ostorma-Yumya and certain other villages were
originally formed. The “ great kuala ” of Staraya- Y umya is
visited, not only by its own villages, but by the seventy-three
128
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
families of Ostorma-Yumya, and, also, by all the persons liv-
ing in the neighbouring villages who belong to the same tribe.
In later days, however, people have more and more ceased
coming from strange villages with their offerings to the “ great
kuala ” of the mother village.
The relationships among the family groups are, of course,
not the same in every Votiak village. Sometimes a “ little
kuala ” may be visited by quite a number of families, up to
several score, this depending wholly on the zeal of the Votiak
families in founding new kuala sanctuaries for themselves.
Those Votiaks, who have removed as settlers, and even
those who now remove far from their native place, and who,
therefore, cannot take part in the sacrifices of their native
village, remember, however, the kuala of their ancestors in
their own kualas. Thus for instance, a Votiak family living
in the village of Mozga in the District of Birsk, remembers the
“ great kuala ” in the native village of the same name in the
district of Yelabuga, because their ancestors had removed
thence, bringing with them mudor. A remarkable feature of
the kuala cult of the Eastern Votiaks is, further, the circum-
stance that the so-called “ little kualas ” have come to be
neglected ; relatives perform their sacrifices only in the mutual
family sanctuary, several of which may be found in one
village, depending on the number of different families. Un-
der such circumstances, mudor weddings take place only when
Votiaks remove as settlers from the old village to a new
one.
Reverence for the old home has been best preserved in the
oldest native districts of the Votiaks, where, in certain neigh-
bourhoods at present uninhabited, we may see remains of
crumbling huts, which are sometimes visited at the command
of the sorcerer, for the purpose of sacrificing in cases of severe
illnesses. A hut of this nature, which is called “ the utter-
most kuala ” is most probably the oldest home of the family
that has been retained in memory.
FAMILY GODS
129
General, regular kuala sacrifices are performed by the
Votiaks at somewhat different times in different places, but,
according to the most widespread custom, three times a year
— in the spring, in summer, and in autumn. Later, it has
become customary to sacrifice much oftener in the family kuala y
in some places on every Christian holy day.
On regular holy days, the Votiaks sacrifice in the “ little ”
as well as in the “ great ” kuala , representatives being some-
times sent also to the greater sanctuary of the mother village.
The sacrificial ceremonies in the different sanctuaries resemble
each other very much, with the exception of unimportant de-
viations. On the other hand, the times and order of sacrificing
in the kualas of different rank vary, sacrifices being sometimes
carried out first in the “ little kuala ” and then in the “ great
kuala ” and vice versa. In some places the sacrificial cere-
monies are held late in the evening, in others in the daytime.
At times the festivity lasts for two or three days.
The oldest account of a kuala sacrifice originates from the
province of Ufa and was published by Ryckov in the eight-
eenth century. The author relates that the Votiaks sacrifice,
“ near certain branches of fir regarded by them as representing
the family god,” a young calf, whose ears they then place on
the shelf on which the fir branches lie. The sacrificial animal
they kill in the sanctuary itself . 18
Of the same period is the description by Georgi, who gives
a more detailed account of the sacrifice performed at Easter.
The author states that both men and women partake in the
ceremony, having cleansed themselves first by taking a bath
in the bathhouse. Each one brings with him to the kuala
guardian the objects necessary for the sacrifice. When the
meat is cooked, the officiating priest places a portion from
every dish and also some beer on a table opposite the door.
On the shelf above the table some fir-twigs are laid, and on
these he puts a dish with morsels from the sacrifice. These
he takes after a while, together with the drinking vessel, in
130
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
his hand, asking from the Vorsud happiness, health, children,
cattle, bread, honey, etc. 19
A later, but much more complete account (1838) describes
a sacrifice in the village of Multan. In this account it is stated
that the guests bring with them to the sanctuary, bread, cakes,
boiled eggs, and, for drink, home-made spirits and beer. Hav-
ing accompanied the sacrificial animal to the middle of the
kuala in front of the “ image,” they place beside it loaves of
bread with eggs on them. If very many loaves have been
brought, those officiating select three whole ones, but of the
others they cut only a piece, placing these slices together with
the eggs on the whole loaves. At the same time, one of the
Votiaks recites prayers over the victim, and another pours
water on it. The prayer done, they begin killing the animal,
letting the blood flow into a cup or a trough \ the skin is
stripped off, the entrails cleaned and the worthless parts buried
in a pit. The sacrificial animal is then cut up, its different
members being severed so that a piece is obtained from each,
the head, the breast, the legs, etc. The meat is boiled in a
pan, into which the blood is also poured. When everything is
ready, the Votiaks begin drinking the gin and tasting the sacri-
ficial food. At the same time, they sacrifice, three times, food
and meat in the fire, pouring into it, also three times, gin
and beer from every vessel. Further, all the bones of the
sacrificial animal are gathered and put into the fire, only those
that will not burn being buried in a pit. The prayer read
during the sacrifice contains invocations to the god to protect
the family, to multiply the cattle and cause the vegetation
to prosper. 20
In the southern and eastern Votiak Districts, women gener-
ally do not appear at the sacrifices, and even when allowed to
come, they stop outside the door with their children. This
does not seem to have been the original custom. Among the
Votiaks of the northern parts, where the ancient original cus-
toms have been partly better preserved, women are always
; / H17 . J C T
? r • rii • ' \
: ;c) i. ; . '
: _U ' o / ' "*>> - 7 . ? '
v-, ,, ? ?
.muoeuM bjIikiWu/I 3 rb men"
PLATE XIV
1. Remains of an old Votiak sacrificial Kuala in
a now uninhabited district. (See page 128.)
2. Vorsud case of the Votiaks with other sacrificial
apparatus. (See page 119.)
From the Nukharka Museum.
FAMILY GODS
131
present when sacrificing at home. At times they have a rep-
resentative of their own even at the kuala festivals, such
representatives, besides the ordinary kuala guardian, being
chosen from each sex for the purpose of arranging the festival
ceremonies. These become the host ( lord ) of the festival and
his wife, who sit each at a different table in different corners.
While officiating, the host keeps his cap on. The guests arrive
in white holiday costume at the sanctuary, where the men take
their places to the left of the fireplace, the women to the right.
Amusements very often follow the sacrifice: music, singing, etc.
The sacrificial priest sings sacrifice songs improvised on the
occasion in question . 21
In our days blood sacrifices at the kuala festivals have
begun to be scarce. When sacrificing for some special reason
they are still necessary, but at the regular festivals it has be-
come customary to sacrifice only bread or porridge. Even if
bread only be sacrificed, the Votiaks, in remembrance of the
older custom, must still light the sacrificial fire. Once a year
however, at least, they must still carry out a blood sacrifice
with materials mutually contributed.
At the sacrifices, the Votiaks place one part of the sacrificial
gifts on the shelf, while another part is burnt in the fire. When
sacrificing bread, they always place it on the shelf in the corner,
on which a white cloth is laid for the purpose. Sometimes
there is placed on the regular sacrifice bread, which the wife of
the kuala guardian makes of spring corn, other little pieces of
bread from all the other families taking part in the sacrifice.
Besides bread, the Votiaks also sometimes put butter, honey,
and drink on the Vorsud shelf. On the occasion of the blood
sacrifice, a little meat porridge, or, when the beast is a big
domestic animal, portions of its most important organs, gener-
ally boiled in different pans, are placed there. In most Dis-
tricts it is customary to place the above named offerings on
the shelf only as long as the prayer is being said. There are
circumstances, however, which indicate that formerly the offer-
132
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
ings were also left in their place for a longer time. Thus,
for instance, it is customary in the District of Mamadysh, when
sacrificing a duck, to leave its head on the sacrifice shelf until
after the second or third day after the kuala festival, when it
is eaten up by the priest. At Easter, a cake or a cup of water
is placed on the shelf for the night, sometimes for a whole
week, after which period persons belonging to the family eat
up the offerings. The women, in general, are not in the habit
of eating of the food placed on the sacrifice shelf.
Such portions of the sacrifice as the Yotiaks place on the shelf,
have also been sacrificed in the fire. Is this dual sacrificial
custom of the kuala cult to be considered as the original, or
are there two different stages of development reflected in these
customs? Aminoff considers that the placing on the shelf is an
older form of the kuala sacrifice, and the throwing into the
fire a more recent one . 22 That the fire sacrifice in general is of
later date among the Finno-Ugric races is seen clearly from the
sacrificial customs of the Lapps.
Besides the blood sacrifices, the purpose of which was prin-
cipally the feasting of the family gods, the Votiaks, in former
times, also carried gifts to their kuala sanctuaries which were in-
tended to serve the spirits as clothing, ornaments, or other holy
property. We have already mentioned that in the ancient sacri-
fice cases of the Votiaks, all kinds of objects, such as skins,
feathers, coins, etc., have been found, which most likely had
been placed there as offerings. In former times, sacrifices of
this kind were of course much more abundant and of more
value, so that many “ great kualas ” became quite remarkable
treasuries. For this reason their doors were well closed in un-
settled times, and the services of a special “ guardian ” were
necessary.
Besides the gift offerings, sacrificial coins are kept in the kuala
sanctuary of the Votiaks, a collection of money being, indeed,
embodied in the sacrificial ceremonies, and generally carried out
after the feast. This is done in such a manner that every guest
FAMILY GODS
133
either puts his mite into the money box or presses it into the
cake that the kuala guardian carries in his hands, after the sacri-
fice. Sometimes the guests bring their money stuck into the
sacrificial bread. This common money, of which much more
was collected formerly than nowadays, is used only for sacred
purposes. With this money they pay for the repair of the
sanctuary and for things necessary at the performance of the
sacrifices, and in addition for the sacrificial animals.
Besides the above mentioned regular sacrificial festivals,
there are others, more or less accidental, celebrated only under
certain circumstances, sometimes in the “ great kuala ” and
sometimes in the “ little kuala ” Occasional sacrifice festivals
are celebrated by the Votiaks when such illnesses or other mis-
fortunes have occurred, as are declared by the sorcerer to origi-
nate from the spirits living in the kuala. The sacrifice is not
killed immediately, but a “ sacrificial vow ” is made first, which,
in case of lack of means, may still be u renewed,” before the
true sacrifice is offered up. But on no account may it be for-
gotten or put off to an indefinite future. Particularly is it
obligatory to sacrifice when a young girl in the family is to be
married. It is related that, in the District Sarapul, when a
bride removes to her new home, she is first taken round the
fireplace in her old home, the while her father prays, with a
measure of gin and another of beer in his hand, promising to
sacrifice an ox, a calf, or some other animal to the family
spirit . 23 In the District Mamadysh it is customary that, on the
wedding day, the young wife makes a sacrificial vow, but the
sacrifice itself generally takes place first in the following
autumn, when she arrives at her native village with a duck
under her arm. The bird is killed and boiled in the u great
kuala” the sacrifice prayer being said by the “ guardian,” who
points out to the Vorsud which of the daughters of the family,
having married, has now removed to another family and is
therefore bringing an offering to the family spirits of her native
home. No other person than the sacrificing priest and the
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
134
sacrificer herself may take part in the performance. Only after
this sacrifice may the wife perform sacrifices in her husband’s
family kuala. In case of illness, however, or some other mis-
fortune, she must, on the advice of the sorcerer, sacrifice to the
kuala of her family.
We have earlier pointed out similarities between some fea-
tures of the Vorsud cult and those of the worship of the spirits
of the deceased. The worship of departed ancestors is, above
all, recalled by the close relationship of the Vorsud to the
family worshipping the same, in whose name it is often ad-
dressed in prayer. It is to be noted, also, that the Votiaks turn
to the Vorsud and to the deceased in exactly the same matters,
chiefly in cases of illness, the Vorsud and the deceased members
of the family being sometimes named side by side in the
same prayer.
In comparing the kuala sacrifices and the order in which
they are performed, with the general memorial festivals of
the Votiaks, celebrated in the dwelling-house, we notice that in
these, customs are observed that resemble the kuala ceremonies.
Thus the Votiaks celebrate memorial festivals, besides those
at home, within a greater family circle, or at the home of the
ancestors of the family, on which occasion they recall together
the memory of the deceased members of the family, in particu-
lar that of the most important. This corresponds to the
Votiaks’ curious fashion of distinguishing between the family
of the “ little kuala ” and that of the “ great kuala .” Thus,
it is no accident that the time of celebrating the regular kuala
festivals and that of the regular memorial festivals fall so near
each other. Evidently, the kuala festivals are only a more an-
cient form of the memorial festivals, in which, instead of
poultry, larger domestic animals were used for the sacrifice.
As the ceremonies at a later time have become altered to some
extent from their earlier form, both have been retained side by
side with each other until our days.
Among other Finno-Ugric peoples, the kuala cult has not
FAMILY GODS
135
-
been preserved to the same extent as among the Votiaks. Many
of them do not even use the old building, although it bears a
name common among all the tribes of these peoples. Remains
of the kuala cult, have, however, been preserved among the
Cheremiss, amongst whom we may still see, in some parts, in
the background of the hut {kudo) a time-darkened case which
these, like the Votiaks, regard as the dwelling of the kudo-
spirit. Nowadays we see there, besides offerings, only dried
birch leaves which are not even always renewed on the occasion
of sacrificing. Most frequently, however, we no longer find
a sacrifice case in a Cheremiss kudo , but in its former place,
the corner shelf continues to be held sacred. No stranger is
allowed to approach the sacrifice shelf, as the kudo - spirit
{kudo-V odyz) may take it amiss, nor does it befit women to
approach it, and even the children are afraid of it and avoid
it. In order to shield the sacred back part of the sanctuary
from injurious contact, the Cheremiss in some parts of the
country used to divide the house by a partition . 24 In the Dis-
trict of Urzhum I heard the back part called “ the little kudo”
At times only one or the other back-corner is separated by
means of a partition of boards. The “little kudo” which is
reached from the “ great ” one through a small door, is, ac-
cording to the Cheremiss, more sacred than the other parts of
the building. Only grown up men may enter there, and not
even these unnecessarily. In bygone days there were kept in
“ the little kudo ” besides the sacrificial objects necessary at
divine service, also arms and implements of the chase. Here
were made, besides, their vows of sacrifice, by bringing in the
firewood necessary when sacrificing in the forest, and the pan
in which the victim was to be boiled. Where there is no
longer any kudo y the sacrifice case is kept in the storehouse in
the entrance to the bathhouse.
The kudo -\ odyz of the Cheremiss, when requiring sacrifice,
also appears in human form in the dreams of the family mem-
bers. The offering is then placed in the above named case,
136 FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
or on the sacred corner shelf. According to the earliest ac-
counts, the Cheremiss slaughtered a black sheep for their god. 25
Nowadays they bring for the most part only small sacrifices,
such as hens and ducks, for occasional reasons, mostly on ac-
count of a certain eye disease (trachoma). At first the sacrificial
vow is fulfilled in such manner that a little meal, some honey,
and cakes or other eatables, are placed on the sacrifice shelf.
The sacrifice itself is not executed until after the lapse of some
time. Then the flour and honey used at the sacrificial vow
are mixed into a dough, of which sacrificial bread is made for
all the members of the family. In the sacrificial meal, which
is prepared and consumed in the kudo , only members of the
family partake, strangers not being allowed the tiniest bit.
When beginning the meal, pieces of food are placed on the
sacrifice shelf, near which the head of the family prays, asking
for forgiveness on behalf of the sinner and on that of the
whole family, should any one, unconsciously, in one way or
another, have happened to offend the kudo- spirit, and implor-
ing him to protect and keep the family and home. In some dis-
tricts it is customary to offer up a sacrifice to him at a fixed time,
in the autumn. The bones of the victim are not burnt, but
buried in the earth under the building 5 a portion from every
part of the body of the sheep used for this being placed on the
sacrifice shelf. In the District of Urzhum a curious custom has
been retained of taking the household god to one’s neighbours,
when the spirit, by sending an illness, seems to require a sacrifice.
When not inclined to sacrifice to it, they say: “ Do not require
any thing of us, we have boiled the last already; we will take
thee to our neighbour’s; there is a silver-horned bull and a fine
woolly sheep, there thou shalt have a treat.” Thus speaking,
the Cheremiss takes dust from the “ kudo-s'pwxds ” case and
sets out for his neighbour’s. If he is asked to take a seat there,
and is offered bread and salt, all is well, as then “ the spirit ”
has been kindly received. Unnoticed, the guest throws the
dust from his hand into the corner and goes away without
PLATE XV
1. The little kudo or dwelling of the kudo - spirit
within a Cheremiss hut, or great kudo. (See page
I35-)
2. Cheremiss kudo. (See page 135.)
After photographs by U. Holmberg.
FAMILY GODS
137
saying good-bye or asking his neighbour to come and see him.
Also among the Hill Cheremiss, amongst whom one very rarely
comes across a kudo , the belief has been preserved that the
kudo-V odyz. continues to live in the place of the former kudo y
and that he who quarrels in the said place or besmirches it, will
undoubtedly fall ill . 26
After marriage, the Cheremiss woman still goes at first for
some time to the kudo of her old home to sacrifice, should she
meet with illness or any other misfortune declared by the sor-
cerer to have been caused by the spirits of the “ old place.”
Similarly the scattered younger families turn when necessary to
the spirits of older kudo. Thus, the “ little family ” remains
always dependent on the “ great family ” in some way or
other . 27
Georgi speaks also about a material image of the family god,
stating that “ in many houses, perhaps in every house, there is
in a corner in a case, a coarse little doll of wood, dressed in
male attire.” When describing the wedding ceremonies of the
Cheremiss, he further relates that “ when everything is ready
in the wedding house, the family god is placed on the table
and the sacrificing priest {kart) of the village prays in front
of it.” Considering that the Cheremiss have not been in the
habit of keeping the sacrifice case in the dwelling-house, there
is reason to suppose that the family god mentioned by Georgi
is the ^«<io-Vodyz . 28
A similar family cult doubtless existed among the Mordvins,
and even among the Baltic Finns. Among the Esthonians,
remains of it seem to have been preserved, through alien in-
fluence, until modern times. The Vorsud case of the Votiaks
corresponds, with them, to the “ Tonni vakk ” {vakk =
“case”). On Tonni or Antony ’s-day (January seventeenth)
one must brew beer or slaughter some animal — the latter
being generally a sheep, though a bull is sometimes mentioned.
At nightfall, the Tonni vakk was taken from its recess, candles
were lighted on the rims of the case, and it was carried all
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
138
round the dwelling house, the cattle sheds, and the yard.
From each part of the carcase of the sacrificial animal a piece
of meat was cut as a sacrifice to Tonni, and of the gravy a little
was also sprinkled on the nearest paths. Lastly the people
sat down to eat.
Tbnni’s case, which had to be made by the sorcerer, was kept
in a place known only by the master, generally in the attic of
the storehouse. In this were placed all the year round, for one
reason or another, various offerings: — when the corn was
threshed, when beer was brewed, when milking a cow that had
lately calved, when shearing the sheep, and when spinning yarn
or weaving cloth. When slaughtering, they sacrificed meat,
blood or fat. The case had to be particularly remembered on
the occasion of illness among either human beings or animals.
Falling ill was considered to be a consequence of the case hav-
ing been damaged or of some one, when passing, having made
a noise, or because the people had forgotten to sacrifice to it.
There is a report even, that the case used to contain a doll-like
image. That the Esthonians also had known both a lesser
family spirit and a greater one, is shown by a tradition, accord-
ing to which not only every family but also every village had its
common sacrifice case . 29
There are no reliable statements regarding the corresponding
family worship of the Finns. Yet, in the social life of the
Karelians there are indications that these belonged to two dif-
ferent families, a smaller and a larger one, the chieftainship
of the last named — where its head was not chosen by election
— descending from a father to the eldest son of the eldest
branch of the family. A result of the worship of the fore-
fathers of the family was most likely the alien position of the
wife in her husband’s home, for, as with the Votiaks, the women
in Finnish Karelia kept their own family name even after
their marriage . 30
CHAPTER IX
HEROES
T HERE is every reason to believe that those Lapp Seides,
which were worshipped by a larger following, were dedi-
cated to the spirit of some more famous man, the founder of a
family, a shaman, etc. Such people were worshipped also
among other Finno-Ugric peoples and the Samoyeds. Ven-
iamin relates of the Yuraks that certain of their stone or
wooden gods, the latter having a head coming to a point, were
worshipped by a great tribe, spread over a wide area, others
again by only a very scant congregation. The former are
generally situated in the neighbourhood of such places as the
Yuraks are accustomed to gather at, to hunt or fish or to seek
food for their reindeer. He mentions two such ancient sacred
places, visited by great numbers, of which one was situated
on the holy island Vajgats. At these meetings the Samoyeds
sacrifice reindeer and dogs to their tutelary spirits, besmearing
the mouths of the idols with the blood and fat of the sacrifice,
and having eaten the flesh, hanging up the head, and even
at times, the hide, on a holy tree . 1 Of later origin is possibly
a custom of the Eastern Samoyeds of throwing pieces of the
flesh of the sacrifice into the fire. Bloodless sacrifices are per-
formed among the Ostiak Samoyeds. These sometimes do
not slaughter the sacrificial deer, but content themselves with
cutting out the face of the god or other strange figures on its
back. After a ceremony of this description the animal is re-
garded as holy, and may not be used for any purpose or
eaten . 2
The “sacred places” of the Yuraks are not fenced in,
neither are buildings to be found on them, the idols standing al-
140
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
ways under the open sky . 3 On the other hand, special buildings
for their idols are met with among the Ostiak Samoyeds. A
building of this kind, hidden away in the forest, is described
by Donner in the following words: “As the dwelling-place
of the gods they use here a building standing on four high
supports, resembling greatly the average barns by the River
Ob. In the fore-wall there was a little opening and against
the back wall stood the god, made of wood and resembling
a human being, together with his marital partner. The face
was very clumsily carved, the eyes formed of two large blue
glass-pearls, imparting a very quaint expression to the old
man. The images were dressed in fine furs and had around
them a number of weapons made of pewter with which to
protect themselves j and, fashioned of the same material,
swans, geese, snakes, reindeer and other animals, by the help
of which they were supposed to be able to flee on the approach
of an unconquerable enemy. Near the door was posted a
little man dressed as a Russian policeman, holding a wooden
sabre in one hand, while in the other he swung a great sword.
The dwelling-place of the gods was furnished with gaudy
cloths and expensive furs, and before the image of the ancestor
the most varying objects lay on the floor, among other things
a great deal of money, of which many coins were a couple of
hundred years old. In the branches of the holy trees sur-
rounding the building garments, horns of animals, hides, etc.,
were hung.” 4
Similar spirits, bound to certain fixed places, are also pos-
sessed by the Ostiaks and Voguls in great numbers. The
mightiest of these are honoured by a great circle extended
over a wide area, others again only by a small one, or merely
by the population of a single village. “ All places dedicated
to idols,” says Pallas, “ the boundaries of which are exactly
defined by rivers, brooks, or other marks, are spared by the
Ostiaks, who neither cut down trees nor mow grass, neither
hunt nor fish, abstaining even from drinking the water within
PLATE XVI
1. Ostiak Holy Place, with images of gods or
spirits.
According to Finsch.
2. Ostiak place of sacrifice.
After photograph by Rabot.
(See page 141 and compare pages 139-140.
Yurak.)
— JL
HEROES
141
their boundaries, for fear of offending the gods. Should they
be obliged to traverse these waters by boat, they are careful
not to approach too closely to the shores or to touch them
with their oars, and if the way through them is very long,
they supply themselves with water before reaching the holy
place, as they would sooner suffer the worst tortures from
thirst than drink of the holy water.” 0 These holy places,
however, have not definite boundaries, still less are they fenced
in, but especially in the southern districts there is a little build-
ing resembling a storehouse, intended for the preservation of
offerings and the images. Like their house gods, the spirits
living at fixed holy places of the Ostiaks and Voguls have all
been materialised into images. Most often they have been
shaped as wooden figures resembling human beings, at times
as rag-dolls made out of stuffed sacks or natural stones ; fur-
ther, they have also been formed of bronze, copper, lead, or
even of bones. As assistants these have often images resem-
bling various animals. The storehouses for offerings are gen-
erally under the care of a special person, who then also
carries out the sacrificial ceremonies and receives the offerings,
money, skins, etc. Very often this occupation is hereditary in
the same family . 6
That these powerful and dreaded spirits, regarded as being
able to visit people with sickness, were originally human,
has not been forgotten by the people. A part of them are said
to have been former rulers or heroes, whose mighty deeds
are extolled in songs, others are expressly said to be the
founders of the clans. Those again that are furnished with
images of animals were probably famous shamans. An example
of how a powerful spirit is believed to develop out of a man
of mark after death is given by an Ostiak folk-poem, in
which a Vasyugan hero displays an uncommon nobility of
character by burying the body of a dead enemy-hero, erecting
his sword on the grave, and consoling him by saying: “ In
the times of coming daughters, in the times of coming sons,
142
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
thou shalt be called to life, and thou shalt become an offering-
spirit accepting offerings.” 7
At times one may see many images in the same offering-
house. Two hundred years ago, Novitskiy visited a “ great ”
god-house, containing five wooden images resembling human
beings wrapped round with “ clothes.” Around this chief
building were smaller square store-rooms on posts about the
height of a man; in these were preserved the objects used at
the slaughter of a sacrifice ; axes, knives, etc. Separated from
these was another little store-room filled with bones. 8
The sacrifices of the Ostiaks and Voguls, which may be
either annual or occasional, do not materially differ from the
corresponding uses of the Samoyeds. According to the oldest
sources, the mouths of the images were besmeared with blood
and fat, and the hides of the animals, with horns and hoofs
attached, hung up in trees. The use of fire as a means of
transmitting the offerings, met with also among the Ostiak
Samoyeds, is most probably of later origin. Like these last
mentioned, the more Eastern Ostiaks have the custom of occa-
sionally offering up so-called bloodless sacrifices, that is to
say, sacrifices in which the animal is not killed, its “ soul ”
only being made over to the god. Even children may thus
be consecrated to some spirit ; the child thus consecrated has
to fulfil certain duties during his lifetime, as, for example,
to marry a wife, or a husband, from the direction of the com-
pass in which the spirit dwells. 9
The worshipping of heroes among the Siryans, at the pres-
ent time totally forgotten by them, is described in the Life of
St. Stephen (d. 1396) in the following words: “ In Perm
many kinds of idols were to be found: some large, some small,
others again, of medium size; some were famous and very
fine, others were legion; a part were worshipped only by
few and were shown little honour, but others again were wor-
shipped by people dwelling far and wide. They have certain
idols to whom they travel long distances, bringing them gifts
HEROES
143
from afar, even from districts three or four days’ or a week’s
• 55 10
journey away."
The brother-tribe of the Siryans, the Votiaks, have even
today forest copses, consecrated to their ancient heroes, and
called lud by them. In earlier times these holy places were
hidden in the forests. The oldest authors to mention the
Votiaks say that these lud were generally in forests of fir . 11
Nowadays, as the forests in East Russia have diminished to a
very great degree, having even become quite scarce in some
districts, these consecrated groves have become visible, standing
out on the open plains as memorials of the former forests.
Thus, in the vicinity of the pagan Votiak villages flourish
luxurious sacrificial groves, the tall trees of which have been
held sacred from generation to generation.
Wherever these lud may happen to be, in the forests or
open plains, they are always fenced in. In this respect they
differ from the holy places of the Samoyeds and the other
northern peoples. But common to them all is the super-
stitious fear felt by the people for them. The Votiaks have
nothing else that they hold so sacred as these lud. No one
enters them without due reason, not even on holy days, with-
out taking an offering there. Cattle may not enter them,
branches may not be broken off, not even a stick may be
taken away; all disturbance is forbidden, and game seeking
shelter there may not be shot at by the hunters. Women and
children avoid them altogether ; in passing them they turn
their heads aside, still less would they ever set foot in them.
Neither may a stranger enter the sacred area. The spirit,
when angered, vents its wrath relentlessly by causing a severe
sickness. Most fear-inspiring, however, is the lud in the
twilight.
The fence surrounding the sacred grove is either of sticks
or boards, or sometimes of plaited branches. As in appear-
ance, so also in height, do they vary in the different districts.
A little gate of boards, swinging on wooden hinges, generally
H4
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
-
leads to the sanctuary, being open only during the performance
of sacrifices. The direction of these gates varies so much that
it is impossible to conclude that they have been placed to point
to any special point of the compass. Wichmann saw in the
Elabuga District (Bussurman Mozhga) a lud that was divided
into two by a fence; into the inner part only the guardian of
the lud and his assistants were allowed to enter. In this part
was the fireplace and a table for the flesh of the sacrifice.
In the front part, to which the congregation also were ad-
mitted, there was a table for the mutual meal . 12
In most of the lud which the author was able to see during
his travels, there was, with the exception of the fence, nothing
that might specially draw attention to it. Only in a few
sanctuaries was there a rotted bench, a moss-grown stool, or
a narrow table, used by the Votiaks as an altar on which to
offer up their sacrifices. The offering-table is often placed at
the foot of some thick, centuries-old tree, under which the
sacrificing priest reads out his prayers. It would appear that
the sacrificial ceremonies of the Votiaks were particularly
centred round some old tree. Of this, Buch relates also, from
the Sarapul District, that in the centre of the lud there was
an old tree, the lower branches of which were lopped away to
allow of a freer approach . 13
In the larger and much visited groves there was also a
store-like building, without a fireplace, called the lud-kuala
by the Votiaks . 14 One of these the author saw in the Mama-
dysh District. It was a small hut, unfitted for a dwelling-
place, with a roof sloping backwards, and a small door, which,
like the gate of the grove, opened towards the west, that is
to say, towards the village. Nothing was to be seen in the hut,
except a shelf of board in the right-hand back corner. The
fireplace was outside the building, between it and the gate.
The old inhabitants relate that the kuala was not as empty in
earlier times as it was then, but was used as a store-place for
offerings, sacrificial vessels, towels, coins, etc.
HEROES
145
The Votiaks worship in families at the lud; the members of
one family never come to worship in the lud of another
family. Should several /^-families live in the same village,
just as many groves will be found in its vicinity. A grove in
which a great clan, i.e., many villages, gathers for a mutual
sacrifice, is called a “ great lud” Every lud has its separate
“ guardian,” the post passing down from father to son. Only
when a “ guardian ” is childless, is another member of the
family or clan chosen at a meeting of its members to be a
sacrificing priest. Sometimes, the magician ( tuno ) chooses a
guardian for the sacred grove.
The guardian has no special ceremonial dress at the sacrifices,
but it is demanded of him that his apparel shall be neat and
clean. Where possible, he must wear a white coat, on his
head a white hat, and white wrappings round his feet, and new
bark-shoes. Cleanliness is also demanded of the congrega-
tion visiting the grove. No one is allowed to enter who has
not bathed beforehand.
The Votiaks make a lud for themselves for many different
reasons. They begin to worship the lud spirit, for example,
in the hope of being delivered from some serious illness, or,
again, they build a fence round a grove, the spirit of which
has revealed itself in a dream, giving the exact situation of
the same. It is the duty of the dreamer to set out at once to
fence in the place shown him in his dream. When the Votiaks
move as settlers to a new neighbourhood, too far away for the
old lud to be conveniently visited, they prepare a new one
for themselves. This may not be done in any place without
calling upon the services of the magician, who bestrides a
young foal that has never been ridden before, and rides with-
out a bit or reins into the forest. The place where the foal
stops is the site of the grove. The Votiaks, however, take care
that the grove is not situated too far from the village . 15
Sacrifices are not offered up in a new sacred grove until the
“ spirit ” has been brought from the old place. The “ bring-
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
146
ing of the spirit ” is carried out in the same manner as the
mudor- wedding. The Eastern Votiaks relate that their fore-
fathers, for the inauguration of sacred groves in strange neigh-
bourhoods, brought with them ashes from the grove of their
native village. In the same manner Bogayevskiy says of the
Sarapul District, that when the tuno has decided on a site for
a new grove, the sanctuary is removed there with solemn
ceremonies, in which the most important act is the bringing
over of ashes from the old place to be placed on the site of
the fireplace of the new . 16
As soon as the lud has been inaugurated for its mission, it
becomes a sanctuary in which yearly sacrifices must be offered
up. This is not only the sacred duty of the founder, but of all
his descendants. Miropolskiy says that though the Russians
may have laid waste a lud> the Votiaks continue to worship
the spirit at the site of the former grove . 17 Anyone omitting
the proscribed sacrifices is sure to be punished severely by the
lud- spirit, who is regarded by the Votiaks as stern and exacting.
Doubtless, the Votiaks formerly had images within their
sacred groves, although we can no longer determine the ap-
pearance of these. The difficulty, for a child of nature, of
grasping the idea of a spiritual being when he has nothing
material to lay hold of, is shown by a fable of the Votiaks
in which it is told how they were at one time so crushed be-
neath material adversities that the duty of sacrificing lay too
heavily upon them and they decided to abolish this rite. A
Tatar offered to take away the /^-spirit by collecting all the
objects gathered together as offerings in the grove. The
hopes of the Votiaks were, however, dashed again by their
being continuously punished by the spirit. The people be-
lieved this to be due to the fact that the Tatar had not taken
the offerings far enough away, but had cast them on to the
village fields . 18
Besides occasional offerings, annual sacrifices are offered up
by the Votiaks in the lud. The annual sacrifices appear to
' .;tn :• 7 . < < d ,
( . I i.1 T^BCj 5 v7 1
PLATE XVII
1. Votiak sacred grove or lud with surrounding;
fence and gate. (See page 1 43.)
After photograph by Y. Wichmann.
2. Storehouse of the Ostiak idols near Vasyagan.
(See page 141.)
After photograph by Adrianov.
HEROES
147
have been made chiefly in the summer before hay-making
time, and in the autumn after the conclusion of work in the
fields. The ceremony itself was performed, according to the
most ancient custom, in the evening. Occasional offerings are
made by the Votiaks after every misfortune, especially during
a severe illness, said by the magician ( tuno ) to be a sign that
the /^-spirit demands a sacrifice. It is the magician’s duty to
find out what the spirit wishes as a sacrifice on the varying
occasions. To begin with, however, a promise of sacrifice is
regarded as sufficient. Thus, a few copper coins are bound
up in a rag, with the words: “With this money, /^-spirit, I
buy thee a horse, let the sick not lose his life.” Silver coins
are then placed in the rag, with the words: “With silver I
deck the mane of thy horse.” Further, a little meal is strewn
there, with the words added: “ Besides which I will bake thee a
loaf, if thou wilt give health to the sick.” The rag bundle is
then hung up in some secret place. Should the sickness not
improve after this, it is regarded as a sign that the spirit wishes
the actual sacrifice immediately . 19
This promise to the lud- spirit is often made by the guardian,
who, as soon as he is informed of the matter, goes out into his
yard or even into the sanctuary with a loaf of bread or a dish
of porridge in his hand, praying in the name of the sick per-
son, that the /^-spirit may be appeased and wait until the
sick person is himself in a condition to offer up his sacrifice.
Sometimes, the promise is again “ renewed ” before the actual
sacrifice. When the /^-guardian prays in his own yard, he
keeps his face always turned in the direction in which the
sanctuary is situated.
The day on which an annual sacrifice is to be performed,
is determined by the /^-family or lud- clan. Before the cere-
mony, the participants must all cleanse themselves and put on
clean apparel. To the preparations belong also the collecting
of sacrifice-money by cutting the family-mark of each family
on a stick, the marked lines indicating the amount given . 20
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
148
The /^-spirit always demanding blood-offerings, a foal is
generally used as the victim, but also, at times, a black sheep.
After the conclusion of all these preparations, the actual
ceremony is begun. Only the older males go into the sanc-
tuary, carrying with them the vessels, cauldrons, dishes, pro-
visions, and the sacrificial animal. When the crowd arrives
at the gate of the sanctuary, they greet the spirit by taking off
their head-dress, the guardian himself opening the door and,
as the leading person, going first into the grove, the others
following silently after. As a beginning fire must be made on
the site of the old fires, fallen trees, stumps, or fallen branches
being used for fuel. Towels for the wiping of hands are
brought with them also and hung up in the branches of the
tree. On the altar-table, decked with green boughs and
white cloths, the accompanying loaves and pancakes are piled
up. When the number of worshippers is very great, the food-
offerings are placed on the ground, a white cloth being laid
under the wooden bowl of each family.
Before commencing the sacrifice it must be ascertained
whether the /«^-spirit will accept the offering. This is done
by pouring fresh spring-water by means of a bundle of twigs,
over the sacrificial animal, which must be flawless and of one
colour. This ceremony is repeated several times, the lud-
guardian reading softly a prayer the while, until the animal
shivers, which, according to the Votiaks, Chuvashes and Chere-
miss, is a sign that the sacrifice is pleasing to the god.
After the “ sign ” the sacrificing priests begin the slaughter-
ing. Its feet having been bound together, the animal is
turned over on to its left side and the blood allowed to run
dry from the veins in its throat without any previous stunning
of the victim. A few drops of the warm blood are thrown
by means of the sacrifice ladle into the fire. During the
slaughtering, the /^-guardian reads out a prayer, holding the
sacrificial bread in his hand. As soon as the animal has been
killed, the hide is flayed from it and the carcase divided in a
HEROES
149
particular way. The chief organs of the body, the heart,
lungs, liver, etc., are cooked separately and when prepared
are set in a special dish. Later, two small fragments are cut
from each quarter of the carcase, from the tongue, lungs,
heart, liver, etc., one of which is placed in a dish on the table,
the other thrown into the fire. During an earlier period, the
pieces now set on the altar-table were hung up in the tree
itself, and in some places it is still said to be usual to thread
them on to a little twig, to the end of which a strip of lime-
bark is bound, probably for hanging up in the tree. 21 As
other peoples also, including the Lapps, have been in the
habit of cutting small slices from the most important organs of
the sacrificed animal, which were then threaded on to a pole
and fastened to the holy tree, it is apparent that this must
have been an ancient Finno-Ugric custom.
In sanctuaries possessing a building, the offerings are placed
on the corner shelf. This is quite to be expected, for if the
/^-spirits, as may be supposed, were at one time materialised
in the form of images, they were certainly situated in the
lud-kuala , together with the offering vessels and the money.
This is further pointed to by the fact that the Votiaks regard
the lud-kuala. as being so sacred, that only the /^-guardian
may enter it.
From the Life of St. Stephen we may obtain a graphic view
of the ancient lud-kuala sacrifices. Incidentally, the image-
house of the Siryans is mentioned, which was also watched over
by a special “ guardian.” The actual appearance of the build-
ing is not described 5 it is only stated that within were images,
sacrificing tables and a great amount of valuables. The saint
is praised for the fact, that out of all that was hung up round
the gods, either as clothing for them, or for their bedecking
themselves, or merely as gifts of sacrifice — skins of sable,
ermine, skunk, beaver, fox, bear, lynx, and squirrel — all these
he gathered together into a pile, and burnt them, smote the
images with an axe on their foreheads and hewed them into
150
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
small pieces, throwing these on the fire, and burning up every-
thing together, the pile with the skins and the images at the
same time. This caused great surprise among the Siryans, who
said: “ Why did he not take all this as booty for himself? ”
In another place we read: “ In the same manner he forbade
his disciples to take away anything from the houses of the idols,
neither gold, silver, copper, iron, pewter, nor any of the objects
mentioned earlier.” 22
When the /^-spirit has received his share of the sacrifice,
the food is divided according to the number of families taking
part in the sacrifice. Following a very old custom, the whole
of the food must be consumed within the sanctuary and at the
same time. The hide and the larger bones are, following an-
other old custom, hung up in the holy tree . 23 Nowadays, hides
are not seen in the groves of the Votiaks, as not even the fact
of their being cut into pieces has been able to protect them from
thieves. On the other hand, one can see among the Eastern
Votiaks whole skeletons of animals hung up with ropes of
bark on the tree. The extreme care with which the flesh of
the sacrifice is carved by the Votiaks, who avoid fracturing any
bone whatever, and the care with which they join these together
in their natural order, appear to be a result of a belief, said by
Bechterev to be prevalent among them, that the sacrificed
animal does not die, but passes living to the /^-spirit . 24
A noticeable feature in the lud worship of the Votiaks is,
further, the use of wax candles, not found among the more
northern peoples. These candles are often prepared first in the
grove, where the wax obtained in bee-keeping is kneaded be-
tween the hands round strands of flax.
After the meal, the congregation form up in long rows
while the lud - guardian prays in a low voice. According to the
oldest custom the prayers, like the slaughtering also, should be
read with the face turned to the west or the north. The con-
tents of the prayer vary in different districts, depending chiefly
on the accidental needs of the sacrificers. The /^-spirit is first
ILV77. : i h jq;
{..U.i ; 7.7 : 7 . . n;
v 7 - ?’
?; . ’ •; . . . •
l
.nr.. . 7 7 7 / ? ? ?/. ...
PLATE XVIII
1. Votiak lud-kuala , formerly a storeplace for of-
ferings, sacrificial vessels, etc. (See page 144.)
After photograph by U. Holmberg.
2. Votiak lud-kuala , Birsk district. (See page
144.)
After photograph by Y. Wichmann.
HEROES
151
asked to protect human beings and animals against sickness and
all other evils, and the fields from hail and storms, etc. After
each prayer, read by the guardian, the kneeling congregation
touch the ground with their foreheads. Sometimes the minds
of the worshippers are uplifted by the tones of stringed in-
struments. While the people are leaving the sanctuary, they
bow low to the lud and say: “ Live happily and protect us.” 25
At times the festival is prolonged in the village at the house of
the “ guardian,” where the men and women of the village
gather, and where feast-songs are sung in these words: “ The
/^-spirit has wished us peace and given his blessing.” The
festival may even be prolonged for two or three days . 26
What the origin of this lud - spirit was, the Votiaks themselves
do not always know. Many features of the ceremony point,
however, to the worship of the dead. Such features are, e.g.,
the fact that the /^-spirit, often called the “ ruler ” or “ lord ”
( lud-kuzo, lud-asaba ) or merely lud y appears in dreams in hu-
man shape, that he is fixed to a certain place, and that he is
worshipped by families and is sacrificed to in the evenings with
the face turned to the west or the north. The black sacrificial
animals are also a sign pointing to the worship of the deceased.
As Georgi already relates, the Votiaks sometimes worship in
their lud a spirit called Sulton (= Arabo-Turkish Sultan ). 27
The same epithet is applied by the Chuvashes to a spirit dwell-
ing in their sanctuaries, which is called by them kiramat (Pan
Arabo-Turkish word meaning “holy”). To Turco-Tatar
influence points also the belief of the Votiaks that the lud ,
when desiring a sacrifice, appears in dreams in the guise of a
Tatar. The lud sacrifices of the Votiaks are, however, not
entirely of foreign origin, for signs that these also worshipped
their ancestors and heroes are not wanting even in our day.
As an example may be mentioned that in Bussurman-Mozhga
(Elabuga District) eleven villages celebrate the memory of the
founder of their line, Mardan. The brave Mardan had in
bygone times come from the north and chosen this village as
152
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
his dwelling-place. Every third year they sacrifice a horse to
him and a cow to his wife, and annually, in addition, a sheep is
sacrificed. The words of thanksgiving uttered during the sacri-
fice to Mardan, are as follows: “Together we sacrifice a horse
to thee. For the fine children and the fine harvest thou hast
given us, we thank thee, Father Mardan.” 28
-
Further light is thrown upon the lud cult of the Votiaks by
the corresponding sacrificial cult of the Cheremiss. Like the
Chuvashes, the Cheremiss call their fenced-in sanctuaries
keremet. Contrary to their attitude towards the groves of the
Nature gods, in which they say sacrifices are made “ upward,”
or “ towards the sun,” sacrifices are here made “ downward,”
or “ towards the night.” The Cheremiss display great dread of
the groves of the “ lower spirits,” in which, where possible,
coniferous trees must grow. A peculiar feature is that in the
keremet no foreign tongue may be spoken, as the spirit dwelling
there “ hates foreign tongues.” They often give to their
sanctuaries names such as “ the keremet of our clan.” The
same person may, however, belong to two different keremet-
clans. In such cases, the keremet groves are generally con-
secrated to different spirits. At Kurmanaeva (Birsk District)
there is a so-called Suita n-keremet, in the sacrifices of which
the people of about twenty-five villages take part. Some vil-
lages have no keremet at all, while in some places a keremet
may belong to a few separate families only. In the Urzhum
District, where this cult has better preserved its original fea-
tures than among the Eastern Cheremiss, one may see several
sacrifice-trees in the same gloomy fir forest, by each of which
the different families offer up their sacrifices.
Where there is only one keremet in a village this is generally
called after the village. At times, the keremet may be called
after its founder, or after the place in which it is situated.
Every clan takes care of its sanctuary, where the collective
sacrifices are offered up by a member of the clan chosen for
the purpose, but where any single member also may make offer-
HEROES
153
ings on his own account. The Cheremiss make their offerings
late in the evenings, as after a sacrifice one may neither go out
to visit anyone, nor receive visitors. On the way to the grove,
one must, as far as possible, avoid meeting people. The most
usual sacrifice nowadays is a foal or a black sheep, but earlier
it was very often a black bull.
Like the Votiaks, the Cheremiss at times make only a
promise of sacrifice. The usual method is that money, flour,
honey, or a little loaf prepared specially for the occasion, are
placed in a little bundle, and the worshipper prays to the
keremet - spirit to be appeased and to soothe the agony of the
sick; binding himself to carry out the offering on a suitable
occasion. The bundle may be hung up either at home on the
wall of the storeroom, or in the keremet on the branches of the
sacrifice-tree; when the promise is redeemed, the bundle is
burned up. Often the promise is accompanied by the hang-
ing-up of the garments of the sick, or the thrusting in of
some iron implement, an axe, a sickle, or a knife in the wall
of the storeroom, from which they are removed after the
promised animal has been sacrificed. When the Cheremiss
promise a sheep or a bull, they take a little wool or hair from
the promised animal into the grove. If a horse has been
promised, they prepare harness of bark, and hang this on the
sacrifice tree as a guarantee to the spirit. At the same time
a few sticks of wood are piled against the tree. Some who
make promises of sacrifice hang up a wax candle with the
objects already mentioned. The promised sacrifice is
slaughtered, like the others, in the evening, as “ should anyone
meet the sacrificer, he would immediately fall ill.” By
means of all the objects that follow the making of a promise
of sacrifice, the Cheremiss attempt to assure the spirit that he
need not wait very long for the redemption of the promise . 29
Where a poorer Cheremiss cannot in due time fulfil his
promise of sacrifice, he must “ renew ” the promise by sacri-
ficing some lesser object. Very usual is the sacrificing of a
i54
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
goose, a duck, or a hare, in the place of a horse. In the Birsk
District the author had the opportunity of seeing how the
population of a village offered up a smaller sacrifice to the
keremet on account of a cattle-plague. Into the sanctuary
only the sacrificing priest and three assistants entered. These
had first to take a bath and clothe themselves in clean garments.
Immediately when they had arrived at the grove, the assist-
ants made a fire, using for this purpose glowing cinders brought
in a pan from the village. Sacrifice bread was kneaded on
the spot and baked on a wooden fork over this fire. When
the loaf, on which two “ noses ” had been impressed by three
fingers held together, was ready, it was placed at the root of
the sacrifice tree. The candles were then made and placed in
hollows in the bark of the tree. The actual sacrifice, a duck,
lay with feet bound together near the tree. Swinging a burn-
ing branch and striking the knife against the blade of the axe,
the “ priests ” prayed side by side, while the others killed
the duck by cutting its throat. The sacrificing priest poured
a little of the warm blood into the fire, imploring the keremet
to accept the sacrifice, free the cattle from the plague, and
wait until the autumn for the promised horse. When the
flesh of the duck was cooked the sacrificing priest carried it
to the tree, where he cut off small pieces of the heart, liver,
windpipe, neck, breast, back, wings and feet into two bowls,
the contents of one being given through the fire to the kere-
met , of the other to the medium of the sacrifice, “ the Fire-
mother.” In each bowl was also laid one of the cut-off
“ noses ” of the sacrifice bread. Before this ceremony, more
prayers had been read before the tree, accompanied by the
swinging of torches and the clang of the knife against the
axe. After the sacrifice of the contents of the bowls, the rest
of the meat was eaten ; the remnants were thrown into the fire.
At the sacrifices, one hears the Cheremiss in the Urzhum
District refer to the keremet - spirit as the u Old man,” the
“ Great man,” or the “ Prince.” The best known is a spirit
HEROES
i55
called the “ Old Man of the Hill ” or as he is also called,
after his dwelling-place, Nemda, “ the Old man of the Nemda
Hill ” or “ the Prince of the Nemda Hill.” Of this worship,
Olearius relates in the first half of the seventeenth century
that the Cheremiss made pilgrimages to the Nemda brook
and sacrificed there. This holy place, he says, is feared greatly
by them: “ Any one going there without an offering, perishes,
as the devil is believed to have his habitation there.” 30
The sacred place mentioned by Olearius, situated in the
Yaransk District, is spoken of also in certain accounts dating
from the former half of the last century. As the Russian
priests exerted much pressure on the Cheremiss at that time
on account of their pagan religion, they knew that these were
in the habit of making sacrifices at a stone, lying on the bank
of the Nemda near the village Tshembulatova, and, therefore,
they destroyed the stone. The spirit worshipped by the Chere-
miss at the stone, was called by them Tshembulat, from which
the village had derived its name.
Nowadays the people no longer gather at the actual dwell-
ing-place of this spirit, but have prepared groves in his name
at different places. Thus, the same spirit may be worshipped
in the groves of many villages. In the neighbourhoods where
tales of the “ Nemda Old man ” have been best preserved,
it is said that he lived by the Nemda brook over which a
“ bridge ” led. Besides a wife he had also officials: a “ book-
keeper,” an “ interpreter,” a “ guardian of the gate,” and a
“ bridge man,” whose office it was to watch over the bridge.
To each of these it was usual to make a separate offering, a
horse to the Prince himself, a cow to his wife, and to the
others some smaller animal.
Many tales go to prove that this “ great man ” was a former
Cheremiss chief. He is said to have ridden a white stallion
and fought against enemies: “When he finally succeeded
in re-establishing peace on earth, he called together the Chere-
miss to a stone, and proclaimed the peace to them. He then
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
156
lifted up the stone, and placed himself under it, saying to his
people: ‘ Should war break out again, some one must bestride
a white stallion, and ride three times round the stone, shout-
ing: “ Arise, Chief, there is war on the earth! ”’ A Cheremiss
did this once out of curiosity, shouted out the necessary words,
and immediately the chief arose, sat himself on his horse and
rode out to the east and west, to the north and the south,
but nowhere could he see signs of war. Then, calling the
Cheremiss together again, he said: ‘As you have fooled me
and called me without cause, you are hereafter my slaves,
and must sacrifice a foal to me annually.’ ”
In some districts he is called “ the Northern Ruler ” and
is said to have command over an invisible army. When sick-
ness is rife among the cattle, the people say: “The Northern
Ruler has sent his warriors to cut down our cattle.” Even
now he is said to ride through the land of the Cheremiss at
times, to see how these are progressing. Should anyone meet
him without knowing who he is, and thus not get out of his
way, an immediate illness is the result, and a horse must be
sacrificed to the spirit. The people even speak of his green
cloak and his red head-dress. He is specially sacrificed to in
times of war.
Besides the widely-known and everywhere highly respected
“ Nemda Prince ” the Cheremiss have other local keremet-
spirits, the fame of which is not so widely spread. The ma-
jority of these have become the objects of worship through
their heroic deeds. The Cheremiss remember their feats even
today. There are many local heroes, especially in the old
dwelling-places of the people. Thus, they make offerings to
“ the Old man of the castle-hill ” and to the “ Hero Aren,”
who fought against the Tatars, but met his death before a
gate, ever afterwards called the “ Hero gate.” At his death
the hero said: “ Remember me, give me a good horse with me
in the grave, and continue the war by slinging stones! ” The
Cheremiss did as their leader had advised. The stones, di-
- : " ‘
'
?
qrn: : ' Hq ' ' ' -
— fij • ob > ri n >if€
PLATE XIX
1. The image of the Samoyed, “ Master of the
Forest,” carved on a tree-trunk. (See page 178.)
After photograph by K. Donner.
2. Cheremiss horse-sacrifice to the keremet-spirit
in time of sickness. (See page 157.)
After photograph by U. Holmberg.
HEROES
157
rected by the dead hero himself through the air, whistled in
a peculiar manner and destroyed the enemy. On the place
where the hero had died, a keremet was established, in which
the Cheremiss sacrifice a foal in cases of sickness, even today.
A strange inherited custom is connected with this sacrifice as
a memory of those times of war: a stone is cast in the air in
the name of the sick person, and by the whining sound it
makes, the possibilities of recovery are made known.
Together with their own heroes, who “ hate foreign
tongues,” the Cheremiss, like the Votiaks, sacrifice to a spirit
called Sultan. The last named has his own special sanctuaries,
as according to the people’s view, he cannot be worshipped in
the same place as a Cheremiss chief. This may be a relic
from the period of power of the Bolgars, when the independ-
ence of the Cheremiss first began to waver. In any case the
keremet cult already described, corresponding with the lud-
sacrifices of the Votiaks, proves that the Finnish stocks on the
Volga have had their own princes at one time in history, the
memory of whom they have been able to preserve through
the centuries.
Under the alien name of keremet the Mordvins also wor-
shipped their heroes and the dwelling-places of these. Their
keremet also seems to have been a fenced-in forest-grove.
Even sacrifice store-houses {kudo) and probably also images
were kept by them in their sacred places . 31
That the Mordvins, like the Votiaks and Cheremiss, sacri-
ficed also to the spirits of alien rulers, is shown by the name
mentioned earlier, Soltan, or Salhta. The hero cult of the
Mordvins is further described by Paasonen as follows:
“ Among the Erza in the Kazan and Samara Governments,
we find a deity called Staka Pas (“ the heavy god ”), who is
honoured with special sacrifices, and entreated not to launch
“ his heaviness ” (evil generally) upon the people. In some
parts, a divine couple, popularly supposed to be husband and
wife, and bearing many names — e.g., Onto and Bonto —
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
158
are invoked by the epithet of Staka Pas, while elsewhere the
“ heavy god ” is addressed in sacrificial prayers as Kan Pas,
Kuvan Pas, and regarded as living “ in the black earth.”
The word Kan , the signification of which is now unknown to
the people themselves, is simply the Tatar Kan (“ prince ”),
so that Kan Pas means “ god-prince ”j Kuvan again is most
probably derived from the Turkish title kagan y which in Chu-
vash or Bolgar would be pronounced kugan , and in Mordvin
may easily have become kuvan. The Mordvins having been
at one time under the rule of the Volga Bolgars, of whom the
present day Chuvash are a descendant people, it is quite prob-
able that “ the heavy god ” was originally the spirit of some
Turkish ruler. Similarly, the other heavy gods, Onto and
Bonto, etc., are perhaps the rulers of an earlier age. 32
Of a corresponding sacrificial cult among the Baltic Finns
we have no reliable information. We need not doubt, how-
ever, that they also had their heroes whom they worshipped.
The Esthonians and the Finns have preserved a common name
hiisi, which originally meant “ forest ” but later also “ sacri-
ficial grove.” Hiisi, as the spirit dwelling within these was
also called, is generally regarded as an evil spirit, like the lud
of the Votiaks. An old tale has been recorded in Esthonia,
according to which the “ Thunder god ” thrived best in a
forest of leaf-trees, but Hiisi best among coniferous trees.
Here the same difference is made between the worship of
the Nature god and the underground spirits, as the Cheremiss
observe today. The old folk-traditions relate further, that
groves of this description among the Baltic Finns were fenced
in. That they even possessed sacrifice buildings in their sanc-
tuaries, is shown by the Papal Bull of Pope Gregory IX in
the year 1229, in which he allows Bishop Thomas to accept
the sacrificial groves and image-houses ( lucos et delubra),
presented to him by the converted heathen. 33
Doubtless also among the ancient heroes of Finnish song
were many who at one time were worshipped.
CHAPTER X
HOUSEHOLD SPIRITS
T HE anthropomorphic household spirit of many Euro-
pean peoples was unknown to the forefathers of the
Finno-Ugric race. Even now it is rare or unknown among the
Ostiaks and Voguls. A later spirit is the Russian Lapland
Kyode jielle (“the One who dwells in the tent”) or Port
hozjin (“Household ruler”). Of this latter, it is related
that he lives under the fireplace, and may sometimes appear
in the shape of a dog. To appease him the Lapps offer up
sacrifices to him and are glad when he leaves the house. By
the fireside where he dwells, there is a spot where women are
afraid to go or to step over. This household spirit is without
doubt borrowed from the Russians ( horzjin = Russian hoz-
yain). Through the Finns, the Lapps have made the ac-
quaintance of the Tonto (Finnish Tonttu = Swedish Tomte ). 1
The spirit dwelling in the house is called by the Votiaks
Korka-murt (“ House man ”) or Korka-kuzo (“ House
ruler ”). His chief dwelling-place is under the floor, for which
reason he is sometimes called “ the Ruler dwelling under
the floor.” As may be concluded already from the word murt
(“ man ”) this spirit has the outward form of a man. The
“ House man ” shows himself very seldom ; when this happens,
it is a forewarning of death or other misfortunes. When he
does appear he resembles sometimes the master of the house.
Generally speaking, he is a kindly and useful spirit, pro-
tecting the inhabitants of the house from strange spirits and in
every way looking after the interests of the house. He may
even at times take part in the household duties. The Votiaks
i6o FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
relate that he sometimes spins in the night, if for some reason
or other, the womenfolk have been hindered from finishing
their day’s task. When the “ House man ” is given cause
for anger, he annoys sleepers in the form of the nightmare,
tangles hair and beards in the night, and hinders the success-
ful conclusion of tasks. Little children are never left alone in
the house, as it is believed that the “ House man ” can substitute
changelings for them. 2
Whenever the “ House man ” in one way or another shows
signs of being offended, he must be appeased by sacrifices.
The sacrifice, which with the Votiaks generally takes the form
of a black sheep, must be killed under the floor, where the
spirit dwells. In the ceremony, in which the master of the
house plays the part of the sacrificing priest, only members of
the family may take part, as the flesh of a sacrifice may not
be offered to strangers. Pieces of the meat and the bones
of the sacrificed animal are buried in a hole dug under the
floor, into which the victim’s blood is also allowed to run
during the slaughtering. The flesh of the sacrifice is cooked
and eaten, as a rule, in the house itself. Besides occasional
offerings, regular sacrifices are made at certain times to the
“ House man.” Usually, the Votiaks sacrifice to him in the
autumn, after the conclusion of agricultural work, a goose or
duck and also porridge} the bones of the bird together with
the porridge and a spoon are placed under the floor. The
person carrying out the sacrifice reads out the following prayer:
“ Thus do I sacrifice to Thee, O Spirit dwelling under the
floor, a goose. Do not frighten us. Be pleased to accept the
sacrifice offered. Give to me and my family and dependants
peace and happiness.” In some places offerings are also made
during the summer, at the time when the sheep are driven in
to be clipped. Where a suitable victim is not to be found in
the flock, the ceremony is postponed to a later date, and at
the time a promise only is given along with the porridge,
part of which must be buried under the floor. 3
-
HOUSEHOLD SPIRITS
161
Above all, the Votiaks regard it as a duty to sacrifice to the
“ House man ” when they first establish themselves in a new
house. We find Georgi already relating that the Votiaks, on
moving into a new house, sacrifice a black sheep . 4 The re-
moval into a new house has in certain Votiak territory acquired
a festival character — the “house-wedding” {korka-suan ) .
All the relatives and friends gather in the house, bringing
gifts. The most important ceremony is the killing of the
sacrifice under the floor of the new dwelling. In the Sarapul
District it is the custom for the master of the house, accom-
panied by his wife, to step under the floor, bearing pancakes
and home-distilled spirits and a young fir about a yard high,
and there deliver a promise of sacrifice. The master of the
house sets up the green fir tree in a corner, takes a branch of
the tree in his hand and kneels down beside it. His wife
spreads a tablecloth before him on which she places a pancake.
She then pours spirits into a goblet and offers it to her hus-
band. The latter, with the goblet in his right hand and the
branch in his left, reads out a prayer, in which he prays that
the dwelling now completed may be comfortable to live in
even until old age and death, and he promises to sacrifice
a black sheep. After the prayer he drinks up the spirits and
tastes also of the pancake. The promised sacrifice is made
later. While its flesh is being cooked, the master of the
house prays on his knees for happiness, riches, and everything
that is good for the new home, pointing out that he is now
fulfilling the promise given. At times even a bull may be
sacrificed. On the day of the sacrifice, nothing may be given
away from the homestead, and the animal to be sacrificed may
not be killed on the bare earth, but on twigs of fir . 5
Besides the “ House man,” the Votiaks sacrifice also to the
“ Cattleyard man ” (Gid-kuzo). This also is an anthropomor-
phic, kindly spirit, which, in the sheds, looks after the cattle
and sees that they duly increase, protecting them from beasts
of prey and sickness. The “ Cattleyard man ” also looks after
i 62
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
the provender of the cattle, as the Votiaks believe that he
drives away strange spirits of like kind, when these come to
their neighbours’ sheds to steal provender. He dwells chiefly
in the stables. The horses that please him are cared for and
fed by him; he will even, at times, plait their manes and
tails ; but others which he hates, he tortures by riding them to
exhaustion during the night. A folk-tale relates how a farmer
spread resin on his horse’s back, and in the morning, coming
into the stable, saw a little old man, about half-a-yard long,
sitting stuck fast there . 6 As in the case of the “ House man,”
both occasional and regular sacrifices are offered up to the
“ Cattleyard man.” The Eastern Votiaks are in the habit
of sacrificing a capercailzie in the cattle sheds when a cow is
sick, and a brace of pike for horses. In some districts it is
customary to offer up once for each foal the above fish-sacri-
fice, so that these may, as horses, shine like the pike. The fish,
however, is not cooked, but burned as it is in the cattleyard.
The yearly sacrifices in honour of the “ Cattleyard man ”
occur both in the spring, when the cattle are let loose to pas-
ture, and in the autumn, when they are shut up in the cattle-
folds again. In most places, it has now become the rule to
give only a promise of sacrifice together with bread or porridge
in the spring, the promise being fulfilled in the autumn if the
cattle have been healthy out in the pastures and have in-
creased. The sacrificial ceremony, in which only members
of the family may take part, greatly resembles the ceremony
under the floor, described earlier, the only difference being
that the sacrifice intended for the “ Cattleyard man ” is burned
in the cattleyard. Even the animals used are the same as in
the sacrifice under the floor. In the prayers, the appeal is
for fat horses and milch-cows, enough to fill the whole yard,
or one may also say: “ Be vigorous and strong, drive out the
strange spirit, protect the cattle and banish all evil from the
yard ! ” 7
The bath-house spirit is called the “ Bath-house man ”
HOUSEHOLD SPIRITS
163
(Munt'so-murt) or the “ Bath-house ruler ” (Munt'so-kuzo).
He lives in a dark corner of the bath-house and resembles
in appearance a tall, middle-aged man, clad in a white shirt
and shoes of lime-bark, or he may also be tall and have only
one eye. Sometimes this being speaks and cries like a suckling
babe. He appears to human beings only before some mis-
fortune.
The “ Bath-house man ” plays pranks with the bathers,
sometimes hiding their underclothing, at times binding together
the sleeves of their shirts or turning them inside out, in this
way hindering their dressing. His nature is more evil than
that of the spirits described above. It is not advisable to go
alone into the bath-house, neither is it wise to quarrel there or
speak loudly. Like the “ House man,” the “ Bath-house man ”
can also substitute changelings in the place of rightful infants.
In both the foregoing cases, a piece of iron or some other
metal is used as an amulet. This spirit is rarely sacrificed to . 8
In the threshing-barn lives the “ Threshing-barn man ”
(Obiri-murt). Sacrifices are offered up to him in the autumn,
so that he may refrain from becoming angry and frightening
folk, but instead protect the threshing-barn from fire and
storm. For these sacrifices a goose or a duck is chosen, or,
at times, a sheep, which is killed by the head of the family in
the threshing-barn, or on the threshing-floor, on to which the
blood is also allowed to drip. The flesh of the sacrifice is
cooked at home, after which all return to the scene of the kill-
ing for prayers, the food being also brought there. In the
end, the remains of the sacrifice and the bones are buried under
the threshing-barn. Besides blood-offerings a sheaf of grain
is often left on the beams of the threshing-barn after the
conclusion of the threshing, for the use of the “ Threshing-
barn man.” 9
If one compares the household spirits of the Votiaks with
the corresponding ones of the Russians, one cannot detect any
difference even in the nature of the sacrifices. The “ Korka-
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
164
murt ” of the Votiaks is identical with the Domovoy of the
Russians. Sometimes he is also given the Russian name
Susetka, which is used especially by the Siryans, whose folk-
lore has generally adapted itself to the Russian. The Siryan
Susetka dwells under the floor, like the Votiak “ House man,”
where sacrifices in his honour must be placed. Like these he
is a kindly spirit, which looks after and protects the prosperity
of the house. If he becomes angry, all kinds of misfortunes
are met with, manual labour turns out badly and the cattle
grow thin, as the Susetka neglects to feed them. Sometimes
he attacks human beings in the shape of a nightmare or kisses
them in their sleep so that painful blisters appear on their lips.
At times, he spins and makes a noise as though he were building
something, but this is never a good sign, being followed by
death, fire, or other misfortunes. When the Siryans remove
into a new house, they also endeavour to appease the house spirit
with sacrifices. Rogov relates that at a removal, the master
of the house takes a picture of a saint from the corner of his
old dwelling, goes down with this under the floor and calls
to the house spirit in the following words: “ Susetka, my
brother, let us dwell also in the new. Love my cattle and my
family.” In the new home, the picture is placed in a corner,
and the house spirit is bidden to take up its dwelling under
the floor. According to a general belief among the Siryans,
the household spirit does not move into the new house until
the fireplace is ready . 10
As with the Votiaks’ “ House man,” foreign models are
to be found for their “ Cattleyard man,” “ Bath-house man ”
and “ Threshing-barn man ” among the Russians, from whom
the Siryans also here have borrowed their spirits. The
“ Threshing-barn man ” of the Votiaks corresponds with the
Siryan Rynys olysa (“ the one who lives in the threshing-
barn ”) or the Rynys-aika (“ Threshing-barn man ” ), the
“ Bath-house man ” of the former with the Pyvsan olysa
(“ The one who dwells in the bath-house ”) or the Pyvsan-
HOUSEHOLD SPIRITS
165
aika (“ Bath-house man ” ) of the latter. 11 As the buildings
themselves inhabited by these spirits are not originally Finno-
Ugric, the spirits also must be of later origin. The dwelling-
place of the “ House man ” under the floor points to the
assumption that the Votiaks cannot have worshipped this spirit
at the time when they still lived in the old /£«#/#-dwellings,
where there was no floor. It is worth mentioning in this
connection, that the “ House man ” has never had the kuala ,
in which the Finno-Ugric family gods are considered to dwell,
ascribed to it as a dwelling-place.
The anthropomorphic spirit dwelling in the house is called
Port-oza (“ House ruler ”) by the Cheremiss, but when pray-
ing to it, two names are used, Port-kuguza (“ House man ”)
and Port-kuva (“House woman”). The spirit appears at
times, especially before some important event, in the form of
a man or woman clad in the old Cheremiss fashion. If, for
some reason, it becomes angry, it can bring about many kinds
of misfortune among the family or in the home 3 thus it may
cause illness. The Cheremiss sacrifice to it, so that it will
not be angry or bring troubles upon the house. When ap-
peased, or otherwise contented, it protects the home from
robbers, fire, and spirits of sickness, and brings happiness and
prosperity to the family. For this reason the Cheremiss pray
very often to it. Every evening, when their women retire
for the night, they offer up, in the name of the family, the
prayer: “ £ House man,’ £ House woman/ give success and
health! ” Besides those made for accidental reasons, annual
sacrifices are offered up to the household spirit. In some dis-
tricts it is the custom to go under the floor every autumn, bear-
ing beer, porridge, bread or pancakes, to beg for happiness
for the home from the spirit, or a sheep may also be annually
sacrificed. Sometimes, a black ram is sacrificed to the male
spirit, and a black sheep to the female.
Above all, the “ House man ” and “ House woman ” are
worshipped with bread and pancakes at the removal into a
1 66
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
new house, when they are implored to make the new house
happy, to give children, and to bring riches and other good
things. They are also often prayed to for happiness when the
first layer of logs is laid in its place. Even at the grove-
sacrifices, when all the gods and spirits are remembered, a
drink-offering is presented to the household spirits.
An evil household spirit of Tatar origin is the Suksendal,
which is believed to disturb the peace of the people of the
house. It creates disturbances in the night, troubles people in
the guise of nightmares, and has sexual intercourse with people
in their sleep, appearing in the form of a man to women, and
in the form of a woman to the men. Further, it deposits
changelings in the place of children left alone in the house.
To protect the latter from harm, the Cheremiss mother places
a pair of scissors or some other iron object in the cradle. The
Suksendal can not only do harm in the house, but can also
molest human beings in the bath-house, where it may even kill
a person paying a late visit there.
The cattleyard spirits are the Vit'sa-kuguza (“ Cattleyard
man ”), and the Vit'sa-kuva (“ Cattleyard woman ”), believed
by the Cheremiss to protect the cattleyard. They can appear
to the inhabitants of the house in human form. If the
“ Cattleyard woman ” likes the cattle, she causes them to in-
crease, but where the cattle are displeasing to her, she refuses to
protect them, neither does she cause their increase, but is instead
cruel to them in many ways during the night. Thus, she
drives them from place to place and prevents them from
grazing in peace. In order to cause her to care for the herds,
and refrain from molesting them, the Cheremiss offer up a
hen to her. According to their statements, the cattleyard spirit
is an old woman, who appears clad in white in the folds among
the cattle in the evenings.
A spirit who feeds some animals and worries others —
especially horses — by riding on them the whole night
through, so that these appear quite worn-out and limp in the
HOUSEHOLD SPIRITS
167
morning, is called by the Cheremiss generally Vit'sa-oza
(“Cattleyard ruler”). The name is, however, never men-
tioned by the Cheremiss in their prayers, who turn instead to
the “ man ” and “ woman.”
The “ Bath-house spirit ” (Mot'sa-oza), most often re-
garded as an evil spirit which disturbs the bathers, is not wor-
shipped by the Cheremiss. Only when a new bath-house is
heated for the first time, do they set a little butter on the
benches, “ so that the bath shall be good.” The person offer-
ing up the butter utters during the ceremony: “ £ Bath-house
man,’ eat up the butter! ”
The watermill spirit is the Vaks-oza (“ Mill ruler ”), which
has also the power to appear in human form, sometimes as a
man, at others as a woman. This last is decorated over the
breast with silver coins. The mill spirit lives in the mill under
the floor, or behind the water-wheel, and is friendly to the
miller, whom it helps. Old millers, notably, are in league
with the mill spirit. When the mill spirit is angry and the
grinding goes badly, the miller sets out a dish of porridge as
a sacrifice under the floor of the mill or in some other suitable
spot. In the porridge-offering a pat of butter must be placed
and a spoon given along with it. The Cheremiss declare that
from the nature of the difficulties that beset him, the miller
can interpret the present needs of the mill spirit.
A spirit in the shape of a human being dwells also in the
threshing-barn. The “ Threshing-barn man ” (Idem-kuguza)
or “woman ” (Idem-kuva) shows itself early in the morning,
disappearing when one approaches it. In the ritual in the
sacred grove a drink-offering is made to the “ Threshing-barn
man ” and “ woman,” and they are remembered also in the
harvest-festival ceremonies. A blood-offering may even be
made to them at the threshing-barn . 12
These Cheremiss household spirits bear also plain marks of
Russian influence, which is equally evident in the correspond-
ing beliefs of the Turco-Tatars in East Europe. Another
1 68
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
anthropomorphic spirit is the Kardas-sarko (“ Yard-sarko ”) of
the Erza Mordvins, which lives beneath a stone situated in the
courtyard and is generally represented as a male, though some-
times also as a female. But coincidently with these beings who
clearly possess human characteristics, certain more primitive
beliefs are found among both the Cheremiss and the Mord-
vins, which may perhaps throw some light on the origin of the
household spirits. These peoples had animated the buildings
themselves. This appears plainly in Mordvinian folklore j
while the parting words of a newly-married girl are: “ Dear
house, I have sojourned long in thy warm shelter.” The
household spirit Kud-ava (“House mother”) or Kud-
azerava (“ House mistress ”) is originally the house itself,
although these terms may at times be also used with a similar
meaning to that of the Russian Domovoy. The more primitive
meaning is discernible in the following examples: In a Mok-
sha magic prayer the passage occurs: “ House mistress, pardon
him who built thee and heats thee.” And in an Erza petition
of a similar character we read: “House mother, above
is thy lime-bark (the roof is thatched with this material),
beneath are thy beams.” The dwelling-place as a whole, i.e.,
with the adjoining buildings, designated as jurt by the Mord-
vins, has a special spirit of its own, the Jurt-ava (“ Dwelling-
place mother ”), known also among the Moksha as Jurt-
azerava (“Dwelling-place mistress”). In addition, they
speak of the “ Bath-house mother,” the “ Mill mother,” etc.
The protectress of a whole village is the Vel'-ava (“ Village
mother ”). 13 The Cheremiss, amongst whom the dwelling-
place and all objects connected with it are also regarded as
animated beings, impressionable and capable of feeling, believe
that the kudo , their ancient dwelling-house, and the more
modern port , are fitted like human beings with a “ soul ”
(ort) which can depart from its habitation. If one quarrels,
shouts, smokes too much tobacco in the house, or keeps the
place untidy, the “soul” disappears. “You drive away the
HOUSEHOLD SPIRITS
169
soul from my house,” say the Cheremiss when anyone disturbs
the peace of their homes. Has the soul departed, then the
house is no longer “ happy,” “ life begins to be wearisome in
it,” and “ the building has received hurt.” When the building
creaks in the night, the Cheremiss say “ the building’s ‘ soul ’
moves.” In empty dwellings, which have been deserted for
some time, there is no “ soul,” as they no longer “ live.” The
soul of the building cannot in this primitive state take on any
definite appearance, but is, as the Cheremiss say, merely
the “ prosperity,” the “ happiness,” or the “ comfort ” of the
house. An equally indefinite soul have the cattleyard, the
threshing-barn, etc. As the “ soul ” of buildings was believed
to be able to deliver itself from its material dwelling-place,
it is hardly to be wondered at that gradually the thought
arose, that these, like other souls, might at times become
visible, e.g., in the shape of some domestic animal, a cat or a
dog . 14 Later, the “ soul ” of buildings may have become
identifiable with those of departed human beings or family
gods, and thus have borrowed from these last also their human
characteristics.
Among the Cheremiss and the Mordvins the bee-garden has
also its special tutelary genius. The former call this the
Miiks-ort (“ Bee-soul ”). The Moksha Mordvins worship
the Neskeper-ava (“ Bee-garden mother ”) as the protective
spirit of the bees; the Erza Mordvins use the name Neske-pas
(“ Beehive god ”). 15
The Baltic Finns, who form a group by themselves, call
the household spirit “the Ruler” (Finnish Haltia, Esthonian
Haldja). Without doubt, this “ Haltia,” which according to
the Ingrians was “ not made nor brought, but was in and
through itself,” has the same origin as the ort of the Chere-
miss . 16 Like this last, the Finnish Haltia needs no food. But
one must do honour to him in every way. When settling in
a new dwelling, and even when staying anywhere for the night,
permission must first be begged of this “ Ruler.” If any
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
-
170
rapping sound be heard in the house, it is regarded as a sign
of permission to do so. Similarly, when entering a room for
the first time that day, one must always remember to say:
“ Good morning, Ruler.” In this case, also, the answer is
17
a rap.
Every room with a roof-tree had its own Haltia, as this
last was supposed to live in the roof -tree. According to
another report, he took possession of the house as soon as
three logs had been crossed, and when the building was de-
molished and the logs laid in a pile, the Haltia cried with
fear lest he became homeless. But if even one log was taken
into use, he removed with this into the new house. “ In order
that the Haltia should not feel lonely in the new house,”
the ashes from all the hearths were taken over to the new
fireplaces . 18
According to the prevalent view, the Haltia could become
visible at times, but he appeared only before some misfortune.
In Ingria the Haltia is said to have appeared at such times in
the shape of a dog or a mottled or striped cat. This was a
sign of fire . 19 The Haltia of a house was also pictured as a
human being. According to a belief prevalent in Finland,
the person who died first in the house, or the one who lit the
first fire there, became the Haltia of the house. Especially
was it supposed to appear in the shape of the first departed
master or mistress of the house. As such, it was generally
kind to everyone, and had special care, in particular, of the
provisions. The male Haltia was of higher rank than the
female, just as in life the master had stood above the mistress;
but children grew up better where the Haltia was a woman.
Both the male and female Haltia were better at the tasks
which they had carried out while alive; under the care of a
male Haltia the horses flourished, and similarly, cows, sheep,
pigs and poultry under that of the female. Other buildings
also, and even vessels, had their Haltia. That of the latter
was intimately connected with the keel of the vessel. The
HOUSEHOLD SPIRITS
171
Haltia of a church was sometimes regarded as being of equal
height with the church . 20
The Baltic Finns have to a very great extent been under
the influence of the Scandinavians. The Finnish Haltia and
all the beliefs now connected therewith find their counterpart
in the Swedish Ra or Radare (“ ruler ”). Of Swedish origin,
as may be seen from its name, is the Finnish Tonttu (Swedish
Tomte) with human characteristics, concerning which Bishop
Agricola says, that he “ guided the house.” In some districts
a special, clean room was furnished for the Tonttu. The
room had to contain a table laid with untouched food, which
was renewed a few times each week. With the exception of
the person who looked after the food, no one was allowed to
live in this room . 21
Of the outhouses, the Tonttu occupied the bathhouse,
stables, mill, and above all, the threshing-barn. Every thresh-
ing-barn had its Riihitonttu (= Swedish Ritomte) who stole
grain from the neighbours’ fields and carried it to his own
threshing-barn. The threshing-barn Tonttu looked after the
threshing-barn, but if he was offended, he began to carry away
grain from the house or would soon burn up the whole thresh-
ing-barn. He was wished a good-morning in the mornings,
and in the evenings, when the fires were lit there, the Tonttu
was begged to keep an eye on them, and wished good-night.
Should one desire to stay overnight in the threshing-barn, one
had to request permission of the Tonttu, and on no account
could one lie down near the hearth. He appeared sometimes
in grey clothes and wearing a grey hat on his head. Porridge
and milk were offered up to him behind the threshing-barn
fireplace.
According to some beliefs, the threshing-barn Tonttu was
born of the last sheaf of grain that was cut in the fields. The
sheaf was placed on the rafters of the barn for the whole
year. At times, it was left for many years ; and “ during this
period the spirit was supposed to come forth.” When it was
172
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
desired to ask on Christmas Eve what the next year’s harvest
would be like, the master of the house had to proceed to the
threshing-barn and ask: “ Good Tonttu, say what kind of year
we may expect.” If the threshing-barn creaked in reply, a
good year might be hoped for."
Among the household spirits may also be included a being,
which gathers all kinds of good things from other places for its
owner. The Votiaks, who perhaps have appropriated this spirit
from the Russians, call it the “ Bearer.” It is said to resemble
a cat, and assists its owner by bearing grain to him from other
people’s granaries. The animistic character of this being is
shewn by the belief that if the “ cat ” is killed, the owner of
the same dies likewise . 23
The Finns call this spirit the Para, after the Swedish Bjara
or Bara (“Bearer”). In Ingria there are Money-, Bread-,
and Milk-Paras. In some districts in Finland also, the Para
has brought its owner money and rye, and even, at times,
manure from the fields of neighbours. Generally, however,
the Para is regarded as the bearer of milk, cream and butter.
As such, it was usually believed to have the shape of a cat . 24
The “ Butter-cat ” of the Scandinavians is identical with the
Smierragatto of the Lapps . 25 Anyone who desired to own
such a spirit, could, according to the Finns, create one for
himself. Its material body was fashioned, for example, out
of cast-off female garments, the head of a thread-ball, and the
foot of a spindle. Each of these objects had to be stolen.
The milk, or other commodities brought by the Para to the
house, was carried by it either in its mouth or in its intestines.
If the door of the milk-closet was left open during the night,
empty milk and butter dishes would be found full in the
morning. The Seed-Para left a narrow track through the
fields from which it had stolen grain . 25
The same spirit is called Puuk by the Esthonians (Platt-
deutsch Puk; Latvian Puhkis). The Money-Para of the
Ingrians, which flies through the air like a meteor, is identical
HOUSEHOLD SPIRITS
173
with the Esthonian’s Tulihand (“ fire-tail ”), or Kratt (ancient
Scandinavian skratti , “ ghost”). The Esthonian Kratt, which,
like the Finnish Para, could be manufactured of certain ma-
terials, carried money, etc., in a sack. Food was offered up to
it — generally porridge and milk. If, during its flight through
the air, one succeeded in unloosing all the bindings and buttons
of one’s garments, the Kratt fell down upon the ground with
all its treasures . 27 In Finland also the Kratti was known,
where, as Bishop Agricola relates, it “ had the care over
property.”
A spirit flying through the air like a “ fire-worm ” — a
meteor — the Votiaks call by a Tatar name, Ubyr. It is en-
tirely evil in its ways, drinking the blood of sleeping persons ;
where this has happened blue marks are left on the body.
The Ubyr may be either the soul of a living sorcerer, or that
of an evil dead person. It can be brought to the ground in
the same way as the Kratt of the Esthonians . 28
On the boundary between the property of two neighbours,
dwelt, according to the Finns, Raja-aija (“ Boundary man ”).
In West Finland they have a saying: “ shouts like the Bound-
ary man.” It is believed that when the “ Boundary man ”
shouts, there is no echo in response, and that he appears when
boundary lines are dishonestly moved. In East Finland, ac-
cording to ancient report, the people sacrificed on the boundary
stones . 29
The treasures hidden away in the earth had also their
“ Ruler ” (Finnish Aarnion Haltia), and over them, on cer-
tain holyday nights, Midsummer’s Eve in particular, one
could see blue flames . 30
All the above mentioned beliefs have their counterpart
among the Teutons and Slavs.
The Esthonians in Krasna, who have continuously wor-
shipped their old “ land gods,” sacrifice to the a Father of
the home ” (Kodojeza) in a corner of their orchards. This
holy or “ purified ” spot could be entered by women once
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
174
only in their lives, i.e., after their wedding ceremony. It
was the duty of the master of the house to look after the place
and offer up sacrifices there, choosing as assistant a “ pure ”
person. Besides occasional offerings for some reason or other,
the ceremony of the “ family-beer ” ( 'perekahi ) was per-
formed every autumn. A portion of all the flesh cooked in
the house from sacrifices, would be taken over to the “ puri-
fied spot.” 31
In order to understand the genesis of the “ pure spot ” of
the Esthonians, it is necessary to glance at a similar custom
among peoples related to them. The Votiaks, who no longer
possess their older dwelling-house, kuala , have the same sacri-
fices in a corner of their yards as the other Votiaks in their
kuala. The site of the old kudo is also regarded as “holy”
by the Hill Cheremiss . 32 May one assume that the family-
sacrifice of the Krasna Esthonians to the “ father of the
home ” (a “ village god,” Kiilajumal, is also known) is
identical with the autumn sacrifices of the Volga Finns to their
family gods? In that case one could understand also the Finns’
habit of offering up all kinds of first-fruits at the root of a
holy tree or a holy stone in the vicinity of the home. Old
sacrificial ceremonies often continue to exist under changed
circumstances.
In the offerings to household spirits by the Finno-Ugric
peoples it would appear that they most of all felt the need of
appeasing the underground spirits. Traces of an old Indo-
European custom of sacrificing a human victim under certain
buildings, are to be found among the Volga Finns, who sacri-
ficed children under a new watermill . 33 The Mordvins are
said to have expressed the following wish at this ceremony:
“Be the Ruler of the mill, the Mill mother! ” 34 But from
this the conclusion can by no means be drawn that the house-
hold spirits of the Finno-Ugric peoples, the majority of which
spirits are direct loans from neighbouring peoples, were
originally human beings sacrificed under their buildings.
CHAPTER XI
FOREST SPIRITS
A S IN olden days, hunting was one of the chief means
of existence of the Finno-Ugrian tribes, it is but natu-
ral that they should have peopled the forests with all kinds of
spirits.
Missionaries relate that the Scandinavian Lapps worshipped
a Forest spirit, which was called Leib-olmai (“ Alder man ”).
The Lapps honoured him “ in order that he might give them
luck in hunting.” The following description by Randulf
shows that the above mentioned spirit was especially the pro-
tector of bears: “ Leib-olmai is a bear-man or bear-god, who
protects the bear, the holy animal, and who also presents it
to the Lapps when they pray and call to him for it.” He re-
lates further that where the Lapps had not asked for the as-
sistance of Leib-olmai, they not only lost their prey, but in
addition the god might help the bear, when it would rush
upon its assailants. Therefore the Lapps consult their magic
drums before hunting the bear and pray the spirit not to
take the bear’s part . 1
The older sources of information do not mention actual
offerings to Leib-olmai nor anything about the manner of
offering. Randulf only states that hunting equipment, bows
and arrows, were offered up to him. According to J. Kildal,
Leib-olmai looks down on the female sex. A woman may not
walk round a tent where there is a gun, this being regarded
as in some way connected with the Forest spirit. Forbus says
further, that the custom of sprinkling extract of alder-bark
on the hunters’ faces at the bear-feasts, was carried out in
Leib-olmai’s honour . 2 The name of the Forest god, “ the
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
176
Aider man,” has probably been derived from this magic cus-
tom. Judging by this, “ Leib-olmai ” would seem to be neither
more nor less than the genius or race-soul of the bear.
According to Charuzin the Russian Lapps worship a Forest
spirit which they call Luot-hozjik {hozjik = Russian choz-
yaika , “hostess”). She looks after the reindeer when
they wander in freedom in the forests in the summer, keeping
them together, showing them good pastures, and protecting
them from beasts of prey. From human beings she cannot,
however, protect the flocks. She helps the hunters to catch
the wild reindeer and the Lapps are not afraid of her. When
they drive their reindeer out to pasture in the spring, they
pray to this Forest spirit — “Luot-hozjik, protect our rein-
deer.” And in the autumn, should they recover all their
flock, they say: “We thank thee, Luot-hozjik for protecting
our reindeer.” This Forest spirit, which lives on a mountain
covered with lichen, resembles a human being in having a
human face and walking on human feet, but the body is hairy
all over like a reindeer’s . 3
The same Forest spirit may be the one spoken of by Genetz,
Mintys. In one tale a being named Mientus appears which
at times is like a male reindeer, but by casting off its horns is
turned into a human being . 4 Originally Mientus meant
“ wild reindeer,” and is probably their genius as Leib-olmai
is that of the bear. Their reindeer spirit the Russian Lapps
call Pots-hozjin (“ Reindeer-master ”) and Pots-hozjik
(“ Reindeer-mistress ”), who have the same duties as Luot-
hozjik . 5
The Russian Lapps also speak about the tutelary genius of
the wolf} by treating a wolf very roughly, one could scare
this spirit into keeping its wards in check.
Among the Western Lapps the tutelary genius of the migra-
tory birds is the Barbmo-akka {akka = “ old woman”} cf.
barbmolodde , “ migratory bird”), who brings back the birds
to the northern countries from the warm south. Further, the
FOREST SPIRITS
177
protecting spirit of birds is called “ Loddis-edne (“ Bird-
mother ”). 6
A Forest spirit resembling the Russian Lesiy is the Eastern
Lapps’ Miehts-hozjin (“ the Master of the forest ”) who
according to Genetz is also called Vare-jielle (“Forest-
dweller ”). He is a black being with a tail, and does not do
any harm to human beings unless provoked. When anyone
shouts, sings or makes a noise in the forest, he becomes of-
fended, and bewilders the culprit so that he cannot find his
way out of the forest. The “ Master of the forest ” loves
silence above all . 7
The Western Lapps’ belief in “ Forest people ” has been
influenced by that of the Scandinavians. Leem mentions a
Ganis (according to Friis, Lexicon Lapponica, = “ echo,”
“ daemon montanus ”) which is probably the same being whom
Randulf, in his records, names Gidne (Pite Lapp Kinej Lule
Lapp Kani). This appears in the forest, and seen from the
front resembles a beautiful maiden, but has a long tail behind.
The Forest maiden serves the Lapps, bringing the reindeer
together when they are spread among the hills and assisting
in the milking of reindeer-cows. Sometimes she will even
wish for sexual intercourse with a Lapp . 8 In appearance and
conduct she reminds one of the Scandinavian “ Forest maiden.”
Alien already in name is the Gufittar of the Scandinavian
Lapps, an underground dwarfish being, who lives in the forest
or on the mountains. At times he appears on the earth with
fine herds of cattle. He will at such times hang a bell round
the necks of the cattle, when one can easily hear where he
wanders. One must then go boldly towards him without
glancing to either side and show him a piece of iron, or else
throw the iron over the cattle, when the Forest spirit will at
once disappear under the earth and the cattle become the
property of the enterprising person. The Lapp Gufittar
corresponds to the Norwegian Go (d) vetter (“a good spirit ”). 9
The Uldda of the Scandinavian Lapps is a similar un-
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
178
derground being, which also appears on the earth with its
cattle. It is said to change children left alone and in va-
rious ways to disturb people who have settled on its ter-
ritory. The Lapps generally pour a drink-offering on the
ground for it, either coffee or spirits. The name Uldda shows
it to be identical with the Swedish Huldra . 10
It is uncertain whether the Forest spirits of the Lapps were
the object of a special sacrificial cult. Their custom of pre-
serving the bones of certain kinds of game by burying them
in the earth or hanging them in trees, cannot truly be de-
scribed as being of the nature of an offering. On the other
hand the Lapps made offerings to their Seides to secure good
luck in hunting.
All the Samoyed stocks also know of a Forest spirit, gen-
erally called “ the Master of the forest.” According to Don-
ner the Ostiak Samoyeds sacrifice, among other things,
peculiarly shaped arrows to the Forest spirit. A human-like
image, often carved on an old tree, is made of the “ Master
of the forest.” When an offering of anything eatable is made,
the food is rubbed into the mouth of this image . 11 That there
was some connection between the “ Master of the forest ” and
the spirit of the “ holy places ” appears from the notes made
by Lehtisalo among the .Yuraks. “ The Samoyed may wander
freely in the forest, but when passing a holy place, he must
sacrifice something, as otherwise the ‘ Master of the forest 5
will be offended.”
The Ostiaks call the Forest spirit Unt-tongk (“Wood
spirit ”), which resembles a human being but is said to be
hairy like a wild animal. A spirit of this kind lives in every
forest. He gives game to those who remember him with
offerings. The usual time for these is in the autumn or in
the early spring, at the beginning of the two hunting periods.
At Vasyugan an image of the Wood spirit is made. The
Northern Ostiaks do not seem to have made offerings to him.
In tales the family and daughters of the Forest spirit are
FOREST SPIRITS
179
spoken of, the latter being able to marry human beings . 12 The
Mis-khum ( khum , “man”) of the Voguls can appear as tall
as a tree} he leads wanderers astray in the forest . 13 A more
evil spirit is Mengk, known to both these related stocks. Of
these there are many, both male and female, in the forests.
Their way of living resembles ours, and they are often re-
garded as people from older times, while tales are told of
their strength . 14 Over a wide territory and also among the
Yuraks the evil Parne is known, dwelling deep in the fast-
nesses of the forest, and said to have three fingers on each
hand, and on each foot three toes with sharp nails . 16
-
The Votiaks call the Forest spirit Nules-murt (“ Forest
man ”). In appearance and customs he is like a human being,
but he is often imagined as one-eyed, and is believed to have
the power of lengthening or shortening his body at will.
Generally he holds his head on a level with the highest tree,
and on account of his great height he is called “ Great uncle ”
in the Glazov district. In the forest where he lives he has
his household and family, and many treasures — gold, silver
and cattle. He moves from place to place in the guise of a
whirlwind. Forest spirits also celebrate weddings, which are
held twice a year, in the summer and in the winter, the Forest
spirits moving then as whirlwinds so that great trees are up-
rooted. The Forest spirit entices people, more especially
children, into his power. Sometimes he will also entice cattle
to become lost in the forest, or drag them long distances in
the whirlwinds. He is enormously strong, but being a stupid
spirit, he is neither dangerous nor dreaded. Very often he
is even of great help to people, giving game to hunters and
protecting the cattle in the forest.
The Votiaks make offerings to the Forest spirit in the
forest during the autumn, preferably under a fir-tree. All the
hunters take part in the ceremony. As offerings, brandy,
bread, and a bull or a goat are used. In some districts bread
is placed on the branch of a tree for the “ Forest man.” 18 A
1 80 FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
prayer to the Forest spirit discovered by Aminoff runs: “Give
me, ‘ Forest man,’ of thy forest-animals, squirrels, wolves,
bears. Give also of thy bees, drive them into my bee-hives.
If thou doest this we shall give thee gifts.” 17
The Votiaks also sacrifice to the Forest spirit in order that
their cattle may thrive and increase. In the spring when the
cattle are driven out to pasture, the head of the family prays
to him: “ Great uncle, Forest uncle, now drive we our cattle
out to pasture and begin our ploughing. Therefore, we sacri-
fice to thee. Accept our offering. Protect the cattle from
beasts of prey and evil people. Our cattle go over twelve
rivers, behind twelve meadows. Save and protect them from
disease and from all evil.” The porridge prepared as an
offering for the Forest spirit is taken to him in the forest in a
basket made of birch-bark. Also in the autumn when the
cattle return home, another offering is prepared, viz., a goose.
The Forest spirit is thanked for having taken such good care
of the cattle in the forest during the summer. 18
Occasional offerings are also made to the Forest spirit,
as when the foresters go out hunting. In the district of Sara-
pul, offerings are sometimes made during stormy weather.
At these times the offering is an animal, generally a duck.
Offerings are further made in cases of sudden illness, accord-
ing to the directions of the magicians. This last reminds one
of the worship of the dead. The number of pancakes, made
specially by the hostess for the occasion, must absolutely be
an odd number, three, five or seven. When going to perform
the offering, it is regarded as a bad omen to meet anyone,
for which reason great care is taken to avoid this. After
the person making the sacrifice has returned from the place
of offering, he must go direct, without speaking, to the fire-
place, where he washes his hands in the ashes, after which
he may approach his family. 19
Besides the above mentioned Forest spirits, which are wor-
shipped by the Votiaks, these have still many others to whom
FOREST SPIRITS
181
offerings are not made. One of this latter kind is the Pales-
murt (“ Half-man ”) known to all the Votiaks. It resembles
a human being, but has only half of a human body. Thus,
it has only one eye, one foot, one hand and one breast, which is
so large that it can suffocate people with it by pressing it into
their mouths. In the twilight it frightens the lonely wanderer
in the forest with its shrieks . 20
More evil than the former is a spirit known in the South-
ern Votiak area, called Surali, which is also anthropomorphic,
but naked and hairy. It has only three long fingers on its
hand (cf. Ostiak Parne). It calls all night in the forest,
causes people to lose their way, and entices them to itself.
At times it rushes suddenly upon people, tickles them or dances
with them until they are completely exhausted. Often it will
mount a horse in the meadows and ride it madly round the
fields until the horse nearly falls . 21
The Yskal-pydo-murt (“ Cowfooted man ”) belongs also to
the evil Forest spirits, and from its name one can imagine its
appearance. To the waist from above it is dressed in ordi-
nary peasant costume, but from there downwards the legs,
which are hairy and end in hoofs, are naked . 22
Fully coinciding with the Forest spirit of the Votiaks is
the Vorys-mort (“ Forest man ”) of the Siryans. The Siryans
fear to call him by his correct name, and so all kinds of mys-
terious names are used for him. Generally, like the Russians,
they call him Dyadya (“ Uncle”). Like that of the Votiaks,
the Siryan Forest spirit also resembles a human being, having
his house and family in the forest. He is large in size and
taller than the highest tree, for which reason the Siryans often
call him “ Tall uncle.” He rushes from place to place like a
whirlwind and sometimes carries both people and cattle with
him. Women fear him greatly, as he is believed to seek
amorous adventures with them. The Forest spirits of the
Siryans celebrate weddings, gathering then, as at human wed-
dings, in great companies. On the whole the “ Forest man ”
182
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
is a good spirit, being often of great use. To huntsmen,
especially, who live on good terms with him, he shows the way
through the wilds, sits by their camp-fires to warm himself,
and drives game into their snares. Wherefore the hunters
now and then make small offerings to him; sometimes a little
tobacco, which they place on a stump in the forest, as “ Forest
uncle ” is known to like tobacco. But other offerings are also
made to him, such as squirrel-skins and bread and salt, when
the cattle have happened to go astray in the forest . 23
On making comparisons, one notices that the Siryan and
North Votiak ideas of the Forest spirits have been borrowed
from the Russians to a very great extent, and resemble the
popular beliefs of these down to details, the Russian names
being also the local ones. Similarly, Tatar influence is per-
ceptible in the Southern Votiak area. As appears already
from the name, the evil Surali is a loan from foreign sources.
The “ Half-man,” who seems to have been known also among
the Ostiaks, corresponds to the Chuvash Ar zori, which has
the same meaning, and the “ Cowfooted man ” to the Tatar
Syiyr-ajak (“Cow-foot ”). 24
An anthropomorphic Forest spirit, who can change his height,
so that he can be as tall as a pine, is also the Cheremiss Kozla-ia
(“ Forest spirit ”) or as he is sometimes called Targeldes. In
some districts he is said to have only one eye in the centre
of his forehead. Sometimes he appears as a forest-animal, a
dog, an owl, or also as a hay-stack, a stump, etc. He moves
from place to place as a whirlwind. The usual abode of the
Forest spirit is the forest, but often he visits the fields and
meadows. In the forest he shrieks, or roars with laughter,
so that the cattle become frightened. He can speak human
languages and call the traveller by his name, and by pretend-
ing to be his friend, entice him into his power. People be-
lieve him and follow him until they can no longer find their
way again. Thus the Forest spirit causes people to become lost.
When lost in this way in the forest, one must change the right
FOREST SPIRITS
183
boot on to the left foot, and vice versa , to find one’s way
home. To fall into the power of the Forest spirit is danger-
ous, as he tickles people to death. When in a good mood he
will go to the huntsmen’s log-fires to warm himself, but when
angry he puts the fires out. Often he rides full gallop on
a horse, frightening people who are picking berries or mush-
rooms. In stories we are told that the Forest spirit also goes
to the villages, where he sits down with the people and takes
part in their feasts. He also arranges feasts and weddings
in the forests, where he has a magnificent home and a large
family, servants and cattle. To see the Forest-people is not
a good sign, as very often some accident, sickness, or death
follows . 25
Ovda is another evil Forest spirit who has descended from
the Chuvash to the Volga Finns. Besides living in the forest
it is said to dwell in chasms in the rocks and in the ruins of
old castles. These last named, one often hears called “ Ovda’s
village.” Ovda wanders in the forest in the shape of a hu-
man being, but its feet are turned backwards. It is naked,
with long hair and large breasts which it sometimes throws
over its shoulders, and it is also covered with hair. Sometimes
it appears as a man, sometimes as a woman. It has a home and
property in the forest. In the same way as Targeldes cele-
brates a marriage, Ovda also moves then as a whirlwind, so
that the trees bend to the ground. Often one may hear it
laugh and clap its hands in the forest. Ovda is feared be-
cause it approaches people, enticing them to dance or wrestle
with it, when it tickles or dances them to death. A human
being can overpower the Forest spirit if he knows how to
touch it on the left armpit, where there is a hole, the Forest
spirit becoming powerless immediately when touched there.
Ovda tortures animals out at pasture, as well as people, some-
times mounting a horse and racing it nearly to death. In some
places the people say that Ovda will mount a horse and make
the poor animal run backwards. The Cheremiss call this
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
184
spirit also by the Tatar name Surali. A foreign name for an
evil Forest spirit is Alvasta . 20
When a Cheremiss makes offerings to the Forest spirits he
addresses them mostly by the names Kosla-Kuguza and Kosla-
Kuva (“ Old man ” and “ Old woman of the forest ”). He
asks them for protection in the spring when he sends his cattle
out into the forest. When a hunter goes out hunting he cuts
a little opening in a tree and puts in a piece of bread for the
Forest man, in the hope that the latter will help him by
driving game into his path. The “ Old man and Old woman
of the forest ” are further appealed to when a person is lost
in the forest or wishes to spend the night there, and in the
sacred groves, the people never omit to pour a drink-offering
on the ground for the “ Forest man and Forest woman.” 27
To the Mordvin Vir-ava (“ Forest mother ”) alien features
have also become attached later, which are obviously loans from
the Forest spirits of the Russians. More especially in tales,
the “ Forest mother ” is a humanlike being as high as a tree.
She has a particular habit of sometimes slinging her large
hanging breasts over her shoulders. She has long, freely
flowing hair and her legs are as thick as logs. Besides appear-
ing in human guise the “ Forest mother ” shows herself also
in other forms, e.g., as a flame burning on the ground, as a
whirlwind, or as any of the forest animals. She visits the
villages in the form of a dog, a cat, or a wolf. A general
belief is further that the Forest spirit appears at times as a
horse flying at full speed through the forest. In stories it
is said that the Forest spirit comes to the log fires to warm her
long hands . 28
Among the Baltic Finns also, a Forest spirit resembling a
human being is met with. Usually the Finns call the Forest
spirit Metsanhaltia (“ Forest ruler ”), every forest possess-
ing one of these beings. In some places he is believed to be
an old grey-bearded man with a coat of lichen. Here also
the Forest spirit can lengthen his body so that his head is on
FOREST SPIRITS
185
a level with the highest tree. When seen, he is of the height
of an average human being but on being approached he be-
came longer, so that at a distance of nine paces, he was six
yards in height, and at six paces nine yards in height. Accord-
ing to other reports the Forest spirit grew smaller on approach.
Sometimes the Forest spirit appears as a woman. In West
Finland the Metsanneitsyt (“ Forest virgin ”) is said to look
like a very beautiful, well-dressed woman, but from behind
she is like a stump, a bundle of twigs, a pole or a trough.
Sometimes she is fitted with a tail like an animal. The Forest
virgin is in love with men, and entices them to cohabit with
her . 29
The Finnish Metsanhaltia has its counterpart in the Skogs-
radare of the Swedish Finns, and likewise their Metsanneitsyt
in the Skogsjungfru of the latter. The Mets-haldijas
(“ Forest ruler ”) is known also among the North Esthonians,
his cry in the forest meaning that something special is about
to happen, — a death, — for example . 30
Bishop Agricola mentions two Karelian Forest or Game
spirits — Nyrckes (in folk-poetry, Nyyrikki, “ Tapio’s son”),
who “ gave squirrels from the forest,” and Hittavainen, who
“ brought hares from the bushes.” The latter is even today
known in East Finland ; the people say, for example, of a good
hunter that: “ Hittavainen will bring him game even if he set
his traps in the stable-loft.” Etymologically these names are
not clear.
A peculiar idea of the Finns is that one must make offerings
to the Forest spirit at some ant-hill. Here, however, one can
note traces of the former belief in certain small anthropo-
morphic beings, who were supposed to live under the earth
(Maahiset, Esthonian Maa-alused, Swedish Alva). It is be-
lieved that “ those who live under the earth,” and who can
cause skin-diseases in one who sits down near their abode, are
small ant-like beings. Similar beliefs are also met with in
Sweden, where such ant spirits are called Alv-myror . 31 Un-
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
1 86
derground people and Forest spirits often play similar parts
in folk-belief.
If the forest people were angered, they could keep one in
the forest, so that it became impossible to find one’s way any-
where. Especially if, when wandering in the forest, one hap-
pened to hit on the Forest spirit’s track, one was sure to be-
come lost. Those who had thus been bewildered by the
Forest spirit were called “ forest-bewitched.” To find one’s
way out of the forest the reversing of one’s garments was
employed. Cattle which had become lost in the forest, were
said to be “hidden by the forest” ( metsan peitossa ). The
Swedes in Finland called this skogen halier (“ the forest
keeps ”).
According to the Cheremiss the anthropomorphic Forest
spirits were originally human beings. It is believed that those
who die in the forest become Forest spirits or their assistants.
When anyone dies in the forest, he becomes a Forest spirit,
who on the site of his death frightens people and causes
them to lose their way so that they too may die . 32 Even a
horse that dies in the forest is believed to move in the night
and to attack wanderers. The Cheremiss call it “ horse-
Targeldes.” 33
The ceremonies attached to the making of offerings to the
Forest spirit by the Votiaks also bring into mind the cult of
the dead. In certain districts it is an old custom at the worship
of the Forest spirit to remember the dead. Aminoff relates
that in the District Vjatka, where hunting still plays an im-
portant part in the nourishing of the tribe, offerings are made
at the beginning of the autumn hunt to the dead, coincidentally
with those to the Forest spirits . 34 It is hardly to be wondered
at that the dead should gradually have changed into Forest
spirits, when one remembers that burials took place in the
forest at an earlier time. A relic of this old custom can still
be traced among the Votiaks, who believe the dead to in-
habit willingly the depths of the forest. And further, it is
FOREST SPIRITS
187
only natural that those who have found an unknown grave
in the forest should remain there as feared, ghostly beings.
One must, however, also recollect that the ceremonies in
honour of the fallen bear and other more remarkable forest
animals are of a similar character. That among the Forest
spirits there should actually be found the race-souls of tutelary
genii of animals appears, e.g., from the beliefs of the Lapps.
Originally these animal spirits moved in the material shape
of the animal they represented 5 little by little they became,
in the imagination of these people, more humanlike. But
even thus changed, they cannot hide their origin — they are
hairy, like animals, they have the feet or tails of beasts, etc.
The Ingrian wolf-spirit is described in the following tale:
“ To a village tavern in Sombra there once came a being, who
was in all else like a man except that he had a wolf’s head,
and asked for spirits to drink. He was offered a small bottle
which, in the host’s opinion, was quite enough for a man.
The guest was, however, unsatisfied, and drank first a whole
can, and then several small bottles in addition. When he was
about to leave, the host, wondering greatly, asked him who
he was. The guest answered that he was one. who would lead
all the wolves out of their country.” 36
But the forest itself and the separate trees contained therein
were also regarded as animated among the Finno-Ugric
peoples. Charuzin relates that when the Lapp goes to the
forest to fell trees, he strikes the trunks first with the back
of the axe before beginning to chop them down, or, as the
Lapps themselves say, “ kills the tree first.” Should they
omit to do this, they believe that the wood from these trees
will crackle and throw out sparks when burning. 36 Mrs. De-
mant-Hatt, during her travels among the Lapps, observed
that the Lapp girls, when returning from the heights to the
forest districts, hurried to embrace and greet the trees. Ac-
cording to the missionary Lundius, the Lapps also worshipped
trees, as when they had shot down game from a tree, they
1 88 FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
laid the feet of the animal in the tree, smearing it also with
the blood. 37
In the same way the Cheremiss also regard the forest in
animistic fashion. When they go into it, they greet the trees,
ask them the way, and pray to them for a peaceful resting-
place for the night. In the morning they give thanks and
offer their hands to the tree under which they have spent
the night. “ The tree understands what men say, and the
forest listens to the song of the hunter.” The trees are afraid
of the lumbermen and tremble when one of these goes by with
his axe on his shoulder. When felled, the tree attempts to
kill its murderer by falling on him. It is even believed that
trees can change their sites. As elsewhere in nature, one may
not use ugly or rough words in the forest. The Cheremiss
speak also of the tree’s “soul ” ( ort ). While the soul is in
the tree, it is glad and prospers, but when the “ soul ” moves
away, the tree withers. At festivals for the furthering of
bee cultivation, an offering of a duck is even made to the
“ tree-soul.” When hanging up a bee-hive in a tree, they
say: “ Tree-soul (Pu-ort), give luck to the bees,” or: “ Gather
the bees around thee.” 38
-
Whether the Finno-Ugric peoples worshipped special kinds
of trees as such is uncertain. The Baltic Finns, however, seem
to have known tutelary genii for the different trees. The
Esthonians believe that the spirit of the birchwood never goes
into a forest of alder or oak. 39 Milkovic relates of the Erza
Mordvins that when they prayed for rain, they turned towards
an oak, saying: “ Oak god (Tumo-pas), give rain.” While
doing so, a man would conceal himself in the foliage, whence
he would sprinkle those praying with a drink made from
honey. The food-offering was hung in a vessel of bark on a
branch of the sacred oak. 40 It is possible, however, that not
the oak itself, but the Thunder god in the shape of the oak
was the object of worship at these ceremonies. The rowan also
played a prominent part in the beliefs of the people. Both
FOREST SPIRITS
189
the Baltic and the Volga Finns believed in its protective
powers, though offerings were not made to this tree. Accord-
ing to the Flill Cheremiss evil spirits could not approach the
rowan, and for this reason, when anyone was obliged to spend
the night in the forest, branches of rowan were placed under
the head, and if one were even then afraid of ghosts, one
could run to the shelter of a rowan. 41 The same idea is met
with also among the Russians, etc.
The common representative of all the trees is the forest
itself j when worshipping it the Mordvins call it Vir-ava
(“ Forest mother ” or “ Mother forest ”). The Tapio of the
Finns, of whom Agricola says: “ he gave game from the
forest,” and who in folk-poetry appears in anthropomorphic
guise, meant originally merely “ forest,” as may be seen even
today from countless expressions in folk-songs, e.g., “ the
twig-filled Tapio,” or “ oak Tapio.” This would seem to have
been taken over by the Russian Lapps, whose Tava or Tava-ajk
(“ Tava mother ”) is a Forest spirit. 42 Originally, the Hiisi
of the Finns, who, according to Agricola, “ gave victory over
the forest dwellers,” meant also “ forest ” 3 but, in a more
restricted sense, hiisi also signified a sacred grove. Often in
magic prayers and songs, the forest itself is appealed to:
“ Good forest, pure forest,
Watch over my herds of cattle.”
Like the animal spirits dwelling in the forests, the animated
forest itself aspires to anthropomorphic features. In attempt-
ing to simulate a human being, however, it cannot hide its
original self. Standing among tall pines, the Forest spirit
is as long as these, and moving in the underbrush it again
shrinks to the height of this. The Mordvin Forest mother,
when in the shape of a human being, has still feet as clumsy
and thick as logs, and the Forest virgin of the Finns, beautiful
from a front view, appears from behind as a rotted stump or
a bushy tree. In the folk-poetry of the Finns, “ the King
190 FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
or Lord or Mistress of the forest ” has “ a hat of pine-
needles,” a “ blue mantle,” and a “ beard of leaves.”
An extremely wide-spread belief is that the Forest spirit,
having bewildered human beings and enticed them into its
power, tickles, dances, or smothers them to death. The ex-
planation of this curious idea is to be found in the psychic
state that overwhelms the individual, when lost in the forest,
and, in desperation, he sees no chance of ever finding his way
CHAPTER XII
WATER SPIRITS
C OMPARATIVE research shows that the ideas of the
Finno-Ugric peoples regarding Water spirits have to a
large extent been influenced by impressions from other sources.
In remote times, the Lapps, for success in fishing, seem to
have offered chiefly to their gods of stone or Seides, which
the Fisher Lapps always put up on the coasts of rivers and
seas. Such a Seide stone was called also a “ Fish-god.” The
spirits living in the water itself have never had sacrifices
offered up to them to the same degree.
A god, known only at the coasts, is Akkruva, the upper part
of whose body the Lapps imagine to be human, the head
covered with long hair, the lower part of the body that of a
fish. She rises at times from the sea and, sitting upon the
water, rinses and combs her hair. Sometimes Akkruva walks
up to the mouths of the rivers taking fishes with her, and at
such times the catch is excellent. What this sea-spirit, called
by Friis Avfruvva, really is, is shown above all by her name
— a distortion of the “ Havfru ” of the Scandinavians, which,
like the above mentioned being, had a human upper body
whilst the lower body was fishlike . 1
Limited also to Scandinavian Lapland is the Ravgga,
which lives in the water mostly in human shape, its appearance
or voice predicting misfortune, tempest or shipwreck. Meri-
lainen, who calls it in Finnish, Meriraukka, tells that it ap-
pears on the shore examining the accessories of a boat, from
which, later, somebody will be drowned. When it is seen
walking on the shore, the duty of the beholder is to walk
round it with a firesteel, when it will stop, or, if it disappears
192
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
on approach, to wait for its reappearance. It should then
be asked why it has appeared, who will be drowned and when.
That the Meriraukka is the spirit of a drowned person, is
shown by the fact that it keeps in the neighbourhood of the
body, the boat, the clothes, etc., of the drowned . 2
As already pointed out by Fritzner the Ravgga of the Lapps
is the same being as the Old Norse draugr , 3
As will be seen from the name, the Lapps have also re-
ceived from the Scandinavians the evil Nekke or Nik (Swedish
Nacken), which is known also in Finnish Lapland, and is fur-
ther met with among the Finns and the Esthonians . 4
A Water spirit with a Lapp name, to whom offerings are
sometimes made, is the Cacce-olmai (“ the Water man ”).
He is the god of fishing, who brings fish to the hooks or in
the nets and lines. In the notes made by S. Kildal we read
that at sacrifices men made an image of the Water man and
put it into a crevice so that he might give them more luck.
On the other hand they sacrificed to the “ Water man ” so
that he should not do them any harm on the water . 5
The Cacce-olmai of the Scandinavian Lapps corresponds
to the Cacce-jielle (“ Water dweller ”) of the Russian Lapps.
This is a dangerous spirit who calls upon and then tries to
drag people into the water. The sight of it predicts disaster.
A woman who saw this spirit while fetching water from the
sea asked him whether his appearance predicted good or bad.
She was told that her son would die, which happened also
within three days.
Cacce-jielle presents itself to people in different shapes j
as an old man, a pretty woman, a naked child, or often also
as a fish, which somehow differs from other fishes. It is
considered dangerous to kill such a fish. When seeing it
one has to sacrifice something, a piece of bread, a coin or
brandy. Strange fish are said to be the children of the water
spirit . 8
The “ Water dweller ” of the Russian Lapps corresponds
PLATE XX
The Aino Episode in Kalevala (V. 45-133)
(See page 210.)
Illustrated by Akseli Gallen-Kallela.
WATER SPIRITS
193
completely to the Vodyanoy of the Russians, whose Water-
Nymph, the Rusalka, is called by the Kola-Lapps Cacce-
jienne (“Water mother”). In the shape of a naked woman
she emerges from the water at dawn to comb her long black
hair. When frightened, she throws herself into the water
so quickly, that she leaves her comb on the shore in the
place where she was sitting. She loves men and entices them
to her. The Saiva-neida (“ Sea maid ”) of the Western Lapps
is a loan from Scandinavia . 7
A Water spirit is also found amongst the Samoyeds, who
call it the “ Master of the water.” Generally he is looked
upon as a dangerous spirit, sometimes bringing disease. Ac-
cording to Donner they sacrifice money, etc., to him, espe-
cially at the mouths of rivers. In cases of illness they hang
clothes on bushes near the water for him. During certain
seasons the “ Master of the water ” is offered sacrifices that
he may give fish . 8 As a rule, images are not made of him,
only the Yuraks worshipping him in the form of a fishlike
image of wood, or choosing a specially shaped dried fish to
represent him . 9
The Ostiaks call the Water spirit Jengk-tongk (“ Water
spirit ”). Patkanov tells that sacrificial feasts are held on the
shore, before the beginning of the fishing, to honour the
Water spirit and to influence him in the fishermen’s favour.
Although their Water spirit has no image, almost all the
usual sacrificial ceremonies are gone through. For the spirit
itself the blood of bigger animals and of cocks is poured into
the water. Polyakov says that the spirit was offered brandy
and a cock, a lamb or a calf, and that only some drops of the
blood of the victim were poured into the water. Also in the
autumn, as soon as the rivers are frozen, the Ostiaks sacrifice
to the Jengk-tongk on the ice . 10
Like the Lapps, the Ostiaks sacrificed in older times for
luck in fishing chiefly to the spirits of the dead, which are
believed to live in certain holy places. Karjalainen points
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
194
out that the Forest spirit as well as the Water spirit is sacri-
ficed to chiefly in such districts where foreign influences may
be noticed. Except in tales, where the Water spirit has been
given special features, the idea entertained regarding it, espe-
cially in more remote territories, is very vague . 11 At Vasyugan
they sacrifice to a certain Fish spirit, Kul jungk (“ Fish
spirit ”), that lives in the water and is said to give fish to its
favourites. When the ice has broken up, a fish-like image
is made of wood or birch-bark and taken along to the fishing
place. Especially of the first catch is the Fish spirit given
its share . 12
The Water spirit of the Voguls, Vit-khan (“ Water Khan ”),
appears to be still less than that of the Ostiaks an object of
sacrificial worship, although it is mentioned in folk-lore, e.g.,
that the spirit or his daughter may marry human beings . 13
A loan from the Siryans is the Water spirit Kul, an evil
being living in deep waters and known both in the western
districts of the Ostiaks and in the northern part of the Vogul
territory. It has a human shape . 14
In leaving the Lapps and Ugrians and turning to the other
tribes, we pass at the same time from hunting and fishing
peoples to agricultural ones. Fishing is no longer of the same
importance, although it is in places pursued next to the chief
occupation as a good second industry. The importance of the
water is nevertheless not diminished by the development of
agriculture. The villages are still, as far as possible, situated
near to the waters, which besides ways of communication are
used also to afford power for mills. Agriculture, moreover,
has drawn the attention of man to an important feature of
water, namely its secret power of fertilization, without which
no vegetation can exist. Man being thus in many respects
dependent upon this important element of nature, the result
is that the water itself becomes an object of sacrificial cult.
Before considering the animated water itself, we will first
glance at those Water spirits, found amongst other Finno-
WATER SPIRITS
195
Ugrian tribes, to which the imagination of the people has
given distinct features.
The Votiaks call their Water spirit Vu-murt (“ Water
man”). In some places he is also called Vu-kuzo (“Water
master ”). He is a human-like, often naked being, with very
big eyes and long black hair. They speak also of the fingers
of the “ Water man ” ; these are stones resembling thunder-
bolts which they believe to be found on the shores of rivers.
Usually, the “ Water man ” lives in deep waters, such as the
big rivers and seas, but he also likes to dwell in little brooks
and especially in mill ponds. The “ Water man ” has a house
and a family in the water. According to folk-tales he may
also seek the company of people, especially at the time of the
great fairs. The “ Water man ” then appears dressed as a
peasant, but is easily recognized by the left side of his coat
being always damp. Often the “ Water man ” is an invisible
being, and woe to the unfortunate person to whom he then
appears, as this is a foreboding of death or other misfortune.
Like the male Water spirit, the female has also features
which betray her foreign origin. She is beautiful and her
naked body is glistening white. Sometimes in the twilight
the wife or daughter of the “ Water man ” will emerge on
the shore to comb her long black hair. In some places she is
said to have breasts as big as buckets. The male spirit, like
the female one, is a shy being, who immediately throws him-
self into the water on being observed by a human eye.
Besides appearing generally in human form, the “ Water
man ” may sometimes become visible in the shape of a fish.
Fishermen have seen him as a pike, differing from other
pikes by his enormous size and by his sleeping with his head
in the opposite direction to that of other pikes.
Twice a year, in the spring and in the autumn, the Water
spirits have weddings, during which they move in the water
merrily and noisily, causing inundations, so that the mill
sluices break. The Northern Votiaks have, further, the idea
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
196
that they come during the winter before Christmas to the vil-
lages and occupy the bath-houses ; one may sometimes meet
them in the twilight on the village street. For this reason
the Votiaks are afraid to go out alone without a light. It is
also dangerous at these times to make a noise near the water,
to rinse dirty clothes, or to ferry singing people over any
river. While they are thus on the move they are called the
“ evil spirits.” When Twelfth Day is over, the Votiaks
accompany the Water spirits back to the water where they
live. On account of this the feast of Epiphany is also called
“ the following of the Water spirit.” During Twelfth Night
the young people wander with torches from bath-house to bath-
house, to hear their fate and to call to the “ Water man ” — •
“Leave us! ” The following morning men supplied with
axes, sticks, or branches go down to the river, where they knock
on the ice saying: “ Go away from us.” On this occasion they
turn to the river itself with offerings: “Preserve us. from all
disease and accidents.” A piece of bread, a spoonful of por-
ridge and a piece of meat are thrown into the water. In some
districts it was the custom to sacrifice a duck to the “ Water
man ” through an ice-hole.
The Votiaks’ impression of the “ Water man ” is more that
of an evil than a good spirit. He brings ruin to both people
and animals, and is dangerous in the winter, because he breaks
the ice under the feet of the wanderers so that these sink
helplessly into the depths. The “ Water man ” can also send
sickness. If appeased he can, however, be of very great use.
For example, he helps the miller in his work, and fishermen
by driving fish into their nets. He is also believed to protect
and increase the water birds.
Sacrifices are made to the “ Water man ” for accidental
reasons, but also at fixed times. In the autumn the Votiaks
sacrifice a duck or a goose in the river, so that no one will
drown or be taken ill with ague. At the same time the “ Water
man ” is prayed to, to protect the geese and ducks, and to
WATER SPIRITS
197
increase their number. The blood of the bird, its bones and
a piece of the meat are thrown into the water, along with
bread. Sacrifices are made in addition when sickness occurs,
a bird often sufficing for this offering. If the mill sluice is
out of order, or if there is fear of a flood, offerings are made
to the “ Water man.” 15
Among the Siryans the usual name of the Water spirit is
Kul, but it is also called Vasa (“Water dweller”). As
among the Votiaks the Water spirit possesses here distinct
features that hint at a longer period of development. This
is true of both the male and the female spirit. The male one
is a black, hairy and wet being, who at times sits on the shore
shaking himself and sometimes seizing the mill-wheel. Some-
times the people imagine him to be a being with a big head
and big round eyes, who at times emerges from the water and
comes ashore to comb his dark green hair. He is dressed in a
green robe or his body is naked. When he throws himself
from the shore into the water a tempest arises and the waves
rise high. He swims thus, especially in bad weather, in the
water, but at other moments he has been seen rocking on the
water or on fishing nets or standing on some pier. Sometimes
the water spirit haunts the night, slapping the washing hung
out to dry, or crying loudly on the river-bank. He has also
been seen at the fish-spearing and recognised by the sudden
disappearance of his boat and torch.
As with the male Water spirit, the characteristics of the
female one differ in different districts. She is also a long-
haired being, who combs her hair with her big paws. There
is a tale about a peasant, who found a Water maid sitting
naked on a hill, combing her hair, and frightened her so that
she threw herself into the water, leaving her comb on the hill.
The peasant took the comb to his house, but in the night the
Water maid came to claim it back.
The Water spirit may also appear in the shape of a small
child, according to the Siryans. The children of the Water
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
198
spirit are, while young, hairy and of a peculiar appearance,
often like fishes, but become later more human in shape.
Now and then a child of the Water spirit may stray into the
net of a fisherman.
Like the Votiaks the Siryans also know the stony fingers of
the Water spirit. These are belemnites, found near the beaches
in the land of the Siryans.
At times the Water spirit takes another shape than that of
a human being. Thus it may appear, as among the Votiaks,
in the shape of a big pike. In the collected works of Nalimov
the Water spirit is mentioned as a pike that could speak and
had long white hair on its head. By mistake it had gone into
the net of a fisherman.
The Siryans also believe the Water spirits to have weddings,
when they make much noise and break down the sluices of mills,
and that they go and dwell amongst human beings at Epiphany.
The Water spirit of the Siryans is a being much feared.
The mere sight of him means tempest, death or other dis-
aster. He entices both mankind and animals to his home.
-
From the notes of Wichmann it appears that the Siryans
offered the “ Sea spirit ” butter and bread in order that he
might give them fish. When fishing one had to be careful
not to use bad words, as this incensed the Water spirit, who
in his anger would seize the net so firmly, that the fisherman
could not move it. Like the fisherman, the miller also has
to keep on good terms with the Water spirit. For other pur-
poses also, the Water spirit is sometimes given small offerings.
No Siryan will go over water without giving the Water
spirit a gift: if nothing else he throws at least a thread from
his belt into the water . 10
According to the Siryans the Water spirits have their origin
in the spirits of the drowned, which continue living in the
water, where they have entered the service of the Water spirit.
Even the name Kul is, as is proved by Setala, the old name of
a Finno-Ugric god who lived under the earth, the cult of
WATER SPIRITS
199
which was obviously connected with the cult of the dead . 17
When comparing the present highly developed characteris-
tics of the spirit Kul, which the similarly-named spirit of the
Ob peoples, borrowed from the Siryans, does not possess, with
the corresponding features of the Water spirit of the Great
Russians, it is evident that the first mentioned, even to its de-
tails, is a copy of the latter. The name Vasa seems to be only
a translation of the Russian Vodyanoy.
A fully corresponding Water spirit of the Cheremiss is their
“Water master” (Vut-oza). He is said to dwell in such
waters as do not dry up during the hot season. Usually the
Water spirit is here also an evil and feared being. Especially
is it dangerous to swim at midday. Where he does not
succeed in kidnapping a man, he will take cattle. The male
Water spirit appears usually as an old man who is often seen
before dawn on the surface of the water near the shore. He
is dressed sometimes in rags, and sometimes in splendid
clothes ; his chest being, for example, sometimes covered with
silver coins, but at times he is also naked. The Cheremiss
say that the greater a river is in which a Water spirit lives,
the richer it is. Should a human being cast his eye on him,
he throws himself immediately into the water. Besides his
human form, the Water spirit can also show himself in the
form of a horse or a bullock. The Water spirits living in the
sea show themselves mainly as bulls, and the bellowing of
the “ water bull ” has often been heard from the sea. But
the Water spirit can also take the form of a fish, or of other
miscellaneous objects. But in whatever form he shows him-
self, the sight denotes disaster — often death — to the one
who has seen him, or to some one belonging to him.
The female Water spirit, “ Water master’s daughter,” has
been seen on the shore combing her long hair with a gold
or silver comb. Sometimes she becomes entangled in a fisher-
man’s fishing-tackle. Once some fishers found a great being
in their net, which dragged it here and there. With great
200
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
labour they managed to keep hold of their net, and when they
finally succeeded in dragging it nearer to the boat, they saw
a pretty dark maid, who, however, disappeared immediately
from sight. The net became at once lighter and was found
to contain no fish at all. Sometimes people are fortunate
enough to get a “ Water master’s daughter ” into their power.
This happens only when they throw a piece of iron at her or
touch her with their hands, as then the water-maid cannot
move an inch.
In prayers, the Water spirit is often referred to as “ Water
old man ” (Vut-kuguza) and “ Water old woman ” (Vut-
kuva). The Cheremiss worship the “Old man” and the
“ Old woman ” of the water when they go swimming or fish-
ing. The fishermen offer up to these spirits bread or brandy,
sometimes even a duck, a goose, or a hen, as they are supposed
to drive fish into the fishermen’s tackle. In the spring, when
the first fish has been caught, the Eastern Cheremiss generally
boil it immediately, and eat it without breaking the bones,
the latter being thrown back into the water with the following
words: “‘Water man,’ come and eat fish; I have tasted it
already, give us still more fresh fish.” 18
Similar beliefs in human-like Water spirits are met with
among the Mordvins. The spirits living in the water are
here called Ved-eraj (“ Water dweller ”) or Vetsa-eraj (“ He
who inhabits the water”). There are many such spirits, and
they are malignant beings, who, like Vampire spirits, lie in
wait for newly born children, and devour grain that has been
cursed by an enemy . 19
The Baltic Finns have been under Germanic influence.
The Nacken of the Swedes is called Nakk by the Esthonians,
and they believe it to live in all deeper waters, such as the
sea, rivers, lakes and wells. The deepest spot in the water
is particularly its dwelling-place, and also any whirlpool.
The Nakk presents itself in different shapes, as a human
being, an animal, or even some inanimate object. Neverthe-
;: -i : i :
• [f. jiJ Oj fj - i r, "
? . l I--:--';.-: : - - • ' -J ? -
r t; - • jq :<<; :..<•? . )
.giadrnf-iH .U '{d rlq^oloiiq -utfik
PLATE XXI
Votiak sacrifice to the River Buj after the break-
ing-up of the ice. (See pages 214—15.)
(Government permission.)
After photograph by U. Holmberg.
WATER SPIRITS
201
less, it lives in the imagination of the people mostly as a
human being. In this shape, according to the idea of the
Esthonians, it is both male and female, and may appear full
grown or as a child. The people believe the male spirit to be
a grey old man, who at times swims in the water with his
enormous, widely opened maw, swallowing everybody who
comes in his path, sometimes lifting his head above the water,
sometimes seating himself on the shore of a river, lake or
sea, or on the cover of a well to watch for people. When ap-
pearing in human shape he executes human work. Now and
then he is found by night at the fish-spearing places and is
recognized by having his torch not in a boat but on a stone
slab. One of the most remarkable features of the Nakk is
his song, by which he bewitches his hearers, who in this way
become his prisoners. In the neighbourhood of Hapsal the
belief prevails that when the Nakk sings or plays, men and
animals begin to dance in gradually increasing tempo until
they at last fall into the sea. Although the Nakk appears in
human shape, he has, in the tales of the people, fish teeth.
Like the male spirit, the female human-like Water spirit
has also the pronounced character that proves development.
To distinguish her from the male, the Esthonians call her
Nakineiu or Nakineitsi (“ Nakk’s maid ”), Veeneiu (“ Water
maid”) or Mereneiu (“Sea maid”). Usually, Nakineitsi
is a pretty young girl, who sits on the surface of the water,
or on a stone on the shore, or in the shadow of a tree growing
near to the water, combing her long hair with a golden comb.
Her hair is wonderfully pretty, now golden yellow, now
grass-green. Occasionally she appears naked, at other times
dressed. In some districts the Nakineitsi has a human body
and a fish tail.
As with the Nakk, one of the most important features of
the Nakineitsi is her song and her music. On the coasts they
speak also of the cattle of the water-maid, which are beautiful
and fat. The colour of the animals is usually grey, like the
202
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
sea. Suddenly emerging from the sea, the cattle come ashore,
where they are tended by the Nakineitsi until she again dis-
appears with them after awhile. The Livonians tell of blue
sea-cows j some of these sometimes go astray from the other
cattle and remain on the shore, falling thus into the hands of
men.
Besides his human form, the Nakk of the Esthonians also
appears in the shape of a young, usually grey horse, sometimes
also as a white foal. This emerges from the water, runs all
round the shore, approaches children and entices them to sit
on its back, whereupon it immediately rushes back into the sea at
a gallop. At times it can also appear as an ox, now black, now
brown or grey, or as a white calf. The Nakk that has changed
himself into an animal, is recognized by his coming from the
sea and disappearing into the water. Sometimes he even
changes himself into a startled hare, which by running to
and fro on a pier tries to entice its pursuer so far, that the
latter is in danger of falling into the water. He may also
appear as a waterbird, a swan, a goose or a duck. Further,
the Nakk is seen in the shape of a fish, which at times comes
ashore, winds its tail round a fisherman, and drags him into
the water. Often the Water spirit appears also as a big
strange-looking or one-eyed fish. Two fisherman had once
fished a long time without catching anything when one of
them saw two strangely shaped gold-glittering fishes in the
water. Neglecting the warning of his comrade he set about
catching these fish and got one in his net, but as he was about
to lift it from the water there suddenly arose a strong tempest
and snowstorm, and at the same moment the fish disappeared
from the net. The Nakk can also take the shape of a lifeless
object.
In whatever shape the Nakk appears, he is always a danger-
ous and feared being, whose mere appearance predicts drown-
ing or other disaster. Even if the one who sees him is not
himself doomed, one of his relatives will perish in the water.
WATER SPIRITS
203
Some people believe that in all waters where a Nakk dwells,
a man will be drowned every summer. When the time for
this approaches, a voice is heard from the water: “The hour
has struck, a man is wanted.” Against his will somebody
will then go and bathe and lose his life in the water. Be-
fore he drowns, the water becomes agitated, boils and seethes,
but calms down as soon as it has got its victim. The Nakk
can drown people not only in deep but in shallow places, where
the water is only a foot deep.
The Nakk takes his victim either by enticement, by be-
witching songs, or by appearing in the shape of the animals
or object that a man desires. At times he bewitches the eyes
of people so that they no longer recognize their surroundings,
but lose themselves and at last are at his mercy. The cattle
he entices by changing himself into an animal, mingling with
them on their pasture ground, and, on his return into the
water, enticing the other animals to follow him.
One who notices the danger in time, may protect himself
against the menace of the Nakk. An effective remedy is to
mention his name, as on hearing this he flees at once and throws
himself into the water. To protect themselves, the inhabitants
of the island Mohn, before going into the sea, take a stone
from the beach, spit on it and throw it into the sea, saying:
“ A cake to the Nakk.” Women also do this when they go
to the sea-shore to watch the sheep, as they believe that the
Nakk will not touch them or their cattle if they throw him a
cake into the water . 20
The Nakki of the Finns closely resembles the Nakk of the
Esthonians, only a few new features being met with in the
former. In West Finland the Water spirit is represented as
a man of unusual size. He has been seen in the shape of an
immense, long and stout old man standing over the water,
so that one foot was on the one shore and the other foot on
the other shore of the sea. A miller saw him thus standing
over a waterfall, like an unusually big, grey man. Probably
204
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
this latter type of the Water spirit has been influenced by the
traits of the Forest spirit, which appears in mythology more
regularly than the Water spirit as a lone being. At times the
Water spirit also appears as a dwarf. So he was once seen
by fishermen: “ in the bag of the net was a small human-like
old man, not longer than two spans, with long hair reaching
to his throat.”
Sometimes he is half-man, half-animal: the upper part
human, with horse-feet. He does not seem to appear in com-
plete horse form in the imagination of the Finns. On the
other hand he has been seen as a dog with a long beard; some-
times as an enormous buck, which wears net-pouches on its
horns. Often Nakki appears also in the shape of an object,
at times as a big balk or log, which differs from an ordinary
one by. having an eye as big as a plate and a mane on its back, or
as a tree, fallen into the water, which sinks when one tries to
sit on it.
The female Nakki has also many other names such as
Nakinneito, Nakinpiika (“ Nakki maid ”), Vedenneito (“ Water
maid”), Merenneito (“Sea maid”), Vedenemanta (“Water
mistress”). According to the ideas of the people this Water
spirit is a pretty being. In Osterbotten they believe that the
female Nakki is a beautiful woman with glittering white body
and very long curly hair. On the coast of Osterbotten and in
Nyland the Water maid is further known by her breasts as big
as buckets, which are thrown over the shoulder when bathing.
When the Water maid appears, she is always busy in some
way. Now she washes her face or her breasts, now she combs
her hair, splashes gaily in the water, washes her clothes on
a stone on the shore or on a rock in the sea, or goes sometimes
on land to watch the water cattle in the grass on the beach.
The idea that the Water spirit possesses magnificent cattle
in the water is very general in Finland. Often it has been
noticed how stately cows emerge from the sea, which on the
approach of a man go back into the water and dive down.
PLATE XXII
The Sacrificing “Upward”
The Eastern Votiaks sacrifice a white goose to the
Ilcaven god. (See page 220.)
Water-colour by U. Soldan-Brofeldt.
WATER SPIRITS
20 5
When the Water spirit disappears with his cattle at sun-
rise, it may happen that an animal is left on the shore. Ac-
cording to the general belief of the people, this can be seized
by walking round it once or thrice with a piece of iron in the
hand, as then it can return no more to the water, but belongs
to man. In vain the spirit cries from the water for his lost
animal. It is very advantageous to possess a cow of the Water
spirit, not only because it is pretty, but also because it gives
much milk ; it is however to be noted, that it always gives
only the same quantity that was milked the first time.
At times the cow of the Water maid is like a fish. Once in
Karelia a fish with horns and feet was caught in the net of a
fisherman, who, after some wondering at its appearance, threw
it ashore, with the result that in the night the plaintive cries
of the Water woman were heard.
According to the Scandinavian Finns, besides the Water
spirits, the Maahiset (“ those living under the earth ”) also
possess big cattle that man may seize, if he throws something
made of steel upon them. As the Water spirits rise from the
water, so the “ Undergrounders ” emerge from the earth and
disappear therein. In North Finland and in Russian Karelia
the same power is given to the cows of the Manalaiset (“ the
deceased ”).
Now and then the Water spirit also appears in the shape of
a big fish of unusual species or strange shape. Once some
boys caught a big salmon-trout, which had lost itself on a low
river-bank. At home they were told, however, that the fish
was a Marras, and they were instructed to take it back to the
water, because they would otherwise drown on the same spot
where they had caught the trout. Lencqvist already mentions
the Marta as an omen of death.
The Finnish Nakki is, like the Esthonian Nakk and the
Swedish Nacken, always an evil and feared being. That
children may take care when near the water, they are fright-
ened by words such as “ Nakki comes.” A usual means of
20 6
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
protection against Nakki when bathing is a form of witch-
craft in connection with certain words. On stepping into the
water the bather once, thrice, or even nine times, scoops water
on to the beach with his hand or throws a stone, taken from
the water, or earth from the sea-bottom, on the shore, saying:
“ Nakki ashore, I into the water.” After bathing the pro-
ceeding is reversed, the water or the object used previously
is now thrown back in the river or the sea, with the saying:
“ Nakki into the water, I on land.” Another means of pro-
tection against Nakki is to put into the water a piece of metal
or a metal object while one is bathing. Similarly, animals
also have to be protected against the evil caused by Nakki.
When bathing a horse they used to put into the water some
one of the above-mentioned metal objects or bind a fire-steel
to the tail, or hang a bell on the neck of the horse. More
particularly had this to be done with an unshod horse, be-
cause Nakki is believed not to seize a shod horse.
Similar ideas and means of protection are general also
amongst the Swedes.
Of foreign origin is also an idea of the Finns, that the
Water spirit is a musician, whose wonderful music anybody
can learn. The proper moment to approach it for this purpose
is Midsummer Night, or before the Eves of Lent and Easter.
The spirit may be seen on a rock in a waterfall, on one that
has never been under water, or on one that is always sur-
rounded by water. The person wishing to learn has to take
a violin with him. When the Water spirit has emerged from
the waterfall, he will seat himself on the same stone as the
man, turning his back to him, and start to teach him. As a
reward the man has to promise himself to the Water spirit
and during the lesson bind himself fast to the master, but with
caution, so that the ties break or become undone when the
spirit suddenly precipitates himself into the water. Should
the fetters not loosen, the pupil falls into the power of the
Water spirit. The one who succeeds in passing through the
WATER SPIRITS
207
trial becomes a great player, who can make people dance even
against their will. Sometimes his violin develops the wonder-
ful quality of playing by itself and even its pieces will play
when the violin is at last broken.
The wonderful music to be learnt from the Water spirit is
known round all the Scandinavian countries.
-
Corresponding to Nakki is the Vetehinen (“ Water
dweller”), known originally only in Russian Karelia, Ingria,
and East Finland, who in the imagination of the people ap-
pears as a human-like being with marked characteristics.
Vetehinen is also regarded as a malignant being. He causes
a disease (eruption) and, like Nakki, seizes people and
animals as sacrifices. Protection against him, as against Nakki,
is found in metal objects. The idea of Vetehinen does not
however completely cover that of Nakki, which latter is ex-
clusively the cause of drowning, because the Karelians worship
the former also as the giver of luck in fishing. 21 Foreign in-
fluence is to be noted already in the name of Vetehinen, of
which Castren says that both in idea and etymologically there
is a correspondence to the Water spirit, which the Russians call
Vodyanoy. 22
The Mordvinian Ved- or Vetsa-eraj corresponds in name to
the Water spirit of the Votes, the Jarv-elaj (“ Sea dweller ”). 23
Only through their literature do the Finns know anything now
of the old Water spirit of the Tavastlanders, Ahti, about
whom Agricola says, that he “ brought fishes from the water.”
In the old popular poetry he appears as a water dweller, and
in a song about the origin of frost, the following description
occurs: “ then thou caused a strong frost, when thou made Ahti
freeze in the sea.” 24 The etymology of the name is not
clear. According to Daniel Juslenius (1745) Wainamoinen
was also a Water spirit ; Agricola does not, however, mention
him thus, but says only that he “ composed songs.” Both Ahti
and Wainamoinen appear in folk-poetry as mighty heroes.
Over all Finland and also amongst the Finnish Lapps and
208
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
Northern Esthonians the dark Vedenhaltija (“ Water ruler”)
is known. He is supposed to appear before a disaster in hu-
man shape, and he corresponds completely to the Swedish
Sjora, Sjoradare, etc.
The belief that the drowned are transformed into Water
spirits is general among most of the Finno-Ugric peoples.
The Esthonians, for instance, believe that the size and shape
of a Nakk depend upon the person drowned. If an adult
had fallen victim to the water, his Nakk would appear as a
full-grown person 5 if a child, the spirit would appear as a
child. When swimming in places where people had been
drowned, one might easily get cramp, because the spirits of
the dead seized the living by their feet and dragged them
down. Like the Siryans, the Esthonians sometimes call the
water spirit by a name that originally meant the spirit of the
dead: Kull or Koll (cf. the Lapp Ravgga). The spirit living
in a river is called Joe Kull (“ River Kull ”). 25
A similar being, although not originally of Cheremiss origin,
is their Pele kolese (“ Half-dead ”), which floats on the sur-
face of the water with its face turned upwards like someone
drowned. A person w r ho tries to save it falls a victim himself
to the water. The Cheremiss have a general idea that where
a corpse lies, there its “ soul ” (ort) remains. The fishermen
at Belaya told me how a young Cheremiss mother, who, on
her way back from a feast, had been drowned by falling
through thin ice, rises early in the morning on the beach to
express her sorrow for the babe she had left. The fishermen
had heard her plaints: “ My breasts are filled with milk, my
little child cries at home! ” 28
Further evidence of the transformation of drowned people
into Water spirits, to whom one sacrifices for luck in fishing,
are the Soiem tongk (“ River spirits ”) of the Konda Ostiaks,
“ which are drowned people.” According to Paasonen, every
family has a common idol-house for its members lost thus,
where they are given offerings twice a year, in spring and in
.n'jrJsIsini^ .'•I ,>i yd liqmiioJodq tort/.
PLATE XXIII
Ostiak sacrifice of a white animal, or of one cov-
ered with a white cloth, to the Heaven-god. (See
page 220.)
After photograph by K. F. Karjalainen.
WATER SPIRITS
209
autumn, before the beginning of the fishing season 5 the latest
of the deceased receiving a cock, while to those transformed
earlier, clothes are given. The drowned appear during the
course of the year following their death to the priest and
are then escorted to the god-house, receiving at the same time
a shirt or a kerchief as an offering. 2 ' But from the examples
given it becomes evident that the “ souls ” of the different
species of fish, or their tutelary genii are also contained in the
Finno-Ugric Water spirits. The Yurak Samoyeds make an
image of a fish-like “ Water master ” or they choose as such a
dried fish of peculiar appearance. The Ostiaks make an image
of a fish when they worship their “ Fish spirit,” and with other
peoples also the Water spirit often appears in the form of a
rare fish. The Pite Lapps speak of a Water spirit with horns. 28
Sometimes these “ spirit-fish ” can be detected only by their
position. The Water spirit of the Permian tribes appears as
a large pike which is recognised by the fact that it is larger
than others, and that when sleeping it holds its head against
the current of the water, or towards the shore, or contrary
to the other fish. The “ Water dweller ” of the Russian
Lapps often appears as a turbot or a flounder, which contrary
to the habit of these fish comes inshore. Sometimes the Fish
spirit strives after more human-like features.
The Siryans say that the “ Water dweller ” when young
resembles a fish, but as it grows begins to resemble a human
being. A “ spirit-pike ” could speak and had long light hair
on its head. 29 In Pite Lapland a white fish was caught that
had scales all over its body, except on its breast, which re-
minded one of a woman’s breast. 30 In a tale from the Finnish
coast, a Water spirit was found by the people, which from the
front was like a most beautiful young maiden, but on its back
was covered with scales and had also fins. It is believed in ad-
dition that in the Baltic there are water-dwellers with a human
body and a fish-tail. Even when a spirit appears altogether
as a human being, it has generally some fish-like feature,
210
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
such as the large maw of a fish, fish-teeth and round eyes.
Another significant fact is that it moves with the other fish,
taking them with it from the sea to the rivers, and also that it
wanders into the fishers’ traps. There is a story of such a half-
fish, half-female being in the Karelian folk-songs which Lonn-
rot uses in the Aino episode in Kalevala (viii. 45—133).
The Finno-Ugric peoples also envisage the water itself
animistically. The Cheremiss say that the “ water lives,” it
moves from one place to another, serves people and carries
their boats. Donner relates, that the Samoyeds, when they
are out in their boats and come to a new river, wash their
heads with its water. A large river they call “ Mother.” 31
This custom is met with also among the Siryans, who, when
they go out fishing, sacrifice bread to the Vorikva River say-
ing: “ Vorikva-mother, carry us without danger, protect us,
and give us a whole boatful of fish.” 32 The Votiaks and
Mordvins, when praying, use also the name “ Mother ” to
their rivers and brooks as the Russians speak of the “ Volga-
mother,” etc.
The Volga and Baltic Finns have the same belief, i.e.,
that lakes can move from one place to another. This may
happen as a consequence of someone offending the water by
polluting it. They say that when the sea wanders, a black
bull goes bellowing before it, so that people may know to
get out of its way. 33
In a little village in the District of Birsk there is a lake
that has the same name as the village, Cherlak. The people
%
say it has two sisters, Azelekel and Kandralekel, which are
also two lakes in the District of Belebey. Cherlak Lake is
the youngest sister and is called the “ Cherlak girl.” Some-
times it is asked to visit the older sisters, and to take with it
water, fish and sea birds. Some time ago it paid a visit to
them, the lake being in the meanwhile so dry that cattle we’re
able to pasture on its bed, the only water being in a hole.
The village was quite unhappy over the shortage of water and
WATER SPIRITS
21 1
decided to offer up a sacrifice to the “ Cherlak girl.” They
thought first of offering her a black bull, but this did not
please the lake as the animal did not shudder when water
was poured over it. In the end they offered a black heifer,
which she accepted with pleasure. Clad in clean clothes,
the people around sprinkled water on one another from the
water that was left in the hole, praying to the “ Cherlak girl ”
to return to its old place. The heifer’s bones and pieces of
its flesh were wrapped in its hide and hidden in the water
hole. On this occasion the following prayer was read: “ Water-
mother, protect the water, give the Cherlak girl good
health, bring her and all kinds of fish back to her place,
bring her with all kinds of sea-birds, give the water good
health. Make Azelekel and Kandralekel return her former
riches to the Cherlak girl! ” When it had received the sacri-
fice, the water began to return, but in the beginning it was
muddy and foul. The village sacrificed a black lamb for the
health of the water, and then “ the water became clean and
even fish and sea-birds began to appear.” Sometimes, the
elder sisters also come from Belebey to visit the “ Cherlak
girl,” when it becomes flooded. An old Cheremiss related that
during his lifetime it has happened twice that a strange lake
has visited another.
The Cheremiss and Mordvins generally call the animated
water “ Water mother.” Probably the Esthonians’ Vete-ema
(“ Water mother ”) and Mere-ema (“ Sea mother ”) have the
same origin, although the ideas connected with them are now
in close relation to the Wasser-mutter of the Teutons. The
Livonians’ Mier-iema (“ Sea mother ”) is a similar goddess . 34
Agricola says that the Karelians worshipped Veden ema, who
“ drove fish into their nets.”
In the magic prayers of the Mordvins the “ Water mother ”
has already certain anthropomorphic features: silky hair, and
a plait decorated with silver wire, at times also her children
and family are mentioned. One finds, however, in some
212
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
prayers words like these: “ Water mother, Boyar mistress, thou
comest from the sea and spreadest thyself over the whole
country, thou wanderest over thine own land, thou floatest
over thine own ways, thou doest much good, thou receivest
many genuflexions, thou flowest glowing like gold, shining
like silver.” 35
It is quite evident that the “ Water mother ” in the votive
prayers is the animated water itself. As an example one might
give the following prayer written down by Melnikov among
the Christian Mordvins. “ Water mother, give all Christian
people good health. Give health to those who eat thee and
those who drink thee, to those who bathe in thee a light and
merry heart ; give the cattle also who drink thee good
health.” 36
Smaller offerings are also made to the water when going
out to fish, or in sickness, i.e., ordinary skin diseases which are
believed to come from the offended water. The real water-
cult is, however, connected with agriculture. Mutual sacri-
fices have been made to the Water mother, chiefly to obtain
fruitful rains. Like the earth, the water is given a black
sacrificial animal, generally a bull or a sheep. The Cheremiss
have a custom of sprinkling water on one another at such
ceremonies. Black sheep, or hens that happen to be near the
water, are also sprinkled with it. A part of all the sacrificial
food is thrown into the water, in addition to the bones and a
portion of each part of the carcase, which, wrapped in the
hide, are also thrown in. At the close everything used at the
sacrifice is rinsed in the water. If a sacrifice should bring too
much rain, the offerings that have been thrown into the water
must be taken up again, and buried in the earth to make the
rain cease. 37
A water cult of this description was known among the Vo-
tiaks, Mordvins and Baltic Finns. J. Gutslaff (1644) relates
about the Esthonians that they worshipped a brook (Woh-
handa), which they believed could produce a fertilising rain,
PLATE XXIV
The “ World-pillar ” of the Lapps, consisting of
two high stones and a squared log of wood. (See
page 222.)
According to Leenis.
WATER SPIRITS
213
or when the brook so desired, torrential rains, hail, or frost.
An old man said that the weather could be arranged with the
brook’s help. If one wished for rain and stormy weather,
one threw something into the water, but if one wished for fine
weather, one cleaned out the brook. An example was given of
a pair of oxen which, while out at pasture, fell into the water
and were drowned, with the result that a terrible rainstorm
arose and only ceased when the carcases were dragged out of
the water . 38 Often, “ rain is made ” without sacrifice, by
wetting people, the walls of houses, cattle, and the fields.
Among the Votiaks, the “ Thunder mother ” has in many
districts usurped the place of “ the Water ” at the large com-
mon sacrifices. Among the Mordvins it has been noted that
in some places they had a custom, when sacrificing for rain,
of going round a little lake three times, carrying a duck, which
was afterwards cooked and eaten in honour of the water.
Sometimes the finding of rain-giving springs is difficult. But
if rain comes soon after a sacrifice to a spring or brook, one
can be certain of having found a good sacrificing-place.
Droughts are often caused by rain-giving springs becoming
choked. These have then to be cleaned out in order to obtain
* 39
rain.
When the fructifying powers of rain were noticed, the
belief arose that rain could also fructify human beings and
animals. To the general custom of taking a newly married
woman to the brook near her husband’s home, in order to
conciliate the strange water, the rite of sprinkling her with
water has been added. This custom can be explained partly
by the belief that one must come into contact with the new
water oneself in order to become acquainted with it. The
Siryans have a custom according to which a newly married
pair should go to the nearest stream three days after their
wedding, when the wife sacrifices money and pieces of cloth
and thread, or bread and cheese to the “ mother ” river, after
which she washes her hands and face in the water. With
214 -
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
most of the agricultural Finnish races it is regarded as neces-
sary to drench the bride completely with water. If weddings
are celebrated in the winter, when it is of course too cold to
do this, the Votiaks and Ingrians consider it their duty to
drench all the winter’s brides together in the spring. It is
not quite clear why this wetting is done, but some light may
perhaps be thrown on the matter by a Mordvinian custom.
According to this the bride goes the day after the wedding to
the stream or well, not only to pour water over herself, but
to beg the “ Water mother ” to give her children. Bishop
Makariy says that when the bride sacrifices money, linseed,
bread and salt to the water, she begs it to wash her clothes
and give her children. The same author says that barren
Mordvin women also pray to the “ Water mother ” for her
assistance. Usually such sacrifices were made at midnight,
when both husband and wife went together in secret to the
shore. According to Butuzov the Erza woman also prayed
in the following words: “ Water mother, pardon me, if I have
offended thee and therefore cannot give birth to children.”
The German belief that children come from the water
(“ Kinder-brunnen ”) is also explained by the above. 40
Rivers and seas were also prayed to for an increase of water-
birds. Aminoff says that the Votiaks sacrificed a duck to the
water, so that it might richly increase their geese and ducks. 41
Wichmann has discovered the following prayer: “To Mother
Ybyt (a river) I give a goose. Produce many geese when
their time comes.” 42 The Mordvins also pray to the “ Water
mother ” to increase their cattle.
The Votiaks and Mordvins, like the Russians earlier, each
spring when the ice begins to break up, celebrate great festi-
vals with sacrifices of horses in honour of the water. Among
the Votiaks this feast is called “to follow the ice.” In 1911
the author had the opportunity of being present at one of these
feasts at the river Buy, one of the tributaries of the Kama.
After a young foal had been killed and cooked on the shore
WATER SPIRITS
21 5
of the stream, the people knelt down with their faces towards
the water, while the officiating priest read out a long prayer,
begging prosperity from the river. During the prayer the
bones, hide, and small pieces of the different parts of the
carcase were thrown into the water, together with the animal’s
new halter, the blood having been already drained there by
means of a channel dug into the bank. The animal sacrificed
is changed each year, being one year a brown foal, the next
year a black bull. The people believe firmly that if they do
not sacrifice to the river, it will flood their corn-fields, or make
great gaps in the banks, or cause fogs, storms and disastrous
hail-storms. In one village this same spring, the sacrifice
had been neglected, and in punishment hail had ruined the
corn-fields.
The Cheremiss believe that the water has also a “ soul ”
(ort) that can depart to other places. They say that when
the water’s “ soul ” disappears, the water becomes muddy and
foul. Illness follows from drinking such water. The close
relation between the Water spirit and the water itself with its
“ soul,” is shown by the belief that if the “ Water master ”
leaves, the water dries up, and that a spirit can rule over two
different waters, causing each to fill or dry up as it removes
from one to the other. The undefined Pamas-oza (“ the
Spring’s master”) of the District Ursum is also apparently
a nature-soul. It becomes angry if anyone comes to take
water from the spring with unclean vessels, or if any one
shouts, quarrels, speaks indecently or spills water over his
clothes. It punishes such people by giving them boils or
some other skin disease} and they must then cook porridge
at the edge of the spring and ask for pardon . 43
Doubtless the undefined Veden Haltia (“ Water ruler ”) of
the Finns is of the same origin. An indication of this is the
strange magic custom, that when the water in a well is spoilt
or run dry, fresh water is brought from another well, in the
belief that by thus renewing the water in the well, a new
ii6
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
-
Haltia is secured. To lakes also in which the fishing water
is spoilt or where the Haltia is not good, “ new water ” and a
“ new Haltia ” are brought. Considering that in the above-
mentioned proceeding, which is also known among other tribes,
e.g., among the Chuvashes, the water, by the addition of new
and better water, is provided with new soul-power, we may
assume that the Haltia here is to be understood in the sense
of the nature-soul. It is further to be observed that origi-
nally each sea, lake or river had only one Haltia.
These examples should show, that besides the spirits of
those drowned and the tutelary genii of the fish, the water
itself, furnished with a soul, is included among the Water
gods of the Finno-Ugric stocks.
; ('?: /i. l it : \ j :('h r ir -f :>,
.sifal •••? '(d
PLATE XXV
Sacrificial Meal Among the Russian
Karelians
(See page 229.)
After photograph by I. K. Inha.
CHAPTER XIII
GODS OF SKY AND AIR
T HE SUPREME deity among the Finno-Ugric stocks
is the Heaven god, who is called by different names,
the original signification of which is the same among all the
peoples.
In the Finnish language there are two words, Jumala and
Ilmarinen, both of which were originally names for the god of
the sky. The former, which is found in Icelandic literature
as early as 1026 (Jomali), has in our time come to denote
“god” in general ( deus ), like the loan-word Jubmel or Ibmel
in the Lapp tongue, except among the Cheremiss, where in
its present form of Jumo it has preserved its original meaning.
In this last language the word has also a third meaning which
may be taken to be the very oldest, i.e., the “ sky ” or the
“ air.” A similar example of a word meaning “ heaven ” or
“ the Heaven god ” gradually coming to denote generally
“ god,” is provided by the Turco-Tatar Tangere. The second
Finnish word also, Ilmarinen (diminutive of ilmari ), which
later became the name of a hero in the Kalevala , comes from
a word originally meaning “sky” or “air” ( ilma ). The
word Ilmari formed by adding a suffix, is met with also among
the Votiaks, Inmar (the god of the sky), and originates there-
fore from the Finno-Permian period, over a thousand years
before the birth of Christ. Contemporaneously, and with the
same meaning as the word Inmar, there is another word in the
Votiak, In(m) (= Finnish lima); the same word being also
found among the Siryans, Jen (now meaning the Christian
God), and among the Ostiaks, Ilem or Item. These last-named
218
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
have also other names for this god, such as Num-Turem
(Turem = “ sky,” “air,” “world,” etc.), which has its
counterpart in the Vogul Numi-Torem. The word Turem
has been compared by Castren with the Lapp Tiermes (the
god of thunder). Both the sky and the Heaven god are called
Num by the Samoyeds.
Knowing that the highest god, as appears already from his
names, was at one time merely the animated sky, it is not sur-
prising that, especially in earlier times, the people’s ideas of
him were dim and uncertain. The most usual qualities at-
tributed to him are “ great,” “ high,” “ good ” } in the south-
ern districts the Ostiaks call him Sangke (“ light ”), prob-
ably a shortening of Sangke-Turem. As there was no actual
conception of his being, there were no attempts to materialise
him. Characteristic for all the above-mentioned peoples is
the following description of the Samoyeds: “They never
make images of Num, therefore they do not know how to
sculpture him.” 1
Only in folk-poetry do we find the Sky god anthropo-
morphised. Here, we find the Cheremiss relating that he is
a man-like being, living in the sky. Like the people down
below, he practises agriculture, he has green pastures and much
excellent cattle. As befits a good Cheremiss farmer, he even
keeps bees. In the sacrificial prayers he appears as a worldly
ruler with a large train of lesser deities, to whom at times
sacrifices are also made. Like a rich and powerful ruler, the
god of the Ostiaks and Voguls dwells in the highest story of
heaven in a house glittering with gold and silver} he is said
to have seven sons and many assistant spirits, some of which
have wings. The idea of a heavenly suite is, however, of
later origin, a fact that appears also from the names borrowed
from the Turco-Tatar . 2
It is quite natural that the sky with its light and rains, and
other wondrous forces and phenomena affecting so closely
the whole of our earthly existence, should have early become
GODS OF SKY AND AIR
219
the object of the curiosity of primitive peoples. It would
seem, nevertheless, that however animated the sky was re-
garded as being, no sacrifices were originally offered up to it.
This is witnessed to by the fact that even today, sacrifices to the
Heaven god are extremely rare among the more northern
peoples, e.g., the Eastern Samoyeds and the Northern Ostiaks,
for whom the god himself is too far away to be at all interested
in human life . 3
The worship of the Heaven god is more closely connected
with agriculture, which, more often than any other occupation,
raises its glance to the sky. That he is a god of agriculture,
is shown plainly by the fact that sacrifices are made to him
chiefly that the fields may become fruitful. According to cer-
tain peoples, his period of worship is the summer months
only; as the Votiaks, for example, believe that Inmar may be
sacrificed to, like the “ Earth mother,” only up to the begin-
ning of winter, after which it is regarded as unsuitable to do
so . 4 Quite apparent is the opinion that the sky is a pro-
creative power. In their prayers, the Votiaks call Inmar,
“ the procreator and nourisher,” the Mordvins address their
“god dwelling on high” (Erza: Vere-pas) generally by the
name “procreator,” Moksha: Shkaj or Shka(j)-bavas, Erza:
Shki-pas (from ska-ms , “to procreate,” “to give birth to,”
words to be found now only in folklore ; bavas or pas , “ god,”
an Indo-Iranian loan-word). The word skaj may at times
denote only and solely “ the sky,” as in the phrase, skajs
mazems (“the sky reddens ”). 5 The Voguls believed that
the Heaven god “sends down” even animals ; in a prayer
to Numi-Torem occur the words: “ Send down, our father,
the fishes of the sea, let down the game of the forest! ” 6
In later times the Heaven god among the Volga Finns has,
under the influence of Christianity and Islam, become a much
more powerful god, to be worshipped in all the necessities
imposed by life. Even now, however, he is turned to solely
in the case of material needs. Extremely characteristic is the
220 FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
belief of the Votiaks as described by an unknown author:
“ Inmar is, according to them, only a good spirit, who pro-
tects their lives and gives them food and clothing, having
nothing whatever to do with the mutual relations between
mankind.” 7 Thus, the Heaven god did not originally, in the
view of the Finno-Ugric stocks, watch over the morality
of the people, as the spirits of the dead were supposed
to do.
By* the side of the male Heaven god, generally termed the
“ Father,” the peoples by the Volga and the Ob speak in their
sacrificial prayers of a female deity, the “ Mother of heaven,”
regarded as the guardian-spirit of child-birth and as such
later merged into the Virgin Mary. This “ Mother of heaven,”
pictured in folk-tales at times as the wife of the Heaven god,
and met with also among the Turco-Tatars, originates from
pagan times . 8
In sacrificing to the Heaven god, the peoples by the Volga
and the Ob follow similar customs, previously common also to
the surrounding peoples, of keeping the faces, both of the
sacrificing priests and the sacrificial animal, turned in the direc-
tion of the rising sun, contrary to the custom in the worship of
the dead of turning in the opposite direction j the Cheremiss
and the Votiaks having also different expressions for the two
ceremonies, i.e., “ sacrificing upward ” and “ sacrificing down-
ward.” The sacrifice to the Heaven god must, as far as possi-
ble, consist of a white animal. Where this is not possible, the
Ostiaks place a white cloth over the animal’s back. A feature
of note is also that the sacrificial-tree of the Heaven god,
must, as with other Nature gods, be a leaf or “ white ” tree,
those of the dead being invariably coniferous, or “ dark ”
trees . 9 Most often burnt offerings are offered up to the
Heaven god, but there are traces of other methods having been
used. As the smoke from the sacrifice could not reach the
sky from the plains, the sacrifice was performed on a hill or
other high place. In the oldest accounts of the Samoyed re-
PLATE XXVI
Old Sacrificial Grotto of the Thunder-
God Among the Finnish Lapps
(See pages 230—1.)
After photograph by T. I. Itkonen.
GODS OF SKY AND AIR
221
ligion it is stated that the Yuraks offered up white reindeer
to Num on the highest mountains. When the animal was
slaughtered, it was held, as during the rest of the ceremony,
with its head turned to the east. The flesh was eaten uncooked.
The skull, together with all other bones, was left on the place
of sacrifice} the first-named being generally stuck on a pole
with its nose towards the east . 10
In looking at the night sky, the attention of people was
drawn to a certain fixed point, round which the heavens, as
seen from the earth, seemed to revolve. This regular motion
of the sky, which we know to be due to the movement of the
earth round its axis in the opposite direction, awakened among
primitive peoples the idea that the sky at this point, i.e., at the
North Star, is affixed to some object bearing or supporting the
heavens. For this reason, the Samoyeds (Turuhansk District)
call the North Star the “ nail of the sky,” “ round which the
heavens revolve.” 11 The ancient Finns had also a correspond-
ing but now forgotten term, as proved by the name of the
North Star, borrowed by the Lapps from the Finns, Bohi-
navlle (“ the nail of the north ”) } its counterpart among the
Esthonians being the Pohjanael. The connection of these
beliefs with the sky is described by Holzmayer in the follow-
ing words: “ In the middle of the sky, or in the north, the
heavens are affixed to a nail in such a manner that they are
able to revolve round the nail, the revolving causing the
movement of the stars. As the North Star is situated in the
very centre, it is called the £ nail of the north.’ ” 12 This nail
is, at the same time, regarded as supporting the sky. Turi
relates that the Lapps believe the Boahje-naste (“ north
nail,” “ north star ”) to support the sky, and that when Arc-
turus, supposed to be an archer, shoots down the Boahje-naste
with his arrow on the last day, the heavens will fall, crushing
the earth and setting fire to everything . 13
The Lapps believed also, however, in a more reliable sup-
port for the sky than a nail. Missionaries relate that the
222
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
Lapps sacrificed to their highest god Veralden rade (“ Ruler
of the world ”) so that “ he should not let fall the sky,”
erecting at the altars a tree either split in two or forked nat-
urally, or also, at times, a high pillar, called the “ pillar of
the world” (Veralden tshuold) for the god to “support the
world with, and keep it in its present form and condition,
that it might not grow old and fall from its former nature.”
The tree was besmeared with blood from the sacrifice . 14 A
“pillar of the world” of this description was seen by Leem
in the vicinity of the Porsanger Fjord at an old site of sacri-
fice, where there were two great stones and, on their eastern
side, a very high square log with its lower end stuck in the
ground. In the top of the log there was an iron nail . 15 That
these pillars of the Lapps had a heavenly counterpart is
shown by the fact that in some places, the name of the North
Star is “pillar of the world” (Veralden tshuold ). 16 It is
probable that the Lapps obtained both their ideas and their
sacrificial customs from the Scandinavians (Cf. Teutonic Ir-
minsul, “ world-pillar ”); the “ nail ” may be compared with
the Scandinavian Veraldar nagli, the “ world-nail.” 17 The
corresponding belief of the ancient Finns is found nowadays
only in the phrase, known also to the Esthonians, and used
of people living to a very old age, that these live “ to be a
pillar of the world ” (Finnish Maailmanpatsas or Maasampa,
Esthonian Ilmasamba). The Ostiaks, amongst whom this
“ pillar ” was also known, and who even worshipped it as a
deity, have, as we shall see, in this respect been under Turco-
Tatar influence . 18
Like the sky itself, the heavenly bodies and certain
phenomena in the air were regarded as animated beings, al-
though not all of them were the objects of worship. In Ostiak
poetry “ the Sun mother ” and the “ Moon old man ” are
often mentioned, but sacrifices to them are rare; only at
Vasyugan was a piece of cloth with a ring attached offered up
to the sun, when the latter had caused a sudden fainting fit . 19
GODS OF SKY AND AIR
223
Among the Samoyeds, only the Y uraks, according to Lehtisalo,
worship the sun, “ the kindly eye of the heavens,” and the
moon, “ the evil eye of the heavens,” to which they even
sacrifice at the New Year’s Festival in July, “ when the
wild geese arrive again.” A “ shadow ” (image) is made of
them, similar in form to these bodies. Besmeared with
the blood of the sacrifice, these images are set up on long
poles . 20
Much more general is the worship of the sun and the
moon amongst the agricultural peoples. The Cheremiss and
the Votiaks sacrifice white animals to the sun (“ the Sun
mother ”), both at annually recurring ceremonies, and also for
occasional reasons, e.g., when a long drought dries up the
grass and ruins the harvest, or for certain sicknesses. During
the prayers, the priest keeps his face towards the sun . 21 Why
the Eastern Cheremiss should sacrifice animals to the moon
(“ the Moon mother ”) is uncertain . 22 A very important part
is also played by “ the rising and setting Sun god ” and “ the
wandering Moon god ” in the religion of the Mordvins. In
honour of the former, public sacrificial festivals were held,
but the Mordvins worshipped it at other times also, bowing
whenever a ray of sunlight fell on the window. Sacrifices to
the sun were set up in high places, so that the sun on rising
could take possession of them. The Mordvins also took oath
before the sun . 23 Of sun-worship by the Finns, there are no
reliable accounts. The custom of the East Karelians of going
at dawn to the eastward slopes of their fields, to a “ purified
place,” where they bowed three times, saying: “ My dear sun,
my provider, give peace, health, look over everything, watch
over everything,” may, however, be mentioned . 24 The new
moon was also accorded a welcome by many Finno-Ugric
peoples. The Mordvins say, like the Russians: “Be greeted,
new moon; to me health, to thee a whole loaf.” The silver
and golden horns of the Moon god are also spoken of . 25 Ac-
cording to Agricola, the Finns believed that at eclipses, the
224
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
“ animals ” ( kafeet ) “ ate up the moon,” and lunar markings
were explained by saying that Rahkoi “ makes the moon black
in parts.” In Northern Finland “ the man in the moon ” is
called Rahkonen.
More apparent is the worship of sun and moon among the
Scandinavian Lapps, on whose magic drums they are often
pictured. When the Lapps sacrificed to the sun they made a
wooden image, one end of which they formed like a globe
and furnished with thorns, or they used only a large, wooden
ring decorated with figures} these objects were besmeared
with the blood of the sacrifice. The animals offered up to the
“ Sun virgin,” were always female, and where possible, white.
At the very least, a white thread had to be sewn through the
right ear of the sacrificial reindeer. When the sacrifice had
been killed, the Lapps cut a piece from all its quarters, thread-
ing them on to a switch bent into a ring. This object they then
hung up on a high sacrificial-board behind the tent. The
Lapps also sacrificed to the sun by taking three switches of
birch, plaiting them together up to about half-way, where
they bound a tape. These switches they besmeared with blood
from the sacrifice. Afterwards a ring was made of a birch-
bough and laid in the middle of the board as an image of the
sun, and inside this a small piece of the lungs, heart, tongue
and lips of the sacrifice. On the ring they set up the blood-
smeared switches. The bones of the sacrifice were also often
placed within a ring on the offering-board . 26
Like the Norwegian peasants, the Lapps living in Norway
had a custom of besmearing their doors with butter when the
sun, after the darkness of winter, first threw its rays on them
from the horizon . 27 Another annual sacrifice was performed
at the lightest period of the summer. On Midsummer’s Eve
the Norwegian Lapps hung up a ring of leaves or grass,
called the “ sun-ring,” in honour of the “ Sun virgin.” A
porridge of meal, mixed with butter, “ sun-porridge,” was
also cooked and eaten. On beginning this sacrificial meal,
-
PLATE XXVII
Drawings on a Lapp Drum According to
Randulf’s Description
i. The Thunder-god, Hora-galles. 2. “Man of
the world.” 3. Wind-old-man. 4. The shaman
of the heaven. 5. Rutu, disease-god. 6—7. Sac-
rificial animals. 8. The bear of the heaven. 9.
Two lines separating heaven from earth. 10—12.
The festival men. 13. The sun. 14. The Chris-
tian’s road with church, house, cow and goat. 15.
Sacrificial horse. 16. The shaman of the under-
world. 17. Underworld with a church and a house.
18. Juksakka. 19. Sarakka. 20. Madderakka. 21.
Sea with fish. 22. Lapp village. 23. Leibolmai. 24.
The bear. (See page 230.)
GODS OF SKY AND AIR
225
eaten by the men together with their wives, the Lapps bowed
their knees and prayed the sun to “ pour its merciful rays
over the reindeer, and everything else they needed to live on.”
After the meal, they did the same, praying for “ a merry
milking-summer and good luck for the reindeer herds .” 28
Besides reindeer, sheep and goats could be used for sun-
sacrifices. At times even a spinning-wheel and flax were set
up on the altar to the Sun goddess . 29
Magic acts were also at times connected with the prayers.
Missionaries relate that Lapps who had gone astray during the
day among the mountains, would go on their
knees and call to the sun not to set, using at the
same time a wooden object with a handle, in
which a round hole had been cut. This object
they held up in their hands against the sun, so
that it might shine through it . 30
Without doubt, much in the sun-worship of
the Lapps may be referred to the corresponding
customs of their Scandinavian neighbours. Thus,
for example, the “ sun-porridge ” and the spinning-wheel
and the flax are certain proofs of foreign influence.
The Lapps turned to the moon as well as to the sun with
worship. The Christmas new moon, in especial, called “ the
holy moon,” was worshipped with separate ceremonies. Im-
mediately the new moon had risen, complete silence was ob-
served in the Lapp home, the women being forbidden to spin,
the men to perform any noisy labour. As an offering to the
moon a ring of copper was placed in the roof-hole of the tent
so that the moon could shine through this into the tent. If
for any reason this old custom was broken, it was believed that
the moon became angry, and had then to be placated by sacri-
fices . 31 In some districts it was the custom to sacrifice a half-
year-old reindeer calf, the hide of which was hung up in the
tent in honour of the moon. Of the reasons for this worship,
an unknown author writes the following: “ The Lapps hang
Fig. 6.
Sun Ring
226
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
up a ring of copper tied to a copper chain in the roofs of their
tents before the door, in such a manner that the rays of the
moon can fall on the ring of copper; believing, i.e., that the
moon can help the reindeer-cows to give birth easily to calves
and also protect them from all injuries during the time they
are with calf.” 32
Besides the Christmas new moon, the Scandinavian Lapps
formerly worshipped with special ceremonies the February-
moon also, which they called Kuova-manno. Hogstrom re-
lates how he heard from an old Lapp woman in Swedish
Lapmark that in earlier days it had been the custom at a
certain time in February (probably the time of the new moon)
to bind hay, used by the Lapps in their foot-wear and mittens,
to the horns of the reindeer. The Kuova-manno was then
adjured with alarm and din to eat . 33 Certain marks of honour
have also in other districts in the northern lands fallen to the
first two months in the year, e.g., in Iceland the first ( thorn )
and the second (goa, Lapp kuova) new moons were wor-
shipped . 34
These, the coldest months of the year, are also mentioned
in a Finnish tale, in which January is called Iso tammi (“the
great oak”) and February Pikku tammi (“the little oak”),
the latter saying to the former: “ If I were in thy place I
would freeze the foal in its mother’s womb, the hands of
the housewife to the dough, and the feet of the swine to the
ground, but though I freeze in the night, water runs from my
eye during the day.” A similar myth seems to have existed
among the Teutons. In one of their proverbs “ the little
Horn” (das kleine Horn = February) says to the “great”
(das grosse Horn == January) : “ hatt ich die Macht wie du,
liess ich erfrieren das Kalb in der Kuh.” ' iJ
When the Scandinavian Lapps sacrificed to the moon, they
acted in the same manner as when sacrificing to the sun; the
sacrificial animals were also similar, never black and never
males. The magic act mentioned earlier, appeared also in
GODS OF SKY AND AIR
227
Fig. 7.
Moon Ring
their moon-cult, the wooden object, however, being furnished
with a smaller hole for the moon to shine through, for the
purpose of preventing the moon from withdrawing
its light during the long, dark winter-time. 36
Among the Baltic Finns and the Lapps, the
Thunder god had waxed more and more power-
ful, until at the close of the pagan period in Fin-
land he had pushed aside even the Heaven god 5
this development has, however, in the light of
comparative research, taken place under foreign
influences.
Like the North Siberian peoples in general, the Samoyeds
regard the Thunderer as a great bird, in the company of which
the soul of the shaman can travel over sea and water. Sacri-
fices to this Thunder bird have not been noted, excepting
among the Yuraks, who sacrifice to it during the before-men-
tioned New Year’s Festival at about the time of the first
thunderstorms, making then out of birch-wood, a goose-like im-
age of the Thunder god. 37 In some districts the Ostiaks also
believe the Thunderer to be a “ black, loudly-screaming bird,”
but call it also “ the winged old man,” to the honour of whom,
in the more southern districts, they devour “ thunder-por-
ridge,” when the first thunder is heard, bowing in the direction
in which the thunder travelled. 38 We know also the Siryans
to have greeted the first thunder of the Spring. 39 The Vo-
tiaks call thunder “ the Thunder mother,” but have no definite
idea of its form. In their sacred groves, they sacrifice horses,
as the Cheremiss do, in order that the Thunderer may spare
their fields from hail and give fruitful rains. The last-named
speak of two separate beings: the “Lightning god” and the
“Thunder god ”j a common sacrifice is, however, made to
them. The so-called “ summer lightning ” they believe to
ripen the crops. A magic means of stilling a thunderstorm is
used by the Eastern Cheremiss, who, during the storm, throw
an axe into the yard, sacrificing at the same time the wool of
228 FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
a white sheep in the fire, and praying that the thunder should
pass by. 40
The Mordvins have a Thunder god with anthropomorphic
characteristics. The Moksha call him, like the phenomenon
itself, At'am (a derivative of at' a, “ grandfather,” “ old
man”), the rainbow At'amjonks ( jonks , “bow,” “cross-
bow ”). The Erza, who worshipped thunder in the communal
sacrificial feasts, and at oaks or other trees struck by lightning,
call the Thunderer Pur'gine, a word derived from the Lithu-
anian Perkunas. 41 Probably through the Letts this word has
travelled also to the Esthonians, who called the thunderbolt,
according to an old lexicon of the year 1660, perckun nohl.
Together with the old name of the Scandinavian Thunder god
Fjorgynn, the Finnish Perkele (“ devil ”) comes from the
same root. The Esthonians’ kou> kouk (“ thunder ”) must be
regarded as cognate with the Lithuanian kaukas (“ ghost ”)
and kauk-spennis (“thunderbolt”). The Norse Thor has
been recognized in the battle-cry of the Esthonians about
1200 a.d.: “Tar abitha! ” (“Tar help! ”) and in the name
Tuuri, which appears in a Karelian magic song. It is uncertain
whether Turisas (? “father Tur”), who, according to
Agricola, “ conferred victory in war,” is also the same god.
Like all the other peoples dwelling around, the Esthonians
(Ai, “old man”; Aia-hoog, “ thunder-shower ”j Aikene,
“the little old man,” “thunder”) and the Finns (Isanen,
“ the little father ”; Ukko, Ukkonen, “ grandfather,” “ thun-
der ”) have regarded the Thunderer as an old man. Descrip-
tive names are the Finnish Pitkainen, Pitkamoinen (from
puka, “ long ”), the Esthonian Pitkne, Piker, etc. 42
The cult of the Thunder god played so important a part
in the life of the Finns, that we find Agricola describing it as
follows: “ Ukko’s goblet was drunk at the sowing of the spring
seed; Ukko’s chest was also brought, and then maid and wife
drank to excess, and, moreover, many shameful things were
done there, as was both heard and seen.” This god was wor-
-
PLATE XXVIII
Drawings on a Torne-Lapp Drum
I. Ilmaris. 2. Diermes. 3. Reindeer. 4. The
sun. 5. The son of God. 6. God-Father. 7. The
cathedral. 8. The angel. 9. St. Anne. 10. St.
Mary. 1 1 — 13. The lords of Christmas. 14. The
moon. 15—17. Peasants go to church. 18. The
church. 19. The wife of devil. 20. Disease-devil.
21. The loose-going devil. 22. The fire of hell.
23. The tar-kettle of hell. 24. The grave. 25.
The devil in chains. (See page 232.)
GODS OF SKY AND AIR
229
shipped because it “ brought thunder showers and the year’s
harvest.” Dating from Agricola’s time (c. 1550) is a petition
still preserved, written in Swedish by peasants from the east
of Finland, in which the fine for drinking “ Thordns gilde ”
is described. “ Ukko’s chests ” (Ukon vakat) are also men-
tioned in the report of an ecclesiastical inspection held in
1670. Vestiges of the sacrificial feast connected with the
same, described by Agricola, have been noted in quite recent
times. The “ chests ” were made of birch-bark, and sacrifices
of food intended for Ukko were placed in them and carried
to “ Ukko’s mountain.” For the sacrifice itself the best sheep
in the flock was taken and slaughtered on a given day. Its
flesh was boiled and portions of the meat, together with other
victuals, were put into the chests, and along with a large quan-
tity of beer and spirits, taken to the holy mountain, where they
were left untouched until the next day. Ukko was supposed
to eat his share during the night, and in the morning what
remained of the victuals was eaten by the worshippers, part
of the liquors, however, being poured on to the ground to
ensure a summer free from drought. 43 These festivals have
been held in Finland very nearly to our time. The most
detailed accounts come from Ingria, where the Ukko festival
was held on the days of St. Peter and St. Elias (twenty-ninth
June, twentieth July, old style). Sacrificial beer was poured
on to the ground to Ukko to invoke fruit-giving rains, or the
ground was sprinkled with water with magic ceremonies. 44
Sacrifices of bulls are reported from Esthonia in an account
of the year 1644, which contains the following prayer: “ Piker,
we, praying, give a bull, two-horned, four-footed, for the
sake of the ploughing and the sowing: stalks of brass, ears
of gold. Push elsewhere the black clouds, over the great
swamp, the high forest, the wide plain ; air of mead, rains of
honey to our ploughmen, sowers! Holy Piker, look after
our fields: fine straw beneath, fine ears above, fine grain
within! ” 46
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
230
Agricola mentions also the wife of the Thunder god,
Rauni, whose name occurs in a song as Roonikka, and was also
known to the Finnish Lapps as Ravdna. In the same manner
as to the Thunder god himself, the Lapps sacrificed reindeer
to Ravdna, most often in grottoes in the mountain consecrated
to her. Just as, among many peoples, the oak was the favour-
ite tree of the Thunder god, the rowan was Ravdna’s
favourite, growing in her grottoes . 46 In Finnish folk-poetry
also the rowan and its berries are described as being “ holy.”
The name of the Thunder goddess seems originally to have
applied to the tree, being, as such, a loan-word, from the
Scandinavian (Icelandic reynir , Swedish rdnn ). i7
Fig. 8. Lapp Sacrificial Board of the Thunder-God
According to Rheen
In the Finnish magic songs the Thunder god, like the
Scandinavian Thor, is given a hammer as a weapon. Armed
in the same manner was the Tora-galles or Hora-galles
(“ Thor-man ”) of the Scandinavian Lapps, who was pic-
tured on the magic drums with one or two hammers in his
hand. In their own language, the Lapps called the Thunder
god Tiermes, who had a “ bow ” ( tiermaz-juks , “ rainbow ”)
GODS OF SKY AND AIR
231
and an “ arrow ” as arms. With either his hammer, or with
his bow and arrow, the Thunder god was regarded as driving
away evil spirits who everywhere hide themselves at his ap-
proach. When the Lapps, to frighten away these beings, in-
voked thunder, they beat on their drums and shouted. At
times, Hora-galles had as assistant a man-servant . 48
The missionary Rheen describes how the Swedish Lapps
sacrificed to the Thunder god: “When the magic drum has
indicated that a sacrifice to Thor must be made, the reindeer-
bull chosen as a sacrifice is bound fast behind the tent, where
the women are not allowed to go. The animal is killed by
being stabbed with a knife in its heart. The blood is pre-
served to be smeared on the image of Thor. As many rein-
deer as the Lapp sacrifices, so many images of Thor does he set
up. The images are prepared out of the stumps of birch trees,
the root being made into the head, the trunk into the rest of the
body; a hammer is placed in its hand. After the slaughtering
of the votive reindeer, the Lapps build up behind their tents
an offering-board, about three yards high, setting pretty birch
branches around it. These are also strewn on the ground from
the tent to the board. On this board the blood-besmeared
images of Thor are set up, certain marks resembling crosses
being also made on the latter. Behind the images, the horns
and skull and the feet are set up. At the same time a small
piece of flesh is cut from each quarter and placed in a little
wooden case, into which also a little fat is poured, on the dais
before the image. In the right ear of the reindeer chosen for
sacrifice to Thor, a grey woollen thread must be sewn as a
mark.” 49
At times the Lapps offered up, besides reindeer, large
wooden hammers to the Thunder god. Forbus says that a
hammer, two fathoms long and beautifully carved, was made
in his honour and smeared with blood from the sacrifice; 50
S. Kildal relates that such hammers were laid in mountain
grottoes . 51 The Finnish Lapps regarded clefts in the moun-
232 FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
tains as suitable places in which to sacrifice to the Thun-
derer. 52
The Wind god is called by the Votiaks in their prayers,
simply “ the Wind.” A goose is sacrificed to it in the sown
fields at the time of the general field-sacrifices, and it is ap-
pealed to not to blow overmuch, spoiling in that way the
seed, but to blow mildly over the sown fields. The colour of
the votive goose is not particularized, but it is not seemly to
sacrifice to the wind anything black or white. In some places
it is the practice to sprinkle blood in the air. Occasional sacri-
fices are also made to the wind, particularly during storms.
Besides this cult in the fields for the sake of the seed, it is
worshipped at times in the stock-yards, to the intent that the
violent autumn storms of the steppes should not destroy
the straw-roofed cattle-sheds or do injury to the cattle. 53
For similar purposes, the Cheremiss and the Mordvins sacri-
fice to the “ Mother wind ” or “ Wind mother.” The last-
mentioned say: “ When the children of Wind mother are
noisy, the storm begins.” 54
The Esthonians say that the Wind god dwells in the forest
on a shaded branch, whence it sets the wind blowing ; accord-
ing to its dwelling-place, it is called Metsmees (“ Forest
man ”). A more general name is, however, “ Wind mother,”
who “ weeps ” when the rain falls during a storm, and
“ dances ” in whirlwinds. 55 At the sowing of flax, doves or
a cock are sacrificed to the “Wind mother.” 50 In Finnish
magic prayers the appeal is to the wind itself, though, some-
times, also to the “ Wind woman,” etc. According to Agri-
cola, Ilmarinen was, later, worshipped as the Wind god,
“ giving calm and bad weather, and furthering travellers.”
A figure of Ilmaris, “ the ruler of the storm, and of bad
weather,” has been found also on the magic drum of a Finnish
Lapp. 57 Usually, the Lapps called the Wind god the “ Wind
man,” in the cult of whom one can discern Scandinavian in-
fluence. The missionary Randulf describes the Wind god
PLATE XXIX
Ostiak Sacrifice
(See page 233.)
After photograph by K. F. Karjalainen.
2 33
GODS OF SKY AND AIR
of the Lapps as follows: “ Their third great god the Lapps
call the ‘ Wind man,’ who is identical with Aeolus. They
picture him (on their magic drums) with a spade in his right
hand, with which spade he shovels back the wind to blow.
This god they call on both when out with their reindeer on
the mountains for the stilling of a wind harmful to their herds,
and when, while fishing out at sea, a storm arises that places
them in danger of their lives. They promise then to lay
sacrifices on his altar.” 58
At the sacrifices to the Wind god, a peculiar bundle of
twigs, sometimes formed of birch (Finnish timlenpes'd , “ the
nest of wind”), had to be set up at the sacrificial altar, and
smeared with blood from the sacrifice. Boats and spades were
also offered up to him. 59
Randulf speaks of a kind of wind-magic, formerly invoked
very often by the Lapps: “ When they are angered with any-
one, they call to the Wind god to blow, binding this appeal
by incantations into three bundles. On opening the first of
these, a moderate storm arises ; with the second, a storm strong
enough to make sailing dangerous even for a vessel with a
main-sail reefed half-way 5 but when they open the third, a
shipwreck is the inevitable result.” This magic means of in-
voking wind, reports of which are found as early as the thir-
teenth century, and which was used both by the Finns and the
Esthonians, is obviously adopted from the Scandinavians. 60
The wind is personified also among the Ugrians, the Ostiaks
calling it the “ Wind old man,” to whom huntsmen sacrifice
at Vasyugan a small piece of white cloth at a birch-tree, to
secure good luck for themselves in hunting. 61
The agricultural peoples sacrifice also to the Frost god.
The Votiaks sacrifice a grey lamb or a duck to the “ rime-
frost,” when during the cold spring nights the rime appears
on the fields. In some districts, an annual sacrifice is even
made at Easter-time. 62 In their prayers, the Cheremiss speak
of the “ Frost man ” and the “ Frost woman.” But despite
234
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
these names, they are not regarded as anthropomorphic beings.
Some districts call the morning-frost the “ Frost man,” and
the evening-frost the “ Frost woman.” They sacrifice a grey
ram to the “ man,” and a grey sheep to the “ woman.” Sacri-
fices are made to them both annually and also at other times
for accidental reasons. The appeal in the prayers is for the
frost to refrain from spoiling the seed . 03
The Mordvins had a custom of placing porridge for the
“ Frost man ” in the smoke-outlet on the Thursday before
Easter. The prayer recited on this occasion runs: “ For thee
have we prepared porridge, protect our spring-sowings! ”
The Russians had an absolutely identical custom . 64
There are no reliable accounts of sacrifices to the Frost god
among the Baltic Finns, although the frost is personified in
the Finnish magic songs. But the most Southern Lapps in
Scandinavia worshipped the “ Frost man,” who is said to be
a the god of weather, snow and ice,” and to whom they sacri-
ficed, so that “ the ice should not harm the reindeer and that
the blizzard should cease.” 65 The word, recurring in the
name, which means “ rime-frost in the grass ” and is found
only in the more southern dialects, points to a connection with
the customs of the agricultural peoples.
With the gods of the air, the “ Cloud mother ” of the
Cheremiss should also be reckoned, being remembered at the
great sacrificial feasts with a drink-offering, which is poured
into the fire. The clouds are living beings, according to the
Cheremiss. “ If they were not alive, how could they move
about and wander whither they will? ” they say. “ One can
call them towards oneself, or beg them to travel away to
other neighbourhoods.” 60 The “ twilight ” they worshipped
only by not performing any work, or at least any work that
causes a din, after sunset, lest the “ twilight ” should punish
them. A similar belief exists among the Volga Tatars . 07
CHAPTER XIV
FIRE
F IRE is the friend of man,” say the Cheremiss, “ it warms
the house and cooks the food, but if it has reason to be
angered, it jumps from the fireplace and burns up the house
and the village.” One cause for the fire’s anger, is the spitting
into it by any person, another the “ wounding ” of it by any
sharp instrument, another the stirring of it with an u unclean ”
stick. Further, if one throws the wood on to the hearth, or
addresses the fire with evil words, it may become vexed.
Probably, from the very earliest times, fire was regarded as
something pure that cannot endure defilement. The most
common punishment to befall the culprit is a kind of skin-
disease. The fire must then be appeased by small sacrifices.
The Cheremiss use the following words: “ Forgive me, £ Fire
mother,’ perhaps I have spat in thee or wounded or defiled
thee. Make me well again.” The worst punishment the fire
is capable of is the breaking loose of fire. At such times,
the Cheremiss go round the fire, sacrificing to the “ Fire
mother ” a black hen, or milk from a black cow. During this,
the “ Fire mother ” is prayed to not to destroy the village, and
also in the future to protect the people from loss through its
agency . 1
The Ostiaks call the fire <c Fire girl ” or “ Fire woman ”
in their prayers, this deity being as easily wounded as the
Fire god of the Cheremiss and the other Volga peoples. To
appease it, the Ostiaks sacrifice to the fire victuals, cloths of
red or a fire-like colour, and pieces of stuff. Despite these
sacrifices, intended as clothing for the “ Fire girl ” or the
“ Fire mother,” it is merely the animated fire itself that is
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
236
the object of worship. 2 The Mordvins say: “ the Fire mother
‘ flames/ ” the Ostiaks speak of “ the many-tongued Fire
mother,” and in a Cheremiss prayer the passage occurs: “Fire
mother, thou whose smoke is long and whose tongue is sharp.” 3
The Cheremiss speak also, at times, of the soul ( ort ) of
the fire, which disappears if water is poured over the fire, a
method of putting it out which is regarded as unseemly,
among them the wood being merely drawn to one side so
that the fire goes out of its own accord. 4 This “ soul ” of the
fire can appear to men in some shape or other. According to
the Finns, the “ Ruler ” of the fire appeared in the night as
glittering sparks before some accident. The Esthonians be-
lieve that the “ Fire mother ” appears in the shape of an
animal as a warning of a coming fire 5 a “ Fire cock ” or “ Fire
cat ” has been seen to move over the roof of a house shortly
before a destructive fire. 5
In the tales of the Ostiaks, the “ Fire spirit ” can even take
on human form. A man who had used the fire badly, saw
the “ Fire girl ” sitting naked and covered with wounds on a
stone. According to another tale, every hearth has its own
“ Fire maiden ”; these can visit one another, tell each other
their experiences and ask advice of one another. 6 Similar
tales are met with among the Turco-Tatars.
The holiness of the domestic hearth is seen from the custom
of bearing fire, burning brands, or ashes from the old home to
the new. According to an earlier view, the fire should never
be allowed to go out, and even today the Cheremiss light
their sacrificial fires with brands from the hearth. Were the
fire to go out of its own accord, it was deemed an omen of
misfortune. The people seem, however, to have believed
that the power of the fire diminishes, if it is allowed to burn
too long. The Volga Finns had therefore a habit of renewing
their fires once a year by lighting a “ new fire,” or a “ wood
fire,” by rubbing two dry sticks against one another. The
“ new fire ” is supposed to contain a specially purifying magic
FIRE
237
power. For this reason, the Cheremiss extinguish all their
village hearth fires on an agreed date in the hottest part of the
summer, at the close of the u evil time,” draw forth a “ new
fire,” and make a fire of logs somewhere on the edge of the
village, over which the people have to jump; the cattle, even,
are driven through it. To render this last more easy, the site
for the fire is chosen at the gateway to some meadow, the
gate itself, having for reasons of magic, branches of rowan
bound to it. From this log-fire, which generally burns for
two or three days, every householder carries home “ new
fire ” to his hearth, smoking out his stockyard at the same
time . 7
For occasional reasons also a similar fire may be made.
The Mordvins sometimes lit such fires even at the forty days’
feast for the dead, at which those present cleansed themselves
by jumping over the fire . 8 A more widespread custom is to
use this method of purification during the course of some
epidemic in the neighbourhood. At such times a furrow is
also ploughed round the village, or a plough carried round
it. That also the Spring and Midsummer-Eve bonfires of
the Finns originally possessed a prophylactic significance ap-
pears from an account from Ingria, according to which the bon-
fires were intended to be made on the pasture land visited by
the cows . 9
The stocks living along the Volga have further a custom
of worshipping fire as an intermediary between the gods
and men. Sacrifices thrown into the fire are not always in-
tended for the “ Fire mother,” but it is intended that she
should hand on these offerings to their true recipients. In the
sacred groves of the Cheremiss one can hear the priests say to
the fire: “ Bear with thy smoke our sacrifices to God, and re-
cite to him our prayers! ” As a reward, a sacrifice is then
given to the fire also . 10 These beliefs and customs are un-
doubtedly, however, like so much else in the fire cult of the
Finno-Ugric peoples, of foreign origin, probably Iranian. A
238
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
more original custom is that of the Lapps, as described by
Randulf: “To none of their idols do the Lapps offer up
burnt sacrifices, i.e., they do not destroy their sacrifices by fire,
excepting those to the sun, which are burnt up to show the
heat and fire of the sun, and are made on a particular stone,
consecrated for the purpose.” 11
In their magic songs the Finns describe how mankind came
to obtain fire. In some, the origin of fire is said to be from
heaven, as appears from the following words: “Where has
fire been cradled, where rocked the flame? — Over there on
the navel of the sky, on the peak of the famous mountain.”
Its birth there is also pictured in the following: “ Fire struck
Ismaroinen (Ilmarinen), fire flashed Vainamoinen, he struck
fire without a flint, tinderlesss he secured it, struck it with a
black snake, with a mottled serpent, on the open plain of
water, on the wide-spread waves.” In a variation the Thun-
derer appears as the giver of fire: “ Pitkamoinen struck fire,
among the rocks of the sea, from a many coloured serpent.” 12
That the serpent here is the lightning is obvious.
-
In another song it is described how a net is woven to catch
a “ red salmon ” in the bowels of which fire is bound. That
this tale is very old is shown by the method of preparing
the net as described in the Finnish song: “ A net was made of
lime-bark, it was woven of heather,” or “ the net was woven of
bast, of juniper threads was it spun .” 13 An interesting
counterpart to this tale is to be found among certain North
American tribes on the North-West coast in which fire is also
found in the bowels of a salmon . 11 The colour of the salmon
has perhaps, in the fantasy of these people, awakened
the idea of connecting it with fire.
CHAPTER XV
DEITIES OF THE EARTH AND
VEGETATION
A MONG the non-agricultural Finno-Ugric peoples, of-
ferings to the earth are rare. The Ugrians often men-
tion in their folk-poetry “ the black or hairy Earth mother,”
but sacrifice to her only when suffering from certain sicknesses,
believed to come from the earth. 1 Much more important
is the “ Earth mother ” among the stocks living along the
Volga 5 these sacrifice to her black animals, most often cows and
sheep, the bones of which are carefully buried in the earth
“ so that the earth shall be able to produce corn and grass.”
The blood is also allowed to run into the earth. Besides
annual sacrifices, additional ones are performed when, for
example, the fields do not grow in spite of rain. When sacri-
ficing to the earth, the Cheremiss say: “ Eat, Earth mother,
and give us corn.” 2 The following prayer has been taken
down among the Votiaks: “ O Earth mother, we thank thee
for that thou hast nourished us during the past year, be not
grudging now either with thy gifts, produce corn for us also
during this summer.” These last also pray that the earth
might not be offended, when men are obliged to wound her
with their ploughs. Very late in the autumn, sacrifices may
not be made to the earth, as then, the Votiaks say: “ the earth
sleeps.” 3 Equally primitive is the “ Earth mother ” of the
Mordvins, who is turned to in the following words: “That
which we sow in thee, allow to come up.” 4 The Mountain
Cheremiss worship also the “ Yard mother ” and the Mordvins
the “ Field mother ” and the “ Meadow mother.” 5
240
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
“ Earth-luck or field-luck ” can be stolen from another by
bearing to one’s own field a sod or a little earth from the field
of some one more fortunate. When the Siryans do this, they
say: “Good luck, follow me, give me a good subsistence .” 0
As soon as the Cheremiss sees that his “ field-luck ” has been
stolen, he finds out who has robbed him of this. Should he
discover that a field which formerly produced a scanty harvest
has improved, he believes he has found the culprit and goes in
the dusk to carry the lost “ field-luck ” back with him in a
bark-shoe, saying to it: “ Let the corn grow, do not go away
if someone tries to steal thee, but remain always in my fields.” 7
The Chuvashes “ steal earth ” with wedding-like ceremonies,
choosing even a living “ bridegroom ” for the Earth mother . 8
This custom would seem to have been known also among the
Votiaks . 9 According to Mordvinian folk-lore, these were afraid
that even in the hoof of a horse, the “ Field mother ” might
be taken to a strange field . 10
Coincidently with these material views, the Cheremiss talk
also of the “ c soul ’ ( ort ) of the earth,” which may disappear
from the tilled earth, taking the fruitfulness of this away
with it . 11 Like the Votiaks, they believe this also of the
“ field-soul.” When this happens, it is essential to discover
whither the “ field-soul ” has gone, and if possible, procure
its return. The Votiaks also call the productive power of the
field, which can free itself from the latter, the “ corn-soul,”
and they believe that this can, like the soul of a human being,
become visible in the shape of a little, grey butterfly . 12
In the course of the author’s sojourn among the Eastern
Votiaks, he had the opportunity of hearing how the vanished
“ soul ” of a cornfield is sought after. Besides the actual
“ seer,” six other persons are chosen for this purpose, three
youths and three maidens, who, clad in white, ride round the
village fields on white horses, to seek the above-mentioned
butterfly. Having found this, the whole suite returns well-
pleased, singing and playing a song special to this occasion, to
DEITIES OF THE EARTH
241
the sacrificial site on the edge of the field, where the oldest
men in the village have, meanwhile, slaughtered a white
sheep as a sacrifice. After the completion of the sacrificial
meal, during which the soul-butterfly is kept enclosed in a
white cloth, the one whom the butterfly had most obviously
neared during the search, receives the “ corn-soul ” into his
care, taking it to his granary for a time, after which the butter-
fly is again ceremoniously escorted to the cornfield and there
set free. After the recovery of the u corn-soul,” it is believed
that the badly-grown corn will improve . 13
The “ soul ” of the corn can easily develop into a separate
deity of corn. In the “ Corn mother ” of the Mordvins, to
whom a duck of a yellow, or corn-resembling, colour is sacri-
ficed, there are already noticeable signs of a change into an
anthropomorphic goddess. But in no case need one be un-
certain as to the origin of this goddess, for though the “ Corn
mother ” appears in a popular lyric as singing songs in the
festive attire of a Mordvin woman, she goes on to speak of
herself thus: “ I was sown in the morning twilight, reaped in
the evening twilight, thrown into the granary in order to be
brewed into small beer at Easter, and baked into pastries at
Christmas.” 14
That the corn-seed as such was worshipped appears from a
Votiak custom connected with the feast of the spring seed.
After having sowed the first measure of oats in his field, the
Votiak farmer fills his measure again, sets it on the ground
before him, and, addressing the measure of seed, prays, with
a loaf in his hand, for a good harvest. To assist the growth
of the crops, magic is also used in this ceremony. Into the
first measure, besides the seed, hard-boiled eggs are placed.
Whilst sowing, the farmer flings these also into the air, where
they are caught amid much competition by young girls.
Lucky the one who gathers most in her lap, as this is regarded
as a good omen. Should the gatherers of the eggs often trip
or fall, it is regarded as a sign that the grain will also bend
242
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
over during the summer on account of the heaviness of the ears.
The sowing of eggs in this manner is an old custom common to
all the East European and many other peoples, and one can
discern in it a wish expressed in terms of magic, that the seed
sown should give grain of the size and the agreeable taste of
hen’s eggs, a wish often expressed also in prayers . 15
Other means of magic, for the growth of the corn and the
bringing forth of fruitful rains, are connected also with the
spring seed festival of the Cheremiss. After the offering up
of sacrifices at a “ pure spot ” in the fields, the people gather
closely together, holding their shirts or their blouses stretched
out before them, while the sacrificing priest sows oats over
them. The one who receives the biggest share of the seed
as his part will reap the biggest harvest in the autumn. It
is, further, customary to sprinkle water over the crowd “ in
order to ensure warm and refreshing rains during the
summer.” 16
The Votiaks sacrifice early in the spring “ to the honour
of the grass.” At a spot where the bare earth first showed
through the melting snow of the past winter, porridge in a
dish is laid on three such places. In these porridge-dishes hay
and a spoon are placed. During the ceremony prayer is made
to Inmar for a good harvest of hay. The Votiaks living in
the Glazov District sacrifice at the same time a white bull, the
tail of which is cleaned of hair and soaked in water until it
becomes tough. It is then taken by one of the young men
who, pressing his chin on his breast, waves it behind him, bel-
lowing meanwhile like a bull. This youth, who is called the
“ bull-calf,” is offered home-distilled spirits to drink by some
of the surrounding crowd, while others again try to prevent
him from drinking it. The “ bull-calf ” becomes incensed at
this and charges at the crowd, waving the tail behind him,
pursuing the flying people . 17
A perfect counterpart to the Russian Polevik (field-spirit)
is the anthropomorphic a Meadow man ” of the Votiaks, who
3T/ H
; ^aoO-GJ:ii Girr fir :r>i :\>i .? v: ;iJ
?
PLATE XXX
eremiss Sacrifice to the Field-Gods
Ufa Government. (See page 242.)
After photograph by U. Holmberg.
f -Jkr'%
DEITIES OF THE EARTH
H3
is supposed to be of the size of a child, but has the power, like
the forest spirit, of becoming longer or shorter according to
the length of the grass. For this reason it is difficult to see
the spirit. It is said to be clad in a white garment, and to
live chiefly in the pastures, where it looks after and protects
the animals. The only sacrifice to this spirit is one when the
cattle are first let out to pasture, offered up with the words:
“ Protect the cattle well, follow them nicely to the meadow,
do not give them into the power of the beasts of prey.” 18
The Baltic Finns doubtless also, as an agricultural people,
worshipped the “ Earth mother,” who appears in the folklore
of both the Finns and the Esthonians. In the Finnish magic
songs, the “ Field old woman,” the “ Meadow old woman,”
and others, are spoken of. That the “ Earth mother ” re-
ceived here a black sheep as sacrifice, is indicated by the belief,
that, if a field produces too little, the milk of a black sheep
must be sacrificed to it . 19 The “ Earth bridegroom ” men-
tioned in many poems may be a relic of some ancient ceremony
in which the “ Earth mother ” was honoured with a wedding.
At the Ingrian festival of the Thunder god, a song was sung of
some deity of vegetation, called Sampsa or Pellervo (from
; -peltOy “ field ”), in the absence of whom nothing could grow.
The “ Winter son ” was first sent after him, who driving with
his wind-horse, caused only disaster, and was, therefore,
killed; the “ Summer son ” finally succeeding in bringing
Sampsa. In Finland this god was represented as being con-
veyed from an island, sleeping upon a corn-ship, with his
mother as his wife. These ideas seem to emanate from the
Scandinavian cult of Frey. The name Sampsa (a Teutonic
loan-word, German Simse or Semse , “ bulrush ”) signifies a
species of fodder-grass ( Scir-pus sylvaticus , the wood club-
rush), one of the earliest products of the spring, which is
gathered for the cattle when the snow melts, and the roots of
which are readily eaten by children . 20
According to Agricola, the Karelians worshipped deities of
244
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
the different kinds of grain: Rongoteus who “gave rye”;
Pellon Pekko (the “ Pekko of the fields ”) who “ furthered
the growth of barley Virankannos who “ tended the oats
Egres who “ created peas, beans, and turnips, and brought
forth cabbages, flax and hemp Kondos who “ reclaimed land
and tilled fields.” Of these names, the first is to be found in
several old songs, as Runkateivas or Rukotivo, the name being
regarded as a Teutonic loan-word (cf. Icelandic rugr , “ rye
tivar, “gods”). Later the Rye god is associated with St.
Stephen (Ruki-tehvana or -tahvana, “ rye-Stephen ”) ; in
a magic prayer Rukotivo appears beside St. Stephen as the
“ ruler of horses ” (cf. Halmstaffan, “ straw-Stephen ” in the
Christmas customs among the Swedes). 21 Agras or Agroi is
known even today to the people, who call by that name two
turnips growing together. When a double turnip was found,
it had to be carried by itself, on the shoulders, or in a basket
of bark, to the turnip-cellar. On the way, one had to fall
three, or in places, even nine times on one’s knees or flat on
to the ground, as though one were tottering under the weight
of some too heavy burden, and each time one had to shout:
“I cannot bear it, holy Agroi, oh, how heavy it is! ” In the
prayers recited at the turnip-cellar, a good turnip year was
asked for. 22
Originally, Agr5i was not only the deity of turnips, but the
god of twins in general. Ceremonies resembling the above
are also performed by the Votiaks when they find a double
ear of grain in the fields. Gavrilov relates that the custom was
to hang the ear over a stick, round which clean, white linen
was wound, and then bear it by two men to an empty chest
in the granary, the men acting during the journey as though
they bore something heavy. Spectators and passers-by had to
be avoided on the way. If this was done, one became rich
little by little, said the Votiaks. 23
Pekko, the god of barley, was worshipped by the orthodox
Esthonians under the name of Peko, his image being prepared
DEITIES OF THE EARTH
245
in wax and preserved as the common property of the village,
in each farm in turn for the duration of a year. The feast
of Peko was held in the spring, when vegetation awakes to
life. Before Whitsuntide, each worshipper of Peko had to
bring corn, from which Peko’s host prepared festival-beer.
On the eve of Whitsuntide, after sunset, the worshippers
gathered, bringing food with them, in a room, in the corner of
which Peko stood on a beer-barrel surrounded by burning wax
candles. On separate sides of the corner beer-vessels and
loaves of bread were spread in rows along the walls. In the
front row of the kneeling congregation the host of the feast
and his assistants grouped themselves. After all had prayed,
each for himself, the host took a little beer in a cup from each
vessel, pouring it back again with a prayer of blessing for its
owner and his family. Afterwards the congregation ate and
drank to the honour of the god. A mutual prayer against
hail was finally sung at dawn. The remains of the feast were
divided amongst the poor. The wax remaining in the candles
was added to Peko’s head; the greater the amount of wax
gathered there, the more prosperous the summer became.
According to another report the worshippers of Peko
gathered together after sunset with their food-knapsacks on
their backs at the house of Peko’s guardian, who had previously
carefully closed all the windows and lit the roof-lamp. The
guardian, followed by two men, went to bring in Peko with a
sheet in his hand, Peko being kept in the granary. The god
was wrapped up in the sheet, brought into the house, and
placed under the hanging-lamp. Everyone sat down with
his back to Peko and began to eat out of his food-sack. Hav-
ing finished, all rose up without even then turning towards
Peko, and made fast their food-sacks again. They then
marched nine times round Peko, singing: “Peko, our god,
shepherd our herds, look after our horses, protect also our
corn from snow, from hail! ” Leaving Peko in the room,
they then went on to wrestle. The one receiving the first
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
246
bruise cried out with a loud voice that blood was shed, on
which all hurried to acclaim him as the guardian of Peko for
the next year. The image of Peko was taken the same night
in the dark to the new guardian’s granary . 24
The name Pekko or Peko is to be traced to the same Scan-
dinavian word from which Beyggvir or Byggvir, the name
of Frey’s servant, and the Swedish bjugg (“ barley ”) are
derived.
In North Tavastland in Finland, it was believed that the
hop-field also had its own “ruler”} the Esthonians calling it
the “ Hop king ” or the “ Hop-field master.” This last
people still speak of the “ Flax mother,” preserved in the
linen-chest “ in order that the linen should flourish well.” 2B
Counterparts to these deities of particular kinds of plants of
the Baltic Finns are met with among the Teutons.
A very general belief amongst the majority of European
peoples is that the cornfield is protected by its tutelary spirit,
especially during the period of ripening. During the ripen-
ing-time of the rye, the Volga Finns say that one may not
dig in the earth or go into the rye-fields, and that one must
avoid all noisy work and work causing evil smells, such as,
for example, the carting of manure or the making of tar.
Neither may one dress in startling colours. The most
exacting time is noon, when one may even not talk aloud.
As a punishment for unseemly behaviour, hailstorms and
thunder, which ruin the crops, are dreaded. The hot
“ evil time,” said to last a couple of weeks, is concluded
among the Cheremiss (Kazan Government) by so-called
j«V<?/;2-ceremonies, in which occurs an odd custom of blow-
ing long horns of wood made specially for the occasion.
These are taken later to a tree, round which one goes in a
procession with the horns held in the hand, and where the
sacrificing priest with cakes in his right hand and a vessel of
beer in his left, recites a prayer. Should one of the horns
break during the ceremony, it is regarded as a sign of hail.
DEITIES OF THE EARTH
247
The more Northern Cheremiss blow these horns later in
the autumn after the conclusion of field-labour, keeping them
for the next year in a secret place. During the “ dangerous
time ” one may not blow them. It is further related that the
members of a wedding-procession, when escorting the bride
to the village of the bridegroom, attempt to steal these horns
from her home, believing that they carry with them “ corn-
luck.” 26
The Mordvins believe that if absolute silence is observed
during the flowering of the rye, one can hear from the u corn-
mother ” what kind of a harvest to expect. One has only to
go out in the stillness of the night and listen ; should one hear
whistling from the field, then a good year may be expected,
but if one hears weeping and wailing, it is a sign of a year of
famine . 27
According to the Siryans a female spirit dwells in the rye-
fields, called PSloznitsa (from Russian Poludnitsa, “ Mid-
day-goddess ”) and punishes all who in any way harm the
rye during the time of flowering. A blue flower {Centaur ea
cyanus) which grows among the corn, is called “ Poloznitsa’s
eye.” 28 The Esthonians speak of the spiteful “ Corn virgins ”
who wander in the fields, and of a “ Corn wolf ” (also “ Pea
wolf” and “Bean wolf”), with which they frighten the
children . 29 The Finns also represented the corn-spirit in the
form of an animal; in Osterbotten, they say that the person
to cut the last stalk of the crop on the rye-field or oat-field
“ catches a hare .” 30 Among the Esthonians the animated
last sheaf goes by the name of “ rye-pig.” 31
Like the Teutons and Slavs, the Baltic Finns have retained
a habit of preserving the last sheaf of the corn-field, regarding
this as a kind of corn-deity. The Finns are said to have
placed a sheaf left from the previous autumn on the rafters
of the threshing-shed whence it was brought at Christmas-
time into the dwelling-house. There the grain was separated
from the ears and the straw thrown up to the ceiling, where
-
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
248
part of it remained clinging to the rafters. The spring sow-
ings were begun with the grain obtained in this way; the
straw which adhered to the ceiling being also hidden in the
corn-field. 32 A more widespread custom found also among the
Volga Finns, was to preserve the last sheaf undisturbed till
the next year, in order that the corn should thrive. Among
the Esthonians such a sheaf was called “ threshing-shed
father.” 33 The Swedes in Finland constructed a human-like
“Christmas old man” (Jul-gubbe) of straw at Christmas-
time, which was then put in the place of honour at the head
of the table and was treated with drink. 34 A corresponding
straw doll was prepared by the Finns on Kekri or Keyri (All
Saints’ Day) and was called the “ Keyri old man ” (Keyri
ukko). 35 At both festivals there was further a custom of
placing straw on the floor of the dwelling-room and of baking
of new flour an especially large cake, sometimes faintly re-
sembling an animal (Esthonian “ Christmas pig ” or “ Christ-
mas bull ”) ; the cake being kept on the table during the
holiday, but afterwards taken to the granary, where it was
preserved among the grain until sowing-time. According to
an older custom this loaf was baked from grain dried in the
open air. 38 Compared with Christmas, the Kekri of the Finns
represents an older festival of new bread and a new year, as
the agricultural peoples, also of Finnish stock, earlier cele-
brated this festival as the time for the baking of the fruits
of the new harvest (Finnish vuodenalkaj aiset, “ the beginning
of the year”; Votiak, viVar , “New Year”). A straw doll
is known also among the Esthonians. According to a state-
ment made in 1694 the peasants on Shrove Tuesday evening
made of straw a human-like figure, metsik , dressed as a man
or a woman, which was put upon a stick and carried to the
wood, where it was bound on the tip of a bush in order “ that
the corn and flax should grow well.” The custom was in
some districts connected also with New .Year and other times. 37
The Cheremiss conclude their harvest with a ceremony,
PLATE XXXI
The “ Feeding ” of the Sickle Among the
Cheremiss
(See page 249.)
Water-colour by V. Soldan-Brofeldt.
%
DEITIES OF THE EARTH
249
called “ the feeding of the sickle.” The people of the farm
take bread, cheese, etc., out with them to the field, and kneel
down before a few remaining stalks of oats, the master of
the house reading a prayer in which a good harvest is prayed
for from the gods. After this, the food brought out is tasted,
and then all kneel down again. The master of the house
now collects all the sickles used in the harvest, piles them up
on the unreaped stalks, which he thus presses to the ground
and then, beginning at the point, winds them round the sickles
down to the root. Finally, by lifting the sickles he pulls out
the oat-stalks by the roots, saying meanwhile: “Sickles, the
whole summer have you laboured, may the food you now
have eaten bring strength to you,” or “ Sickle, take strength,
the whole summer hast thou laboured, take strength. Thy
share have we spread out, our share mayest thou not touch! ”
The master of the house, followed by the family, then takes
the sickles, wrapped in oat-straw, to some attic in the house or
a barn, whence they are taken out first at the next summer.
The last stalks are called “ the sickle’s share.” 38
It is quite natural that among the more northern peoples,
who exist chiefly by hunting and fishing, deities of vegetation
are not found. The “ grass mother ” of the Russian Lapps,
seeing that grass is of very little consequence even to the
reindeer, who live on moss, is probably of late origin. This
may also be true regarding the Rana-neidda (“ Rana virgin ”)
of the Lapps, who lived in heaven and ruled over the moun-
tains which first became green in the spring. When sacrificing
to her “ in order that the reindeer should get grass in time,” a
spinning-wheel or a spindle was placed against her altar, both
of which were besmeared with sacrificial blood. The spin-
ning-wheel sacrifice, which cannot originally have been a Lapp
custom, shows that “the greatest of all goddesses,” who be-
sides the grass, called forth also the leaves in the spring, is a
Scandinavian goddess (Frigg ). 39
The Norse Frey can be recognised in the Scandinavian
250 FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
Lapps Veralden-olmai (“ Worlds man ”). The missionary
Randulf compares him with Saturn and says that the Lapps
“ paint him on their magic drums in such a manner that a
curved line with many little outspringing thorns is drawn
over his head; this symbolizes the fruitfulness of sea, land
and cattle. They pray to him to make the earth fruitful with
corn, that they might on reasonable terms brew beer and
Fig. 9. Drawings of Heaven on Shaman Drums
Left: c and e, Thunder-gods; d, God of Fertility; f, Wind-god.
Right: d and f, Thunder-gods; b, God of Fertility; e, Wind-god.
From Rudbeck’s Atlantica.
spirits and everything prepared from corn. This is indicated
by the hoe which they fit into his hand. At the same time they
pray that he would render the sea bounteous in order that they
might procure much fish (this is done especially by the Sea
Lapps), and that he would make their reindeer fruitful, so
that they might bear many calves, and that he would make
the moss of the uplands, which is eaten by their reindeer,
grow richly, that they might obtain much reindeer butter,
cheese, etc. Altogether they pray to Veralden-olmai or Saturn,
for everything that grows or is born.” 40
In the cult of this god of fruitfulness the sexual organs
played an important part. Noraeus relates that the Swedish
Lapps sacrificed to it on St. Matthew’s Day in the following
manner: “They gathered together the horns of the reindeer
they, had slaughtered, but the bones of one reindeer, from
the smallest to the biggest, were extracted and the blood of
the same reindeer sprinkled over these bones, which were then
buried in the earth; erecting thereafter amongst them an
DEITIES OF THE EARTH
251
image made of birch-wood, also sprinkled with blood, on the
breast of which, under the face, the membrum genhale was
attached.” When the Lapps were asked why they did this,
they answered that they were following the ancient habits of
their forefathers and sacrificing to the earth, firstly, because
the earth kept alive their reindeer; secondly, that it might
not send diseases that hurt the feet of the reindeer in summer;
and thirdly, that the earth, besides nutrition, would give their
reindeer a powerful pairing-lust, sacrificing for this purpose
the above-mentioned organ, in order that the number of rein-
deer might increase greatly, as the time of the feast of St.
Matthew was the best pairing-time of the reindeer . 41
Besides reindeer, in the ear of which a red thread was tied,
the Scandinavian Lapps sacrificed also the implements needed
in agriculture — hoes and spades, to the “World’s man.” 42
Even without these customs, one can see from the name of the
god that he is none other than the Scandinavian Frey, who is
also called “ Veraldar god ” by Snorri Sturlason.
CHAPTER XVI
DEITIES OF BIRTH
T HE DEITIES of birth among the Lapps were Madder-
akka and her three daughters Sarakka, Juksakka and
Uksakka.
Madderakka (akka, “ old woman ”) although called the
mother of other deities, seems at least in later times to have
been regarded as of less importance than these others. Si-
denius says that the Lapps sacrificed to her only “ so that she
would allow her daughters to serve women.” He points out,
however, that among some she was believed to help her
daughters herself in their duties . 1 Jessen relates that she
creates the body of the child , 2 and Randulf tells that she
renders both women and cattle fruitful . 3
On certain magic drums appears also a male counterpart to
Madderakka, the so-called Madderatshe (“ Madder fa-
ther”), who is, however, little known and has most probably
only later appeared at the side of the female Madderakka . 4
This latter — the first part of whose name, according to
Setala, corresponds to the Finnish word mantere (“ the
earth ”) — lived, according to the Lapps, together with her
three daughters, in the earth beneath the Lapp tent. For this
reason, sacrifices to them were placed in the ground . 5
At the birth Sarakka of Saredne (“ Sar mother ”) seems
to have played the most important part. Her name may
possibly be derived from the Lapp word saret (“ to cleave ”).
Skanke gives Sarakka another significant name, Sadsta-akka,
in which the word sadsta is said to be identical in meaning with
the Lapp word suorek-muora (a piece of wood split at one
end into two parts ). 6 Both names of this deity remind one of
DEITIES OF BIRTH
253
a magic method of assisting childbirth and rendering it easier,
a method palpably touched on by Forbus when he puts the
following question to the Lapps: “Have you not chopped
wood in honour of Sarakka in time of birth? ” 7
From the questions by Forbus it is further apparent that
these pieces of wood, cleft in honour of Sarakka, were re-
garded as holy j they were not used as fuel, and were not
even allowed to be touched.
Sarakka was worshipped chiefly in childbed. Besides
Women, she helped also reindeer at the birth of their calves,
assuaging their pains. For this reason the Lapps endeavoured
to stand well in the favour of the deity. How intimately
Sarakka followed the course of the birth-pangs of her wards
is seen from the belief of the Lapps that she felt the same
agony as the one in childbed. Like Madderakka, Sarakka was
also believed to create the body of the infant . 8
The protection of Sarakka was sought by the Lapp women
also during menstruation. According to Forbus the women
took off their collars and belts at such times “ in honour of
Sarakka.” This custom is unquestionably derived from the
magic belief that during these periods, as also during child-
birth, nothing knotted may be worn on the body. During
menstruation women were regarded as unclean and were not
allowed to move about freely. When the said period was
over, a woman would wash her head in water, in a pan which
she then scoured with meal and used for the baking of a cake
which women only were allowed to eat . 9
A purification-meal in honour of Sarakka was eaten also
after the successful birth of a child. Jessen relates that women
in childbed drank “ Sarakka’s brandy ” before deliverance and,
together with other women, ate “ Sarakka’s porridge ” after
giving birth. In the porridge three sticks were placed ; the
first one was cleft and had three rings hanging from it, the
second was black, and the third white. These were all laid
for three days at the door of the tent. If it were found that
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
2 54 -
the black stick had disappeared, it was believed to indicate that
either the mother or the child would die. If, on the other
hand, the white one was lost, both would live . 10 S. Kildal
relates that in some districts a miniature bow and arrow were
placed in the porridge so that the child, if a boy, would be-
come a good hunter when grown up . 11 Forbus explains that
the weapons were placed in the porridge in three different
parts, the shaft, the bow, and the arrow. The accident of
lifting out any of these parts with the spoon while eating was
fraught with significance. The bow was hung later on the
child’s cradle j but if the pieces placed in the porridge had
unluckily not been fished out in the spoons, they were thrown
away. Among the questions written by Forbus is the follow-
ing: “ Have you still the little bow that you had to bear on
thy body? ” 12
Just as the cleft stick seems to be connected with the name of
Sarakka, the bow placed in the porridge is connected with an-
other name, Juksakka (“Bow old woman”). Of this last-
named deity Solander says that she helps women at the pro-
duction and birth of children. The most important duty of
Juksakka was to change the girl-child in the womb to a boy-
child . 13 To gain her help in this, sacrifices had to be offered
up to her. According to Leem the Lapps sacrificed contin-
ually to her because they desired boys rather than girls, as
these last were of no use in the chase. Juksakka, who is some-
times pictured on the magic drums with a bow in her hand,
seems to have taken care that the Lapp boy became a good
hunter . 14
The third of Madderakka’s daughters was Uksakka (“ Door
woman ”), who was believed to live in the ground under the
door of the tent. As a watchman at the door she protected
people at their goings in or out. At childbirth she received
the newcomer on his arrival in the world. Later she watched
over the first steps of the child to prevent its falling and
hurting itself. The Lapps sacrificed drink to her in the
DEITIES OF BIRTH
255
ground at the door of the tent, where she was supposed to
dwell . 15
Jessen adds that a special, consecrated building was erected
for Madderakka and Sarakka. On some magic drums Sar-
akka’s tent can be seen . 16 As the Lapps do not customarily
erect special dwelling-houses for their deities, there is reason
to believe that the so-called “ tent of Sarakka ” is a relic of
the times when a woman in childbirth was not allowed to stay
in the common tent, but had a special tent erected for her.
Such, for example, is the custom among the Samoyeds and
Ostiaks even today.
When the Lapps sacrificed to the deities of birth, they did
this in a manner differing from the ordinary sacrifices. Olsen
tells us that the Lapp mother, when convinced that she was
with child, secured beforehand a little dog, which she kept
by her until the time of giving birth had come. A little while
before lying down for the approaching birth this dog had to
be sacrificed “ in order that God might help her and every-
thing go well, and that both she and the child would preserve
their lives and health, and live merrily and well afterwards.” 17
After the birth a reindeer or some other domestic animal
bought from the neighbouring peasants was sacrificed. Among
such animals, goats, calves, sheep, lambs, pigs, cats and
cockerels are mentioned . 18 On the head of the sacrificial
animal “ a linen kerchief or a woman’s linen hat ” had to be
bound . 19 Jessen points out that the sacrificial priest also wore
on these occasions a white linen hat, besides the linen apparel
usually worn at votive ceremonies in Norwegian Lapland . 20
The dog, together with the other animals, had to be buried
alive in the ground, only the cock being shut in in a grotto of
stone, where it could live and crow for a time, before dying
of hunger . 21 With the exception of the cock, male animals
were never sacrificed to the deities of birth . 22 From Randulf’s
notes it appears that the Lapps also sacrificed spinning-wheels
and spindles to them . 23
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
256
Certain customs had also to be observed after the calving
of a cow. According to Leem, the “ first milk ” had to be
milked on to the ground. In the purification ceremonies flour
was used, being scattered over both the cow and the calf,
and flour had to be added also to the milk, before a male
person might partake of it . 24 Doubtless, the flour was here
of the same significance as at the ceremony for women. The
custom here pictured by Leem can only have prevailed among
the more Southern Lapps, who had, in places, begun to keep
cows.
Many features in the above beliefs and customs show plainly
that they cannot have been of Lapp origin, for instance, the
special dress of the sacrificial priest, but, above all, the use
of flour in so important a degree, points to derivation from an
agricultural people. There would seem to be, therefore, good
grounds for comparing Sarakka’s porridge with the Old-
Scandinavic “ Norna porridge” (Norna greytur), the first
meal eaten after childbirth by the women of the Faro-Islands.
Troels Lund shows that among the Scandinavians also it was
the custom to place in the porridge for women in childbed,
“ three sticks,” with which the luck of the child was supposed
to be intimately connected . 25 The sacrifice of spinning-wheels
and animals bought from the neighbouring peasants, and clad
with linen kerchiefs, points, too, with certainty to the fact
that these customs have been borrowed by the Lapps. On
several of the Lapp magic drums the deities of birth are seen
pictured as three females, their number corresponding with
that of the Scandinavian Norns. It should be observed also
that Madderakka’s three daughters are known only among
the Scandinavian Lapps. One of the daughters, Uksakka, has
a counterpart in the Swedish Dorr-Karing (“ Door old
woman”), who even to our times lives in the beliefs of the
people in Vasterbotten, as “ a light-fearing spirit, dwelling
near the door.” One had to be careful of her in going out
with a lighted candle, as she would blow it out . 28
DEITIES OF BIRTH
257
More widely known also among the Finnish Lapps, is the
mother, Madderakka . 27 She might also find her counterpart
in the Swedish Jordegumma (“ Old woman of the earth ”),
which word now means “ midwife,” but in earlier times may
well have been the name of a deity who, dwelling in the
earth, assisted at childbirth. Similar changes in the meaning
of a term may be observed in the Lapp tongue. At Gellivara
the word sarak has been noted as meaning also “ midwife.” 28
It is not, however, necessary in all the Lapp customs connected
with birth to see only borrowed beliefs. The Yurak Samoyeds
also worship a deity living in the earth and assisting at births,
and, like the Lapps, they bury a dog alive to secure her help
at the said event . 29
Among the ancient Finns the deities of birth were called
Luonnotar ( luonto , “ nature ”) or Synnytar ( synty , “ birth ”),
and were three in number, corresponding thus with the Scandi-
navic Norns and the Roman Parcae. In a magic song a man
says: “ I am created by three Luonnotars.” These three deities
appear also in the songs on the origin of iron, in which it is
described how their milk was allowed by them to run into
the earth, one dripping forth black milk, the second white,
the third blood-red ; the first giving birth to smithy-iron, the
second to steel, and the third to refuse iron . 30 Often, the
Virgin Mary, who in the Catholic period has played an im-
portant part in the beliefs of the people, is also in the magic
songs given the name Luonnotar and Luojatar ( Luoja>
“Creator”), and is appealed to in childbirth; the “sweet
milk of Mary ” is supposed to cure all kinds of sickness. At
times she is imagined to have many breasts, like her prototype,
the Ephesian Artemis, and is said to have “ a hundred horns
on her forehead, a thousand nipples to her breast.” 31 In magic
songs she “ spins a blue thread with a blue spindle.” It is
difficult to distinguish how much in the above beliefs is from
an older time, and how much from the Catholic period (“ the
three Maries”). Both the origin and the name of the
-
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
258
Esthonian Rougutaja, of which all that is known is that she
was believed to help at births, are uncertain . 32
The Cheremiss and the Votiaks have a custom of sacrificing
a white sheep at the birth of a child to the deity of birth,
called Kugu shotshen-ava (the “Great birthgiving mother”)
by the former, by the latter Kildisin ( kildlni , “ procreate,”
“ give birth to ”; in, “ heaven, god ”), or Kildisin-mumy,
(“Kildisin mother”). According to an account from the
eighteenth century, the Votiak women prayed to the goddess,
Kaldyni-mumas, for children, and virgins for a happy mar-
riage . 33 Another account from the same period states that
this deity was the fructifier of women and animals . 34 Gen-
erally, however, the Votiaks speak of special deities of fruit-
fulness, the Kildisin of the earth, of the corn, and of children,
who receive their own special sacrifices. Similarly, the Chere-
miss worship the Shotshen of children, animals, corn, bees,
etc., as separate deities. In the place of Shotshen (= Hill
Cheremiss Shatshektshe), the Turco-Tatar loan-words Puir-
sho (“ procreator ”) and Perke (Kazan Tatar, bar a gat, “ suc-
cess ”) are used with the same meaning . 35
From the sacrifice of the white sheep, one may conclude
that both the Cheremiss and the Votiak deities of birth, who
“ carried the soul to the child,” were deities of Heaven. The
word Kildisin means also literally the “ procreating Heaven.”
According to Ryckov the female Kildisin was the mother or
wife of the Heaven god, Inmar. In their folklore mention
may also be found of “ Inmar mother.” 30 The Jumon-ava
of the Cheremiss ( jumo , “ Heaven,” “ Heaven god ”j ava,
“ mother,” “ wife ”), to whom female animals were sacrificed
in the sacred groves, was worshipped also as the deity of
childbirth and marriage . 37 Another heavenly deity was the
Nishke-ava (properly, Ine-shki-ava, “ the Great birth-giving
mother ”), probably identical with the little-known Azer-ava
(“ Mistress ”) of the Moksha Mordvins, who was, according
DEITIES OF BIRTH
259
to an old account, a “ corn-begetter ” and “ a dweller in the
high place, in the upper parts of the atmosphere.” 38
The other deities of fruitfulness were sacrificed to in the
same manner as to the “ souls ” of the things they were sup-
posed to fructify, thus, for example, a black sheep to the
“ Earth-fructifier,” the bones being buried in the earth. The
“ Cattle-fructifier ” was worshipped by the Cheremiss espe-
cially when the cows had borne calves 5 friends and neighbours
being invited to a “ cow’s-milk feast.” The host poured water
on the oven and prayed that the calf might grow to be the size
of the oven. The bystanders were also sprinkled with water
with an accompanying prayer that god would let the cow give
much milk. At the sacrifice-porridge, which was mixed with
butter, the host prayed that the “ Cattle-fructifier ” would
give “ as much cattle as there are hairs on the cow, so that one
end of the herd might be still on the village-road when the
other end had entered the cowsheds.” 39
Other magic ceremonies are also connected with the cult
of procreation. As an example of these, the following custom
of the Eastern Cheremiss may be described. When the sheep
have not increased satisfactorily, a festival is proclaimed, to
which boys and girls are invited. As a sacrifice a wild bird
is shot, but for lack of this a hen may be used. The host
takes the bird and the hostess the implements necessary at the
sacrifice, and a journey to the sheepfolds is made, the boys and
girls following them, creeping on all fours. The hostess
induces the children to keep after her, enticing them like
sheep, the movements and voices of which the children seek
to imitate. The boys butt at the girls, imitating rams. Ar-
rived at the sheepfold the host makes a fire, round which
the so-called sheep crawl baa-ing three times, following the
hostess. They then rise, and the bird is cooked and eaten in
the sheepfold, the bones being thrown on to the roof of the
fold and prayers offered up to the “ Sheep-fructifier.” The
26 o
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
Cheremiss, from whom the author took down the above ac-
count, remarked that is not customary to invite many boys to
this ceremony, but chiefly girls, lest too many rams be born in
the flock.
A being dwelling in Heaven is also the deity to whom the
Ostiaks and the Voguls pray for children, and who gives aid
to their wives in childbed. At Vasyugan she is called Puges,
“ daughter of the Heaven god,” and is said to live in the heights
in a golden house, in the roof of which hang seven cradles.
When she rocks one of these seven times a “ soul ” is created,
but if the cradle should overturn during its movements, a
“ soul ” is born that will not live long. The road to this
dwelling goes over seven seas to a mountain consisting of
seven stories. In the districts around Surgut, this deity with
the seven cradles is called Vagneg-imi (imi y u old woman ”),
said in the old stories to be “ the mother of the seven sons
of the Heaven god.” In her hand she holds a wooden staff,
from which hang threads for each person born. When a
child is born the goddess makes a knot in one of the threads,
the distance between this and the staff indicating the length
of the child’s life, a matter not to be altered whatever sacrifices
are offered up to the deity. The “ Kaltas mother ” of the
Northern Ostiaks and the “ Kaltes mother ” of the Voguls,
who protects both the one giving birth and the child, and
who is said at a birth to “ write down in a golden book,” or
on a “ gold-embroidered seven-forked tree,” the fate of
the child just born and the length of his life, reminds one,
as far as the name is concerned, of the Kildisin of the Votiaks.
In folklore, the “ Kaltes mother,” often furnished with the
epithet “ the golden,” appears as the daughter or wife of the
Heaven god Torem, and as the mother of his children. Un-
der the name of “ Turem mother,” the Northern Ostiaks also
worship their great soul-giving deity . 40
In certain districts images are made of this deity of child-
birth. Possibly an idol of this description, worshipped for
DEITIES OF BIRTH
261
long distances around, has given rise to many exaggerated
tales of the “ Golden old woman,” mentioned for the first
time in an old Russian Chronicle, and afterwards, often under
the name of Zlota baba, in the older geographical accounts.
In the seventeenth century she is seen pictured, sometimes
with a child in her arms, on many maps, on which she repre-
sented the districts round the Northern Ural, little known at
that time . 41
Of the ceremonies observed by the Ostiaks at the birth of a
child, only the fact that special consideration is attached to
the placenta need be mentioned. We find Pallas already re-
lating that it was laid in a basket of birch-bark, together with
fish and meat, as a sacrifice, and carried to the forests where
it was hung up in a tree. This custom survives today. Kar-
jalainen says that the Ostiaks around Tremyugan call the pla-
centa, in which they believe they can make out human features,
“ the nourishing-mother of the child,” and, before the birth,
sew a little shirt for it, to which is further attached a kind of
belt and a headdress, the whole being placed together with
the placenta in the above mentioned basket. Before the bas-
ket is carried into the forest, fish, meat, and other victuals are
set before it, and the women bow, saying: “Nourishing-
mother of the child, eat! ” The food used at this ceremony
may only be eaten by women. At Vasyugan, if the newly-born
is a boy, a little bow with two tiny arrows is tied to the
basket . 42
Similar beliefs about the placenta were prevalent also among
the Slavs, and are met with even today among many primitive
peoples.
CHAPTER XVII
SACRIFICES TO NATURE GODS AMONG
THE VOLGA FINNS
A LTHOUGH sacrifices to Nature gods are not bound
to be made at particular holy places, but may be per-
formed anywhere, in the farm-yard, or at a “ pure ” spot in
the fields, generally certain sacred groves are kept also for
them. These groves resemble very much the already described
keremet-g roves, though they are not always fenced in like
these last. Among the Cheremiss, who call them kils-oto
(“sacrifice-grove”), they are often very large in area. As
far as possible, groves to the Nature gods consist of leafy
trees 5 the Cheremiss say that the most suitable tree is the lime,
though oak and birch will do at a pinch. Sacrifices are made
with the face turned to the east, or “ upward.”
Often, each village has its separate grove, called “ the vil-
lage-grove.” In addition, the Volga Finns have had more im-
portant groves, in which the villages of a whole district offered
up mutual sacrifices. Both the Votiaks and the Cheremiss call
a district, bound in this way to sacrifice together, by a loan-
word mer (Russian mir, “village-community”), but the
latter (Urzhum District) also by their own word tlste-kerge
{tiste, “ownership-mark,” kerge , “ district ”), probably from
the fact that the villages connected therewith have had a
common ownership-mark. From this, one may conclude that
the greater sacrifice-district originally consisted of villages and
families belonging to the same clan. Even today, one may
observe in certain neighbourhoods, that although the villages
belonging to one of these sacrifice-areas may be relatively
distant from one another, similar usages and customs are ob-
IlXZr 3TAvH
O’tdOM . ' : 2 : 3'
riSiMa^anO sht
(.£di 3 gr>q 338)
.rniorir;!3>I .A oi ^iiiL-'iox.A
•H
N*
PLATE XXXII
The Sacrifice-Grove (Kus-Oto) Among
THE CHEREMISS
(See page 263.)
According to A. Reinholm.
SACRIFICES TO NATURE GODS 263
served, while in a much nearer village belonging to another
sacrifice-area, widely differing customs are followed. Each
mer has its special name, often after the village near which
the grove is situated. It is possible that these villages were
the mother-villages of the clan. Besides its connection with
sacrifices, the term tiste-kerge has also a communal significa-
tion among the Cheremiss. During periods of great trouble,
war, or famine, several mer may, according to the directions
of a “ seer,” assemble to still greater mutual sacrificial feasts,
lasting sometimes for a week or two, in some very old grove,
where the number of animals sacrificed may rise to a hundred
and the sacrificing congregation to a thousand or so. It is
obvious, that such great gatherings have great significance
politically j even today the often very widely-scattered vil-
lages are bound together and prevented from being assimi-
lated into the foreign tribes living around them by these
gatherings.
In the groves sacred to Nature gods there are no buildings
for the preservation of sacrificial offerings or idols. It is
probable that these peoples never made images of their Nature
gods.
The great festivals in honour of the Nature gods are gen-
erally held during the most beautiful time in the summer,
before the hay-making, or also after the harvest. Often the
mdT-festivals are not annual like the village-festivals, but are
celebrated after the lapse of a longer period, e.g., after three
or five years.
When intending to hold a mutual sacrificial festival, the
different villages belonging to the area send representatives,
i.e., priests, to a meeting, at which the precise day for its
celebration is fixed upon, as well as the animals to be sacrificed
and the procuring of these. The animals must be of one
colour, healthy, and not too old, at the most in their second
year. Moreover, they must be “ untainted ” animals, i.e.,
animals that have not been used for labour or for procreation.
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
264
According to the Cheremiss, not even a goose or duck may be
used that has sat on eggs. Should an animal shiver when it
is looked at, this is regarded as a good omen. When the
sacrificial animal has been decided on, a long, narrow towel
is bound round its neck, as a sign that it has been set aside for
a sacred purpose. The towel is not taken away until the
sacrifice begins, when it is hung up in the sacrifice tree for
the period of the ceremony.
Funds for the procuring of the victim are collected from
all the farmers belonging to the area, regardless of whether
these intend to be present at the festival or no. Although
there is no question here of an obligatory tax, but of voluntary
gifts, each head of a family deems it his duty to subscribe to
the mutual sacrifice, according to his means and present con-
dition. The handling of and accounting for the funds is en-
trusted to a special functionary, the so-called “ cashier.” The
number of sacrifices depends on the prosperity of the people;
the sacrificing priests discuss together and decide which of the
gods is to be sacrificed to in each separate case.
In every village there are one or more priests, called among
the Cheremiss kart (“old man”). In the choice of these
karty who keep their positions until their death, or until the
weakness of old age, the trustworthiness of the candidate, his
knowledge of the sacrificial ceremonies, and his ability, to
recite prayers are taken into consideration. Often, a former
assistant to some karty who has already filled a lower position
in the priesthood, is chosen to be the follower of one of these.
Where there are several priests, the Cheremiss call the oldest
or most capable of these the “ great kart” the others being
“ small kart” At the sacrifices of several villages, the many
priests of the area are, without further choosing, participators
in the ceremony, discussing among themselves the order of
the same and which god each separate priest shall pray to.
When one of these priests, who in the sacred grove stand in
line, each under his own sacrifice tree, resigns, the new-comer
SACRIFICES TO NATURE GODS 265
does not take his place, but instead the neighbour to the one
leaving moves up one place in his holy office, followed by
those coming after him, so that the newcomer may step into
the place at the end of the line. Each priest has the right
to choose his own assistant.
To obtain a clear and complete view of the ceremonies at
a great festival in honour of the Nature gods among the agri-
cultural Volga Finns, we should follow closely the programme
of one of these festivals at any one place. As the old heathen
customs have best been preserved among the unbaptized Chere-
miss, we shall consider a great m<?r-festival among these
(Birsk District, Tsherlak village) at which the author was
present in 1913. 1
On the morning of the festival the functionaries concerned
in the same go earlier than the rest of the congregation to
the grove. They do not, as yet, step right into the sanctuary,
but remain at first in a kind of forepart to the grove itself,
where a provisional little tent-like hut has been erected.
Here the treasurer accounts for the means collected during the
festival. This forepart is chiefly intended for the congrega-
tion, who remain here during the holy ceremonies, discussing
the news of the day, telling fairy-tales, enjoying refreshments,
etc., or drying their garments, washed in the brook in the
vicinity of the grove. Into the sanctuary itself no one may
go who has not previously bathed in this brook and clothed
himself in clean, preferably white, holiday garments. This
is a daily duty to each participator in the festival for the
whole period of the same. In the forepart may also be seen
the sacrificial animals and the sacrificial objects awaiting their
turn to be put into use.
In a Cheremiss grove, in which several gods are offered up
to, each god has his own “ sacrifice tree these trees stand
in a row a few paces distant from each other. On the extreme
east is the tree of “the great Jumo,” at which the ceremonies
are begun. As the ceremonies at each tree resemble one an-
266 FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
other closely,, we shall follow only the one at the tree of the
Heaven god.
Having bathed in the brook, the sacrificing priests bear all
the objects needed at the ceremony to the foot of the tree of
the Jumo. Every one has his own particular duty, one bring-
ing water from the brook, another chopping down old stumps
and gathering fallen branches for fuel. Others prepare from
lime-bark sacred objects necessary at the sacrifice, a girdle, a
bridle, a peculiar “ tassel,” etc. At the beginning a fire must
be made on the site of former fires. Fire must be brought
from the village in a pot, as the Cheremiss believe that one
may not light a sacrificial fire with a match. Over the fire-
place an erection of young limes is set up, on which in earlier
times, as one may judge from the name “cauldron-holder,”
cauldrons for sacrifice were hung, but in the present time it
is generally so weak that it can hardly bear a small pan for
porridge j the meat-cauldrons are placed on a foundation of
birch-logs. The trunks of both the above-mentioned trees
must be laid so that the thick end is towards the sacrifice tree.
The chief priest now digs up the copper coins, buried during
the foregoing festival in the ground at the foot of the tree.
To the left, before the tree, a candlestick of wood (“ silver
candlestick ”) is stuck into the ground, in which a little yellow
candle, formed in the grove, is placed. Although this candle
is thin and unpretentious, it is called in the prayers “ the
great silver candle.” To the right of the sacrifice tree, a little
round pillar is also stuck into the ground, and a little wooden
bowl placed on it. Into this, a drink made of honey is poured,
but, judging from the name “resin-bowl,” it must formerly
have contained resin. Further, against the living “ great ”
sacrifice tree, a “ little ” one is set up, which is bound to the
former with bast; the “ little ” tree is a young lime chopped
off at the root. If the “ great ” sacrifice tree is an oak or a
birch, the “ little ” tree should also be an oak or a birch.
Before the great sacrificial cauldrons are laid on the fire,
SACRIFICES TO NATURE GODS
267
porridge is cooked in a smaller vessel, which is then lifted
on to the roots of the sacrifice tree, being placed next to the
“ resin-bowl.” In the vessel a small spoon like a shaving of
lime-bark is placed, called, despite its unpretentiousness, “ the
silver spoon.” Before all this, white cloths are spread on the
ground bestrewed with lime-branches, and on these, in rows,
the sacrificial “ butter and milk ” loaves are placed touching
one another. Of the sacrificial bread, baked by the priest
himself early in the morning at the
village, there must be nine loaves,
one “ large ” and eight “ small.”
In the middle and at the edge these
loaves have a mark made by the
three finger-tips ; the mark on the
edge is called the “ nose ” ( ner )
and the one in the middle “ the
body” {kaf). On the “large”
loaf there are also lines, those Fig IO Sac „ fic1al Bmad
on the sides being called “ wings,”
-
and those on the opposite end to the “ nose ” the “ (bird’s)
tail.” On this loaf, therefore, a bird is formed. The
loaves are placed on the cloth with the “ noses ” towards
the tree, the “ large ” loaf on the extreme right. Behind the
loaves, nine wooden bowls are laid parallel with these. Later,
a drink made of honey is poured into them, the drink being
prepared for the festival by young maidens. Sometimes the
loaves and the bowls are arranged in two rows. Both are dedi-
cated to certain deities: the “ large ” loaf and the bowl behind
it to the “ great Jumo,” the others to other gods who do not
seem to be exactly defined, but vary, even at different festivals
in the same grove.
The candle is now lit with a brand from the fire and a
young foal is led into the sanctuary. To the right of the
fire, about ten paces away from this, a post of birch-wood is
driven into the ground and to this the sacrificial horse is
268
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
bound fast with a bridle made solely of lime-bark (“ the
silver bridle ”). To this ceremony belong also a footsnare
of plaited lime-bark with which the forefeet of the sacrifice
are bound during the sacrifice.
The first sacred act is the casting of pewter. The kart
places himself to the left of the fire, holds the blade of an
axe vertically over a vessel of water and says: “ O bless and
protect us, great god, give us health, prosperity and riches!
We on our side brought and set up for thee a sacrifice ; if thou
on thy side wilt accept a horse with shining hair and gleaming
mane, with silver tail and silver hoofs, may its head and
feet be formed in the cast pewter! ” Here the assistant
pours the molten metal on the blade of the axe, having heated
the former, praying as he did so, in a little iron ladle. With
great curiosity, the priest examines the shape formed by the
metal as it fell into the water. Should there be nothing in
its shape that resembles the sacrifice it is thrown into the fire
and a new lot melted ; but if there is, this shows, as the Chere-
miss believe, that the god is willing to accept the animal.
The pewter figure which is called the “ picture ” or “ shadow ”
of the sacrifice is set for the while on the “ large ” sacrificial
loaf.
The axe is now laid on the ground before the sacrifice tree.
The kart takes a knife in his right hand and a burning brand
in his left, and places himself by the axe with his face towards
the tree. Swinging the brand in the air, he speaks now also
of the shining sacrificial horse, adding: “With the scent of
smoke and the clang of iron, we call thee to our feast, thou
merciful! ” When he has finished this prayer, he rings three
times on the axe with the knife. Thereafter he goes to the
horse and touches its forehead and neck three times with
the brand, saying: “ Accept a good foal, with shining hair and
silver tail! ”
He then takes the knife and a green lime-branch and stands
to the left of the fire, where he whittles a little of the thick
PLATE XXXIII
Cheremiss Sacrificial Loaves, Bowls and
Coins at the Festival to Nature-
Gods
Ufa Government. (See page 267.)
After photograph by U. Holmberg.
|Lil -j ^ i A , ,
SACRIFICES TO NATURE GODS 269
end of the branch, after which he moves over to the sacrifice
tree where, with the knife in his right hand and the branch
in his left, he recites the following prayer: “O bless and
protect us, great god! With a large sacrifice loaf and with
a great vessel filled with honey-drink, with a great silver
candle, with a great resin-bowl, with a great sacrifice tree,
with a great sacrifice girdle, with a great e tassel J and with
a great sacrifice pewter we approach thee. If thou art satisfied
with thy people and the priests, let the shaving of lime-wood
fall right.” As he says this, he shaves off a piece from the
branch, the position of which on the ground is then closely
examined by the priests together. Should the thicker end be
towards the sacrifice tree or to the east, it signifies that the
god is kindly disposed and satisfied with the people and
the priestsj in the opposite case, the sacrificing priest, follow-
ing the direction of the sun, goes round the fire, placing
himself again to the left of it, where he whittles the branch
again and, standing before the sacrifice tree, does as before.
Where the first shaving has signified good luck, it is placed
in the porridge-pan, to the right of the “ silver spoon.” As
the kart whittles the second he pronounces a prayer, the be-
ginning of which is the same as in the foregoing, but finishes
with a new wish : “ If thou art pleased with the work of our
hands (i.e., with the objects needed at the ceremony) let the
shaving fall right! ” Its position is examined again, and if
a lucky omen is now also discovered in it, it is laid beside
the other in the porridge-pan. A third shaving must still
be whittled. With the help of this the sacrificial foal, which
has to shiver when sprinkled with water, is examined to see
whether it is acceptable to the god. The prayer accompanying
this begins also like the former, but ends with the words:
“ If thou art satisfied with the shivering horse with shining
hair and gleaming mane, with the silver tail and silver hoofs,
let the shaving fall right.” The third shaving also is laid in
the porridge-pan.
270
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
The assistant of the sacrificing priest now pours fresh water
into a wooden bowl, takes this in his right hand and green
lime-branches in his left and goes to the foal, after having en-
circled the fire in the direction of the sun. The head of this,
on which the u silver bridle ” has been set, should be turned
towards the sacrifice tree. The kart himself stands before the
tree and prays again: “ O bless and protect us, great god! We
on our side have brought and set up a sacrificial horse, with
shining hair and gleaming mane and silver tail, accept it on thy
side with good feeling, and shake from it the touch of human
hands! ” During the prayer the assistant pours water on the
animal’s back through the lime-branches, beginning from the
head. That the purpose of this is to purify the animal appears
from the accompanying prayer. During this ceremony, as
during all others, the other participants kneel with bared heads
and wait reverently for the shudder which the touch of the
water is bound to cause in the animal, and which is regarded as
a sign of acceptance of the sacrifice by the god. Should the
desired result not be accomplished at the first attempt, it is
repeated a second, third, or even more times. Each time the
kart recites the same prayer before the tree. While waiting
for the sign, the reasons why the god will not accept the
offering are examined. The assisting priests look to see that
the fire is made on exactly the site of former fires, that the
erection over the fire is rightly placed, so that the saplings
have their thin ends upward, and the horizontal ones their
roots towards the sacrifice tree. The positions of the objects
on the altar are also looked to. Finally, the bridle is set
right on the foal’s head. If the candle has gone out, it is
lighted anew. The assistants of the officiating priests try
their luck at sprinkling, one after another, even attempting to
obtain the desired result by sprinkling in the animal’s ear.
While the kart prays, the person from whom the animal was
brought, kneels also before the tree. While waiting the result,
all present, kneeling, pray half-aloud: “ O good, great god,
SACRIFICES TO NATURE GODS
271
let the sacrifice shake and shiver! ” The sprinkling may not,
however, be repeated an unlimited number of times, but the
animal, after a ninth attempt, is taken out of the grove and
a new one procured in its place. When the victim, some-
times at the first attempt, does shiver, all rise from their knees,
thanking the god, and the slaughterers begin their work imme-
diately. The animal’s feet are bound together with a rope
of lime-bark, and it is then thrown over on to its left side ; the
head must also now be in the direction of the tree. A smaller
hole is dug in the ground at the head, and, in order that the
blood shall not flow on the ground, is covered with lime-
branches. The kart now places himself before the tree and
says: “We on our side have brought and set up a sacrifice for
thee, accept thou it on thy side and let the rising 1 soul ’
( ts on ) be a foal with shining hair, etc.” Meanwhile the
slaughterer cuts the veins of the neck open, with an old-
fashioned knife used only at sacrifices, so that the blood
streams through the lime-branches into the hole. The first
warm drops are taken by the kart in a little wooden spoon,
after which he goes as before round the fire to the tree and
prays: “ O good, great god, with fresh blood we turn to thee.
Send peace and justice to all peoples living under the sky! ”
Having said which, he throws the blood up into the tree,
goes again to the foal and fills the spoon with blood as this
continues to flow out of the wound. This time he steps to
the left of the fire and with his face to it says: “ Thou, ‘Fire-
mother,’ with fire and steam, with thy sharp tongue carry
up the sacrifice to the great god! ” At the same time he
throws the blood into the fire. Afterwards, the offering-girdle,
intended later to be placed round the tree, is drenched with
blood 5 both sides of the girdle are drawn over the wound.
The “ bridle ” and the “ footsnare ” are taken off and for the
time hung up on the post to which the foal had been tied,
and the flaying of the foal, in which four men take part,
begins. Now also, the head of the victim must be kept towards
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
272
the tree. The candle at the foot of the tree burns all this
time, a new one being used to replace the old one as soon as
needed.
Immediately the flaying is begun, the nose or the part con-
taining the lips is cut off as a special sacrifice, and purified by
being scorched in the fire. The head, from which the lower
jaw has been removed, is similarly scorched. The flesh is
cut from the limbs without damaging the bones. Regarding
the different parts of the meat, the Cheremiss follow a certain
order. The so-called iww-pieces are placed separately in the
cauldron at the cauldron-stand which is nearest to the sacrifice
tree. These are the nose, or the parts around the mouth, the
tongue, the brain, the throat, the back of the neck, the breast-
bone, the heart, five ribs from the right and three from the left
side, a piece from each hip, the knees of the hind legs, the
stomach, liver, kidneys, and the intestines. The remainder
is boiled in two cauldrons behind this first. When the flesh
has been divided among the cauldrons, the hide is spread on
the ground to the right of the sacrificial altar, with the head
towards the tree. Spread on the ground, the hide resembles
a horse, thrown over on its left side. The parts unfit to eat
are placed in the hole with the blood. Later, the contents
of this hole are burned up in a fire which is built over it.
While the flesh is being cooked, this taking about two or three
hours to do, the people remain in the forepart of the grove,
to which new people continue to come from the surrounding
villages. Only the kart with his assistants remains at the
sacrificial fire. This is the time to gird round the “ little ”
tree with the sacrificial “ girdle,” which must be twisted three,
five, seven, or nine times (an odd number) round the tree.
Between the tree and the girdle a bunch of green twigs is
placed and the above-mentioned “ tassel ” is attached to the
same, the pewter figure being made fast to this.
A separate sacrifice must now be made to the “ messenger
of Jumo.” A white sheep is led into the grove and bound
yixxi-: jir
. . .. .. . . 1 ' . 0
(.c.\ ' J ' 0
fl , , . ? ?? ESdlA
PLATE XXXIV
Cheremiss Sacrificial Prayer
Ufa Government. (See page 276.)
After photograph by U. Holmberg.
SACRIFICES TO NATURE GODS
273
fast to another post. The sacrifice of this is made before the
same tree and is performed by the same kart. The ceremonies
are also the same as with the foal, except for the casting of
the pewter, the clinking of the knife against the axe, and the
whittling. At the slaughtering the blood is thrown into the
tree and fire. For the flesh of the sheep a fourth cauldron
is laid further behind on the stand. The skin is stretched
out against that of the foal, with the head towards the tree
and the legs stretched out to the right. At this time the kart
pours the honey-drink in the wooden bowls on the altar and
cuts out from the loaves the marks made on them by three
fingers, leaving them still, however, in their places.
When the sacrifice flesh is at last ready, the iww-pieces are
laid in a row in a special trough. From each piece of flesh a
piece is cut out and placed in a round wooden dish, which is
then placed at the foot of the tree. The pieces laid in the dish
are called orolek. In addition, quite small pieces are cut from
these parts of the flesh, and laid in two small wooden bowls
( suvo-korka ) of which one is dedicated to the accepter of the
sacrifice, Jumo, and the other to the intermediary, the Fire
god. Pieces are cut from the tongue at its root and from its
apex, from the head at several different places, such as the
upper and lower jaws, the parts round the eyes, and from the
gullet. In each of the bowls the loosened pieces of bread
are also placed, the ^p-parts in the first, and the ner - parts in
the second. A little porridge is also placed in each. Small
slices are also cut from the following parts in this order and
threaded on to a thin pointed stick of lime-wood: the after-
intestine, the right and left hips, the kidneys, the middle of
the breast, the heart, the aorta, the back of the neck, the
throat, the tongue, the lips, and from the liver. On examining
more closely the order of these twelve parts one notices that
they stand towards each other pretty much in the same rela-
tion as in the body of the animal. This stick with meat-
slices, called so'psar , the kart places in the sacrificial girdle with
274
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
these words: “ O, bless and protect us, great god! The shining
sacrificial horse, etc., etc. — accept it with good feeling ; with
the great iopw-meat we approach thee, give us health, pros-
perity, riches, and peace! ” The flesh remaining in the trough
from the first cauldron, together with the left part of the
“ large ” loaf and five small ones, is cut up at once to be eaten.
Fig. ii. Sacrificial Accessories
a, Silver Candlestick, b, Silver Spoon, c, Sacrificial Tassels, d, Sopsar.
e, Suldes.
The right-hand part of the “ large ” loaf and three small ones
are placed in the orolek - piece dish. When the sheep’s flesh is
ready, pieces are cut from it as in the foregoing and placed
in two silvo- ladles. No flesh-stick is made from them, nor is
oro/ek-He sh divided from the rest.
The sacrificing priest begins again to recite a prayer, holding
a knife in his right and a burning brand in his left hand, at
the close of the prayer ringing three times with the knife
against the axe, which lies on the ground before him, and
saying: “ O bless and protect us, great god! With the large
sacrificial loaf, with the great mead-dish, with the great silver
candle, with the great candlestick, with the great resin-bowl,
with the great sacrificial tree, with the great sacrificial girdle,
with the great ‘ tassel,’ and with the £ great pewter,’ we ap-
SACRIFICES TO NATURE GODS
275
proach thee; grant to us health, happiness, riches and peace.
Give family-happiness in the house, cattle-luck in the stock-
yards, grain-luck in the threshing-barn, bee-luck in the hives,
money-luck in the money-chest, give all kinds of luck and
progress! ” After which he throws the brand into the fire
and seizing the lime-branch which he had earlier whittled,
goes as usual round the fire, whittles a little from the end,
and placing himself before the tree, says: “ If thou wilt grant
family-luck in the house, let the shaving fall right.” As he
says this, he lets fall a shaving, the position of which is then
examined as before. The fifth shaving is whittled to a ques-
tion regarding cattle-luck. The sixth for the threshing-barn,
the seventh for the bee-hives, the eighth for the money-chest;
whereafter the kart whittles a ninth, saying: “ If thou, like
the rising morning mist, wilt give all kinds of blessings to us,
likewise long life, let the shaving fall right! ” These six
shavings are also laid by the others in the porridge-pan with
the bark upward.
The bough from which the shavings have been pared is
taken by the kart a third time round the fire, after which he
stands to the left of the fire, saying as he stares into the fire:
“ O great, good god! As the lime-bush in the meadows is
glad, grant to us health, happiness, wealth and peace! But
to those who regard not god as a god, the Czar as a Czar, a
man as a man, and to the one who says he can work evil to
others, give not, O god, to him that which he prays for. They
who pluck ears of rye (for magical reasons), they who pluck
out hairs from the cattle, they who 1 cut the heart and liver,’
hound them from one end of the world to the other. Health,
happiness, give; peace and riches present to all the peoples
living under the air! ”
Having said this he strikes off with the knife the top of
the bough, so that it falls into the fire. Thereafter he splits
both branches of the bough, threading on them (see Fig. 1 1, e)
the afore -mentioned shavings in the order in which they were
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
276
whittled. The object thus obtained, suldes , is besmeared with
the porridge and placed in the girdle next to the meat stick.
As he fastens it to the tree, he says: “ With the sacrificial por-
ridge, with the great suldes , we approach thee.”
-
When both the meat and the shavings have been placed in
the girdle, the congregation is called into the grove itself. In
front of the altar, a great white cloth is spread on the ground,
before which four assisting priests place themselves to pray
for every person, who, with his sleeve over his hand, brings a
sacrifice coin. While praying the priest also keeps the coin on
the sleeve drawn over his hand, as the Cheremiss believe the
naked hand defiles the coin. In these prayers, in which the
donor is always named and kneels behind the priest, the words
are as follows: “ Good, great god! (then the person’s name)
comes with a sacrifice coin to the great sacrifice tree to worship,
give him health, happiness and wealth, let him live happily
in his house with his playful family! Give him family-luck
— and all the different lucks up to money-luck — protect the
cattle in the pastures from wolves, bears, evil sicknesses, and
from the thieves who move in the night. Protect the seed
from destructive frosts, from heat that might wither it, from
heavy storms, from violent thunder-storms, and from all
insects, that he might have bread to give also to the needy.
Give all kinds of blessings to him! ” As he finishes the prayer,
the priest allows the coin to fall from his sleeve to the cloth.
Those who have been hindered from coming to the festival
send money by others, and prayers are read for them also.
When each donor has been prayed for, which, although there
are four priests, takes some time, the congregation fall on
their knees in parallel rows behind the sacrificing priest. The
essential festival-prayer of the day, often lasting half an hour,
is now begun, the kart praying for all that is good in the eyes
of the Cheremiss, chiefly for children in the house, cattle in
the yard, but mostly for great stacks in the threshing-barn.
Having prayed for all blessings, he prays to the god for
PLATE XXXV
In Government Vyatka the Cheremiss priest prays
to god with accompaniment of a stringed instrument
(kiisle). (See page 277.)
Water-colour by V. Soldan-Brofeldt.
SACRIFICES TO NATURE GODS
277
many kinds of protection. Further, he thanks the god for
having attended the sacrifices with fortune and accepted the
offerings in good feeling. Finally he prays for pardon,
should he have said last that which should come first, or vice
versa. After each prayer the congregation bow their fore-
heads to the ground. The kart then makes a speech to the
people, urging them to live in harmony, to avoid quarrels,
not to take another’s property, also not to lie, not to bear false
witness, not to drink too much spirits, etc. The congregation
then rises and the elder people go to shake the kart y s hand in
thanks.
Soon the congregation go on their knees again. The kart
takes Jumo’s drinking-bowl and two assistants the .wud-bowls,
after which they follow one another, keeping to the right,
round the fire, stopping on the left side of the same, where the
contents of the bowls are thrown into the fire. The kart pours
twice from his bowl, the first time to Jumo, the second to the
Fire god, to whom also the /wvd-bowls are sacrificed. As he
sacrifices to Jumo he says: “ O great, good god! the great
sacrificial drinking-bowl, the great Jzwo-bowls have we
brought. Accept them with good feeling! ” To the Fire god
he says: “ Fire god, thy smoke is high, and thy tongue sharp,
take the sacrifice up with the smoke and steam and bear it
to the great god! ” Immediately afterwards a drink-offering
and a r^o-sacrifice is made in the same way to “ Jumo’s mes-
senger,” and the Fire god. From the great meat-trough, an
assisting priest takes a piece also to the fire built on the place
where the foal was slaughtered, and sheep’s flesh to the fire
on the place of the sheep’s slaughtering. In both cases he
turns to the Fire god and prays that the last drop of blood
might be burned up, those also that possibly have spattered
further.
The kart now gives to eight assisting persons (“ goblet-
bearers ”) each his bowl, saying in which god’s honour each
shall cast the contents into the fire. The “ goblet-bearers ”
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
278
pass round the fire in the direction of the sun, stopping to the
left of the same. This round is made several times, the sacri-
ficing priest refilling the bowls each time and naming new gods
to be remembered. Thus, all the Cheremiss gods and spirits,
from the highest to the lowest, obtain their share of this sacri-
fice. After this drink-sacrifice the bowls are replaced in their
former order.
The kart now prays alone, with a bowl in his hand, casting
three times from it also on to the sacred tree, saying: “ Accept
our prayer, give justice and peace to all the peoples under the
heavens! ” Repeating this prayer he throws soup from the
trough on to the tree with a ladle. The assisting priest does
the same also once.
The congregation then seat themselves on the grass. Two
assisting priests go three times in the direction of the sun
round the fire, shaking heartily all the sacrificial objects on the
trough, the bowls, the dishes, the cloths, the “little ” sacrifice
tree, the animal’s skin, etc., saying: “This is for thee.”
It is nearly evening when the sacrificial meal is begun.
First, the porridge and the honey-drink are tasted, everyone
wishing each other happiness and prosperity. After this the
bread and meat in the Hw-dishes are shared out, and lastly
the rest of the food, excepting the orolek , the people sitting
on the ground and eating greedily after nearly a day’s fast.
All the remains and the bones are gathered together. When
the meat from the head has been eaten, the kart places the
bones in their natural order in the fire. The “ little ” sac-
rifice tree with the objects attached to it is also burnt up.
More wood is then laid on the fire, and over the crackling
flames assistants hold the skin by sticks fastened to the head,
the tail and the feet. The kart goes round the burning skin
with a fire-brand in his left, and a “ resin-bowl ” in his right,
and stands to the left of the fire, saying, as he pours the con-
tents of the bowl into the fire: “ Say not, that we burned an
empty hide 3 a great resin-bowl we set up on it.” The already
SACRIFICES TO NATURE GODS
279
mentioned “ silver bridle ” is also thrown upon the burning
skin. Finally, the “ stand ” for the resin-bowls is also burnt
up. The sheep-skin is not burnt by the Cheremiss, but given
to the kart , who receives no other honorarium for his services}
or it may be sold for the benefit of the sacrifice fund, or some-
times, the former owner of the animal may have reserved the
right to it.
Together with the orolek- pieces, the candlestick, the other
half of the “ large ” loaf, and three small ones without
“ noses ” are left at the foot of the tree, as sacrifices have still
to be made on the following morning. Neither is the fire ex-
tinguished with the fall of evening, but allowed to illuminate
the grove through the night. Early in the morning, at sun-
rise, the so-called cwA^-sacrifice is carried out, in which those
who have passed the night in the grove, take part. From the
pieces of meat left over to this day, a small piece is cut again
into two bowls as on the preceding day. The rest is sliced
into a larger dish. From the large half-loaf a piece is also
added to each smaller bowl. Besides these a bowl of drink is
placed on the cloth before the tree, together with three small
loaves, and the coins which were dug up on the day before.
The candle is lit. The kart takes a brand in his left and a
knife in his right hand, ringing as before three times on the
axe, and reminding the god again of the shining sacrifice foal.
Having encircled the fire and thrown in the brand, he stands
before the tree and reads a prayer nearly as long as that said
on the preceding day. After the prayer everyone shakes his
hand in thanks. The priest himself now sacrifices the drinking-
bowl, and two assistants the meat-bowls as on the day before,
the prayers also being the same. The presenting of the sacri-
ficial objects and the eating of the orolek-ft.t sh follows, with
the former expressions of good wishes. All remains, even the
candlestick, are thrown into the fire. The coins dug up
( onapit-oksa , “ the sacrifice tree coins ”) to which a few copper
coins have been added, are hidden again in the earth. While
28 o
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
doing this, the kart says: “ Sacrifice tree, do not say we left
thee empty! ”
The ceremonies at the other trees are similar, the gods of
the sun, thunder, wind, or some other god being the object
of worship to be sacrificed to either on the same day or later
in the festival. The tokens of honour to the different gods
do not end, however, with the sacrifices, but during the whole
of the festival, the fires burn before the different trees, as
well as those lit quite early, a long prayer being read at them
each day. Sometimes the “messenger of Jumo ” is not sacri-
ficed to until the close of the festival. Then, from all the
priests standing under the sacrifice tree, a peculiar murmur
of prayer is heard, the echo of which in the centuries-old grove
cannot but awaken reverence.
When the sacrificial fire, after the finish of the festival, is
allowed to go out, the priest who has sacrificed at the same,
sweeps together the ashes, saying: “ Should a man blunder
on to thee, may he become happy ; if a dog, may he obtain
a good weather-sense; if cattle, may they increase greatly.”
Those who wish, may still go to a specially reserved room in
the village, where pancakes are eaten and mead and beer
drunk, and the deities, to whom sacrifices have been made,
are remembered.
It is only natural that divergences may occur in the dif-
ferent mer. This need not, however, depend on the distance
between them; among the Western Cheremiss the same cus-
toms as were described in the foregoing are followed. As an
example of different usages, it may be mentioned that in some
places, the “girdle” is bound fast, together with the objects
attached to it, to the living sacrifice tree, on which it remains as
a pledge until the following festival. The number of shav-
ings inserted in the hddes - branches also varies (cf. the Scan-
dinavian blots fan). While the shavings are being whittled, it
is noted in some places which side of them falls upward.
Likewise the number of slices of meat and their order on the
ire
O v JAvr: 1 ..
r' A / ./I
' : X
a/ 1 - . ? ' k X' ? ’
PLATE XXXVI
Cheremiss Priests at the Festival to
Nature-Gods
Vyatka Government. (See page 280.)
After photograph by U. Holmberg.
SACRIFICES TO NATURE GODS
281
stick vary. Why the piece of liver should be placed on the
point of the stick, while the others are placed in some kind of
natural order, the Cheremiss could not explain. Could it be
connected with the custom in some places of commencing the
eating of sacrificial flesh with the liver? The most important
incident in all sacrifices among the Volga peoples, as among
the ancient Greeks, was the trial by water of the sacrificial
animal.
CHAPTER XVIII
THE SHAMAN
I N THE earlier beliefs of the Lapps, the shaman ( noidde )
played a part important enough to justify the application
of the term “ shaman religion.” Everywhere, and in every-
thing where the wishes of the spirits had to be consulted,
the shaman was a necessary medium. In addition, he filled
at times the post of sacrificing priest. His fame was therefore
great and his position among the people a leading one. The
more powerful shamans possessed titles such as u the ruler
of the mountains ” or “ the king of the mountains.” Their
fame spread wide among the Lapp villages and their names
were preserved from generation to generation.
The high reputation and position of the shaman among
the Lapps appear also in an account from the beginning of the
eighteenth century, in which it is stated that the shaman, on
arriving at the tent of the Lapp, was met by the members of
the family who, with heads bared, came out to meet him and
thank him for the help he had already given them. He was
given a new reindeer-skin to sit on, the best available food and
drink were set before him, and when he remained overnight,
the best sleeping-place was given up to him. It is further re-
lated that the shaman received a tax, paid biannually. Be-
sides this, he received a special reward for each service, its
size depending on whether his aid had been requested for the
finding of some lost object, for the curing of the sick, or to
offer up sacrifice. In addition to money, articles of silver,
or clothes, he was also given reindeer. Were he not served
and looked after in every way, it was believed he could bring
about many kinds of misfortune . 1
THE SHAMAN
283
But though the office of shaman brought thus both honour
and riches, it was not open to everybody to take up this pro-
fession, certain psychic qualities being necessary in its service.
The gifts essential for a shaman often ran in the same family,
appearing either early in childhood or also after some severe
illness . 2 The Arctic peoples would seem to be specially, in-
clined to nervous diseases. The merest trifle scares them,
they faint on the slightest provocation or become furious,
when they act like maniacs . 3 The shaman uses at times arti-
ficial stimulants to assist the coming of a trance. The Lapp
shaman-drink was prepared of soda boiled from birch-wood
ash, or of seal-fat, or from many other materials. By drink-
ing such liquids it was believed that the shaman could harden
his body so that not even the sharpest knife could penetrate
it. Neither could fire or water destroy a great shaman. He
could even seat himself naked on a glowing fireplace and
scatter fire and burning cinders over his body without the
least danger . 4
People with shamanistic talent were believed to be able to
converse with the spirits living under the ground, these last
appearing also in material form to them, in particular on the
occasion of their being first called to the office of shaman.
When these spirits, called noidde-gadse (“ shaman people ”)
by the Lapps, offered their help to a young shaman, they
laid stress on the fact of having served also his father and his
forefathers. Should he evince disinclination to accept their
services, they would use threats and even force, stories being
related in which spirits pressed the persons in questions to such
an extent that an early decay and even death resulted. Where
the Lapp listened to their call, the spirits were extremely
devoted to him, helping him and teaching him the arts of
shamanism. This schooling generally took place either on
the ground in some lonely place, or the pupil was led to the
underworld to imbibe there the wisdom of former shamans.
At the first call of the spirits, the missionaries relate that the
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
284
Lapp behaved like one mentally afflicted, was unable to bear
his wife, his children, or his servants, but forsaking these
wandered around in the forests or on the mountains . 6
The shaman could not, however, keep up his practice for
the whole of his life. Generally he became unfit for office in
his fiftieth year and was never employed afterwards in any
important task. But he might lose his position even earlier,
as a body free from any disfigurement was demanded of a
shaman as sacrificer, even the losing of a tooth disqualifying
him for office . 6
-
As soon as a shaman had begun to practise, the spirits began
to live more freely in his company. That these were the
spirits of the dead is shown by the fact that they lived in the
“ holy mountains,” from which the shaman could at will call
them to his service. When travelling in strange districts they
formed reliable guides. On hunting or fishing trips they were
his trusty protectors, proving their allegiance by giving him
rich hauls. Even his property and herds of reindeer were
looked after by these willing servants. In addition, the shaman
would seem to have possessed a special tutelary genius, as it
is said that when about to proceed to a distant market-place, he
would send a spirit to see whether the buyer had arrived.
After a while this spirit would return and relate the circum-
stances there. In the same way, when the shaman was away,
the spirit would bring news of his family and herds. Coming
events were also foretold by it to its owner. This spirit, which
procured all manner of news for the shaman, was obviously
the shaman’s own mobile “ soul.” 7
This tutelary spirit the shaman could also use against his
enemies. When two shamans quarrelled, e.g., at some fair
when both were drunk, they would attempt to show one an-
other which of them owned the more powerful spirit. They
sat down opposite one another and began their arts. It was
believed that their spirits fought with one another in the guise
of reindeer-bulls. The one possessing the strongest “ rein-
.
.
«! - . . ? -
...
(,;U yq * ' ?
PLATE XXXVII
1. Lapp shaman’s bowl-drum. Front, back and
side views.
2. Lapp shaman’s sieve-drum. Front, back and
side views.
The drum was used as a medium of excitation by
the shaman or of invoking a trance, and also for
divination. (See page 287.)
THE SHAMAN 285
deer-bull ” emerged from the contest as the winner. “ Sha-
man-birds ” were also used in these contests. 8
The spirit of the shaman was called sueje (originally
“ shadow ”) by the Scandinavian Lapps. 9 The fact that this
is supposed to be able to take on the shape of a reindeer, a fish,
a bird, or a snake shows that the sueje- animal in Northern Lap-
mark, corresponds with the shaman-animals which, according
to the Southern Lapps, assist the shaman when, during a period
of unconsciousness, he visits the underworld. Such animals
were the “ wuo-reindeer-bull,” the “ saivo- bird,” the “ saivo-
fish ” and the “ .ww-snake.” 10 The missionary J. Kildal,
who assumes that these animals lived in the holy mountains,
points out how they differed from the other inhabitants of the
mountain, the shaman possessing several of the latter, but
only one “ holy mountain bird,” one “ holy mountain fish ”
and one “ holy mountain reindeer.” 11 Another missionary
draws attention to the fact that “ the c salvo- fish ’ is not one
of the gods of the underworld, although its services are called
into account when journeying there.” 12 One can plainly see
that these animals were soul-animals, in the shape of which
the shaman’s soul moved during its separation from the body.
Like a reindeer-bull it hurried over the land, like a bird it
flew through the air, like a fish it swam through the water, and
like a snake it wriggled into the earth. The same idea is con-
tained in the following account by J. Kildal: “When two
shamans send their 1 reindeer-bulls ’ to fight together, the re-
sult is that according as the competing 1 reindeer ’ win or lose,
the shaman owning the same wins or loses ; should one £ rein-
deer ’ break off a horn from the other, the shaman owning the
injured one becomes ill; should one ‘reindeer’ kill another,
the shaman, whose c reindeer ’ is killed, dies. In these combats
it occurs also, that the shamans owning the ‘ reindeer ’ become
as tired and exhausted as their ‘ reindeer.’ ” The same author
relates also that when the shaman falls into a trance, “ he
journeyed in his 1 saivo- fish ’ to the underworld, and when
286
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
he wakes from his trance, the ‘ fish ’ has brought him back
uninjured to his body, again.” 13 Jessen is able further to affirm
that “ the louder a shaman can sing, the longer is his snake.” 14
The Finns also relate in their tales how the Lapps fly in the
shape of birds through the air; when one of these is shot
down, the Lapp tumbles to the ground. These soul-animals
were sometimes pictured on the magic drums.
The power of thus taking on different forms is essential for
the shaman’s soul to overcome difficulties particularly in the
underworld, and especially when bringing back the soul of
someone sick, which during the time it moved about without
a body has been carried off to the underworld by the spirits.
These last give back with great reluctance the souls falling
into their power. The Lapps believed them to know before-
hand when the shaman had decided to visit them. On such
occasions they bolted their doors well, but a clever shaman
could always hit upon some little crevice through which his
soul could creep in. Often a severe fight was waged between
the inhabitants of the underworld and the shaman, until the
former, against a fixed sacrifice, were willing to compromise.
When the bargain had been concluded, the shaman’s soul
brought the soul in question back to its home “ over mountains
and valleys, with such speed that the stones and sand flew
about.” 15
The shaman must also go to the underworld when accom-
panying the soul of some dead person, and when he had to
bring thence the soul of some departed relative, e.g., to herd
the cattle . 16
Besides taking the form of the above mentioned animals,
believed also by the Samoyeds to be the method of super-
natural journeying adopted by their shaman, the Lapps be-
lieved that the soul of the shaman could fly in the form of a
whirlwind, relics of a similar belief having also been noted
in Finland.
Of flying in the form of fire, an interesting report comes
THE SHAMAN
287
from the Norwegian Lapp territory. When two Lapps quar-
relled, they sat down on the ground and began to sing that
their salvo would send them their “ light,” which was believed
to be a flame of the Aurora Borealis. When these M lights ”
met in the sky, they fought with one another, during which
battle the shamans lay on the ground, practising intensely their
art. A terrible noise and crackling in the sky accompanied
these duels. The one whose “ light ” gradually, faded, fell
ill j were it totally extinguished, the shaman died . 17 From this
method of flying through the air like a flame, the Finnish
term “ Fire -Lapp ” is derived.
The most important instrument of the shaman was his drum,
the skin of which during the close of the heathen period was
always furnished with numerous drawings and figures, painted
on with the juice from alder-bark or with reindeer blood.
Often, the heaven with the sun and moon and other gods,
the earth with tents and storehouses, forest and domestic
animals, fishing-waters, etc., and the underworld with its in-
habitants were pictured on the drum. The pictures were not
always alike, neither was their order the same on all drums.
In the shape of the drum, not only in regard to size, but also
to construction, dissimilarities may be found. G. Hallstrom,
who has studied Lapp drums in many museums, classifies them
according to their construction into two chief groups, of which
one may be called sieve-shaped, and the other bowl-shaped . 18
The sieve-shaped drum, which seems to have been much
more widely used than the bowl-drum, was prepared by
stretching the skin over a band of wood of about the width
of the palm of the hand. The wood had, if possible, to be
without knots, and the ends were bent together and fastened
with wooden plugs or twisted twigs. The form of the sieve-
drum was generally oval, one end being seldom broader than
the other. The handle was a narrow cross-piece of wood
fastened to the back.
The bowl-drum was fashioned out of a hollowed piece of
288
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
wood so that this formed a rounded bowl, over the open
mouth of which the skin was stretched. Two long, narrow
holes were cut in the bottom, leaving a handle between. It
was further decorated with carved figures and small holes,
which strengthened the sound. The body was oval in shape,
of an egg-form. The size of the bowl-drum varied little, as
it was always made of one tree, while the sieve-shaped drums
were at times extremely large.
The variety of these drums appears also in the pictures on
the skin. On the sieve-drum these usually formed a common
circle in the midst of which the sun was placed. The latter
is generally square, four fine rays reaching out from each
corner ; only seldom is its shape round. The surface of the
bowl-drum is again divided by horizontal lines into two or
more parts. Over these lines figures stand in a row, the upper
being the Heaven gods. On these drums the sun does not
take a dominating position as it does on the sieve-drums.
Mixed forms are also to be found.
Further, the drums vary in their ornamentation. The sieve-
drum, which resembles the Siberian drums, is, like the latter,
often furnished with small metal-wire belts or chains, on
which various silver, brass, and iron jingles are hung. These
belts and chains are fastened to the back of the drums either
to the wooden band or the handle. The ornaments fastened
to the bowl-drum are generally the claws of wild animals, the
ears or hair of forest animals, etc. Often these decorations
are missing, when they are replaced by the figures cut in the
handle. This last-named drum would seem to be a Lapp
original, and according to our present knowledge, was known
chiefly in Lule and Torne Lapmark.
Besides ornaments and bells, a beautifully carved hammer
with two branches, made of reindeer-horn and often covered
with skin, belonged with the drum, and at least in later times,
also a ring or bunch of rings or another metal object called
arpa (“ die ”) by the Finnish Lapps.
PLATE XXXVIII
In some places among the Cheremiss the sacrifice
girdle is bound fast, together with the objects attached
to it, to the living sacrifice tree, on which it remains
as a pledge until the following festival. (See page
280.)
According to water-colour by A. Reinholm.
i
THE SHAMAN
Fig. 12.
Shaman Hammer
289
The shaman held his drum in great respect; to prevent it
being looked on by anybody, it was often kept in a case of skin
in the inner part of the tent. According to the Lapps, the
drum was desecrated should a woman touch
it. These last were not even allowed to go
over a road, along which a drum had been
transported, for the next three days. Were
a woman to do this, the Lapps believed death
or some other misfortune would follow.
But, if for some reason or other, a crossing
could not be prevented, the woman must
sacrifice a ring of brass to the drum. As a
matter of precaution, the drum was taken out
through the backdoor and, in removal, it was placed in the last
sleigh. Where possible it was taken along roads never trav-
elled before by anybody. Were the sanctity of the drum
violated in any way, it was regarded as useless. Were it
angered, it was believed to be able to express its dissatisfaction
by weeping or threats. The older a drum handed down from
one generation to another became, the greater the honour ac-
corded it . 19
At the close of the heathen period, the magic drum became
general in use. As Christians with the Bible, says Friis, so
nearly every Lapp family possessed a drum. From the Lapps
converted by him, von Westen received over a hundred magic
drums. Yet every Lapp who owned a drum was not actually
a shaman, but used it for purposes of divination, for his own
benefit. Whatever the Lapp was about to engage in, removal,
hunting, fishing, or if he desired to know the whereabouts of
his reindeer lost in the mountains, or the source of some trouble
in his life, or whenever he wished to appease his gods by
sacrifice, he turned always to his drum, asking its advice . 20
When a Lapp thus wished to divine the future in some mat-
ter or other, he clad himself as for a feast. He washed,
combed his hair, and put on his best clothes. The same was
290
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
done also by the others taking part in this holy act. The
neighbours came in their red and blue jackets, ornamented with
rings, gleaming neck-chains, etc. When beginning the act
the questioner knelt down on his left knee, holding the drum
horizontally in his left hand, and placed the above mentioned
ring first on the picture of the sun, beginning then to tap
carefully round it with the hammer so that the ring danced
gently up and down. At the same time he sang a song. If
the ring now moved round in the direction of the sun, it was
regarded as a good sign, the opposite foreboding an accident,
sickness, or other misfortune. From the figure on which the
ring remained for a longer period towards the end, the answer
to the question asked of the spirits was decided. On hunting
or fishing trips a good haul was assured if the ring paused at
the figures of a forest animal or a fishing-water. Where the
ring paused at the drawing of a god, it was a sign that this god
wished a sacrifice. In asking whether a sacrificial animal was
pleasing to a god, a hair from the animal’s neck was wound
round the ring. Should the ring not pause now at the figure
of the god in question, it was believed that the god would not
accept the animal. Another was then chosen, and still others,
the same procedure being gone through until the ring showed
the sacrifice to be pleasing. When the ring moved over to
the figures representing the underworld or jumped off the
drum, it meant death or some other great misfortune. 21.
The above was not, however, the original purpose of the
drum. Certain of the missionaries relate that when the sha-
man earlier acted as above, he excited himself by banging
violently on the drum with the hammer to such an extent that
at last he would fall into a trance. In a description written
down in Swedish Lapmark it is stated that when a Lapp
wished to know of something happening in a distant neigh-
bourhood, he laid the brass ring on the figure of the sun and
commenced beating the drum with the forked drumstick. As
the ring jumped from one figure to another, backwards and
THE SHAMAN
291
forwards, the shaman sang a peculiar song in which all the
other Lapps present, male or female, joined in. The men
had, however, to sing louder than the women. In the song,
the name of the mountain in which the spirits capable of giving
the desired information were supposed to dwell, was repeated
every now and then; similarly, the name of the district from
which news was desired. As the shaman beat longer on his
drum and sang louder and louder, he became more and more
excited until the ring paused at one spot, the face of the drum-
mer darkened, and he sank on his knees still increasing the
volume of his song, until finally he dropped to the ground
like one dead. At this point care had to be taken that no
article touched the shaman’s unconscious body, as, if this
happened, the Lapps believed that the spirit would no longer
return to it. The men and women present had to continue
singing until the shaman returned to consciousness. He was
then reminded of the case in question and the matter concern-
ing which knowledge was required. The shaman was at this
time tired out and perspiring, as though he had performed
some heavy task, and he now began to relate all he had dis-
covered during his trance . 22
According to this last description, the Lapps used the drum
for two different purposes at the same time, but generally
the two uses were kept separate. As an instrument of divina-
tion, the drum was used only for unimportant questions, e.g.,
success on hunting or fishing trips. For these, any male
person could make use of his drum, without being an actual
shaman. But in the case of serious misfortunes, such as severe
sickness, the cause of these was sought in an unconscious con-
dition, in the attaining of which the drum was used as an
excitant. Here a real shaman had to be applied to, as he
only could visit the spirits dwelling under the earth, from
whom sickness and misfortunes in general were supposed to
emanate. The cause of an illness was either the desire of
some earlier departed person for the company of a relative,
292
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
or a punishment for some misdemeanour or the omitting of a
duty. The collapse of the sick person was due to the stealing
of his soul by the underground spirits, or the carrying away
of some article in close contact with him, e.g., a shoe, headgear,
or a mitten. It was the duty of the shaman to discover what
the spirits of the departed required, why they were angrv,
and by what means they could be appeased, so that the sick
would be left in peace . 23
When, in cases of sickness, the shaman was about to under-
take a voyage to the underworld, he called together, according
to Leem, his helping spirits, which latter arrived invisible to
others. It was necessary that two women should be present
in holiday costume, with kerchiefs over their heads but with-
out belts, a man without cap and belt, and a half-grown girl.
When all these were assembled, the shaman bared his head,
opened his belt and unfastened his shoe-strings, covered his
face, and placing his hands by his sides bent his body backward
and forward, shouting: “Harness the reindeer! — Push out
the boat! ” Intoxicated with gin he began thereafter to pluck
brands out of the fire with his naked hands, strike himself on
the legs with an axe and swing the latter with both hands
over his shoulders} then running three times round the as-
sisting females with the axe, he sank unconscious to the floor.
In this state, no one might touch him, and he must be watched
over so closely that not even a fly could settle on him. The
soul was believed to be wandering in the underworld, some-
where in the holy mountains, while the body lay unconscious.
The women present whispered together, trying to guess where
the spirit at that moment was. Should they hit on the exact
place while going through the names of the holy places, the
shaman moved either an arm or a leg. At the same time they
tried by intensive concentration to follow all that the shaman
might hear or see. When the latter at last began to awaken
to life and with a weak voice faltered the beginning of the
song, the women also raised their voices and joined in. Fi-
-
THE SHAMAN
293
nally, the shaman declared the cause of the sickness, and the
deity to whom sacrifice had to be made, and informed them
of the nature of the animal and the place for the sacrifice,
guaranteeing that the sick would recover within a certain
period . 24
Leem does not, however, make any mention of the magic
drum, whereas Jessen expressly says that the shaman used this
instrument as a means of invoking the trance . 25 In this way,
the missionary Olsen also describes the Lapp shaman’s falling
into a trance, or “ diving,” as they themselves call it. The
latter further points out that the shaman had always to have
as assistant another person to awaken him out of the trance.
This assistant was a woman, where possible, a virgin. The
duty of the woman was to seek out the soul of the shaman
as it wandered in the interior of the mountains or under the
lakes, and lead it back to the body. Should the awakener be
incapable of fulfilling this duty, the shaman would never
wake again from his trance. Other antagonistic shamans
could also lead the shaman’s soul astray during its wanderings
in the underworld and in this way prevent it from returning.
Many shamans are said to have remained on their dangerous
journey. It is not therefore surprising that the shaman, on
his return to life, praised his awakener with many flattering
terms . 26
Like the Siberian shaman, the Lapp noidde used his drum
originally only as a medium of excitation. The use of the
magic drum as a method of divination is obviously of later
origin.
In the oldest accounts of the shamanizing of the Lapps
which have been preserved, dating from the thirteenth century,
the magic drum is spoken of solely as a means of excitation.
In these accounts the wonderful manner of the Lapps of
prophesying coming events, of following events in distant
places, of finding hidden treasures, of resisting sickness —
even, at times, death, are all described. The following in-
294
FINNO-UGRIC MYTHOLOGY
cident is related as an example. Certain Norwegian merchants
had once visited the Lapps and were sitting at table when the
hostess was suddenly stricken by illness and died. While the
guests were expressing their fear that some envious shaman
had caused her death, and even the Lapps in their confusion
did not know what to do, a shaman rose, spread out a cloth
Under which he placed himself, and began to shamanise.
Soon he lifted up an object like a sieve on which was portrayed
a whale, a reindeer with a sleigh, and a boat with oars, these
being the means used by the shaman’s soul in hurrying over
the high snow-clad mountains and the deep seas. Having
sung and danced a long time on the floor, he finally fell down,
becoming black in the face. Foam appeared on his lips, his
stomach burst open, and, with a fearful cry, life left him.
The visitors then turned to another shaman for knowledge
of the fate of the two lying dead. This shaman accomplished
his task with such success that the hostess arose quite whole
and related the fate of the first shaman. When the first
shaman, in the shape of a whale, had hurried over a lake,
an antagonistic shaman had seized the opportunity to lie in
wait for his enemy in the form of a sharp post, with the result
that the belly of the whale was split. This accident had
shown itself on the body of the shaman . 27
The objects mentioned in the above as being portrayed on
the drum are probably the very earliest pictures on the Lapp
drum, their object being originally, like the pictures on the
Siberian drum, to give wings to the shaman’s fantasy by re-
minding him of the means of locomotion which his soul was
believed to need, and the forms of the animals in whose
shape he was supposed to make the journey to the underworld.
On some of the Lapp drums, these pictures may be seen to
occupy a central position, round which, during the develop-
ment of the drum as an instrument of divination, later draw-
ings have gradually been grouped.
Shamans, who with the help of magic drums have fallen
PLATE XXXIX
Samoyed Shaman
(See chapter XVIII.)
After photograph by K. Donner.
THE SHAMAN
295
into trances, have been met with also among the Ugrian
peoples. Here also the shaman possesses a special protecting
spirit, “ head spirit,” said to protect him on his journeys to
the other world. In tales, the “ bear-like spirit ” of the
shaman is often mentioned, this being doubtless a metamor-
phosis of his soul. Images of such “ soul-animals ” are very
likely the animal-like objects of wood or metal found in the
graves of shamans. The Ostiak shaman, like those of the
Samoyeds and of the majority of the Siberian peoples, seems,
at least in the more northern districts, to have attired himself
for his functions in special apparel, a fact unknown in the very
oldest accounts of the Lapp shaman. From the scanty existing
accounts of the earlier Ostiak shamans it would seem that
they, in general, and even in the matter of their drums, were
nearly related to those of the Samoyeds and the other Siberian
peoples. 28
The other Finno-Ugric peoples who possibly possessed
shamans at an earlier date have for a long period used more
modern methods of prophesying their fate. Not even the
earlier accounts contain any mention of the use of magic drums
among them. And yet, the author of the “ Life of St.
Stephen ” (d. 1396) mentions that the Siryan magicians could
“ on that same day, and at the very moment ” know “ what was
happening in a distant neighbourhood, in another town, in the
ninth land.” 29 Most probably this happened in an ecstatic
state. A similar condition is perhaps intended by the phrase
in a Russian Chronicle, in which it is related how a Nov-
gorodian visited a Chudic magician in 1071, the latter w lying
dumb ” while he invoked the spirits to his aid. 30 For the
shaman’s falling into a trance, the Finns have to this day a
special expression ( langeta loveen , “ fall into trance ”) which
may, however, have been used originally with regard to the
Lapp shaman. Further it may be pointed out that the Lapp
name noidde (“ shaman ”) occurs also in the Finnish noita.