Bear is one of the largest predators in Europe
and can weigh up to 300 kilograms. For Finland, the cultural significance of
the bear is - reflected in the fact that it is Finland’s
national animal. The pagan religion prevailed before Christianity, - and the bear was a sacred animal to the pagan
Finns. According to ancient religion, - the people’s relationship to nature culminated
in the bear, - because it was the most powerful and mighty
animal. However, saying the bear’s real name (Ohto)
was a taboo, - and for that reason lots of euphemisms were
used. This was the way to avoid inviting the beast
to your land. The bear had hundreds of nicknames and some
were otso, kontio, - mesikämmen (= "nectar palm”), - metsän omena (= “apple of the forest”),
metsän kuningas (= “the king of the forest”), nalle (= teddy), - kouki, lehmänpelko (= “the fear of the
cow”), vihtahousu, mettänäijä and Tapio. The name Tapio comes from the old pagan God
called Tapio. The word Tapio means forest and for the ancient
Finns, Tapio was the god of the forest. Thus, the bear was named Tapio and the king
of the forest. The bear’s name, as it’s used today (“karhu”),
- comes from the euphemism that means “rough
fur”. One nick name for the bear is Lalli which
strongly refers to a peasant who lived in the 12th century. Lalli murdered Henry the bishop of Finland
in 1156. This theory is supported by the thesis which
affiliate with the January 19th - when it’s nameday for Heikki and Henry’s
commemoration day. To that date an expression “On the day of
Heikki’s the back of the winter folds and the bear turns over” - which means that the bear’s hibernation
period is halfway. According to the sayings the bear wakes up
from its’ hibernation on April 23rd the St. George’s Day. The bear has three different birth myths. In the 19th century Elias Lönnrot wrote the
Finnish national epic called Kalevala which is full of poems. One poem reads how the bear was born in the
shade of a forest. This is a reference to how ancient Finns believed
how the bear was born in the womb of Hongatar. Hongatar is the “emuu” of the bears which
means the ancestress of the animal species. One story tells how Ukko threw wool in the
water. Ukko is the supreme God of the pagans - and he is the God of weather, harvest and
thunder. There isn’t much information about this
story on the internet. However, the most significant birth myth is
the birth in the heavens It is believed that the story originated from
the Ob-Ugric people called Mansi, located in Siberia. The Mansi people have similar beliefs and
rituals as the ancient pagans, - and probably the Mansi are the native storytellers
of these lores. In the birth poem the bear is the son of God
Torum and he is looking to the ground from the clouds. The bear begs for his father to let him descend
on the Earth. Torum refuses his son three times until he
gives in. Torum lowered his son in a cradle to the ground
while giving him detailed instructions on what to do and what not to do. He should not disturb the people, holy places or the deceased. He should just eat the food of the forest. However, the berries from the forests diminished
and the bear grew hungry. He broke his father’s promises. Because of this, Torum allowed people to kill
his son. When this was done, the ritual called “Peijaiset”
was born. The ritual was a way to give the Torum’s
son back to the heavens. The Big Dipper that was mentioned in the birth
poem, was an important constellation to the ancient Finns - and it was often used for example in orienteering. The Big Dipper is part of a star system called
Ursa Major (“The Great Bear”). Maybe Torum descended his son with the Big
Dipper. The word “Peijaiset” is an old Finnish
word and it means the celebration or funeral. The bear was a dangerous predator, and therefore
was hunted by strict rituals. This ritual hunting was divided into three
main periods: 1. The killing of the bear 2. Peijaiset – the celebration And 3. Returning the soul of the bear The hunting usually took place when the bear
was in hibernation. Hunting was usually done by men and the men
had precise rules on how to do the killing: they had to be in celibacy, wash thoroughly
and wear clean clothes before hunting. It was also important that the bear was not
hunted in its’ nest and it had to be woken up with a song. This may have something to do with the shamanistic
soul perception - when someone is asleep their soul is departed
from their body. If the rite failed, the bear’s soul would
become evil or restless. In some places the hunters took an orphan
girl with them to the bear’s nest - as if to lure the bear’s soul back into
the bear. The fallen bear accompanied by songs was brought
to the clean cottage so the Peijaiset could begin. The bear’s pelt was placed on the wall and
the skull was placed in a pot. The festival included bear soup, rye bread,
beer and home-made booze. However, cow meat could not be served as the
bear is the cattle’s enemy. The bones from the bear had to be garnered
to a bowl. The bear’s head was eaten clean, and its’
teeth were removed to be distributed among the hunters. After the banquet, the teeth were pulled from
the skull and poems were uttered: “Ampulintu”-word is quite hard to translate,
but the word refers to the bear’s way of whistling. According to some hunter observations the
noise is born when the bear gets a scent, - others think that bear can whistle. The old folk believed that whistling could
invite the Devil himself. There are different views of the bear in different
places of Finland; - in some places it is absolutely forbidden
to kill and eat bear, - and in other places it was believed that when
you ate the bear’s meat, - it would transfer the beast’s powers to
the eater. In the cultivating community’s eating song
bear’s sense of smell, sight, hearing and the sharpness of its’ nails were taken away. This way the bear was made harmless. It was normal during Peijaiset to act different
kinds of plays, sing, eat and drink. The event brought the people of the village
together. The subject of the plays were weddings. Peijaiset were wedding-kind of parties, but
in the old Finnish language the word meant funeral. In a way the occasion was a funeral for the
killed bear. When the Peijaiset were in the final stages,
the bear’s soul needed to be returned back to the heavens - “on the shoulders of the Big Dipper” - so the bear could be reborn. This ritual was the way to benefit that in
the future the hunting would be as successful. People believed that the animal’s reincarnation - and Peijaiset were a way to appease the prey
so it would want to return back to the forest. The people of the village stood up and carried
the bear’s skull and teeth to the forest. At the same time songs were recited. They hung bear’s skull on a pine tree branch. The tree was called Karhunkallohonka (= “bear
skull pine”). After that they buried the bones at the foot
of said pine tree. The tree was considered to be a link between
the earth and the heavens. In ancient Finnish beliefs the bear had a
strong bond with human species. It was believed because the bear could walk
on two legs and climb, it had to be partly human. It was also believed that the bear was able
to read thoughts, understand speech, take on human form and vice versa. There is a belief among the ancient people
that their ancestor was a bear - who took the form of a man, fell in love with
a human girl, took her to his hibernaculum. Their descendants grew into the bear folk. According to the old lore the women have had
a special relationship with the bears. During Peijaiset the women had to avoid the
dead bear, - because it was believed that women could become
pregnant by the bear’s spirit. One of the most common beliefs was that a
bear would not attack women. A woman should show her genitals, lift her
skirt or bend over and show their behinds; then the bear would turn away and leave them
alone. Like mentioned before, in some places it was
forbidden to eat bear’s meat, - since the bear was considered of being kin
to people. Sometimes during Peijaiset a woman was married
to a bear - because the hunters as the bear’s relatives
would therefore gain special position in nature: doing the rites of the bear you would get
the graciousness of the nature. The living nature wouldn’t be hostile towards
the hunters. The ancient nations worshipped the bear because
the bear was considered of being supernatural being and a sacred animal. As Christianity spread and strengthened, - the attitude towards the bear changed from
mythical respect to hatred and fear. During the orthodoxy the priests preached
against the Peijaiset, - because it was feared that the bear would
fight for the souls against the Christ. Although with the rise of Christianity, the
fear of the bear and other predators has continued, the respect towards the bear is still present,
it is our national animal after all.
