Ukko

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Ukko is the high god of Finnish mythology and the highest god in the Kalevala . His name means something like "old man". In Estonian mythology it is called Uku .

Jurisdiction

Ukko is the god of the sky, weather and thunderstorm in Finnish mythology . He triggers lightning by driving his car over the stone sky path, so that the sparks spray. Since his wife, the goddess Rauni (also called Akka in some sources ), stands for fertility, he is often seen as the fertility god himself. Ukko created Ilmatar , the goddess of the air who created the earth.

presentation

Ukko is depicted as a broad-shouldered, white-haired man with a flowing beard and a flaming sword in his hand. His other attributes are hatchet, hammer ( ukonvasara , "Ukko's hammer") and bow; Giant eagles and air maidens stand by his side as servants or companions.

Nicknames and name variants

Ukko is nicknamed Isäinen (" little father"). Well-known variants of the name are Uko , Ylijumala ("over god") or Ukko-Ylijumala .

Ukko in the present

As Arto Paasilinna writes regretfully in his novel “The Son of the God of Thunder”, the old Finnish gods are almost forgotten today. However, Ukko in particular lives on in some aspects of the present. For example, the midsummer bonfires in Finland are called ukko-kokko , which means something like "Ukko- Midsummer Fire ". The Finnish term for thunderstorm is still ukkonen today . There is also a sacred Sami sacrificial mountain called "Ukko", in the immediate vicinity of which is Ukonjärvi ("Ukko Lake"), on the banks of which there is also a village of the same name (about 10 km north of Ivalo ). Ukko is even represented in contemporary music; The Finnish metal band Kiuas ("Saunaofen") released an album in 2005 called "The Spirit of Ukko". Furthermore, Hammer Ukkos can be seen on the cover of the 2003 album “Far from the Sun” by the Finnish metal band Amorphis , which is partly used in the band's logo. In 2011 the Finnish metal band Korpiklaani released an album called "Ukon Wacka". Then you can hear the song of the same name, which is about a festival in honor of Ukko.

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