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Ukko

Ukko
God of the sky, lightning, thunder, and harvest
Painting by Robert Ekman in 1867 called Lemminkäinen tulisella järvellä where Lemminkäinen asks help from Ukko ylijumala with crossing the lake in fire on his route to the wedding at Pohjola.
WeaponHammer, sword or axe
SymbolRowan tree, great mullein
ConsortAkka
Equivalents
GreekZeus
HinduIndra
Indo-EuropeanPerkwunos
RomanJupiter
SlavicPerun
NorseThor
BalticPerkūnas
SamiHoragalles[1]
Ukonkivi (Ukko's rock) in Lake Inari in Lapland. Ukonkivi was a holy site to the local Sami. Archeological finds, apparently offerings, have been found at site.

Ukko (Finnish: [ˈukːo]),[2] Äijä [ˈæi̯jæ] or Äijö [ˈæi̯jø] (Finnish for 'male grandparent', 'grandfather', 'old man'),[3][4] parallel to Uku in Estonian mythology,[5] is the god of the sky, weather, harvest, and thunder[6] across Finnic paganism.

Ukkonen, the Finnish word for thunder, is the diminutive form of the name Ukko.[a][b] Unto Salo believes that Ilmari, another Finnic sky god, is the origin of Ukko, but that as Ukko Ilmari experienced very significant, although far from total, influence from the Indo-European sky god especially in the form of Thor.[7][8] Some believe that Ukko's original name was Baltic Perkūnas.[9]

Ukko is considered to be the most significant god of Finnish mythology, although it is disputed by scholars whether this is accountable to later Christian influence. In the folk poems and prayers, he is also given the epithet Ylijumala ('Supreme God'), probably in reference to his status as the most highly regarded god and on the other hand his traditional domain in the heavens. Other names for Ukko include Pitkänen (pitkä, 'long'), Isäinen (isä, 'father'), Isoinen (iso, archaic form of the above, modern meaning 'great', 'big' or 'large'). Although portrayed active in myth, when appealed to Ukko makes all his appearances in legend solely by natural phenomena.[10] According to Martti Haavio, the name Ukko was sometimes used as a common noun or generalised epithet for multiple deities instead of denoting a specific god.[11]

Pre-Christian pendants associated with thunder gods. A Finnish type, B Swedish type, C Wolf's cross.
  1. ^ Turville-Petre, E. O. G. (1964). Myth and Religion of the North: The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia. Weidenfeld and Nicolson p. 98.
  2. ^ Andrews, Tamra (2000). Dictionary of Nature Myths: Legends of the earth, sea, and sky. Oxford University Press. p. 214. ISBN 0-19-513677-2.
  3. ^ Suomen sanojen alkuperä. Helsinki, FI: SKS. 2000. ISBN 951-717-712-7.
  4. ^ "Äijät ja ämmät, vaarit ja muorit. Isovanhempien nimitykset suomen murteissa". Archived from the original on 2015-12-25. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
  5. ^ Sapas, J. (October 1919). "Heathan religions of the ancient Estonians". The Esthonian Review. Vol. 1, no. 4. London, UK. pp. 145–146 (re:Uku). Retrieved 2023-07-04 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ Haavio, Martti (1967). Suomalainen mytologia. Porvoo Helsinki, FI: WSOY.
  7. ^ Salo, Unto (1990). Agricola's Ukko in the light of archeology. A chronological and interpretative study of ancient Finnish religion: Old Norse and Finnish religions and cultic place-names. Turku. ISBN 951-649-695-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ^ Salo, Unto (2006). Ukko: The god of thunder of the ancient Finns and his Indo-European family. Institute for the Study of Man. ISBN 978-0941694940.
  9. ^ Siikala, Anna-Leena (2013). Itämerensuomalaisten mytologia. Helsinki: SKS.
  10. ^ Salo, Unto (1990). Agricola's Ukko in the light of archeology. Turku. ISBN 951-649-695-4. A chronological and interpretative study of ancient Finnish religion: Old Norse and Finnish religions and cultic place-names.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Haavio-1959 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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