Modern Finnish paganism: Difference between revisions

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Template:Neopaganism2 Finnish Neopaganism (Finnish: suomenusko or suomenuskoinen pakanuus;^[1] also formerly ukonusko) is a Neopagan religious system that attempts to revive old Finnish paganism, the pre-Christian polytheistic ethnic religion of the Finnish people.

The main problem in the revival of Finnish paganism is the nature of pre-Christian Finnish culture, which relied on oral tradition and was completely nonliterate. The primary sources concerning Finnish native culture are written by latter-era Christians. They may be biased, tainted or unreliable.

Finnish Neopaganism is advocated by the Taivaannaula voluntary association (since 2007). Its existence is not reported by adherents.com (as of 2010). According to official statistics on religion in Finland in 2009, 79.7% of Finns are Lutherans, 17.7% are nonreligious, 1.1% Eastern Orthodox, and the remaining 1.3% are mostly adherent of smaller Christian denominations.

Beliefs

Deities

Finnish Neopaganism is polytheistic, with a pantheon of many deities worshipped:

Ukko: the sky god, and chief deity in the Finnish pantheon. Actually most Finnish neopagans consider Ukko just a god of sky rather than "chief of gods". Imagination of Ukko Ylijumala (Ukko Overgod) has born at Christian era. Some think he is the same as Ilmarinen. ^{[citation needed]}
Akka: goddess of fertility, and wife of Ukko; rejected by some as historically dubious ^{[citation needed]}
Ahti: the sea god
Tapio: the forest god
Pekko: god of the crops
Nyyrikki: the hunter god
Mielikki: goddess of forests and the hunt
Ilmarinen: the god of sky and weather. Some consider him to be the same as Ukko. ^{[citation needed]}
Louhi: God that gives birth to many diseases. Matriarch of the Pohjola ("Northern"), evil place
Turisas: the war god; rejected by some as historically dubious ^{[citation needed]}
Haltijas: elven-like creatures, spirits, gnomes. Other nominations: Pitäjäs/Pitäväs, also ukko (old man) akka (old woman)-of something
Lemminkäinen: mythical hero
Väinämöinen: mythical hero, creator god and god of poetry and music and magic
Hiisi: holy place and creature
Jumi: fertility god or statue that gives fertility (without being a personal god)

Finnish Neopaganism also includes an element of ancestor worship.

Afterlife

For Finnish Neopagans, the afterlife is a place called Tuonela, and it is a place where several different deities live, including Tuoni.

Festivals

Various folk festivals are followed:

Hela, a festival celebrating the coming of spring and the new growing season
Juhannus or Ukon juhla, midsummer festival.
Kekri, celebration of harvest and the ancestors
Joulu, the winter solstice.

Texts

There is no sacred text in Finnish Neopaganism, such as the Christian Bible, but the folk epic of Finland, the Kalevala is sometimes used as it is a collection of folk beliefs describing the gods and goddesses. Still, Kalevala was heavily edited by its writer, Elias Lönnroth, so most Finnish neopagans prefer SKVR. Suomen Kansan Vanhat Runot or SKVR (The old poems of Finnish people) is a massive collection of all collected Finnish poetic folklore and mythology, with 100 000 different poems. SKVR is probably even more important than Kalevala, because it is fully authentic raw material, that has not been altered. SKVR is today available on internet [1] making the exploration of Finnish mythology a lot easier than earlier.

Worship

Some Finnish Neopagans visit sacred forests, where wooden god-images or sacred stones can sometimes be found. Some celebrate the circling of the year at certain dates, for example by burning bonfires, dancing, sacrificing, or making other kinds of rituals. One ritual, which is also an authentic practice of the ancestors, is to drink a toast for the thunder god Ukko at the midsummer festival (Ukon juhla).^[2]

Notes

^ "Suomenuskoinen pakanuus" (in Finnish). Taivaannaula ry. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
^ Finnish Paganism

External links

Template:Wikipedia books

Lehto - Finnish organization for Earth-based religions
Taivaannaula - Finnish Neopagan organization
Finnish Paganism by Anssi Alhonen

[1] "Suomenuskoinen pakanuus" (in Finnish). Taivaannaula ry. Retrieved 2008-08-20.

[2] Finnish Paganism

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 '''Finnish Neopaganism''' ({{lang-fi|suomenusko}} or ''{{lang|fi|suomenuskoinen pakanuus}}'';<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.taivaannaula.org/suomenusko.php |title=Suomenuskoinen pakanuus |accessdate=2008-08-20 |publisher=Taivaannaula ry |language=Finnish }}</ref> also formerly ''{{lang|fi|ukonusko}}'') is a [[Neopagan]] [[religion|religious]] system that attempts to revive old [[Finnish paganism]], the pre-Christian [[polytheistic]] [[ethnic religion]] of the [[Finnish people]].
-The main problem in the revival of Finnish paganism is the nature of pre-Christian Finnish culture, which relied on oral tradition and was completely illiterate. The primary sources concerning Finnish native culture are written by latter-era Christians. They may be biased, tainted or unreliable.
+The main problem in the revival of Finnish paganism is the nature of pre-Christian Finnish culture, which relied on oral tradition and was completely nonliterate. The primary sources concerning Finnish native culture are written by latter-era Christians. They may be biased, tainted or unreliable.
 Finnish Neopaganism is advocated by the '''Taivaannaula''' voluntary association (since 2007). Its existence is not reported by [[adherents.com]] (as of 2010). According to official statistics on [[religion in Finland]] in 2009, 79.7% of Finns are Lutherans, 17.7% are nonreligious, 1.1% Eastern Orthodox, and the remaining 1.3% are mostly adherent of smaller Christian denominations.