Home›Finnish Deities›Veneration Status›Historically attested; no continuous cultBrowse ByHistorically attested; no continuous cultThis page groups deities by how actively they are still venerated today, from gods with a living cult to ones whose worship has died out entirely. Wikipedia defines veneration as "the practice of honoring people and articles of religious significance, for example, the veneration of saints and the veneration of relics." Browsing this way lets a visitor tell a deity that still receives offerings apart from one preserved only in historical study.FactsLearn MoreHistorically attested; no continuous cultSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsAttestationEra of AttestationWell-attestedThe earliest written notice is Mikael Agricola's list of the gods of Hame and Karelia, printed in the preface to his Finnish Psalter of 1551. The bulk of the material is oral poetry collected in the nineteenth century and published as the Kalevala in 1835 and 1849. 2Veneration TodayWell-attestedThe pre-Christian cult did not survive as continuous practice. 2Veneration TodayWell-attestedVenerated in the modern Finnish reconstructionist movement. 3OverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedThe gods and guardian powers of Finnish and wider Finnic tradition. There is no pre-Christian Finnish text: the material is oral folk poetry collected in the nineteenth century and shaped into the Kalevala by Elias Lonnrot, and the earliest list of gods is a Lutheran reformer's inventory of the practices he wished to end. 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedDeities 1StatusStanding as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedThe Kalevala is edited literature assembled from collected songs, not a scripture, and later scholarship has reclassified many of the figures in the 1551 list as local guardian spirits rather than gods. Separating older belief from national-romantic framing is the standing problem of the field. 2Learn MoreThe gods of Finnish tradition This group holds the deities of Finnish and wider Finnic paganism, known largely from oral folk poetry collected in the nineteenth century, above all the Kalevala assembled by Elias Lonnrot from traditional songs. This late collection shapes what can be said, and the entries treat the Kalevala as edited folklore rather than an ancient scripture. The browser will find the sky-god Ukko, the thunder and weather power; the smith-hero Ilmarinen; the sage Vainamoinen; and nature-spirits and guardians of forest, water and the dead such as Tapio and Ahti. The atlas notes the difficulty of separating older belief from the literary framing of the national epic.Historically attested; no continuous cultFilter Results11 entriesHistoricityAllLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical record (2)Not a historical person: a divine or other-than-human being (9)TheologyAllPolytheistic: many gods (11)ArchetypeAllThe Caregiver (1)The Creator (1)The Explorer (2)The Lover (1)The Magician (1)The Ruler (1)The Sage (1)Era Attested Start YearAll1551 (5)1835 (2)Worshipped InAllFinnish Paganism (Suomenusko) (11)Domain / FunctionAllCraft, metalwork and smithing (1)Death Underworld (3)Magic and sorcery (2)Music and poetry (1)Rivers, lakes and springs (1)Sea and ocean (1)Seafaring and fishing (1)Sky (1)Storm and thunder (1)The hunt (3)Vegetation and forests (2)Wilderness and wild animals (2)Wisdom and counsel (1)GenderAllFemale (4)Male (7)PantheonAllFinnish (11)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 11AhtiHistorically attested; no continuous cultIlmarinenHistorically attested; no continuous cultKalmaHistorically attested; no continuous cultLemminkainenHistorically attested; no continuous cultLouhiHistorically attested; no continuous cultMielikkiHistorically attested; no continuous cultTapioHistorically attested; no continuous cultTuonetarHistorically attested; no continuous cultTuoniHistorically attested; no continuous cultUkkoHistorically attested; no continuous cultVäinämöinenHistorically attested; no continuous cultSources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. Kalevala Mythologytier 1Juha Y. Pentikainen, Indiana University Press, 1999chs. 1-2View the Source3. Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectivestier 1Michael F. Strmiska (ed.), ABC-CLIO, 2005chapter on FinlandDivinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.