Äkräs or Äyräs is a haltija or god of various plants in

Finnish mythology Finnish mythology commonly refers of the folklore of Finnish paganism, of which a Finnish Neopaganism, modern revival is practiced by a small percentage of the Finnish people. It has many shared features with Estonian mythology, Estonian and othe ...

. She was first mentioned in writing by

Mikael Agricola Mikael Agricola (; c. 1510 – 9 April 1557) was a Finnish Lutheran clergyman who became the de facto founder of literary Finnish and a prominent proponent of the Protestant Reformation in Sweden, including Finland, which was a Swedish territo ...

in 1551: "Egres created peas, beans, rutabagas / Brought forth cabbages, flax, hemp" (''Egres hernet Pawudh Naurit loi / Caalit Linat ia Hamput edestoi''). She was also later associated with potatoes. She was known widely from Western Finland to Karelia, and there are many similar beliefs as those associated with Äkräs in traditions around Europe. Similar beliefs also exist among

Udmurts The Udmurts (, ) are a Permian (Finno-Ugric) ethnic group in Eastern Europe, who speak the Udmurt language. They mainly live in the republic of Udmurtia in Russia. Etymology The name ''Udmurt'' comes from * 'meadow people,' where the first part ...

Name

The spelling "Egres", as mentioned by Agricola, was quoted in all writings until 1761. Vicar in

Leppävirta Leppävirta () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Savonia region, south of Kuopio along the Finnish national road 5. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population den ...

, I.D. Alopaeus, said this name in Leppävirta and

Kuopio Kuopio ( , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Savo. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Kuopio is approximately , while the Kuopio sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mos ...

was "Äcräs". Terms such as ''äkräs rutabaga'' refer to a rutabaga with two ends growing from the same core (or conjoined rutabagas). Similar terminology has also been used in relation to potatoes and flax. In

North Ostrobothnia North Ostrobothnia (; ) is a Regions of Finland, region of Finland. It borders the Finnish regions of Lapland (Finland), Lapland, Kainuu, Northern Savonia, North Savo, Central Finland and Central Ostrobothnia, as well as the Russian Republic of ...

, the name has been known in the form Äyräs. In Karelia, different variations exist, such as Ägräs, Äkrässie, Ägrässie, Ägröi and Äkröi. The origin of the name could be in the

Proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic languages, Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from ...

''*akra-z'' ("field"). Martti Haavio suggested an origin in the term "Pyhä Greus" ( Saint Gregory).

In folk poetry

Äkräs appears in Karelian poems read out when sowing rutabagas. She also appears in a North Ostrobothnian stone

origin Origin(s) or The Origin may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics and manga * ''Origin'' (comics), a Wolverine comic book mini-series published by Marvel Comics in 2002 * ''The Origin'' (Buffy comic), a 1999 ''Buffy the Vampire Sl ...

spell: "Stone is the son of kimmo, kammo, / Egg of earth, little cake of the field, / The end of the palm of the (honourable) old mother Äyräs" (''Kivi on kimmon, kammon poika, / Maan muna, pellon kakkara, / Äyräs-ämmän kämmenpää'').

Beliefs

When an äkräs rutabaga was found, it was put into a hole with a ritual. Details of the ritual vary by region. However, a central part is pretending the rutabaga is too heavy to be carried. These rutabagas, and later also potatoes, were seen to have extra fertility power. In

Kainuu Kainuu (), also historically known as Cajania (), is one of the 19 regions of Finland (''maakunta'' / ''landskap''). Kainuu borders the regions of North Ostrobothnia, North Savo and North Karelia. In the east, it also borders Russia (Republic o ...

, Äkräs of the Field was worshipped during sowing and harvest, and a large bread was offered to her at the start of sowing. Äkräs was also a protector of the field who yelled out loud if there was a thief on the field. If there was a rutabaga that had split, it was said this was caused by the rutabaga yelling so much. On fields made on hills, her home was on the side closest to the bottom of the slope, as this side also tended to be more fertile over time. It was also said that

horse colic Colic in horses is defined as abdominal pain, but it is a clinical symptom rather than a diagnosis. The term colic can encompass all forms of gastrointestinal conditions which cause pain as well as other causes of abdominal pain not involving th ...

was the son of Äyräs.

References

Finnish gods Fertility gods Agricultural gods {{deity-stub