Kuutar (; ) is the goddess of the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

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 ...

. According to

Anna-Leena Siikala Arja Anna-Leena Siikala (formerly Kuusi, née Aarnisalo, born Helsinki, 1 January 1943, died Espoo, 27 February 2016) was a professor emeritus at the University of Helsinki, specialising in folk-belief, mythology, and shamanism, along with oral stor ...

, Kuutar and Päivätär belong to a tradition that was influenced by

Baltic mythology Baltic mythology is the body of mythology of the Baltic peoples stemming from Baltic paganism and continuing after Christianization and into Baltic folklore. History Baltic mythology ultimately stems from Proto-Indo-European mythology. The Bal ...

In runic songs

She owns the gold of the Moon, spins golden yarns, and weaves clothes out of them. In

runic song Runic song, also referred to as ''Rune'' song, ''Runo'' song, or ''Kalevala'' song, is a form of oral poetry and national epic historically practiced among the Baltic Finnic peoples. It includes the Finnish epic poems ''Kalevala'' and '' Kantele ...

s, she is asked to tell her children, bees and wasps, not to sting. In runic songs from

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 ...

, her name varies from Kuuto and Kater to Laatter, losing the original ''kuu'' ("moon") meaning in favour of poetic

alliteration Alliteration is the repetition of syllable-initial consonant sounds between nearby words, or of syllable-initial vowels if the syllables in question do not start with a consonant. It is often used as a literary device. A common example is " Pe ...

(e.g. ''Laatter lapsijasi''). Kuutar does not typically appear independently of Päivätär in runic songs, while Päivätär does appear independently of Kuutar.

Ingria Ingria (; ; ; ) is a historical region including, and adjacent to, what is now the city of Saint Petersburg in northwestern Russia. The region lies along the southeastern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordered by Lake Ladoga on the Karelian ...

n runic songs mention ''Kuuttaren kuja'' ("Kuutar's alley") or ''Kuuttaren mäki'' ("Kuutar's hill") where ''Kuuttaren tytär'' ("Kuutar's daughter") is weaving. There is a theme in runic songs where someone cries, and a tree is born from the tears. One rare runic song from

Ilomantsi Ilomantsi (, ) is municipality and a village of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The easternmost point of Finland ...

puts it so Päivätär and Kuutar cry, and the Great Oak grows from their tears. A runic song from Ilomantsi sets "Kuutar" as a sort of synonym for

Loviatar Loviatar (, alternative names Loveatar, Lovetar, Lovehetar, Louhetar, Louhiatar, Louhi) is the ruler of Pohjola in Finnish mythology.Frog; Siikala; Stepanova (2012:179). Loviatar is regarded as a goddess of death and disease. She is also the mot ...

Syöjätär Syöjätär (; ), sometimes referred to as an "ogress", is a character in Finnish folklore. She is associated with the origin of some diseases, as well as unpleasant (or useless) creatures such as the snake, lizard, or wolf. In some folktales she ...

(or at least refers to her genitalia as ''Kuuttaren kupu'' "Kuutar's dome"), while another one from Kainuu puts the name Kuutar along with Kärehetär.

Epithets

In the ''Kalevala''

According to the ''

Kalevala The ''Kalevala'' () is a 19th-century compilation of epic poetry, compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling a story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and retaliatory ...

'', the daughter of the air

Ilmatar Ilmatar () is a virgin spirit and goddess of the air in the Finnish national Epic poetry, epic ''Kalevala''. Origins The name Ilmatar is derived from the Finnish word ''ilma'', meaning "air," and the female suffix ''-tar'', corresponding to the ...

allowed a teal to lay its egg on her knee as she floated in the abyss. The egg fell and its parts formed the universe: the white of the egg became the Moon, and the yolk the Sun. In ''

'', young maidens ask Kuutar to give them some of her golden jewelry and clothes. She is described as a great beauty.''Kalevala'', Rune IV, XXV, XLI. the Moon's fair daughters

References

External links

Finnish goddesses Lunar goddesses {{deity-stub

In runic songs

Epithets

In the ''Kalevala''

See also

References

External links