Mielikki () is the Finnish

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...

of forests and the hunt. She is referred to in various tales as either the wife or the daughter-in-law of Tapio (Metsän emäntä, Mistress of Forest or Metsän miniä Daughter-in-law of Forest), and the mother of

Nyyrikki Nyyrikki (), Nyypetti, Vilpus or Pinneys is the Finland, Finnish god of the hunt and cattle, and son of Tapio_(spirit), Tapio and Mielikki. He has been tenuously associated with Nimrod (king), Nimrod. Nyyrikki was first mentioned by Mikael Agrico ...

and Tuulikki. She is said to have played a central role in the creation of the

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

. In a country where the forest was central to providing food through hunting, gathering and cattle grazing, it was thought very important to stay on her good side. She is also offered prayers by those who hunt small game and those who gather mushrooms and berries. Mielikki is known as a skillful healer who heals the paws of animals who have escaped traps, helps chicks that have fallen from their nests and treats the wounds of wood grouses after their mating displays. She knows well the healing herbs and will also help humans if they know well enough to ask her for it. The Mielikki Mons, a mountain on Venus, is named after her.

Name

Her name is derived from the old Finnish word ''mielu'' which means luck. In folk poems, the Mistress of Forest is sometimes called Annikki. This name was influenced by

Saint Anne According to apocrypha, as well as Christianity, Christian and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the wife of Joachim and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the Bible's Gosp ...

In the Kalevala

In 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 Finnish national epic based on Finnish and

Karelia Karelia (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; , historically Коре́ла, ''Korela'' []; ) is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Russia (including the Soviet Union, Soviet era), Finland, and Sweden. It is currentl ...

n folklore, the hero Lemminkäinen offers her and Tapio prayers, gold and silver so he can catch the

Hiisi Hiisi (; plural ''hiidet'' ) is a term in Finnic mythologies, originally denoting sacred localities and later on various types of mythological entities. In later, Christian-influenced folklore, they are depicted as demonic or trickster-like ent ...

elk. In another passage, Mielikki is asked to protect cattle grazing in the forest.

Epithets

External links

Original quotes from Kalevala regarding Mielikki translated to English

from the Finndex.

References

Finnish goddesses Hunting goddesses Nature goddesses Tree goddesses Characters in the Kalevala Long stubs with short prose {{deity-stub