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| Tapio | |
|---|---|
King of the Forest | |
| Other names | Central Finland: Hippa Ingria: Hiippa, Hilli Kainuu: Hilli, Kuittola, Kulkia, Rauhio Karelia: Ahohippa, Havuhippa, Havuhippo, Hiia, Hiippa, Hiisi, Hilli, Hippa, Hippi, Hippo, Huitua, Hulli, Kuituva, Tabia, Tapia, Viippo Lapland: Hilli, Kulkia Ostrobothnia: Havuhippa, Hilli, Hilppa, Hippa, Hippo, Hukka, Huuhkana, Iivana, Kuikuli, Kuippana, Kuittia, Kuitua, Kulkia Satakunta: Hiisi, Hipa, Hippi, Tapiainen Savonia: Hiippa, Hilja, Hilli, Hippa, Hippahattu, Hippo, Huippa, Kuihkamo, Kuihkanen, Kuippana, Kuituri, Kulkia, Vippo Tavastia: Hippa Uusimaa: Hyppä |
| Abode | Forest |
| Tree | Picea abies f.tabulaeformis |
| Gender | Male |
| Ethnic group | Finns,Karelians |
| Genealogy | |
| Spouse | Mielikki |
| Offspring | Tellervo Tuulikki Nyyrikki |
Tapio (Finnish pronunciation:[ˈtɑpio]),Kuippana orHippa[1] is aFinnish forest spirit or god inFinnish mythology.[2] He is called the King of the Forest (Metsän kuningas). Hunters prayed to him before a hunt. His wife is the goddess of the forest,Mielikki. He is the father ofTellervo,Tuulikki andNyyrikki (Pinneus). Fitting theGreen Man archetype, Tapio has a beard of lichen and eyebrows of moss.[3]
Inrunic songs, the name Tapio often refers to the feminine ruler of the forest, Mielikki[4] (as well as the feminized version of the name, Tapiotar), or appears as a synonym for the wordmetsä 'forest'.[5]
Many of Tapio's epithets, including "King of the Forest" and "grey-beard", are also used inrunic songs to refer to the bear.[6][7]
The first to present a theory of Tapio's name was Nils Idman in 1774, as he suggested an origin in an epithet ofAres,Dafoinós 'brown, hairy'. In 1853,Franz Anton Schiefner suggested the name to be shortened from theRussian name ofSaint Eustace,Jefstafij orAstafij. In 1891,Domenico Comparetti connected the name to the wordtapi 'rod, staff' because he was, according to Comparetti, "likely worshipped in the shape of a tree trunk". In 1904,Otto Alcenius stated Tapio to be the same asSaint Stephen (Finnish:Tapani).[8]
Kaarle Krohn andUno Harva considered the equivalent of Tapio to be theKolaSámi god of hunting and fishing, Tavaj.Martti Haavio suggested the name to come fromtapa 'chance, luck', making the meaning ofTapio 'the one who gives (hunting) luck'.[8]
According to Eemil Aukusti Tunkelo in 1914, the Baltic Finnic wordtapa 'lock of a hunting trap' could be the origin of the name Tapio.[5] However, the nameTapio is seen to be Western Finnish, and Western Finnish dialects have not been recorded to include the wordtapa for a lock of a hunting trap. This is why Janne Saarikivi theorized the name would come from the wordtavata (dialectical meaning 'to reach; to catch up to').[9]
Hippa means a pointed cap, which could have been a symbol of a foresthaltija, and it is the name of the chaser in the gametag, much like a hunter would chase after prey. Krohn's theory suggests the nameKuippana would be connected to the Roman Catholic saintHubert, patron saint of hunters.[5]Carl Axel Gottlund connected the name Kuippana tokuippa 'Eurasian curlew',[10] whileGustaf Renvall connected it to the wordkuikkana 'long-necked'.[11] Other versions of Kuippana include Kuihtanen, Kuituri and Huitua. According to another theory, the name would come fromvuitti 'lot, fate'.[12] Krohn also compared Kuihkamo and Kuihkanen tokuihkata 'to call in the forest like a shepherd', while Huuhkana is close tohuuhkaja 'eagle owl'. Kulkia he connected tokulkija 'traveller', likely influenced by the following verse'skäyjä 'walker'.[11] Krohn and Harva connected the "Kuiktilassi", who "gave rabbits" according to Johan David Alopaeus, to Kuippana. Haavio further connected Kuiktilassi to the wordvuitti as well, assuming Kuikti meant 'share of meat, lot, fate' and Lassi came from Russianlásyi 'gourmet, sweet tooth, greedy, eager'.[8]
A rare name Rauhio appears inKainuu. Krohn brought forth a theory that this name was connected to the name Rafael (archangel Raphael). Krohn also points out a name for him fromNorth Ostrobothnia where he is called Iivana, after theRussian name forJohn the Baptist.[11]
Mikael Agricola mentions Tapio as aTavastian god who "brings traps from the forest" in the prologue to his Finnish translation of the Book of Psalms,Dauidin Psalttari [fi]. TheKarelian equivalent, he says isHiisi, who "brought victory over beasts". In Georgius Gabrielis Kijhl's 1688 thesisCorpus Angelicum, seu de corporibus angelorum assumpiitiis disputatio, it is said that Tapio is known as Hiisi in Karelia andSavonia. Bothtapio andhiisi have been used as a synonym for 'forest'.[10]
In 1789,Christfried Ganander listed Hippa or Kuippana as the highest forest god who drives animals into traps.[13] Tapio he specifically mentioned as a foresthaltija in the context of bear and rabbit hunting, explaining that Tapio was honored with the epithetUkko 'old man'.[14] He also called Tapio the god of hunting andanimal husbandry, and that arooster was sacrificed to him.[8]
Gottlund and Krohn saw Tapio as a personification of the forest, Krohn stating that he was formed after the original meaning of the word was forgotten. Harva pointed out that the meaning of the word was sometimes unclear to runic singers, but other times it was used clearly in the meaning of 'forest'. He saw both Tapio and Hiisi as euphemisms, as people used, for example, the wordmetsä 'forest' as a name of the bear to avoid saying its real name out loud. Later descriptions portray Tapio as more human like, similar tomaahiset (small human-like creatures that live underground). The forest was sometimes personified as male, like Tapio, but sometimes as female as the forest mistress.[10] Haavio disagreed with the idea that Tapio would've originally meant 'forest', seeing all hunting deities (incl. Tapio, Mielikki and Tuulikki) as the one and the same 'distributor of lots'.[8]
Worship of Tapio was done at aTapionpöytä ('Tapio's table'), a spruce growing without the treetop (Picea abies f.tabulaeformis), to which a special beer was prepared and brought to. The worshipper would set all hunting weapons and traps to the root of the tree, walk around it while wearing a hat (twice clockwise and once counterclockwise), set the hat to the ground, kneel, lie down on his stomach, and squeeze the ground with his arm, as well as sing arunic song, a prayer to Tapio. Later descriptions are not so elaborate, describing that before the prayer, special beer is made from the soup made of the first catch, and small rye cakes (Tapion kakkarat) are also made and offered to the spruce. Silver andstrong alcohol was also sacrificed.[8]
Tapionpöytä also had other names, such asTapion kanto ('Tapio's trunk'),Tapion tuoli ('Tapio's chair'), andTapion mänty andNyryn näre ('Tapio's pine' and 'Nyry's pine', when using a pine as an altar). Not only hunters, but cattlemen and women also sacrificed at the Tapionpöytä. InViitasaari, the blood of the ram butchered onMichaelmas was brought to the top of Tapionpöytä; inPihtipudas, theafterbirth of a mare was brought. InKainuu, the first portion of cheese made from the milk of a newly calved cow was sacrificed, as well as the first portion of roast veal.[8]
| Epithet | Epithet meaning | Regions |
|---|---|---|
| Metsän kuningas[15] | 'King of the Forest' | Kainuu,Ostrobothnia,North Karelia,North Savo |
| Metsän kultainen kuningas[16] | 'Golden King of the Forest' | South Savo |
| Metsän Hippa, halliparta[16] | 'Hippa of the Forest, grey-beard' | Ostrobothnia,South Savo |
| Metsän ukko, halliparta[17] | 'Old man of the forest, grey-beard' | South Savo |
| Metsän isäntä[18] | 'Master of the Forest' | Kainuu,North Karelia,North Ostrobothnia |
| Kuuluisa metsän kuningas[19] | 'Known king of the forest' | Kainuu,Ladoga Karelia |
| Metsähine halliparta[20] | 'Forest-y grey-beard' | South Savo |
| Hilliukko, halliparta[21] | 'Old man Hilli, grey-beard' | Kainuu,Lapland,North Ostrobothnia |
| Havuhattu, naavaparta[22] | 'Needle hat, beard lichen' | North Karelia,South Savo |
| Ukko vanha röhmäparta[23] | Ladoga Karelia | |
| Havuhattu, halliparta[23] | Ladoga Karelia |
He lends his name, in the form of Tapiola, to:
He has appeared various times in songs by Finnish metal bands. For example, in thesymphonic metal bandNightwish's song, "Elvenpath", he is referred to as "Tapio, Bear-king, Ruler of the forest".[24] The name has also been used extensively by thefolk metal bandKorpiklaani'.
Jean Sibelius'tone poemTapiola (1926) is a depiction of the forest Tapio inhabits.
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