Jumala (Finnish:[ˈjumɑlɑ]),Jumal (Estonian:[ˈjumɑl]) orJumo (Mari)[1] means'god' in theFinnic languages and those of theVolga Finns (Mari,Erzya andMoksha languages), both theChristian God and any otherdeity of any religion. The word is thought to have been the name of a sky god of the ancientFinnic-speaking peoples. Jumala as a god of the sky is associated with the relatedEstonianJumal, MariJumo and is thought to stem from an ancient tradition of theFinno-Ugric peoples.[2]
The Finnic and Mari terms for'god' are usually considered to derive from a commonFinno-Permic root*juma.[3][4] Related terms have been proposed to be found also in theMordvinic languages: ёндол[what language is this?]/jondol/'lightning', interpretable as an old compound meaning'fire of Juma' (cf. тол[what language is this?]/tol/'fire'). A single 17th-century source on Mordvinic moreover mentionsJumishipas as the name of a pre-Christian deity. The exact meaning of this however remains unclear (cf. ши[what language is this?]/ʃi/'sun', пас[what language is this?]/pas/'god').
There are different theories concerning the earlier origin of the word. AnIndo-Iranian origin for the name has been proposed, comparing e.g. Sanskritdyumān'heavenly, shining', accepted in some sources[5] but disputed in others due to the inexact meaning.[6] A different possible origin isBaltic languages (cf.Jumis –Latvian god of the evergreen Otherworld, and his sister/wife Jumala).
This name replaced the original Finno-Ugric word for'heaven' (*ilma), which is preserved in theSámi andPermic languages but whose meaning was shifted to'air' in Finnic. The older sense remains in the Finnish divine nameIlmarinen.
No certain equivalents are found in theUgric languages, though a minority view proposes a connection with words meaning 'good', such as Hungarianjó, Northern Mansiёмас/jomas/. The source of these words has been reconstructed as*jomV rather than*juma.[7][5]
InEstonia, Jumal was the name of the god of the sky. He was believed to make the earth fertile through the rains of the summer's thunderstorms. Among the south Estonians, he was represented by a wooden statue in their homes.
InFinland, Jumala was the name of two of theFinns' sky gods, or one of two names for the sky god (cf.Ilmarinen).
According to John Martin Crawford in the preface to his translation of theKalevala:
The Finnish deities, like the ancient gods ofItaly,Greece,Egypt,VedicIndia or any ancientcosmogony, are generally represented in pairs, and all the gods are probably wedded. They have their individual abodes and are surrounded by their respective families. ... The heavens themselves were thought divine. Then a personal deity of the heavens, coupled with the name of his abode, was the next conception; finally this sky-god was chosen to represent the supreme Ruler. To the sky, the sky-god, and the supreme God, the termJumala (thunder-home) was given.[8]
Later on, the sky itself was calledtaivas and the sky-godUkko Ylijumala, literallyGrandfather orOld Man Overgod.[9] However, when Christianity came to dominate Finnish religious life in the Middle Ages and the old gods were ousted or consolidated away from the pantheon,Jumala became the Finnish name for the Christian God.
TwoOld Norse texts mention a god calledJómali, worshipped inBjarmaland:Óláfs saga helga chapter 133 andBósa saga chapters 8-10. The attestation inBósa saga is probably borrowed from the earlierÓláfs saga. The name of this god is generally assumed to be a loanword from a Finnic language.[10]
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