Finnish holy places

Finnish pagans have had, and have, holy places in various terrain, mainly as sacrificial and worship places.

Burial grounds (cemeteries, and graves)

Ancient finns were both scared and reverent of the dead. Some graves had mounds of stones, and possessions of the departed were often left there. There were other burial practices besides rock mounds. The exit of dead spirits from the cemetary to bother the living was done by having a grove of trees surrounding it without any lower boughs or branches. The mounds were built on visible places on hills and close to water routes so that foreigners would know who the area belongs to and realize to avoid the dead. The fear of the dead was used to an advantage by building graveyards on the border of the neighboring tribe.

Holy groves

Holy groves are places were people gathered to practice religious service, for example to bring sacrifices. They might have had wooden representations of the gods. They have atleast appeared in neighboring countries. A surviving stone age carving of a god was found preserved in a swamp. Holy groves might have also had a sacrificial enclosure into which you were not allowed to go, but into which sacrifices were thrown. In a spiritual sense, the grove was comparable to a christian church and the enclosure was the altar.

Holy trees

Many large, old, and special trees, particularly pines, were considered holy. When a bear was killed, a "peijaiset" (ritual) were organized. After the ritual the skull of the bear was raised into a skull-pine, were there might have been multiple skulls hanging already. In later times, people engraved symbols and birthdates representing the local family. Special emphasis was also given to the rowan (mountain ash?) tree in the garden of the home, it should not be harmed in any way.

Wet places

Swamps, springs, streams, and steep beaches were used for sacrifice and possibly for sinking unwanted people, like criminals. Some wet places in very high spots were also important sacrificial sites.

Rocks, boulders

Sacrifical boulders sometimes had holes in them (cupstones), some had cuts, as if a sword had been sharpened in them (sword-sharpening-stones). Such stones were possibly in use during the iron age. Cupstones are especially found in the west and south of Finland. Some of them have a creation story attached to them, for example, a giant might have thrown it into its place.

Stone circles

Stone circles were put together from larger or smaller rocks. and some had a central stone. They are thought to be places of gathering (käräjät) in a later christian period. However there is no certainty to this: archeological evidence indicates that at least some of them are graveyards. The knowledge of these is unsure and might be stories from later times. It might be that the places were sanctified by burning corpses there. Or maybe the gatherings were held on purpose near burial sites. The gatherings were nevertheless spiritual and justice was dispensed under the watchful eye of god and the ancestors.

Rock paintings

Paintings on rock faces done in red ocher (reddle, ruddle?!) are from the stone age, partly the bronze age. Their subjects usually deal with humans or gamehunting, but also with boats and holy waterbirds. There are also abstract pictures included. There are many theories on the meaning of the paintings. Under some of the paintings, stone age arrow heads have been found that have been broken after being shot at the rock face, as well as, things made of amber.

Rock drawings

Rock drawings have been made mostly on rockfaces close to beaches either by hacking or engraving. There are few drawings known in the area of modern day Finland, however, in the area of Karelia there are quite a few. Some engravings depicted a lifesize humanoid figure, with round things in its hands, maybe drums. These pictures are usually found in crevices leading to water, and, for example, amber had beeen sacrificed in the crevices. After christianity, some of the humanoid figures had a cross engraved into them, and they received a new meaning as a christian saint, or were labeled as devils.

Jotun gardens

Jotulin gardens or Jotunin gardens (tarhat) are stone labyrinths found close to the coast, that were traversed during various rituals. Their origin is a mystery, but likely at least a part of them are from the middle ages or later periods.