AHTI
Amenable Ahti, king of Ahtola, give your blessing to this tackle
Take this offering as we go to the sea
Bring up your fishes from the deep.
And bring the seal to our hunters.
Amenable Ahti, bearded king of the waters, master of the sea
Upon you we call weaving our nets, casting our seine
upon you we call sharpening our harpoons
You can raise the fish, you can bring the seal
You, the golden king of the sea in a gown of foam
Mielikki, you lady of the rocks!
Ahti, you master of the deep, king of the sea!
Mielikki, lady of the woods, ahti of the forest,
queen of the wilderness!
You caused my sores, now grant the cure
Take the devil from me!
There is your home, in the depth of nine seas
beyond the great bank, in the darkness of the north,
in the mossy morass,
in the sparkling spring
I took water from the spring
Now cleanse me from the evil, wash me clean from my sores.
The god Ahti (or Nahti) was foremost the progenitor of the seal. He was the god of fishermen and seal hunters.
As did many other gods, Ahti also had multiple roles. To him were addressed healing incantations. The translation above is a prayer addressed both to him and to a forest goddess called Mielikki. Water from springs had Ahti`s healing power and was used as a remedy for various diseases.
Ahti had the form of a bearded man with a gown of foam. He resembled the seal or walrus. He was also the father of fishes and as such could move them by his will- into nets or away from them.
Ahti and his wife Vellamo lived in their watery kingdom called Ahtola.
More recently Ahti also had the form of a horse and as such was called Näkki. This character was malevolent and children were often warned of him. "Don`t go to the shore or Näkki will take you!".
The names Ahti,Nahti and Näkki were of same origin. Another of Ahti's roles was as the god of material wealth (Golden king of the woods).
