UKKO
Oh, Ukko, You mightiest of all!
To You we are drinking this sacred toast, brewed from your corn.
To You, our father, we are drinking to unite You with all the living and all our dead.
Ukko, You are the mightiest of all,old man of the sky.
Accept these riches in the vakka.
We give them to You as we know You shall give us plenty.
The seed has been sown.
Now raise the cloud, bring the rain.
In rain You come, in thunder we hear the strikes of your golden club when You thresh in your fiery drying-house.
Above the clouds You dwell, in the center of the sky, ruler of the rain and winds.
We seek Your help in despair and danger.
Our hunters seek Your help.
You can raise the game, You can bring the bear to us, as a gift from You.
And for your help, the wives giving birth cry out.
Ukko was the supreme god of the Finns but he had a dual role: he was also the weather god. Most of all he was remembered in the spring as the god of weather when the seeds had been sown. He was asked to bring the rain and stop the spring drought. To do this the people gathered for the offering feast called Ukon vakat. There the sacred ale was drunk. The ale was brewed from barrels of corn, barley or oats left on the roof of houses for Ukko to see and to moisten with rainwater. From this mixture the malt was made. Food offerings were also presented in a wooden container called vakka. Ukko was a general purpose god. People prayed to him for good luck in hunting and fishing and also in war.
In Finnish ukko means old man. Even today the word ukkonen means thunderstorm. During thunderstorms people said: Ukko is striking the fire, Ukko is roaring. The lightning bolts were seen as slashes of his golden club or hammer.
Another name for Ukko was Remu, which also means thunder. One of the weapons of Ukko was the hailstorm which could be called upon the enemy. Ukko was also called father or grandfather. He lived above the clouds in the center of the sky.
Prayer of a hunter:
(used to bring the game out from coverts)
Ukko, golden king
old man in the sky
Take your golden club
and hammer of copper
strike in the wilderness
hit your hammer in the woods