Editing Ukko (section)

==Finnish folklore==
{{more citations needed|section|date=November 2020}}
[[Image:aaninen.jpg|thumb|100px|Simplified drawing of a stone carving type found in [[Karelia]], which is believed to have characteristics of both snakes and lightning.]]

{{lang|fi|Ukko|italic=unset}} possessed a weapon, often a [[hammer]] called {{lang|fi|[[Ukonvasara]]}} (Ukko's hammer), sometimes also an [[axe]] ({{Langx|fi|Ukonkirves}}) or a [[sword]], by which he struck [[lightning]] (see [[thunderbolt]]). {{lang|fi|Ukko|italic=unset}}'s weapon was largely comparable to the Norse [[Mjölnir]], and [[Iron Age]] emblematic [[pendants]] depicting hammers and axes similar or identical to [[Scandinavia]]n specimens have been unearthed in Finland. Like Mjölnir, {{lang|fi|Ukko|italic=unset}}'s weapon has been linked by some to the [[Battle Axe culture|boat-shaped battle axes]] of the [[Corded Ware culture]].

[[Thunderbolts]] were sometimes called {{Lang|fi|Ukon vaaja}} (bolt of Ukko) or {{Lang|fi|Ukon nuoli}} (arrow of Ukko). It is possible that the [[Birch bark letter no. 292]], written in a [[Baltic-Finnic language]] and unearthed in [[Novgorod]], makes use of the metaphor, also referring to {{lang|fi|Ukko|italic=unset}} as ''doom-god'' according to one interpretation translated by Yuri Yeliseyev in modern English and interpreted in modern Finnish: ''God's arrow, ten [is] your name. This arrow is God's own. The Doom-God leads.''<ref>{{cite journal |last=Елисеев |first=Ю.С.  |year=1959 |title=Древнейший письменный памятник одного из прибалтийско-финских языков |lang=ru |trans-title=The most ancient written monument of one of the Baltic-Finnish languages |journal=Изв. АН СССР |publisher=Отд-ние лит. и языка |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=65–72}}</ref> The name {{lang|fi|Ukon vaaja}} was also used of [[Neolithic]] [[stone tools]] such as battle axes, which were employed as [[Thunderstone (folklore)|thunderstones]] to be buried at the corners of dwellings

[[Thunderstorms]] were sometimes interpreted as result of {{lang|fi|Ukko|italic=unset}} [[copulating]] with his wife {{lang|fi|[[Akka (Spirit)|Akka]]}} {{lit|old woman}}.{{citation needed|date=July 2012}} However, according to Martti Haavio, the text written by [[Mikael Agricola]] which has been used to justify this interpretation is a misunderstanding. He argued that Agricola's text mentioned two completely different gods, a fertility god [[Rauni (deity)|Rauni-ukko]] and his wife, whose copulation would result in fertile fields.<ref>{{cite book |last=Haavio |first=Martti |date= 1958-01-03 |title=Rauni (Virittäjä Vol 62 Nro 3 (1958)) |url=https://journal.fi/virittaja/article/view/33625/46684 |location= |publisher=Virittäjä |page=254–256 |isbn= |access-date=2025-03-18}}</ref> He also was believed to cause thunderstorms by driving his [[chariot]] through the skies. 

[[Neolithic]] stone carvings have been found in [[Russian Karelia]] which have features of both snakes and lightning. It is, however, uncertain whether these are directly connected to the figure of {{lang|fi|Ukko|italic=unset}}. Evidence for [[Snake worship|worship of snakes]] is found among different cultures around the Baltic, including the Estonians and Finns.<ref>{{cite web |title=Suojelevat käärmeet |date=4 April 2011 |website=taivaannaula.org |url=http://www.taivaannaula.org/2011/04/suojelevat-kaarmeet/}}</ref>

There is evidence that the [[rowan tree]] was held sacred to {{lang|fi|Ukko|italic=unset}}.<ref name=Haavio-1967/> {{lang|fi|[[Rauni (deity)|Rauni]]}}, a vaguely defined being has been hypothesised to be cognate to Germanic words for the rowan tree through {{Langx|non|*raunir}}.<ref name=Haavio-1959>{{cite book |last=Haavio |first=Martti |year=1959 |title=Karjalan jumalat |publisher=WSOY |location=Porvoo}}</ref>

The [[ladybird]] was also considered sacred to {{lang|fi|Ukko|italic=unset}} and called {{Lang|fi|ukonlehmä}} (Ukko's cow).<ref name="Virrankoski 2009"/> The Finnish name of the [[great mullein]] (''Verbascum thapsus'') is {{Lang|fi|ukontulikukka}} (Ukko's fire flower), also linked to worship of {{lang|fi|Ukko|italic=unset}}.<ref>{{cite book |last1 = Halkka |first1 = Antti |display-authors=etal |year = 1998 |orig-year = 1994 |title= Kotimaan luonto-opas |language = fi |edition = 5th |location = Porvoo, Helsinki, Juva |publisher = Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö |page = 139 |isbn = 951-0-19804-8}}</ref>