In autumn, before the proper winter hunt, a ritual called the “bear’s circling”569 was organized. After the first autumnal snow, the bear moved around the forest and the hunters could easily find its tracks in the snow. Later in autumn, when there was more snow, the bear started to spend more time in its den. At this point, the hunters circled the bear; when they discovered the location of the den, they circumambulated it in the forest for a diameter of a verst.570 They did this to control if the bear was staying there for the whole period of hibernation or if it was still walking around. It was necessary to control if the bear remained in the circle: after every snowfall the hunters turned around the den again, but doing a smaller circle around it. Diminishing the circles, the hunters should avoid to be noticed by the bear: if it was still wandering around, it could flee from the circle.571
Furthermore, whoever found the den or living place of game animals had the right of possession over the prey, but he had to inform the other villagers.In Salmi, the discoverer of the den also maintained the right of possession over the bear when it fled from the den, but only if he chased the bruin.In Uhtua and Voijärvi, if another hunter killed the bear on the second or third day after it fled from the den, the prey was divided between the killer and the discoverer of the den.572
The circling had practical goals, but it included rituals and incantations to block the animal in its den and keep it inside the circle. According to Hästesko, circling someone or something had a binding function:573 if someone turned around something he gained control over it. The magic circle could protect someone from external dangers or stop something coming from inside the circle. Generally the bear’s circling had an effect only if the performer had strong luontoforce574 and was able to manipulate the väki forcepresent in certain powerful objects. For example, to stop a fire it was necessary to circle it with a thunderstone, an object considered to be extremely powerful which was used in several rituals.575
569 Karhun kierronta.
570 An old Russian unit of distance (virsta in Finnish). One verst is 1.0668 kilometer.
571 Varonen 1891: 69.
572 Virtanen E. A. 1949: 5–6. Among the Ob-Ugrians, the discoverer of the den obtained the bear fur.
573 Hästesko 1918: 148.
574 Personal force; see Section 4.6.
575 Hästesko 1918: 39.
Samppa Riikko from Tuhkala precisely described the rites and incantations performed during the “bear’s circling”:
When you start to circle the bear, you take with you a burr from a living tree and a sword used in war. When you reach the footprints, you turn upside down576 three of them and sing the Birth of the Bear.577 Then you draw with the point of the sword three pentacles on the footprints.578 They should be drawn without raising the point of the sword from the ground before the pentacle is complete. Then you light a fire in the burr and start circling with the burning burr.579
The burning burr had both a protective and an aggressive function: the bear and the forest spirit feared the “fire’s force.”580 The “fire’s force” was considered stronger and opposed to the “forest’s force,”581 probably for the obvious reason that fire is able to burn wood. Fire was also considered the youngest and most powerful of the elemental forces.582
More generally, fire was considered particularly sacred because of its mythic heavenly origins and its connection with thunder.583 Like “iron’s force”, the “fire’s force” was protective, and it was used to drive away every kind of evil power: diseases, evil spirits and sorcerers.584 A burning burr was particularly effective against forest
576 Here the meaning of the sentence could also be “turn backward” the footprint in the opposite direction (making the bear walk back towards the hunters).
577 On the Birth of the Bear, see Chapter 5.
578 The tree footprints previously turned upside-down.
579 Karhua kuin lähetään kiertämään, otetaan mukaan elävän puun pakkulata ja vanha, sotassa ollut miekka. Kuin päästään jälille, niin käännetään nurin kolme jälkeä, luvetaan karhun synty. Sittä sillä miekan kärellä piirretäan jälille kolme viisi kantaa. Ne pitää niin piirtää, ettei nosta miekan kärkeä maasta, ennenkuin on aina viisikanta valmis. Sittä sytytetään tuli siihen pakkulaan ja sen palavan pakkulan kanssa lähetään kiertämään (SKVR I4/1198. Tuhkala (Pistojärvi). Meriläinen n. 90.
1888. Samppa Riiko).
580 Tulen väki.
581 Krohn [1915] 2008: 93.
582 Stark 2006: 358; SKS KRA Paulaharju 18294, Suomussalmi 1915.
583 Hästesko 1918: 32–33.
584 Hästesko 1918: 33.
spirits: when a cow or animal fell under the power of the “forest cover,”585 it could be recovered by leaving a burning burr on a forest track.586
A sword used in war was considered particularly powerful because it contained both the “force of death”587 and the “force of iron.”588 It was also used in the protective rituals performed before leaving for the hunt.589 As an alternative for the sword, Viena Karelian hunters could circle the den with other artifacts made in a forge, because the
“force of the forge”590 was considered to be stronger than the “force of the forest.”591 The pentacle was common in Finno-Karelian folk magic rituals, as it could “close a space” or “block something or someone”: it had a strong protective and binding power.592 It gave hunters additional magic power to control the footprint of the bear (blocking its capacity to go far awy), ensuring that it remained on the spot.593
Rites dealing with the bear’s tracks were common during the bear’s circling. Some of these went into meticulous detail. Mikko Vasilius from Katoslampi told that the three pentacles should be drawn on the bear’s tracks with a branch from a young
“spruce of Tapio.”594 Three footprints should be turned backwardsand fastened with an alder nail. Finally a branch from the “spruce of Tapio” was inserted into the last of the tree footprints.595
Hunters from Reisjärvi (Kivijärvi) made a cross of alder twigs on the third track.596 The alder tree was considered to be powerful and a good protection against the bear’s force; it was also used to drive away the “contagious force” present in bear meat.597 However, all of these complicated procedures were related to magic manipulation of
585 Metsän peitto described a supernatural state in which cows were lost in the forest and therefore invisible. See Section 3.14.
586 Krohn [1915] 2008: 93; Hästesko 1918: 33.
587 Kalman väki.
588 Raudan väki.
589 SKVR I4/1195; see Sections 4.6, 4.7.
590 Pajan väki.
591 Tulen väki. See SKVR I4/1197.
592 On the use of pentacles in bear ceremonialism, see Sections 4.5, 7.1, 7.4.
593 See Chapter 5.
594 For the “table of Tapio,” see Sections 4.2, 6.1.
595 SKVR I4/1197. Katoslampi. Meriläinen n. 76. 1888.
596 Karhua kun etsivät, niin käänsivät kolme askelta takaisin päin ja leppäristin tekivät sitte sen kolmannen askeleen päälle (Krohn 3444 b. Informant: 68-year-old man. Reisjärvi l. (Kivijärvi);
cited in Varonen 1891: 215).
597 See Section 8.14.
the footprints: by “blocking” the tracks—making pentacles or an alder cross, or fixing an alder nail—the hunter prevented the bear from fleeing from the den or the “circle.”
Samppa Riiko sang an incantation related to the rituals to fix the bear in its den:
Languish, rieska598 mouth, loaf, milk mouth
in the pine room,
inside the oaken599 cattle yard, around the coniferous castle,600 at the foot of a handsome spruce, beside the daughters of the Nature,601 in the yard of the forest maids!602
The addressee of this incantation was the bear, called by the rare circumlocution of
“milk mouth,”603 which in lullabies indicated an infant.604 The singer wanted the bear to fall asleep in its winter hibernation, just as a mother desires to put her infant to sleep.
The hunter described the den as a comfortable pine room605 inhabited by young—and probably beautiful—female forest spirits, which were supposed to feed the bear during hibernation.606 Samppa Rikko emphasized that the bear was in a lovely and safe place. Around it was a robust oaken cattle yard, an image that highlighted how the bear was considered to be the cattle of the forest spirits. The image could also be connected with the “closing” magic of the “bear’s circling.”607 Nearby the den was a
“coniferous castle” or fortified “city”: a rich, populated and fabulous place, compared to cottages and cabins of the hunters’ village. The concept emphasized the majesty of
598 Rieska could mean ‘fresh milk’ or ‘unleavened bread.’
599 The adjective ‘oaken’ (tamminen) in the songs is sometimes connected with the forest master Tapio (tamminen Tapio).
600 Linna could mean “castle” or a “[fortified] city”: see Section 3.6.
601 Luonto in this peculiar case could be translated as ‘Nature.’
602 Rieskasuu riuvottele, / maitosuu mallottele, / honkaisessa huonehessa, / tammisessa tanhuassa, / havulinnan liepehellä, / kenkällä komean kuusen, / luona Luonnon-tyttärien, / metsänpiikojen pihoilla! (SKVR I4/1198. Tuhkala. Meriläinen II n. 90.1888. Samppa Riiko); cited in Varonen 1891: 70–71.
603 Maitosuu.
604 SKVR VI1/1191: 2; XIII2/5173: 5.
605 See Section 7.2.
606 See Sections 3.7, 7.1.
607 Krohn [1915] 2008: 110.
the forest masters and spirits. References to a forest castle or city608 are present in some Births of the Bear,609 while in hunting incantations there often appeared the “castle” or
“city of Tapio,”610 which could be the dwelling place of the master of the forest and a circumlocution for the “granary of Tapio,”611 a spot that was full of “grain of the forest”612 (game animals).613 The bear’s den was also called “castle” or “city” in certain incantations.
The den was almost always described as a kind of “house” for the bear, but its representation was not always so positive: when the hunters woke up the bear from its hibernation before the kill, their song could describe the den as a very uncomfortable place.614 The hunter could thus manipulate the positivity or negativity of the den in order to fulfill his goal: the den was lovely when the bear should stay in it, but “rotting” when the bear was supposed to leave it.
The set of rituals described by Samppa Riiko did not end with the incantation. When making the perimeter was done, the hunter drew a cross on the ground with the sword and then left the place with his eyes shut, so that other hunters would not be able to find the bear and other animals or beings living in the forest615 would not disturb it.616 The ritual seems to have included an act of sympathetic magic: by closing his own eyes, the hunter also magically closed those of other hunters and animals.
Secrecy was an important feature of the “bear’s circling,” which was supposed to remain unseen by the forest spirit. In Kiimasjärvi (Kontokki), when the hunters circled the den, the circle should not be completely “closed”; coming back to the area of their starting point, the hunters were not supposed to see the spot where they began to make the circle. If the hunter reached or saw the starting point, the forest spirit noticed him and requested the bear to flee from the circle. If the forest spirit did not recognize the activity of the hunters, the bear would remain in its den until the day when it was killed, when the forest spirit gave the bear a blood cup instead of the normal cup of honey to feed it.617 By means of this ritual, the hunters deceived both the bear and the
608 Metsän linna, see Section 3.6.
609 SKVR I4/1355: 13; SKVR I4/1407: 15; for the Birth of the Bear, see Chapter 5.
610 Tapion linna.
611 Tapion aitta.
612 Metsänvilja.
613 Krohn [1915] 2008: 107.
614 See Sections 7.2, 10.2.
615 Metsä-elävät.
616 SKVR I4/1198; SKS KRA Meriläinen II 90 a; see Varonen 1891: 70–71.
617 SKVR I4/1198; SKS KRA Meriläinen II 632. Kiimasjärvi (Kontokki).
forest spirit. They should be very cautious, because the forest spirit would get upset if it understood that it was being cheated.618
The hunters of Katoslampi (Pistojärvi) used another deceptive strategy: they circumambulated the den with three black woodpecker heads. The hunters believed this would keep the bear from leaving, as illustrated by the following informant’s explanation :
The black woodpecker is the bear’s pet and it belongs to the same guardian spirit as the bear, so the bear believes itself to be safe when the black woodpecker circles around it. The black woodpecker belongs to the human family, just like the bear.619
In Rautavaara, the hunters circled the den three times, but the third time not completely, and a small offering of poured silverwas made in front of the “gate.”620 Repeating the act three times assured the efficiency of the rite. In this case, the offering of silver, performed also before or during the bear hunt, marked a direct exchange with the forest spirit: the hunters did not cheat, but instead they made a deal with it.621
In Pihtipudas, the hunters circled the den three times: two times clockwise and the third time counterclockwise.622 A similar rite was performed in rituals to protect the cattle from bears during the grazing season: here the cattle’s mistress walked around the cows two times clockwise and the third time counterclockwise with an axe or sickle in her hand.623
Maxima Borizov from Suojärvi told that the hunters circled the den three times and uttered the following incantation:
I put here a fence with stakes of iron, from poles of steel.
618 SKVR I4/1198; SKS KRA Meriläinen II 632. Kiimasjärvi (Kontokki).
619 Palokärki on karhun lemmikki ja saman haltiaan joukkoon kuuluva kuin karhukin, niin karhu tietää olevansa turvassa, kuin on palokärki kiertänyt. Palokärki on ihmisen sukua samoin kuin karhu (SKS KRA Meriläinen II 1134. Katoslampi (Pistojärvi). 68-year-old man; see Varonen 1891: 70).
620 The gate was probably the space left open during in making of the circle (SKS KRA Krohn 10261: 40-year-old man. Rautavaara; see Varonen 1891: 214–215).
621 On offerings, see Section 6.1.
622 SKS KRA Krohn 15984 d. 66-year-old man. Pihtipudas; see Varonen 1891: 71.
623 SKVR I4/1383; I4/1415.
[I put] Saint Kusmoi Jimjana to watch and guard
this circle of mine.624
The fence of steel or iron is a leitmotif of protective incantations.625 In this case, the fence closed the bear into the circle and a saint assumed the guardian role of the forest spirit. The incantations to convince or force the bear to stay in the “circle” were as varied as the magical procedures. Matti Kipeläinen asked the bear, which was maybe still moving around its den, to come into his “circle” or hunting ground:
Old lady of the forest, beautiful fur,626 that Tapio of the forest itself627 come as red fire,
roll as a whirl of water, my ring of gold,628
into my open fishing water629!630
Kilpeläinen was very respectful and called the bear Tapio, the name of the master spirit of the forest. Juhana Tuovinen from Rautavaara uttered a more authoritative incantation, shouting: “I make the forest631 lay down, / I exhaust [it] under the sleep.”632 While saying this, the hunter should push into the ground the beak of a black-throated loon633 as an act of sympathetic magic: the bear was supposed to fall asleep in its den when the beak sank into the soil.
624 Mie panen tähän ai’an, / rautasilla seipähillä, / teräksisistä ai’aksista./Pyhä Kusmoi Jimjana, / katsomaan ja vartiomaan, / tätä minun kierrostani.624 (SKVR VII5/3364. Suojärvi. Krohn n. 6143 a. 1884. Kaitajärvi. Maxima Borizov, brother of Onton Borizov; see Varonen 1891: 214).
625 SKVR I4/1383; I4/1415; see Sections 4.7, 4.8.
626 The bear.
627 The bear.
628 The bear.
629 Hunting ground and the ”circling.”
630 Metsän eukko, kaunis karva, / tuo itse metsän Tapio, / tule kun tuli punainen, viere kun vesikeränen, / minun kulta-sormukseni, / avoimen apajaani! (SKVR XII2/6472. Sotkamo. Ollilainen, P. 14.
1888. Matti Kilpeläinen, 51 years old, born in Kuhmoniemi).
631 The bear.
632 Maata minä metän painan, / alle unen uuvutan (SKVR VII5/3365. Rautavaara. Krohn n. 10613.
1885. Puumala. Juhana Tuovinen).
633 Gavia artica, kuikka in Finnish.
Samuli Hentiläinen from Tuusuniemi asked the bear to remain in its den until the hunter came back:
Do not move from your castle, from your cabin, honey-paw before we are coming to get [you]
with the consent of young men.634
Here the use of the terms “castle” or “fortified city”635 for the den is meaningful: in hunting incantations, the forest or the hunting ground could be called “the castle” or
“city” of Tapio.636 By defining the bear den as a castle or city, the status of the bear was elevated to that of the higher forest master. Additionally, a castle—being encircled by walls—is a “closed” and protected space; feeling itself to be safe in such a fortification, the bear would not flee from it.