Akka
Encyclopedia
Akka is traditionally a female spirit in Sámi
and Finnish mythology
.
In Sámi mythology, the first akka was Maderakka and her daughters were Sarakka, Uksakka and Juksakka. Some Sámi thought they lived under their kota tents.
Worship of akka was common, and took the form of sacrifices, pleas for help and various rituals. Sarakka was thought to be especially helpful for pregnant women, and after a birth, a woman would eat a special porridge dedicated to her.
Yambe-Akka or Jabme-akka is a Sami
goddess
of the underworld
. Her name means 'The Old Woman of the Dead'. Spirit
s of lost babies are soothed and comforted by her, but all other spirits dwell in sorrow. The land of the dead is said to be a mirror of the land of the living where everything is the opposite. So, the dead are buried with the essentials of living (e.g. knives
) and anything that would make their afterlife
better.
In Finnish mythology
, Akka is the wife of Ukko
, and she is the goddess of fertility. As they make love, thunder rolls. She could be seen as the female side of nature, maaemonen, the "mother earth" whom Ukko fertilizes. In Estonian mythology
she is known as Maan-Eno.
SAMI
SAMI is a Microsoft accessibility initiative released in 1998. The structured markup language is designed to simplify creating captions for media playback on a PC, i.e. not for broadcast purposes....
and Finnish mythology
Finnish mythology
Finnish mythology is the mythology that went with Finnish paganism which was practised by the Finnish people prior to Christianisation. It has many features shared with fellow Finnic Estonian mythology and its non-Finnic neighbours, the Balts and the Scandinavians...
.
In Sámi mythology, the first akka was Maderakka and her daughters were Sarakka, Uksakka and Juksakka. Some Sámi thought they lived under their kota tents.
Worship of akka was common, and took the form of sacrifices, pleas for help and various rituals. Sarakka was thought to be especially helpful for pregnant women, and after a birth, a woman would eat a special porridge dedicated to her.
Yambe-Akka or Jabme-akka is a Sami
Sami people
The Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost...
goddess
Goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some cultures goddesses are associated with Earth, motherhood, love, and the household. In other cultures, goddesses also rule over war, death, and destruction as well as healing....
of the underworld
Underworld
The Underworld is a region which is thought to be under the surface of the earth in some religions and in mythologies. It could be a place where the souls of the recently departed go, and in some traditions it is identified with Hell or the realm of death...
. Her name means 'The Old Woman of the Dead'. Spirit
Spirit
The English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...
s of lost babies are soothed and comforted by her, but all other spirits dwell in sorrow. The land of the dead is said to be a mirror of the land of the living where everything is the opposite. So, the dead are buried with the essentials of living (e.g. knives
Knife
A knife is a cutting tool with an exposed cutting edge or blade, hand-held or otherwise, with or without a handle. Knives were used at least two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools...
) and anything that would make their afterlife
Afterlife
The afterlife is the belief that a part of, or essence of, or soul of an individual, which carries with it and confers personal identity, survives the death of the body of this world and this lifetime, by natural or supernatural means, in contrast to the belief in eternal...
better.
In Finnish mythology
Finnish mythology
Finnish mythology is the mythology that went with Finnish paganism which was practised by the Finnish people prior to Christianisation. It has many features shared with fellow Finnic Estonian mythology and its non-Finnic neighbours, the Balts and the Scandinavians...
, Akka is the wife of Ukko
Ukko
In Finnish mythology, Ukko, in Estonian mythology Uku, is a god of sky, weather, crops and other natural things. He is the most significant god in Finnish and Estonian mythologies, and created the goddess Ilmatar, creator of the world. The Finnish word ukkonen, thunderstorm, is derived from his...
, and she is the goddess of fertility. As they make love, thunder rolls. She could be seen as the female side of nature, maaemonen, the "mother earth" whom Ukko fertilizes. In Estonian mythology
Estonian mythology
Estonian mythology is a complex of myths belonging the Estonian folk heritage and literary mythology.Information about the pre-Christian and medieval Estonian mythology is scattered in historical chronicles, travellers' accounts and in ecclesiastical registers...
she is known as Maan-Eno.