Product Code Database
Peko (Finnish spelling Pekko, Pekka, Pellon Pekko) is an ancient and Finland god of crops, especially barley and brewing. In the area of Setomaa, between Estonia and Russia, inhabited by the Seto language-speaking Setos, the cult of Peko was alive until the 20th century. Today, the Setos people (an ethnic group of Estonians in the south-east of the country) also revere Peko as their national hero and king, the name and figure are widely used as a national symbol.
Pekko is further connected to beer as in some parts of Tavastia, the word pekko itself has meant beer or sahti. (2026). 9789524954051, Gaudeamus. ISBN 9789524954051 In Tavastia, the name appeared in the form peltopekka and peltopekko. In North Karelia in the early 1900s, Pellon Pekka sometimes meant the haltija of the field, but usually was simply something which was used to scare children. In Finnish and Karelian , Pellon Pekko is usually mentioned when listing different types crops, along with "rye of Runkateivas". In them, Pellon Pekko works as name for an awn. Among the Forest Finns, Kaisa Vilhunen said that at the end of harvest, the last sheaf was thrown to be a pillow for Peltopekka. Harva thought that the tradition from Kaavi in which the milk of a black sheep is brought to the field when barley is becoming dry means a sacrifice to Peko.
A rare Karelian song states that Pekka created a swidden and Onni then sowed barley and brewed the first beer. Onni has been seen as the personification of luck, but Siikala argued that Onni is the same as Osmo mentioned in Finnish runic songs, the mythic sower of barley and brewer of beer. This, in Siikala's opinion, proves that Peko is an older personification or protector of barley and not a reference to Saint Peter.
In Hietajärvi, Suomussalmi, if someone had hurt themself while falling onto the ground, soil was boiled and the liquid given to the patient, while reading a spell where the pain is asked if it came from the ground, Peko from the field, and is ordered to go back into the ground.
Peko is sometimes associated with Estonian Pikne (Pitkne), Baltic Perkūnas or even Christian Saint Peter.
The second holiday dedicated to Peko was held after the harvest. Peko was also revered during Candlemas and Midsummer feasts. The carved idols of Peko were kept hidden in granaries around the year. The head of the idol typically had holes for candles.
A third holiday was held around August 4, in which the people of Setomaa sing the local anthem, host a musical competition, and elect the next representative of Peko for the year (known as ülebtsootska, the "vice-king"), before they end the celebrations with a military parade.
The supposed grave of Peko is under an old oak tree near the Pskovo-Pechersky Monastery.
He also appears in the name of a song by Korpiklaani, a Finnish folk metal group. The song is called "Pellonpekko" and appears in their album Spirit of the Forest.
|
|
