Spinning A Celestial Tale: The Birth of Otso
Mielikki, the Finnish forest goddess, has always shared an enchanting connection with all forest creatures, but none more so than with Otso, the first bear ever created. The intriguing tale of Otso’s birth comes from the 19th-century epic poem, Kalevala.
According to the Kalevala, Otso was born “in the ether, in the region of the Moon-land, on the shoulders of Otava” (the Great Bear constellation). The tale takes us on a cosmic journey involving goddesses and wool-boxes, celestial realms, and magical crafting skills. Mielikki, using wool and hair gathered from cosmic realms, skillfully sews and weaves Otso into existence, rocking him in a birchwood cradle tied to a pine tree with golden chains. It’s as magical as it sounds!
Decoding the Symbols: What Otso Represents
Otso is not just a bear but a celestial creature of magic and majesty. The symbolism is deep and intricate, encompassing elements of death, rebirth, and immortality. The pine-tree symbolizes undying life, while the birch-tree represents renewal and fresh beginnings. The moon, which waxes and wanes, stands for the cycle of death and rebirth, much like Otso, who hibernates in winter and is reborn in spring. Moreover, honey—the food of gods—lends him divine grace, further making Otso a sacred totem animal in Finnish mythology.
The Feminine Touch: The Craft of Creating Life
The role of women in Otso’s creation story is striking. Wool, the raw material for Otso, hints at traditional feminine activities like spinning, weaving, and knitting. Mielikki embodies the essence of these skills, transforming waste into life. This also mirrors the Fates from Greek mythology, who spun, measured, and cut the thread of human lives.
In the Kalevala, storytelling is even likened to wool-gathering, thereby intertwining women’s contributions in both crafting life and crafting tales. These stories and legends are like woolen bundles waiting to be unraveled, and the Kalevala itself is such a bundle.
The Delicate Balance: Otso’s Pact with Mielikki
Mielikki strikes a cosmic deal with Otso before gifting him his bearish features: claws and teeth. He promises not to harm humans, and Mielikki blesses him with the power to live harmoniously in nature. While the wilderness may be fierce and unforgiving, Mielikki’s vision is one of peace, akin to an Edenic dream where all creatures co-exist.
But as the saying goes, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Otso’s tale takes a darker turn when he’s manipulated into betraying his promise. The Kalevala tells us that wicked Louhi wanted to harm her rival. So she asked Otso to attack her cattle. A poet and hunter decides to challenge the bear but cannot bring himself to kill it. With a promise of milk and honey and many honeyed words, he asks Otso to sacrifice himself for the community. And the bear is willingly slaughtered and a feast is held and his remains are revered as precious relics.
All this seems confusing and contradictory but we must consider it from an anthropological point of view. In many cultures, ancient and modern, killing animals to eat their meat raises moral dilemmas. It may even seem sacrilegious in archaic societies that consider animals as sacred and sometimes even as clan ancestors ( totem animals) The vegetarianism option was an exception in ancient times. Solutions were found to deal with the problem. The Achouars, a Brazilian tribe that still lives a traditional lifestyle believe that in the beginning there was no difference between human and animals. Before killing an animal, the hunter asks for its consent and forgiveness. This explains why in many ancient cultures, hunting is a regulated, ritualized activity. To go back to the death of Otso, the Kalevala explains the rites of bear hunting in ancient Finland and the origins of a ceremony called Peijaiset. Hunting was followed by a ritual feast where the bear was thanked in songs for his sacrifice. The skull was raised on a pine- tree so the spirit of the bear could ascend to the heavens and be reborn.
Bear Worship and Gender Dynamics
While women played a key role in Otso’s creation, hunting was primarily a masculine activity. For men, the bear epitomized courage, strength, and virility, eventually leading to bear worship in many ancient societies Rock paintings and carvings all through Eurasia show the importance of ritualized bear hunting. Otso’s myth even permeates into Norse legends, inspiring the Beserkers, a group of warriors who wore bear-skins to imbibe the animal’s strength.
Unraveling the Complex Web
Mielikki and Otso’s tale is a complex weave of cultural, ethical, and gender dynamics. It touches upon many contemporary issues like animal rights, hunting ethics, and even the varying roles that men and women play in mythology and real life. So while the tale of Otso may have been spun long ago, its threads continue to unravel and inspire even today. Bear with me; our story is complete, and the box of wool is empty.
Source:
Article on the ritual of bear-hunting in ancient Finnish society: https://helda.helsinki.fi/server/api/core/bitstreams/19485fd9-c2a6-4423-bb1d-80bc114cd4ae/content
Text of the Finnish epic poem, the Kalevala in an English translation: https://www.gutenberg.org/
Image Source: wikimedia.org, historicmysteries.com