Kultapyörä

The Birth of Panu (Fire Son)

Okay. This is vitally connected to the Berry Song.

As I noticed that there is a (seemingly) White Karelian runosong which states that a Lord and a Lady (I assume Virankannos and Päivätär) decided to make a "fiery son" and have an Underworld maiden give birth to him by being impregnated from eating a berry, I started wondering if there is something that supports this in Finnish runosongs... Yes there is!

In a precious Kainuian runosongs, it is described that Lemmäs, the fiery Underworld maiden, gave birth to Panu, the fiery son. While the beginning part of the conversation between a Lord and a Lady are not included, we can assume the events happened the same as all the circumstances support it. (Mainly, fire being called the creation of Päivätär and son of the world pillar). Another Kainuian runosong states that someone named "Syvätär" gave birth to fire; the name and her role seems to be a corruption of Syöjätär and Louhi, both also Underworld related female figures. It is often said that John the Baptist refuses to baptize the monsterous children of Louhi, but here he gladly names Panu. Who could the name-giver have originally been before Christian influnce? Well, again, White Karelia suggests it was Ukko Virankannos himself.

This clearly explains how fire can be a creation of Päivätär but born from Lemmäs at the same time. Is Panu the same as Lemminkäinen? There is a real tangible possibility for it! Tietäjät wanted to use the name "Panu" for fire in incantations as it was believed to be more powerful.

Kainuian runosongs also put the events of the Origin of Fire, where fire falls from the heavens, to happen after this runosong below. The first two lines are not a part of the original runo but come from Central Finland and South Savo. Why did I include them? Because the woman who gets pregnant from eating a berry in the Berry Song is called Marjetta. These other lines show that she, also known as Margetta (Christianized names), has a real connection to being an Underworld maiden.


Margetta matala akka
Lyhyt akka, Tuonen tyttö
Höyhennys Panuttaria
Lemmäs laukahattaria
Kohun kanto kaksikuisen
Jopa kuullen kymmenelle
Pantihin kavon kipuja
Immin tulta tuikattihin
Juoksi vyöstähän vetehen
Sukkarihmasta sulaan
Vyölapusta lainehelle
Kengän kauvolta veteen
Siinä pojan synnytteli
Synnytteli, kasvatteli
Ei kärsi käsin ruveta
Eikä koprin kuonnotella
Lakin laski polvillensa
Lakin päälle lapsen laski
Siinä kanto kastehelle
Siinä ristillen riputti
Johannes parahin pappi
Joka on Panun ristinynnä
Yöllä piiloteltavaksi
Päivillä pidettäväksi
Panu parka, Tuonen poika
Kirnusi tulisen kirnun
Säkehisen säilytteli
Pukemissa puhtahissa
Valkehissa voattehissa

Margetta, low woman
Short woman, girl of Tuoni
Höyhennys is a Panutar / Your feathers of Panuttaret
Lemmäs is a laukahattara
Carried a womb for two months
All the way to the tenth month
Was the pain of the maiden set
The fire of the virgin was flamed
She ran into water by her waist
Into the melted one by her sock straps
Into the waves by her belt
Into the water by the shoe's vamp
There, she gave birth to a son
Gave birth to, raised
One could not touch him with hands
Nor lull with palms
She put a hat onto her knees
And lowered the child onto the hat
There, she carried him to be baptized
[Same again with different words]
John, the best of priests
Was the one who named Panu
To be hidden during nighttime
And be held during daytime
Poor Panu, son of Tuoni
Churned a fiery churn
Kept a shining one
In clean apparel
In white clothes

We do not know for certain if she has the name "Höyhennys", or if she has feathers of fire. We don't know what kind of hattara (Underworld goddess or demoness) she is as while lauka can mean "low", the line varies widely in oral tradition. Eemil Nestor Setälä thought it comes from lauvas "stream", while Kaarle Krohn pointed out lenkka "an unstable creature". "Panutar", a feminine term for fire, would also be one of her names.