How confusing. :) On one hand, it speaks of Väinämöinen striking fire, on he other, "Pitkämöönen". This is considered to be a weird morph trying to combine the names of Väinämöinen and Ukko. But then, Ilmarinen is also mentioned! Ilmarinen does indeed seem to be the original figure who, while forging with the feathers of the fiery eagle kokko, caused a spark of fire to fall. This spark, though often described like a meteorite, could of course also be like a lightning strike that causes a fire.
The original cause for thunder for Finns is indeed the fiery eagle kokko, who can spew fire and cause sparks when its claws hit a rock. It would then make perfect sense that Ilmarinen could cause a spark of fire to fall while forging with its feathers. But where does Ukko come in with this? Well, the thing is, Kokko is called the "helper" of Ukko, but in many cases, also treated as one and the same with him. As thunderstones are called Ukko's axe, they are also called Ukko's claw. Ukko and Kokko are similar sounding words that do get mixed with each other in runosongs. While Ukko that tries to slay the Giant Ox is so obviously human-formed, when it comes to him striking with lightning that causes fires... well, he seems to do it in both forms. He wouldn't be the forst one to make such a transformation: the mother of Lemminkäinen also transforms into a kokko when looking for her son.
    Näin minä vanhan Väinämöisen Ilimassa tulta iskevän Näin minä nuoren Joukkavaisen Tunturivuorta vestävän Salama salattu Vahvueessa varustettu Pitkämöönen tulta isköö Keskellä merikiviä Kirjavasta kärmehestä Kivestä kipinä nousi Somerosta sorto suuri Ilmasta tuli Ilmanmoonen Valkia nimes, pidä tilas Puikko putosi puhki pilven Kivikirves taivahasta Joka särjet suuret hongat Pirstot pitkät pihkakuuset Kivet mullaksi muserrat Oi sä korkehin Jumala Tahi taatto taivahinen Kytke tuli taivahalla Estä virta kosken alla Pisarat kauas kavauta Pidättele pikkaraista Ilman impeä utuista Ettei tulvia tulisi Maan päälle langeaisi Ukkonen kovakalunen Morsian kolmen totuuen Tule töitäs tuntemahan Pahojas parantamahan! Koska nyt on kolmannesti Tulipalo piiritetty Sinun mustalla murallas Älä salli savustansa Liekin nousta liehumaan Vaan anna aina tulen olla Täällä orja onnellisten Vaan ei päästä valtahansa Varsin vaarana kohoilla |
Yes, parts of trees, or soil, struck by lightning have been used as magic items that have the väki of thunder in them. Here, there is an attempt to prevent a fire caused by lightning from spreading.
Below, an incantation to prevent lightning from striking a person:
Oi, sinä ukkonen upea Siniliekki leimuava, Vihan vimma viihtymätön Oi, on vaskinen vasama Sinä pehmitä sydämet Sinä rinnat raukaisuta Sudet suista kankahalla Korven kontiot kesytä Iske heihin lemmon haava Aseta ikuinen arpi! Älä rintahan inehmon! |
And yet more! Here are runosongs speaking of Ukko riding on chariots, obviously born out of foreign influence. Already in Ancient Rome, it was thought that Jupiter rides a chariot in the sky, which later spread as a Europe-wide tale.
| Ukko uljaasti ajeli Taivaan taato tanssitteli Hepoa hiiren harmaata Valkeata valakkata Kaikui koko ilman kansi Vuoret vahvat vapisi Tukka tuiskuu tulta Älä ajaa niin kovaa Kun niin kovan jyräjää |