| Names: | Of Syöjätär: Ajasteri  Syletär  Synnytär  Syvätär  Syä Syöjätär  Syökäri Syömmetär Syöttiläinen Syötär  Syötäri
Of Ajattara: Aattara  Ahtokainen Ähkyläinen |
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I'm sure I have missed A LOT more names I'll have to add later. For explanation: Syöjätär, Ajattara, as well as Kanelia, are all names that appear for female demons. Sometimes, they are used as synonyms, but I guess they are not considered just one being in all instances. I'll cover them on this same page but know that there's no certainty if they should be thought of as one or multiple.
Ajattara is a name we know from non-runosong sources: for example, in an old translation of the Bible for "liliths". However, in runosongs there is "Aattara", and by the rules of syllables in runosongs, this likely was originally Ajattara. She is only mentioned in one context: the snake was "Ajattara's fence's twig". In South Ostrbothnia, this name appears as Ahtokainen, and in Rear Bothnia, as Ähkyläinen, so I added them here despite those names not resembling Ajattara much. If you see the form "Ajatar", it is false. This is an overcorrection and a construct made by M.A. Castrén to form a standardized form of the name.
As runosong mentions of Ajattara are sparse, we'll have to look at other descriptions. Christfrid Ganander called Ajattara a nightmare; Daniel Juslenius called her an evil witch and a forest troll; and Christian Erici Lencqvist called her an evil, scary and fast female forest haltija who led people astray.
Ajattara could be connected to the word hattara, which is also listed as an evil female being or a haltija that moves and laughs in the dark, and aatta for a "bad" (= promiscuous) woman.
Syöjätär symbolizes the evil in the dualistic Finno-Ugric origin myths. While this myth has become considerably less dualistic for Finns, Syöjätär has remained despite not being connected to creation. Her Sámi equivalent, the source of evil things, is Áhčešeatni. In later, Slavic inspired stories, she also takes a role similar to the Baba Yaga.
Syöjätär is the origin of snakes and lizards, which came from her spit, and Syöjätär is also used as a name for the snake itself. In Kainuian runosongs, she is also the origin of throat pain. As stones in fields were nuisances for farmers, they were also added to Syöjätär's list of unpleasant creations. She has also been called the "mother" of wasps (usually Päivätär's role), horse colic (usually Äkräs's role), and rickets (usually Louhi's role). As runosongs describe Louhi giving birth to nine sons and one daughter, this daughter is in some instances called Syöjätär.
In more fairytale-like stories, Syöjätär appears as an evil witch of sorts who is killed at the end. Cows don't have more teats because Syöjätär complained about having to milk them, so most of them were removed. In addition to a demon, she is also called a flesh eater and a cannibal.
| Ajattara | Ajattara and variants could be related to the word aatta = "bad" (= promiscuous) woman. On the other hand, the beginning part of the word could've been influenced by the verb ajattaa "to pursue", if Ajattara was seen as a pursuing nightmare. |
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| Syöjätär, Syötär, variants | From syödä "to eat, to devour". |
| Syletär | Formed from Syöjätär, influenced by the word sylki "spit". |
| Synnytär | Formed from Syöjätär, influenced by the word synnyttää "to give birth". |
| Syvätär | Formed from Syöjätär, influenced by the word syvä "deep". Also appears as a name for Louhi. |
| Syä, Syömmetär | Formed from Syöjätär, influenced by the word sydän "heart" as a rock is called "Syöjätär's heart cone". |
| Kanelia, variants | Possibly from kanalja "scoundrel". |
| -tar, -tär | Feminine suffix. |
Only in Finnish, sorry. This is the source material.