Tapio_(spirit)

Tapio (spirit)

Tapio (spirit)

Finnish god of forest and pray a.k.a the king of the forests

Tapio (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈtɑpio]) is a Finnish forest spirit or god in Finnish mythology.[1] Hunters prayed to him before a hunt. His wife is the goddess of the forest, Mielikki. He is the father of Annikki, Tellervo, Nyyrikki (the god of hunting), and Tuulikki. Fitting the Green Man archetype, Tapio has a beard of lichen and eyebrows of moss.[2]

For other uses, see Tapio.

Mikael Agricola mentions Tapio as a Tavastian god in the prologue to his Finnish translation of the Book of Psalms, Dauidin Psalttari [fi].

He lends his name, in the form of Tapiola, to:

He has appeared various times in songs by Finnish metal bands. For example, in the symphonic metal band Nightwish's song, "Elvenpath", he is referred to as "Tapio, Bear-king, Ruler of the forest".[3] The name has also been used extensively by the folk metal band Korpiklaani'.

Jean Sibelius' tone poem Tapiola (1926) is a depiction of the forest Tapio inhabits.

References

  1. [1]
    "Britannica". britannica.com. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  2. [2]
    Ragg, Margherita (24 February 2015). "A Magical Night of Finnish Myths in Finland". thefairytaletraveler.com. TRAVEL MEDIA SOLUTIONS, LLC DBA THE FAIRYTALE TRAVELER. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  3. [3]
    "Elvenpath - Song Lyrics :||: NIGHTWISH OFFICIAL WEBSITE".
Stub icon

This article related to Finnish paganism or mythology is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Stub icon

This article about a deity is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Tapio_(spirit), and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.