You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Finnish. (June 2014) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Finnish Wikipedia article at [[:fi:Peijaiset]]; see its history for attribution.
You may also add the template {{Translated|fi|Peijaiset}} to the talk page.
Peijaiset (in dialectal forms peijahaiset, peijaat or peijaajaiset)[1] is a Finnish concept, dating to pre-Christian times, denoting a memorial feast (akin to a wake) that was held to honour a slain animal, particularly the bear, the animal most sacred to ancient Finns. In modern-day usage, it often refers to the celebrations following a successful elkhunt, or a feast at the end of a hunting season. It may also be used in a figurative sense, denoting any memorial held for things that have come to an end ("peijaiset" over e.g. bankrupt companies). Traditionally, it referred to wakes for humans and animals, but also other celebrations, depending on the region in question.[2]
Karhunpeijaiset (lit. a bear wake) is a celebration held for the soul of a slain bear after a successful bear hunt. Traditionally, a bear was never "hunted" but was merely "brought down". A single man could claim to have hunted and killed a bear, but when the entire community was involved, the bear was simply said to have died. The bear's spirit had to be told that it had fallen into a pit or that it had otherwise killed itself by accident, not by the hunters, to appease the bear's spirit so that it would not be offended, and possibly exact revenge upon the hunters. The ceremony was always a much more elaborate affair than what the most influential member of the community would have merited. In eastern Finland, it would have copious mourners and wailers, and the people would address the bear as a relative, or the son of a god. Its flesh was not eaten, which would have been cannibalism, or, if it was, an elaborate show was made to symbolically render the meat into that of another animal such as venison. The bear's head was usually mounted on the top of a young tree, or on a pike, so as to help the bear's spirit climb up into the stars (specifically, the constellation of the Great Bear), where it was believed bears' souls had come from. Carrion-eaters would then eat it, leaving only the skull, which would then become an object of veneration. A courtyard would also be cleared around the skull. Traditionally, only bears were honoured thus.[citation needed]
Sometimes, the ceremony was performed in the fashion of a sacred marriage rather than a wake. In such cases, the bear was either propped up inside of a frame or strapped to a cross. With all due ceremony, the chosen bride or groom would symbolically marry the bear.[citation needed]
In the present day, peijaiset usually refers to a celebration at the end of a successful hunt or the end of a hunting season, and they are usually only held for moose and bears.[2] On many occasions, it involves a festive evening meal for the hunters, made from the latest kill.[citation needed]
Similar customs have been reported from many other northern people who share their habitat with bears.
^ abLänsimäki, Maija (30 October 2001). . Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
January 01, 1970
peijaiset, help, expand, this, article, with, text, translated, from, corresponding, article, finnish, june, 2014, click, show, important, translation, instructions, machine, translation, like, deepl, google, translate, useful, starting, point, translations, t. You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Finnish June 2014 Click show for important translation instructions Machine translation like DeepL or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate rather than simply copy pasting machine translated text into the English Wikipedia Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low quality If possible verify the text with references provided in the foreign language article You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Finnish Wikipedia article at fi Peijaiset see its history for attribution You may also add the template Translated fi Peijaiset to the talk page For more guidance see Wikipedia Translation This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Peijaiset news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2013 Learn how and when to remove this message Peijaiset in dialectal forms peijahaiset peijaat or peijaajaiset 1 is a Finnish concept dating to pre Christian times denoting a memorial feast akin to a wake that was held to honour a slain animal particularly the bear the animal most sacred to ancient Finns In modern day usage it often refers to the celebrations following a successful elk hunt or a feast at the end of a hunting season It may also be used in a figurative sense denoting any memorial held for things that have come to an end peijaiset over e g bankrupt companies Traditionally it referred to wakes for humans and animals but also other celebrations depending on the region in question 2 Karhunpeijaiset lit a bear wake is a celebration held for the soul of a slain bear after a successful bear hunt Traditionally a bear was never hunted but was merely brought down A single man could claim to have hunted and killed a bear but when the entire community was involved the bear was simply said to have died The bear s spirit had to be told that it had fallen into a pit or that it had otherwise killed itself by accident not by the hunters to appease the bear s spirit so that it would not be offended and possibly exact revenge upon the hunters The ceremony was always a much more elaborate affair than what the most influential member of the community would have merited In eastern Finland it would have copious mourners and wailers and the people would address the bear as a relative or the son of a god Its flesh was not eaten which would have been cannibalism or if it was an elaborate show was made to symbolically render the meat into that of another animal such as venison The bear s head was usually mounted on the top of a young tree or on a pike so as to help the bear s spirit climb up into the stars specifically the constellation of the Great Bear where it was believed bears souls had come from Carrion eaters would then eat it leaving only the skull which would then become an object of veneration A courtyard would also be cleared around the skull Traditionally only bears were honoured thus citation needed Sometimes the ceremony was performed in the fashion of a sacred marriage rather than a wake In such cases the bear was either propped up inside of a frame or strapped to a cross With all due ceremony the chosen bride or groom would symbolically marry the bear citation needed In the present day peijaiset usually refers to a celebration at the end of a successful hunt or the end of a hunting season and they are usually only held for moose and bears 2 On many occasions it involves a festive evening meal for the hunters made from the latest kill citation needed Similar customs have been reported from many other northern people who share their habitat with bears See also editIomante a similar practice among the Ainu people of Japan Vakkajuhlat a sacred festival celebrated in Finland in honour of the god Ukko References edit Kielitoimiston sanakirja in Finnish headword peijaiset KOTUS a b Lansimaki Maija 30 October 2001 Pidetaanko peijaiset Helsingin Sanomat in Finnish Archived from the original on 17 March 2012 Retrieved 14 January 2013 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Peijaiset amp oldid 1198221183, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
