Peko (Finnish spelling Pekko, Pekka, Pellon Pekko) is an ancient Estonian and Finnish god of crops, especially barley and brewing. In the area of Setomaa, between Estonia and Russia, inhabited by the Seto language-speaking Setos, the cult of Peko was alive until the 20th century. Today, the Seto people (an ethnic group of Estonians in the south-east of the country) also revere Peko as their national hero and king, the name and figure are widely used as a national symbol.

Name

Magnus Olsen connected Peko to Norse Byggvir, whose name comes from the Norse word for "barley". If Peko's name came from Proto-Norse, it would require the existence of the Proto-Norse form *beggwu for barley. Kaarle Krohn pointed out the Finnish connection of the name Pekka to Pietari (biblical Peter). Nils Lid initially believed to not be a loan, but the name of the common horsetail; Uno Harva denied this, stating that the word of the plant in the Karelian Isthmus and Ingria is instead. Additionally, as beer in runic songs is often described as something which makes people festive and sing, Harva called Pekko the "ancient Finnish Bacchus" and called him the god of song and poetry as well.

Pekko is further connected to beer as in some parts of Tavastia, the word itself has meant beer or sahti. In Tavastia, the name appeared in the form and . In North Karelia in the early 1900s, Pellon Pekka sometimes meant the haltija of the field, but usually was simply something which was used to scare children. In Finnish and Karelian runic songs, Pellon Pekko is usually mentioned when listing different types crops, along with "rye of Runkateivas". In them, Pellon Pekko works as name for an awn. Among the Forest Finns, Kaisa Vilhunen said that at the end of harvest, the last sheaf was thrown to be a pillow for Peltopekka. Harva thought that the tradition from Kaavi in which the milk of a black sheep is brought to the field when barley is becoming dry means a sacrifice to Peko.

Modern appearances

Seto folksinger Anne Vabarna has created the epic "Songs of Peko" where Peko is depicted as a Seto hero. Peko is in eternal sleep in the cave. When someone calls his name, he brings the rain to the fields. If people of his kin remember his advice and work hard, Peko sends them abundant crops. Peko is praised as a warrior who frees the country, as a hunter who gives bear skins to villagers and as a host of wedding feasts. He ploughs the field with a wooden plough and protects the people against evil spirits who make people to drink too much. Pekos' spirit can also fly around as a butterfly.

The supposed grave of Peko is under an old oak tree near the Pskovo-Pechersky Monastery.

He also appears in the name of a song by Korpiklaani, a Finnish folk metal group. The song is called "Pellonpekko" and appears in their album Spirit of the Forest.

See also

  • Estonian mythology
  • Finnish mythology

References

  • The second part of the Song of Peko by Anne Vabarna (in the Seto language, with a foreword in Estonian)