Käreitär
deity forest Finnish single tradition · 1
Käreitär or Kärehetär is a haltija or goddess in Finnish mythology who appears in hunting spells. She was called the Mother of Foxes and a golden woman in a fox hunting spell first mentioned in writing in 1786. In bear and fox hunting spells, she is invited to come to melt and boil silver and gold, and hunters offer her gold and silver won from war as sacrifice.
When
- First attested
- 1786 CE
- Attested period
- 1786 – 1888
- Historical notes
- First mentioned in writing in 1786 in a fox hunting spell; also appears in a Kainuu bear hunting spell written down in 1888.
Relationships
- manifested by
- Forest Mistress
Mentioned by
Sources
wikipedia (1)
Source passages
“Jacob Fellman wrote in 1839 that the Sámi in some regions, as well as Finns of Lapland, knew the Mother of Foxes, Käreitär.”
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