# Hongatar

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{{short description|Deity}}
{{Infobox deity
| type         = Finnish
| name         = Hongatar
| deity_of     = Mother of the Bear
| other_names  = [Central Finland](/source/Central_Finland): Hongas, Hongotar, Tapiatar<br>[Karelia](/source/Karelia): Hongas, Honkatar, Tapiotar<br>[Ostrobothnia](/source/Ostrobothnia_(historical_province)): Hongas, Hongotar, Höngäs, Petäjätär<br>[Savo](/source/Savo_(historical_province)): Hongas, Tapiotar
| gender       = Female
| ethnic_group = [Finns](/source/Finns), [Karelians](/source/Karelians)
}}
'''Hongatar''' or '''Hongas''' is a [haltija](/source/haltija) or goddess<ref name="höngäs"/> in [Finnish mythology](/source/Finnish_mythology). She is known as the mother of the bear. After killing a bear, there was a ritual held called [peijaiset](/source/peijaiset), a funeral (sometimes staged like a wedding) for the bear where its skull was lifted on a large, straight pine tree (''honka'').<ref name="haavio">{{cite book |last=Haavio |first=Martti |date=1967 |title=Suomalainen mytologia |url= |location=Helsinki |publisher=WSOY (original), Finnish Literature Society |pages=22–26 |isbn=978-951-858-026-6 |access-date=}}</ref> Hongatar could be also imagined in bear-form, with her skull as the oldest one on the tree. She was the special, invited guest of these rituals.<ref name="sii">{{cite book |last=Siikala |first=Anna-Leena |date=2012 |title=Itämerensuomalaisten mytologia |url= |location=Helsinki |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |page=388 |isbn=978-952-222-393-7 |access-date=}}</ref>

==Name==
Her name comes from ''honka'', a pine tree, the very kind of tree where bear skulls were ritualistically lifted to hang on. [Martti Haavio](/source/Martti_Haavio) believed the ''honka'' in her name is the very first, mythical bear skull tree. In [runic song](/source/runic_song)s about the [origin](/source/Synty) of the bear, many other tree related female haltija names are listed: Tuometar ({{lit.|Lady bird cherry}}), Katajatar ({{lit.|Lady juniper}}), Petäjätär ({{lit.|Lady pine}}), Pihlajatar ({{lit.|Lady rowan}}), and more. Haavio also believed these to not be separate tree haltijas, like many have done, but all be referring to Hongatar. Peijaiset ritual was also called {{lang|fi|Tuomettaren juomingit, Pihlajattaren pidot}} 'Drinking party of Tuometar, feast of Pihlajatar'.<ref name="haavio"/>

If Haavio's theory, also repeated by onomatologist Sirkka Paikkala,<ref>{{cite web |last=Paikkala |first=Sirkka |date=2006 |title=Itäsuomalaisten sukunimien synty |url=https://bin.yhdistysavain.fi/1596413/5Yj5dQuQzAprgWkuDQCR0V7OWw/IT%C3%84SUOMALAISTEN%20SUKUNIMIEN%20SYNTY.pdf |location=Savonlinna |publisher=|access-date=2025-08-10}}</ref> is true, then Hongatar would gain the following alternate names: Tuometar in [Kainuu](/source/Kainuu), [Norrbotten](/source/Norrbotten), [North Karelia](/source/North_Karelia), [North Savo](/source/North_Savo), [Olonets Karelia](/source/Olonets_Karelia), [Rear Bothnia](/source/Rear_Bothnia) and [White Karelia](/source/White_Karelia); Tuonetar in Kainuu and Rear Bothnia; Tuomatar in Olonets Karelia; Taometar in Kainuu; Katajatar in Norrbotten, North Karelia and White Karelia; Pihlajatar in North Karelia, [North Ostrobothnia](/source/North_Ostrobothnia) and White Karelia; Putkitar ({{lit.|Lady [umberfiller](/source/Apiaceae)}}) in North Karelia; Ryöhkötär{{NoteTag|In [Kaarle Krohn](/source/Kaarle_Krohn)'s opinion, from {{lang|fi|röyhelöinen}}, making it {{lang|fi|Röyhkötär}},<ref>{{cite book |last=Krohn |first=Kaarle |date=1914 |title=Suomalaisten runojen uskonto |location=Porvoo |publisher=WSOY and Finnish Literature Society |page=351 }}</ref> roughly 'Lady fluff/ruffle'}} in Kainuu and Olonets Karelia; and Varvutar ({{lit.|Lady shrub}}) in White Karelia.

The name Hongas was connected to Hongatar by [Elias Lönnrot](/source/Elias_L%C3%B6nnrot) in 1874 for their similarities in sound as well as role in the runic songs.

Another name appearing as a synonym for Hongatar in runic songs is Tapiotar.

==In runic songs==
It is said that bears are "of the family of Hongatar". Different names could be used to speak of the bear's parents, such as: "Hongatar is your father, / Tuometar is your mother",<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1917 |title=SKVR XII2 6521. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-069188 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-04-16}}</ref> or "On your father's side Hongatar, / on your mother's side Ryöhkötär"<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1828 |title=SKVR XII2 6826. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-069512 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-04-16}}</ref> or "from your father's side, Immitär, / from your mother's side, Hongatar".<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1832 |title=SKVR VII5 loitsut 3385. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-038834 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-04-16}}</ref> In a [Kainuu](/source/Kainuu) song, "Ismärätär, girl of [Tuoni](/source/Tuonela)" and [Kavet](/source/Kave_(Finnish_mythology)) are involved in the bear's creation process: Ismärätär gathered up water foam into a home made of bird cherry and cradled it, whereas Kavet gave this "child" gums and teeth from the forest trees, as well as a tooth which fell from the sky.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1831 |title=SKVR XII2 6827. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-069513 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-04-16}}</ref> Bear origin myths which combine [Christian](/source/Christianity) and ethnic tradition also combine the bear's origin in the sea and the sky.<ref name="sii"/>

One song states [Mielikki](/source/Mielikki) brought up the bear under a spruce and then asks Tuometar and Mielikki to dull the bear's claws and cover its teeth with honey so it wouldn't hurt cattle.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1829 |title=SKVR XII2 6481. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-069141 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-04-16}}</ref>

==Epithets==
{{See also|List of minor Finnish deities#Tuometar}}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 90%; width: 100%"
!Epithet
!class="unsortable"|Epithet meaning
!Regions
|-
|Hongatar, hyvä emäntä<ref name="tap">{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1845 |title=SKVR VII5 loitsut 3925. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-039374 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-04-16}}</ref><br>Honkatar, hyvä emäntä<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1896 |title=SKVR VII4 loitsut 1976. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-037425 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-04-16}}</ref>
|'Hongatar, good mistress'
|[Forest Finns](/source/Forest_Finns), [Ladoga Karelia](/source/Ladoga_Karelia), [North Karelia](/source/North_Karelia), [North Savo](/source/North_Savo), [South Karelia](/source/South_Karelia), [White Karelia](/source/White_Karelia)
|-
|Hongatar, metän emäntä<ref name="luoma">{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1818 |title=SKVR VI2 4901. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-027367 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-04-16}}</ref>
|'Hongatar, mistress of the forest'
|[North Karelia](/source/North_Karelia), [North Ostrobothnia](/source/North_Ostrobothnia), [South Savo](/source/South_Savo)
|-
|Hongatar, tytär Tapion<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1838 |title=SKVR VII4 loitsut 2100. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-037549 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-04-16}}</ref>
|'Hongatar, daughter of Tapio'
|[North Karelia](/source/North_Karelia)
|-
|Honkatar salon emäntä<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1828 |title=SKVR VII5 loitsut 3848. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-039297 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-04-16}}</ref>
|'Honkatar, mistress of the wilderness'
|[North Karelia](/source/North_Karelia)
|-
|Tapiotar, vaimo tarkka<ref name="tap"/><br>Tapiatar tarkka vaimo<ref name="tapia">{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1675 |title=SKVR IX4 1101. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-053264 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-04-16}}</ref>
|'Tapiotar, precise woman/wife'
|[Central Finland](/source/Central_Finland), [Ladoga Karelia](/source/Ladoga_Karelia), [North Karelia](/source/North_Karelia), [North Savo](/source/North_Savo), [South Karelia](/source/South_Karelia), [White Karelia](/source/White_Karelia)
|-
|Tapiotar, vaimo kaunis<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1891 |title=SKVR VII3 loitsut 316. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-035703 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-04-16}}</ref>
|'Tapiotar, beautiful woman/wife'
|[North Karelia](/source/North_Karelia), [White Karelia](/source/White_Karelia)
|-
|Tapiolan vaimo kaunis<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1902 |title=SKVR VII5 loitsut 3879. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-039328 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-04-16}}</ref>
|'Beautiful woman/wife of Tapiola'
|[North Karelia](/source/North_Karelia)
|-
|Hongas, ehtoisa emäntä<ref name="tapia"/>
|'Hongas, generous mistress'
|[Central Finland](/source/Central_Finland)
|-
|Hongas Pohjalan emäntä<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1733 |title=SKVR VI2 5424. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-027890 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-04-16}}</ref><br>Hongas, Pohjolan emäntä<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1845 |title=SKVR VII5 loitsut 3850. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-039299 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-04-16}}</ref><br>Höngäs, Pohjolan emäntä<ref name="höngäs">{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1800 |title=SKVR XII2 8695. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-071468 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-04-17}}</ref>
|'Hongas, mistress of Pohjala'<br>'Hongas, mistress of Pohjola'
|[Ladoga Karelia](/source/Ladoga_Karelia), [North Karelia](/source/North_Karelia), [Ostrobothnia](/source/Ostrobothnia_(historical_province)), [South Savo](/source/South_Savo)<br>Note: [Christfried Ganander](/source/Christfried_Ganander) called her a "lady of the northern forest".<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1789 |title=SKVR XII2 6807. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-069493 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-04-16}}</ref>
|-
|Katajatar, kaunis vaimo<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1888 |title=SKVR I4 1199. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-003640 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-04-16}}</ref>
|'Katajatar, beautiful woman/wife'
|[White Karelia](/source/White_Karelia)
|-
|Katajatar, neiti kaunis<ref name="pihl">{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1846 |title=SKVR VII5 loitsut 3852. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-039301 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-04-16}}</ref>
|'Katajatar, beautiful miss'
|[North Karelia](/source/North_Karelia)
|-
|Pihlajatar, piika pieni<ref name="pihl"/>
|'Pihlajatar, little maid'
|[North Karelia](/source/North_Karelia)
|-
|Tuometar, tytär Tapion<ref name="pihl"/>
|'Tuometar, daughter of Tapio'
|[North Karelia](/source/North_Karelia), [White Karelia](/source/White_Karelia)
|-
|Tuometar, Tapion neiti<ref name="paiv"/>
|'Tuometar, miss of Tapio'
|[Kainuu](/source/Kainuu), [Lapland](/source/Lapland_(Finland))
|-
|Tuometar, tytär typerä<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1872 |title=SKVR I4 1115. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-003553 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura |access-date=2025-04-15}}</ref>
|'Tuometar, foolish daughter'
|[White Karelia](/source/White_Karelia)
|-
|Tuometar, hyvä emäntä<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1819 |title=SKVR VI2 4889. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-027355 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura |access-date=2025-04-15}}</ref>
|'Tuometar, good mistress'
|[North Savo](/source/North_Savo)
|-
|Tuometar, puhas emäntä<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1815 |title=SKVR VI2 5410. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-027876 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura |access-date=2025-04-15}}</ref>
|'Tuometar, pure mistress'
|[North Savo](/source/North_Savo)
|-
|Tuometar, Tapion tytti<ref name="varvu">{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1839 |title=SKVR I4 1362. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-003811 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura |access-date=2025-04-15}}</ref>
|'Tuometar, Tapio's girl'
|[White Karelia](/source/White_Karelia)
|-
|(About Tuometar:) Päivälän miniä<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1829 |title=SKVR XII2 6481. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-069141 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura |access-date=2025-04-15}}</ref><br>Päivölän miniä<ref name="paiv">{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1800 |title=SKVR XII2 6480. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-069140 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura |access-date=2025-04-15}}</ref>
|'Daughter-in-law of Päivölä'
|[Kainuu](/source/Kainuu)
|-
|Luomatar, metän miniä<ref name="luoma"/>
|'Luomatar, daughter-in-law of the forest'
|[South Savo](/source/South_Savo)
|-
|Metän piika pikkuruinen<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1888 |title=SKVR VII5 loitsut 3313. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-038762 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-04-16}}</ref>
|'Tiny maid of the forest'
|[North Karelia](/source/North_Karelia)
|-
|Varvutar, hyvä valio<ref name="varvu"/>
|'Varvutar, good elite'
|[White Karelia](/source/White_Karelia)
|-
|Romentolan valio vaimo<ref name="romento">{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1786 |title=SKVR XV 330. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-088232 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-04-17}}</ref>
|'Outstanding woman/wife of Romentola'
|Unknown<br>Note: According to Ganander, ''Romentola'' means a "terrible forest".<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1789 |title=SKVR XII2 8727. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-071500 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-04-17}}</ref>
|-
|Metän ehtosa emäntä<ref name="romento"/>
|'Generous mistress of the forest'
|Unknown
|}

==Notes==
{{NoteFoot}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

Category:Bear deities
Category:Finnish goddesses

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hongatar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hongatar) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hongatar?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.