Where was the bear born?
Where was the beast made?
By the moon, with the day,
on the shoulders of the Plough
Then lowered on silver chains,
let down on golden cords
In Finish lore, Otso is spirit of the bear...
In Finland a bear is thought to be an intelligent and soulful creature. It is no ordinary animal but some sort of human being living in a forest. It can count at least to nine and it can understand the language of man.
Otso, the bear was born on the shoulders of Otava, in the regions of the sun and moon, and ‘nursed by a goddess of the woodlands in a cradle swung by bands of gold between the bending branches of budding fir-trees.
His nurse would not give him teeth and claws until he had promised never to engage in bloody strife, or deeds of violence. Otso, however, does not always keep his pledge, and accordingly the hunters of Finland find it comparatively easy to reconcile their consciences to his destruction.
In Finnish tradition women had a special relationship with bears. It was imagined that bears were looking for a chance to reincarnate through women. Because of this belief women were supposed to stay far away from a dead bear during a bear's funeral feast. It was commonly believed that bears would not attack a person they recognised as a female.
Some sub-traditions considered the bear to be a relative who had fled the community and been transmogrified by the power of the forest...
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