Origin of Bear

Where was broad-forehead born, was honey-paws produced?
Born in the sky aloft, on the horns of the moon,
on the head of the sun, on the Seven stars’ back.
Fire shot in flashes from the sky, on a wheel the world turned around,
while broad-forehead being formed.
From there was he let down to earth,
on the edge of the forest-fort, in the home of the golden wilderness.

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The bear was arguably the most important and respected animal to ancient Finns, essentially considered a deity. It was believed that humans were descendants of this deity; they both ate the same food, could stand on two feet, and shared the same wisdom and emotional intelligence.

The bear was said to have come from the sky. When it set foot on earth it was warned not to ever harm humans. But it did, and as a punishment the bear was beheaded and sent back to the sky. This is the origin story of the Big Dipper constellation.

Painted in ink, white poster color and gold medium on 300 g/sqm Lanaquarelle 100% cotton hot press watercolour paper. The painting is unframed.