Origin of Dog

Whelp’s genesis is from the wind,

dog’s origin from chilly wind

a pup’s from the shining of the sun.

He was made on a heap of dust,

on a meadow prepared.

The dog was one of the most important animsl to ancient Finns. It was a companion, a guard and a hunter’s aid. A neighbor’s dog was seen as a threat, something to blame for mishaps and missing cattle, but one’s own dog was so important that there are even ancient dog burials.

In many stories the dog’s origin is described to be of the wind that impregnated Lovetar – the mother of wolves and dogs – who gave birth to nine plagues but also the dog. A magical origin is likely tied to dog’s impeccable sense of smell. Various nature elements such as wood and grass are also often mentioned as components from which the dog was made. The ancestor of the Finnish spitz was known as “peni”. In the myths it was a juvenile wolf that never quite grew up and it was described to have fur red as iron, a curled tail and pitch black eyes.