Research source

The Finns call them Ukonkiwi--the stone of thunder-god Ukko, and in Courland their name is Perkuhnsteine, which…

Date of account: Published 1879
Source: Demonology and Devil-lore
Reference: Demonology and Devil-lore · selected passage 72
Rights: public_domain
Language: English
Record updated: 2026-08-24

Record summary

The Finns call them Ukonkiwi--the stone of thunder-god Ukko, and in Courland their name is Perkuhnsteine, which explains itself

Published source text

Read the available text below. Archive transcriptions may contain OCR errors; later context is labelled separately. A recorded claim is not a finding that it happened.

Source passage

Source text · mention only

The Finns call them Ukonkiwi--the stone of thunder-god Ukko, and in Courland their name is Perkuhnsteine, which explains itself. In some cases the flaming dart of Perun became, in the imagination of the people, a golden key. With it he unlocked the earth, and brought to light its concealed treasures, its restrained waters, its captive founts of light. With it also he locked away in safety fugitives who wished to be put out of the power of malignant conjurors, and performed various other good offices. Appeals to him to exercise these functions still exist in the spells used by the peasants, but his name has given way to that of some christian personage. In one of them, for instance, the Archangel Michael is called upon to secure the invoker behind an iron door fastened by twenty-seven locks, the keys of which are given to the angels to be carried to heaven.

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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