1. Fetishism, as seen in the story of the Treasure-Bringer, and in the account given of the origin of various animals, &c. 2. Nature-worship. 3. Transitional stage, well marked in the _Kalevala_, where the heroes sometimes pray to the gods in conventional Christian phraseology, and at other times try to compel their assistance by invocations and spells. This stage is also seen in the strange travesty of the Nativity in the last Runo of the _Kalevala_ ; and indeed, one of the older writers says that the favourite deities of the Finns in his time were Väinämöinen and the Virgin Mary. But this stage is much less visible in the _Kalevipoeg_, which is, on the whole, a more archaic and more heathenish poem than the _Kalevala_. 4. Mediæval Christianity. The gods belong to the stage of Nature-worship. The supreme god is Taara, to whom the oak is sacred. The most celebrated of his sacred oak-forests was in the neighbourhood of Dorpat. Thursday is his day; whence it is more often mentioned in popular tales than any other day in the week. He is also called Uko or Ukko (the Old God), by which name he is usually known in the [Pg xxviii] _Kalevala_ ; and also Vana Isa, or Old Father. The Christian God is called Jumal or Jumala, and is probably to be identified with Taara. Ukko or Taara is the ancestor and protector of the heroes; he attended with Rõugutaja at the birth of the Kalevipoeg, watched over and protected him during his life, sometimes appeared to counsel him in visions, received him in his heavenly halls after death, and assigned to him his future employment. Ukko's daughters are Lindu and Jutta, the queens of the birds; and Siuru, who is described as a blue bird herself. Possibly these may be all the same; and the first at least may be identical with Kalev's bride, Linda, who was born from an egg, and whose name is evidently derived from _lind_ or _lindu_, a bird. Äike, Kõu, Paristaja, Pikne, Piker, or Pikker, is the god of thunder, and some of his names connect him with the Lithuanian Perkunas. He thunders across the iron bridges of the skies in his chariot; and hurls his thunderbolts at the demons, like Thor. He also possesses a musical instrument, of which the demons stand in great terror. He has a ne'er-do-weel son, who has dealings with the Devil, and a mischievous little daughter, called the Air-Maiden. [Pg xxix] Ahti, the god of the waters, is mentioned occasionally, but much less frequently than Ahto in the _Kalevala_. He must not be confounded with Ahti, one of the names of the hero Lemminkainen in the latter poem.