Horagalles

The name Horagalles does not occur in older dictionaries of Sámi languages, for instance in the mid-19th century. He is often equated with Tiermes; in 1673 Johannes Scheffer, who did not use the name Horagalles, wrote that when Aijeke thundered, he was called Tiermes. Early scholars noted the similarities between Horagalles and the Norse thunder-god Thor and that some Sámi called him Thoron or simply Thor, and were unsure which had influenced which. But the name Horagalles is now interpreted as a loanword from the Old Norse Þórr Karl 'the Old Man Thor', 'Thor, the Elder', or 'Thor fellow', "Thor Karl" (possibly from Norwegian Torrekall), or Swedish Torsmannen 'the thunder man'. This is not certain as a Southern Sámi variation of the name is , from 'make noise'. Among eastern Sámi groups, the thunder god is called Tiermes or Tiirmes, in Northern Sámi Dierpmis (no longer used but was known among Sea Sámi). or related to the Khanty thunder god Torem. from the word ''pad'd'i'' 'above'. According to Zacharias Plantin, Pajonn is an alias of Doragass, which in turn is a distorted version of Horagalles. This name might have been loaned into one of the names of the Finnish god Ukko, . Äijih (also Aijeke and Ajeke, ), 'old man', is the primary name of the thunder god in Inari Sámi. According to tradition and archeological evidence, he had a local cult on the Äijih-sualui island in Inari, where reindeer antlers and metal objects were still sacrificed in the late 19th century. ==Characteristics and functions==

from Cérémonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde (1723–43) Idols of Horagalles are made of wood and have a nail or spike and a piece of flint in the head. He has a hammer called Wetschera, Aijeke Wetschera, or Ajeke veċċera 'grandfather's hammer'. The Lule Sámi people built a stage for the idol of Horagalles holding a hammer, while one description states that Áddjá's tree had to be out of birch and be set upside down. He punishes "hurtful demons" or "evil spirits" (i.e., trolls) who frequent the rocks and mountains; Horagalles destroys them with his lightning, shoots them with his bow, or dashes their brains out with his hammer. The rainbow is his bow, "Aijeke dauge". For Eastern Sámi groups, the sky god Radien-attje seems to have fused into Tiermes, as Tiermes is also seen as the ruler over human life, health, and well-being. According to the mid-18th century Cérémonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde, "Thiermes or Thoron" is the first in a trinity, of whom the other members are Storjunkare and Baivre or Jumala. In Kildin Sámi, the rainbow is 'Tiirmes's bow', and the lightning is 'Tiirmes's fire'. A bow and fiery arrows could then be the thunder god's original weapon. According to Jacob Fellman, Horagalles's consort is called Ravdna, and the red berries of the rowan tree are sacred to her. The name Ravdna resembles North Germanic names for the tree, such as Old Norse reynir, and according to the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, the rowan is called "the salvation of Thor" because Thor once saved himself by clinging to it. It has therefore been theorized that the Norse goddess Sif, Thor's wife, was once conceived of in the form of a rowan to which Thor clung. Horagalles depicted on Sámi shaman drums On Sámi shaman drums Horagalles is occasionally depicted with a sledgehammer in one hand and a cross-hammer in the other, or symbolized by two crossed hammers. He made thunder and lightning with one hammer and withdrew them with the other to prevent harm to the Sámi or their animals. ==References==