Tapio (spirit)

Tapio is the god of the forest and hunting from the Finnish mythology. Finnish hunters pray to him before they go hunting. His wife is Mielikki, the goddess of the forest and hunting. His daughters hot Tellervo, Tyytikki and Tuulikki. In some songs also have a daughter named Annikki is mentioned.

In the Finnish national epic Kalevala, Lemminkäinen has prayed to Tapio and his wife and presented them gold and silver. This enabled him to catch the moose of Hiisi later.

After Tapio the garden city of Tapiola was named in the Finnish city of Espoo.

Tapiola is also the title of a 1926 premiered in New York symphonic poem by Jean Sibelius. His publisher told Sibelius the title like this: Because of Nordland gloomy forests, / Ancient, mysterious stretch in wild dreams, / In them, the forest mächt'ge God dwells / forest spirits weave secretly in the darkness.