Kave

Sources present Kave both as an individual primordial female figure—called in one song "the oldest of women" (vanhin vaimoloista)—and as a member or name for a class of nature-women (plural kapeet; related term luonnottaret). Runic songs attribute various cosmogonic acts to the luonnotar trio (e.g., milking a milk turned into iron; making birch), and some runes list humans as created by Kave together with God and the luonnotar trio. Regional mythic narratives diverge: Agricola records plural kapeet as moon-eaters, while Ganander reports traditions in which Kave frees the moon from Kuumet; Forest Finnish lore links Rahko forging a new moon after kapeet ate it and suggests a Rahko might long-term become a kave.

Descriptions are sparse and primarily poetic. A Kainuu bear-spell calls Kavet a "beautiful maiden of air." Other songs depict a kave "sitting on a cloud" milking a healing balm from her breast and asked to weave a golden cloth. Runic poetry otherwise refers to luonnotar/kave women as maidens or women; in a minority of songs an "Old man Kave" (Kave ukko) appears as an aged male giant—showing variable gendering in some local traditions.

Reported roles and powers in the sources include cosmogonic and creative acts (participation of luonnotar trio in producing iron and birch; some runes present Kave among creators of humans), lunar and celestial intervention (plural kapeet said by Agricola to "eat the moon" monthly in one tradition; Ganander records Kave freeing the moon from Kuumet in another), healing and restorative acts (Ganander: a benevolent spirit asked to help against illnesses; Kainuu bear-spell: Kavet attaching a tooth to a bear's gums; imagery of milked healing balm), and assistance in childbirth (invoked alongside Ukko in runic songs). The figure is also subject to syncretism with Christian figures such as the Virgin Mary and with other goddesses (Päivätär, Kuutar) in later folk memory.