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Which features formed the traditional Finno-Ugric picture of the universe?
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The traditional Finno-Ugric picture of the universe is defined by a cosmographic structure typically divided into three realms: the sky, the earth, and the underworld.1
Key features of this worldview include:
- Cosmographic Landmarks: The world is often envisioned as round, frequently encircled by a stream or sea. Central to this landscape are vertical elements that connect the different planes of existence, such as a world pole supporting the sky and a world tree rising from the middle of the earth.1
- Celestial Mechanics: The heavens are often perceived as a canopy, with the North Star serving as a central "nail" around which the sky rotates. Some traditions, particularly among the Ob Ugrians and the Nenets, describe the heavens as having seven or nine stories.1
- Foundational Myths: Creation accounts often involve an earth-diver myth, where earth is retrieved from the bottom of a primeval sea to form land. Another significant motif is the cosmic egg, where pieces of a broken egg form the earth, sky, moon, and stars.1
- The Underworld: The otherworld is often viewed as two-storied, consisting of a graveyard hades located in a holy forest and a more distant hades situated far in the north.2