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The steam house/sauna tradition was also kept by Slavic Rus/Russian people for as long as they can remember.

Every Russian kept a traditional wooden steam bath house “Banya” on his property even the common village folks.

This tradition is so old in Russia that it even shows up in Russian pre-Christian mythology and folklore. There is a Russian pre-Christian mythological-being called “Banik” who is said to be the spirit of Russians steam bathhouse Banya.

A lot of folklore was associated with Russian Banya steam bath house, because it was meant for cleaning oneself, but it also served as a shamanic ritual.

Russian women gave birth in truer Banya bathhouses, because it was considered a sacred place being that water made it easy for the newborn child can easily pass from the spirit realm into our physical world.

The oldest description of a sauna.

( Illustration from Giuseppe Acerbi's trip to Finland in 1799. )

[ Wäinölä 🇫🇮 ]

This wooden elk head was found in a bog in Lehtojärvi, Rovaniemi, when digging a ditch in 1955. Based on the joints carved into the elk's head, the object was probably a boat figurehead. Elk-head prows are a common motif in prehistoric rock art and can be clearly identified in about 12% of prehistoric boat depictions discovered in Finland. Depicted here is one of the most obvious examples of an elk-head prow, the boat painting from Patalahti, Asikkala.

The Lehtojärvi elk head (KM 14189:1 🔗) has been dated to about 8,000 years old, placing it in the Mesolithic Stone Age. It was originally painted with red ochre (the same iron oxide pigment used in Finnish prehistoric rock art) and waterproofed with a greasy substance.

The elk (Alces alces) was of extraordinary importance to northern populations for several millennia, being not only the most important game animal in the boreal forest zone, but also an animal of notable symbolic significance. Researcher Ville Mantere presents the argument that there were two fundamental reasons for producing elk representations in rock art and on artifacts: to gain success in hunting and to guarantee the reproduction of elks for hunting.

Another central argument is that the elk cow embodied the “game ruler” or “animal master spirit” of elks, which had ultimate control over not only rebirth and fertility, but also hunting success. The focus on the elk cow as a life-giver seems to have been a key theme that persisted for several millennia in Northern Europe.

Mantere further argues that elk figures in rock art represent elks as individuals, and that figures depicted at ordinary rock art sites signalled the presence of humans in the landscape and their relationship to the local elks, whereas those found at large rock art concentrations were linked to meetings between hunter-gatherer groups.

Further reading: Ville Mantere: The Relationship Between Humans and Elks (Alces alces) in Northern Europe c. 12 000–1200 calBC (2023). [ PDF 🔗 ]

[ Wäinölä 🇫🇮 ]

Beautiful inlaid sword from Nærland, Norway. ᛘ

Zoomorphic bird head swastika brooch from a Langobardic noblewoman’s burial in Poysdorf, Austria, 5th Century. 𖥹

The ancient Irish had an exceptionally high respect for dogs—so much so that brave warriors or even kings who earned the loyalty of a dog were honored with the honorary title "Cu" before their names.

This prefix was more than just a name—it was a sign that someone was considered worthy of a dog's respect and loyalty.

A beautiful example of how courage, honor, and animal bonding were intertwined in Celtic culture.

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