Spruce with golden top or tree of ancestors (materials on Karelian mythology and ceremonial rites)

The article is about the role of spruce in Karelian folklore. In Karelian epic poetry a “spruce with golden top” is connected with the world tree and national heroes Väinämöinen and Ilmarinen. This spruce gives birth to the first animals and birds, such as a bear, a marten and a cuckoo (two latter ones - with golden chests). According to the documents of the XIX century, spruce is a family tree or a sacrificial tree. At the same time, it is connected with the world of the dead. That is why old cemeteries were located in the fir woods. Funerary semantics of the spruce seems to have deep historical roots. To prove this we compare the Karelians with the related peoples. In both traditions, spruce branches become the homes for the souls of dead people.