THE MYTH OF ROKA UKRI

“Born on straws, died on horsehairs …”

“Roka Ukri, the love child of Uolevi Ukri, was born into hopeless 17th century Finland, into a town called Immensuo. Roka spent his youth learning how to play the bowed lyre as he was very interested in pagan religions. Finland was struggling with famine and from time to time all that Roka had to survive with was moldy grain and bark bread.

His father Uolevi Ukri was sentenced to death after killing his neighbor and eating his flesh as the final means to survive. This event revolutionized Roka’s way of thinking.

In 1692, Roka had become a master in playing the bowed lyre. He held lyre masses for people where he played his comfortless hymns and praised pagan gods like Äkräs and Kekri.

Delirious people believed all what he preached, partly because Roka served them intoxicating drinks made of mushrooms and strong homebrewed spirits.

The most excited attendees were asked to stay after the masses and they became part of Roka’s cult. He had gained a group of followers who did everything he said and believed in all he did.

One winter night in 1695, Roka saw a dream where he was told about the coming destruction of mankind and about the means with which to survive it. He was told that only those who sacrifice the children of Christians are to survive. From every child, a soul would transfer into those who sacrifice them and finally make their body and soul strong enough to survive the impending destruction.
After that night, Roka asked his followers to choose three victims during each mass . Those were to be sacrificed the following week by hanging and by burning during worship. Some of the victims were also eaten as there still was not enough food to go around and Roka believed his father had been right in the past. The cult members suffered no longer from hunger or fear and this made them even stronger…
Kuuno-Urmas, the long-time reverend of Immensuo, had had his eye on Roka’s actions for a while and was convinced that Roka was a servant of the Devil although he had no proof. When he realized that children were disappearing from the village more than what famine and diseases would explain, he took law into his own hands and sent a spy into Roka’s cult to let him know what was really happening during the nightly masses…

When he found out the truth, he was shocked and filled with rage…
Without delay, Kuuno-Urmas told the village elders what he had learned and they gathered a crowd to fetch Roka from his home.
First Roka was beaten bloody with forks, shovels and even with his beloved instrument bowed lyre. Finally Kuuno-Urmas tied Roka’s neck into a horse’s tail and gave the horse a slap with his whip. As the horse ran away, Roka was strangled with the horsehair.
All cult members were captured and corralled into the town square where they were forced to drink hot tar and cleanse their sins in a lye bath. This caused them to lose their ability to speak and it all but burned their skin off.
The body of Roka Ukri was brought in front of the suffering cult members and burned in front of their eyes. Just when the body was ignited, a grey bird, a great owl, descended from the skies and landed on top of Roka’s head. The cult members kneeled for the last time in front of their leader…

It is believed that Roka took the form of that great bird and that his soul rose to the clear blue skies.

REBIRTH

Even though Roka Ukri died, his music and beliefs lived on giving birth to new cults where Roka was considered as a god, the lord of the lyre.
Once every decade the cult members perform a ritual where they call Roka to descend from the skies and to take the souls of ten children…
Music played with the bowed lyre and a figure of Roka Ukri built of straws are an integral part of the ritual.”

The myth of Roka Ukri is the main concept of Kallomäki, which is inspired by the Finnish famine years, Finnish folklore and pagan horror movies.

 Written by T.Kalliomäki.