In the Finnish creation myth the world begins as a vast ocean, upon which floats Ilmatar, the daughter of the sky. She floated alone for centuries, yearning for companionship, until the sea falls in love with her and impregnates her.

For centuries more she continued to float along, still pregnant, until she was visited by a sea bird. She allows the bird to create a nest on her knees, where the bird lays an egg. As the bird warmed the egg it became hotter and hotter, until Ilmatar could no longer stand it and dislodged the egg from it’s nest. The egg broke, an from the two fragments were formed the sun, moon, heavens and earth.

When she walks upon the land Ilmatar’s footsteps create lakes, the movements of her arms create beaches and cliffs; she forms the land. Later, Ilmatar gave birth to Vainamoinen, who became the first man to walk on land. He is met by a boy bearing a bag of seeds, which Vainamoinen uses to grow all of the plants in the world. One of these grows to an oak so large it begins to block the sun, so Ilmatar sends a man of copper who fells the tree so that life could be restored to the world.