Right: Siiraku farm, Tori. The Tõnn's box at the exhibition comes from this farm.
| The cult of the household brownie survived
longest in the parish of Vändra, up to the first decades of the present
century. In earlier times guardian spirits of households originating in
ancient Estonian faith were widely known and honoured. Whether they also
had a material form like Tõnn of Vändra
is questionable.
Right: Siiraku farm, Tori. The Tõnn's box at the exhibition comes from this farm. |
|
Tõnn and Tõnn's box |
Tõnn could be represented by various effigies,
depending on the imagination of the person who made it. Tõnn's presence
in a household was to be kept a strict secret. Its place was mostly above
the ceiling beam on the wall opposite the oven in the drying-barn.
Tõnn had Tõnn's box for offerings. Often there was no material effigy of Tõnn at all, only his box - a container into which the presents meant for Tõnn were put. Of each batch of newly-baked bread, of each animal killed, Tõnn was to have his share. In the case of an accident or illness, also copper coins were put in the box. Tõnn was not to be forgotten, else misfortune was certain to befall to the household. According to general belief, Tõnn's box would not burn in fire, nor was it possible to destroy it in any other way. Once it was present in a household, all the following generations were expected to put offerings in it. |