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Perkele is a god associated with thunder in Finnish mythology. Perkele was referred to with a variety of names, including Ukko "an old man", Lars "shortness", and Ylijumala "the supreme god."
The name is of Indo-European origin. Related gods from other areas are Piarun (Belarus), Pērkons (Latvia), Perkūnas (Lithuania), Percunis (Prussia), Peko or Pekolasõ (Estonia) and Perun (Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech republic, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia).
Perkele is a common swearword in Finnish, meaning satan. This meaning was coined in the Finnish translation of the Bible. The term was used until the 1933/38 translation. The 1992 translation uses the word paholainen, "devil". The use of "perkele" in the Bible aimed at demonizing Finnish gods.[citation needed]
Many Finnish heavy metal bands like Impaled Nazarene and Norther use the word perkele for emphasis. The Swedish Oi! band Perkele is also named after the Finnish swear word.
See also
- Perkwunos, Indo-European god of thunder
- "Management by perkele", a Swedish expression
- Finnish profanity
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