Ravenstones

In the Kalevipoeg epic, the raven or kaaren is a wise bird, and gives the legendary hero advice, echoing a view of ravens throughout wider northern European tradition. Ravens are to be respected and not harmed, or misfortune will fall upon the household, a similar tradition in Estonia as for snakes.

In legend, the kaarnakivi is a smooth black stone, thought to have positive magical powers, especially if found in a raven’s nest. Where the stones come from has inspired various explanations – in one, nesting ravens bring them northwards from the banks of the Jordan river to breathe life into their eggs.

Kaarnakivi by Tiiu Kirsipuu

Whoever finds a ravenstone will be wise and rich, and will understand the languages of birds. A ravenstone will help the possessor solve any problem that besets them. Its touch is supposed to cure measles and heal snake bites, act as an aphrodisiac, or as a helper of witchcraft, or to offer protection from witches, and more besides.

Marju Kõivupuu has a prosaic explanation: the stones are the fossilised elongated cone-shaped skeletons of an ancient squid termed a belemnite. However, the oldest belemnites date from the early Triassic period whereas Estonia’s surface geology is significantly older.

At his home in southern Estonia, Juhan Jaik wrote children’s stories and poems on many enchanting topics, including ravenstones. On the writer’s 100th birthday, sculptor Tiiu Kirsipuu created a ravenstone in a nest, which stands in a park in Rõuge, a scenic village and surrounds in the deep south that I have visited several times. A pity I didn’t see it; Kirsipuu’s artwork would be the closest anyone today would get to finding a ravenstone.

One exception is the Kaarnakivi at Vainupea village on the northern Baltic coast. This huge glacial erratic boulder of Finnish crystalline rock is said to empower any young maiden who sits on it to be soon married, hence also the name Pruudikivi. This rock gained heritage protection in 1939, and is listed among more than 2,500 sacred places on an interactive map of Estonia.