soul birds

The "soul birds" are based on a an ancient belief that the soul bird (or Sielulintu) was thought to deliver the soul to newborn babies and also to transport the soul to the afterlife at the moment of death. It was believed the Sielulintu protected a persons soul at it's most vulnerable; when dreaming, and it was tradition to keep a carved wooden bird by the bedside to keep the soul safe during sleep/sanna annukka/via: freshly blended