Hongatar

Hongatar or Hongas is a haltija or goddess in Finnish mythology. She is known as the mother of the bear. After killing a bear, there was a ritual held called peijaiset, a funeral (sometimes staged like a wedding) for the bear where its skull was lifted on a large, straight pine tree (honka). Hongatar could be also imagined in bear-form, with her skull as the oldest one on the tree. She was the special, invited quest of these rituals.