Ethnologist finds new research theme in the water around her summer cottage: how does it feel to lose your natural surroundings?
When Professor of Ethnology Outi Fingerroos, responsible for the KUMU(Cultures, communities and change) degree programme, obtained a summer cottage on an island in southern Lake Kallavesi some years ago, she became interested in water in a new way. The lakewater gently splashing against the shore and its purity made her reflect on how it would feel to lose the supply of clean water.
Soon these reflections were refined into a research theme that is very topical to a researcher of cultures as well. Fingerroos is an ethnologist specialised in oral history research – how individuals today remember and explain the past or have experienced it. Typically, data are collected through interviews or by asking for written recollections.
By means of oral history methods, Fingerroos plans to address the Finns’ relationship to nature. This will cover their transgenerational memories related to their own yards, nearby nature and summer places and the direct link to nature experiences.
I am now interested in how people feel when they find that they are losing the nature around them,” Fingerroos says. “There are many threats: transnational mining industries, surface water run-off, eutrophication of lakes and rivers, blue-green algae, global warming and decreasing biodiversity.”
What kind of feelings would you expect to find among Finns, or what would you answer yourself if asked about this issue?
“Some summer cottage neighbours just totally refuse to see the shimmer of blue-green alga on their own shore,” Fingerroos says. “This tells me that the fear of losing the natural surroundings is overwhelming. This is a theme I have reflected on with researchers in the humanities and natural scientists. The idea is to start investigating various ways by which, especially by affective influence, we could achieve better and more sustainable actions for the water system.”
Water-related cultural heritage can be seen in proverbs
The prospective research theme is strongly connected to nature conservation. Fingerroos has recently received further impetus for the subject from a project of the Finnish Freshwater Foundation [INSERT A TEXT LINK]. It involves tracking down and interpreting old Finnish water-related sayings. Fingerroos has guided the work of researchers in humanities and culture while also looking at the perspectives of natural scientists.
The nature relationship of previous generations has been studied, for example, by analysing hundreds of Finnish proverbs and sayings related to water and water systems. These have been drawn from the extensive archives of the Finnish Literature Society. The verbal cultural heritage of waters has been studied by folklorist Tiina Seppä from the University of Eastern Finland.
The project has brought together a number of cultural and nature researchers for a joint effort: Both parties have studied old water-related sayings from the perspectives of their respective disciplines. Natural scientists have looked for a scientific basis for the sayings, while cultural researchers have explored feelings, meanings, experiences, and deeper explanations pertaining to the sayings and proverbs.
What kind of results has the cooperation yielded?
“When studying the proverbs, they have found that some of those are directly applicable; that is, the sayings have a scientific basis."
"For example, by the calendar, Jaakko throws a cold stone into the lake at the end of July, and there is a scientific connection to this notion as the date concerned has to do with the annual solar cycle, as Tiina Seppä and emeritus professor of Geophysics Matti Leppäranta write in a . According to them, there is also a less widely known saying and rule saying that “Matti (24 February) throws a hot stone into a hole in the ice”. In other words, after this date the ice will not grow any stronger. There is a large number of different water-related sayings having to do with the annual cycle in particular.”
In the project, people have sought power from the nature relationship of past generations for the present conservation of aquatic nature.
Why is water “the eldest brother”?
Finnish culture involves a myriad of words and expressions related to water, ice and snow, but nowadays they are used rather rarely in everyday speech.
Yet, somebody may still say that the case is “true as water” or that “water is the oldest remedy”.
What is the origin of these?
“’Water the oldest remedy’ can also occur in the form of ‘water the eldest brother’", Fingerroos explains.
“The saying is from a spell and originates from Kalevala-style folk poetry. It indicates the fundamental role of water in the human lifespan and as a natural phenomenon. It is no coincidence that water is used in christening ceremonies, for example, and that in old Finnish Pre-Christian mythology the passage to the Underworld (called Tuonela) goes through the mythical Tuonela River. "
“Water is also used for washing off life-threatening dirt, like when preparing a dead body for burial and past life. Water thus holds great power, and as such it is sacred and necessary – the oldest of all remedies.”
Fingerroos ponders how rapidly water-related sayings have lost their meaning in Finnish culture.
The tradition is partly broken, but it does not mean that the respect for water and related traditions would have ceased. Each era produces specific folklore of its own. It is true that many sayings have lost significance, but we human individuals also tend to come up with something new all the time.”
“However, it is possible to restore our appreciation for clean water, for example, by cooperation between scientists and artists, which has been an aim also in the project of the Finnish Freshwater Foundation,” Fingerroos says.
“It feels good to be looking for different ways to conduct research and perform actions that have a strong value basis and potential to influence.”
