For a long time, the Finnish marshlands have been silent, but now the marsh has begun to sing its spells and stories. The legendary spellcaster Aino Erkkilä is one of the revitalizers of the folk traditions in Northern Central Finland. She never runs out of stories.
Spring is already in full bloom in the village of Vuoskoski in Kannonkoski, when spellcaster and tour guide Aino Erkkilä pours glasses of the local traditional drink, turnip mead. Like many other places, legends, and traditions in this small swamp-forested village, turnip mead is also tied to Erkkilä’s own family and its history.
– In 1866, a new law was passed in Finland, she begins her storytelling.
– And with that law, the distillation of alcohol was prohibited. Nevertheless, my great-great-grandmother, who lived in a croft named Naurisaho (turnip glade), managed to get to a military estate to distill moonshine. But at her own risk. If she got caught, she would take full responsibility for it.
Erkkilä doesn’t know if her great-great-grandmother ever got caught, but she does know, that the resolute moonshiner developed a special delight for Russian soldiers from the mead she made from slash-and-burn turnips and fortified with moonshine.
– It didn’t smell like moonshine at all, she chuckles.
The power of spells and magic
In Vuoskoski, as well as in the entire Sydänmaa region, there is a rich tradition of storytelling emerging from deep forests and misty marshlands. Aino Erkkilä is one of the most renowned experts on local stories and legends.
– I was born in that red log house, she points and explains, adding that even as a little girl she loved listening to the stories of adults, especially her grandmother and her friends.
One story remembered by Erkkilä made even to the stage a couple of decades ago at the Kannonkoski Theater Club: the story of Hulta-Maria, the wizard. According to oral tradition, Hulta-Maria, who lived on the moonshine trail in the Blue Forest, was a mother from a poor family, a midwife, a healer, and a spell reader who lived in the late 18th century in the village of Vuoskoski, and she bought, sold, traded, and stole.
– Hulta-Maria also had a position at the soldier’s estate as the maid’s milker. Once a month, she examined the maids, and if a pregnancy was detected, dismissal from the estate was guaranteed.
It doesn’t surprise the listener when Erkkilä reveals, that Hulta-Maria is an ancestor of her grandmother. Perhaps this is where Erkkilä’s own passion, power, and skill in casting spells originate. She cast spells, indeed, if someone knows how to ask at the right time and situation. Often, she has performed her spells for large groups of tourists as well.
The tradition of spellcasting has always been strong and diverse in Sydänsuomi, and according to Erkkilä, this is because the illiterate people found it easier to remember stories in verse form.
– Sauna spells are largely associated with healing. Then, of course, there are spells for bringing good fishing luck, warding off snakes, and love charms, she lists.
– There are also curses. And some spells, especially those performed in sauna, are R-rated, so they can’t be presented just anywhere, she laughs.
The secrets of the Finnish marshlands
Aino Erkkilä believes that the Lappish people brought their own strong flavor to the storytelling and spellcasting traditions of Sydänmaa region in Finland. In the Middle Ages, the Kannonkoski region was considered part of the wilderness of Northern Tavastia, and the hunting and fishing grounds of the Tavastia people’s large estates. But the area was also discovered by the Lappish people, who were diligent in gathering natural resources and making dry fish.
– The Lappish, however, were, in a way, employed by the Tavastia people, perhaps even as kind of slaves, Erkkilä says.
From this background emerges one of the region’s most famous legends: The Legend of Kämäri – an endless tale. It tells of the beautiful Lappish young woman, the Maiden of Suvanto, who meets a nobleman from Tavastia, but the maiden’s mother decides to prevent the relationship from continuing. She had had enough of Tavastia noblemen taking Lappish women.
– The mother decided to sacrifice the money collected by the Lappish people for buying land, by placing it under a church stone, hoping that this would save her daughter. She took the money in a brass kettle to the stone and buried it in the ground, Erkkilä narrates.
But it didn’t help. So the mother had to embark on the path of the curse. It was said that her daughter was left tied to the church stone, and the parents continued their journey without looking back. The mother knew as she left for the vast Lapland, that she would never reach there, as the curse was also her fate. Crossing three rapids would transform her into a crow, and she would fly away from her husband. Meanwhile, according to the stories, the nobleman went to inspect his manor’s turf sauna, got his foot stuck in the bench structure, and the sauna quietly collapsed towards the lake.
And as for the money stash, it’s said that the house owner found it and tried to take the brass kettle away, but the coins spilled into the ground. And supposedly, they’re still there, the Lappish treasure.
Later, the church stone was broken during the construction of the Kämäri Stone Bridge. According to Erkkilä, this was done for religious reasons, as local residents used to have their portraits taken by the stone on special occasions such as anniversaries, like their wedding day, and this practice needed to be stopped.
– It was believed that such a thing was a form of idolatry.
The legends live on
What is true – or even close to the truth – in these stories, will surely remain a mystery forever. Centuries-old tales blend together, and each storyteller adds their own flavor. But that’s for the best, as it is part of the wild nature of stories.
The legends live on, and with a bit of luck, you might even sense the real magic in the heart of Finland.
– The Maiden of Kämäri is said to appear on the bridge. On a summer night under the full moon, the beautiful, misty water spirit rises to dance on the stone bridge of Kämäri, promises the wizard of Vuoskoski.