Looking for something specific? Use our search engine!

Press Release

Press Release

Doctoral thesis on supernatural places as part of 19th century village landscapes

John Björkman

FM John Björkman’s doctoral thesis in Nordic Folkloristics will be put forth for public defence at The Faculty of Arts, Psychology and Theology at Åbo Akademi University.

The thesis is entitled Healing Springs and Haunted Woods. Sacred sites of folk belief and spatial order in Southwest Finnish village societies.

The public defence of the doctoral thesis takes place on 22 November 2024 at 1PM in auditorium Argentum, Aurum, Henrikinkatu 2, Turku. You can also follow the defence online. Docent Sonja Hukantaival, University of Turku, will serve as opponent and Professor Lena Marander-Eklund, Åbo Akademi University, as custos.

Summary

In his dissertation, John Björkman studies natural places which were considered sacred, meaning magical, supernaturally dangerous or inhabited by supernatural beings in 19th century folk belief in Southwest Finland. Such places include healing springs, hills, rocks or lakes considered to be haunted or inhabited by local spirits or devils, as well as ritualized rocks along market roads. Local societies have marked these places as special and separate from their surroundings through the telling of belief narratives and ritual actions and prohibitions.

Based on recorded historic folklore, Björkman has been able to identify and localize 120 such places in the region of Southwest Finland and studied them as part of their contemporary village landscapes. He has analyzed their locations utilizing historic village maps to see if they have a connection to the spatial order of villages, as well as conducted field visits to the places to experience them with his own senses and find if there are traits in the terrain which seem to ”attract” beliefs about the supernatural.

The study opens new methodological possibilities to understand the spatial and material aspects of folklore, as well as its connection to other areas culture.

John Björkman can be reached by phone 040 7564 780 or email john.bjorkman@abo.fi.

The doctoral thesis can be read online through the Doria publication archive.

Click here for a press photo of the doctoral student.

 

Instructions for following the doctoral defence remotely:

To follow the defence, you need the Zoom software or the Google Chrome browser. You do not need to create a Zoom account to follow the defence. If you install the application, you participate by clicking on the meeting link, after which you should allow the link to open in the Zoom app.