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Paper short abstract

This paper highlights how natural places or landscape elements play a pivotal role in Estonian plague legends, although seemingly devoid of any supernatural qualities or active agency, and how related micro-maps reflect survival strategies still relevant for today’s environmental health crises.

Paper long abstract

Estonian plague legends revolve around the interaction between humans and the plague spirit. Typically, the appropriate conduct of an individual or a community is portrayed as instrumental in ending the epidemic. Although nature appears to serve here merely as a passive backdrop, devoid of animated or supernatural qualities or active agency, natural places or landscape elements still play a pivotal role, being intricately linked to the mental micro-mapping strategies employed by humans, who draw upon their knowledge of the local landscape to gain an advantage over the plague spirit. For instance, in certain legends, a single small stone that breaks the wheel of the plague spirit’s carriage halts its destructive journey, thereby altering the course of destiny for the whole of humankind. A modest stream may become a matter of life and death, as a widely recurring legend motif suggests that the plague spirit cannot cross running water. Bog islands and forests also emerge as sanctuaries of refuge. These spatial trajectories – anchored in specific environmental features – are often conveyed through mythological language, yet they also reflect actual historical escape routes, closely tied to Estonia’s distinctive ecotypes.

Based on the findings of the project CHRYSES “Mapping Environmental Health Crises – Public Understanding Through Myths and Science,” I will draw parallels with contemporary environmental health crises, emphasizing how the local nature can be regarded as an ally and maps based on local cognitive and cultural practices of utilizing specific natural features for survival may prove vital for developing future solutions.