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Paper short abstract

The paper explores the connections and shifting meanings between lament tradition and forests within the Karelian and Finnish contexts from the early 20th century to the 2020s. I ask what the forests of lamentation at different times reveal about the cultural values of forests and their changes.

Paper long abstract

This paper examines the shifting meanings and multiple connections between laments and forests in the context of Karelia and Finland from the early 20th century to the present day. In lament poetry, forests and trees appear as metaphors, as concrete material for a coffin or heating the bridal sauna, or, in the age of Eco-crisis, as the source of grief. On the other hand, several contemporary lamenters experience a forest as a suitable physical environment for lamentation, and even traditional Karelian burial grounds are often located in forests. In this case, the forest and its trees can be personified and placed among the listeners of the laments.

During the analysed period, both the practice of lamentation and the use and relationship with forests have undergone significant changes, and both areas are experiencing a new kind of transition towards sustainability, ecological and cultural. Regarding the lament tradition, this is particularly relevant for Karelian-speaking Karelians, who are a poorly recognised minority in Finland. The Karelian lament tradition has been revived in Finland with varied interpretations. Some focus on its aesthetic qualities, others on emotional release, and some on Karelianness. These processes of reinterpretation and reframing have also influenced the tradition's meanings, causing some nuances to fade and introducing new elements.

Drawing on ecocriticism, posthumanism, and multidisciplinary new-spiritual research, I examine how these sociocultural shifts are reflected in the lament tradition, as well as what the forests in the lament tradition reveal about the cultural values of forests and their transformations.