Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the ways Christianity was used in Northern Karelian charms to construct an image of the human body and of a well-ordered universe. When confronted to a crisis, the charmer used his words and his body to break the limits between worlds and to restore the order of the universe.

Paper long abstract:

The primary function of the practice of charms in northern Karelia was to establish a contact with the other world in order to have an influence on this world. Through the power of words, the charmer seeks in general to ensure the well-being of individual bodies and that of the community. Charm texts collected in the 19th century construct an image of the human body that is deeply affected by Christianity. Humans belong to the Christian sphere, while the causes of illnesses come from a non-Christian world. An illness appears, thus, as a transgression of the rules and order of the universe. During the charm performance, the charmer constructs a specific image of his own body, which is often a channel for the power of God, Jesus, or the Virgin Mary. The charmer breaks, thus, the barriers between worlds to communicate with the other world, with the aim of re-establishing the previous order.

Through a close reading of charm texts published in the volumes of the Suomen Kansan Vanhat Runot, I explore how Christian motives were used to define the world in which the charmer is located, as well as the very bodies of the charmer and the patient. The practice of charms is to be considered in the context of vernacular Christianity, in dialogue with the rules and order established by the Church but also with the hierarchies imagined by collectors. The study of charms is, thus, a constant play with various hierarchies.