Magic, Body and Social Order: The Construction of Gender Through Women's Private Rituals in Traditional Finland

Magic rituals and belief were an important part of everyday life in rural Finland, surviving even into this century. Numerous descriptions of Finnish women's magic rituals have been recorded over the past 150 years, yet we actually know little about the unusual world of women's private magic and women's own motivations in performing it. This book focuses on magic rituals practised by and for women, as well as pollution beliefs about women, and explores how these rituals and taboos reveal gender dynamics and symbolism in traditional Finnish culture.By applying anthropological perspectives to the folklore materials, the author provides new insights into concepts of body and pollution, female sexuality, and gender inequality. Many of the original source materials on women's magic rituals are translated into English for the first time here. This book will be of major interest to students and scholars of Finnish folk belief, gender studies, and women's folklore.