Valgie verevä
Valgie verevä is a ritualistic contemporary performance rooted in the Finno-Ugric wisdom tradition, animistic worldview and ritual poetry.
The piece is a primordial, dreamlike and corporeal narrative about vitality and the fiery nature of human existence. It is a hymn to our embodied soul, to the löyly (spirit or steam) that is formed from the cycle of fire, earth, water and air, and which flows into our bodies at birth as the first inhalation. To the löyly, or spirit, that moves through the warmth of our flesh, bones, and limbs, and that continues its cycle at death with the final exhalation.
The intricate connections between vitality, life, and blood (veri) are reflected in Finnish words such as vertyä (to regain vitality) and verestää (to refresh or revive). In the depths of an earthen smoke sauna, in the tender embrace of the löyly, the limbs of our bodies restore their vitality. Similarly, our nature, bodily wisdom, and memories of other modes of existence can revive when placed in suitable conditions.
According to literature and gender studies researcher Kaarina Kailo (2019), it is high time that we, as Finns, recognize that prior to the arrival of Christian missionaries and the colonization of minds, we too had a rich and ecologically sustainable worldview—one that did not place humans above other species. Ancient people in the region now known as Finland shared an animistic worldview, the belief that all beings, even stones and lakes, are inhabited by spirits (väki). These various spirits were lived with in a constant state of reciprocity and dialogue. The northern people can be seen as having embraced the values of “Earth Democracy” rather than expressing a patriarchal, hierarchical, and dualistic world.
Stories are not merely stories—they have the power to change paradigms, the models and ways in which we live, and to awaken in us an interest in deeper eco-visions than those permitted by patriarchal narratives (Kailo, 2019).
Sources: Kaarina Kailo. 2019. Finnish Goddess Mythology and the Golden Woman.
Valgie verevä is a ritualistic contemporary performance rooted in the Finno-Ugric wisdom tradition, animistic worldview and ritual poetry.
The piece is a primordial, dreamlike and corporeal narrative about vitality and the fiery nature of human existence. It is a hymn to our embodied soul, to the löyly (spirit or steam) that is formed from the cycle of fire, earth, water and air, and which flows into our bodies at birth as the first inhalation. To the löyly, or spirit, that moves through the warmth of our flesh, bones, and limbs, and that continues its cycle at death with the final exhalation.
The intricate connections between vitality, life, and blood (veri) are reflected in Finnish words such as vertyä (to regain vitality) and verestää (to refresh or revive). In the depths of an earthen smoke sauna, in the tender embrace of the löyly, the limbs of our bodies restore their vitality. Similarly, our nature, bodily wisdom, and memories of other modes of existence can revive when placed in suitable conditions.
According to literature and gender studies researcher Kaarina Kailo (2019), it is high time that we, as Finns, recognize that prior to the arrival of Christian missionaries and the colonization of minds, we too had a rich and ecologically sustainable worldview—one that did not place humans above other species. Ancient people in the region now known as Finland shared an animistic worldview, the belief that all beings, even stones and lakes, are inhabited by spirits (väki). These various spirits were lived with in a constant state of reciprocity and dialogue. The northern people can be seen as having embraced the values of “Earth Democracy” rather than expressing a patriarchal, hierarchical, and dualistic world.
Stories are not merely stories—they have the power to change paradigms, the models and ways in which we live, and to awaken in us an interest in deeper eco-visions than those permitted by patriarchal narratives (Kailo, 2019).
Sources: Kaarina Kailo. 2019. Finnish Goddess Mythology and the Golden Woman.