6. Leave The Candle Burning - Soft spoken strange stories from Finland, Karelia and Sápmi.

The nights are getting darker. Come a little closer to the light. In this episode of Rootsong Studio, we wander through old stories from Finland, Karelia and Sápmi — stories that live somewhere between folktale, memory and unexplained experience. We begin with a strange experience of my own: as a teenager, I watched someone arrive before she had actually arrived. Years later, I found a word that reminded me of that night: etiäinen, an arrival before the arrival. From there, the path leads north to Inari - Aanaar Sámi stories of the ovdâsâš, then into forests where a person can disappear beneath metsänpeitto; beneath mountains where unseen beings keep their reindeer; and to Finnish lakes where cattle rise from the water and a water maiden combs her long hair beside the shore. We meet a woman who becomes a fish, household spirits who work while the family sleeps, a strange hare stealing milk in the darkness, an unseen guardian braiding its favourite horse's mane, and a night-rider who leaves horses trembling in their stalls. And as the candle burns lower, the stories grow darker: something of the forest follows a frightened person home; a voice speaks from the depths of a gorge; human bones are discovered sealed inside a wall; and Pitkä Piena refuses to remain in his grave. But not everything that returns from beyond the grave comes to frighten us. But perhaps, just in case... leave the candle burning tonight. Dictionary of words & terms Aanaar / Aanaar Sámi — Inari / Inari Sámi Aanaar is the Inari Sámi name for Inari, a region and nation located in the Finnish Lapland. The Aanaar material used in this episode comes particularly from oral traditions collected around the Inari region. etiäinen — Finnish A forerunner or premonitory presence: a person's footsteps, voice, actions or likeness may be experienced before the person themselves arrives. ovdâsâš — Aanaar Sámi A forerunner or “false arrival”: a presence connected with a person that could be experienced before the person themselves arrived. gufihtarat — Aanaar Sámi Other-than-human beings associated in Aanaar/Inari storytelling with a world beneath the earth and within mountains. The term belongs to a wider and regionally varied complex of Sámi traditions concerning underground or otherworldly beings, so it should not be treated as a universal Sámi term. haltija — Finnish A guardian, inhabitant or spirit connected with a particular place, household, building or landscape. hiisi — Finnish An old and complicated term whose meaning has changed considerably through time. It can refer to sacred or powerful places and, in later folklore, to supernatural beings or dangerous otherworldly forces. metsännenä — Finnish Literally something like “the forest's nose,” but in folk belief it refers to harmful forest force or influence that could attach itself to a person. metsänpeitto — Finnish Literally the “forest's covering.” A person or animal caught in metsänpeitto could become strangely inaccessible: searchers might pass nearby without seeing them, familiar surroundings could become unrecognisable, and the lost person could struggle to find their way back into the ordinary landscape. moahardii — Karelian A guardian of the home or farmyard, also described as tanhuthaltija. It protected domestic animals and was said to braid the mane of its favourite horse during the night. painajainen — Finnish Today the ordinary Finnish word for nightmare, but older folk belief also understood painajainen as a night-being that could oppress humans and animals. para — Finnish A magically constructed being made to steal prosperity from another household — particularly milk and dairy produce, but also grain or money. Descriptions give it various forms, including animal forms. Sápmi — Sámi The traditional homeland of the Sámi people, extending across areas now within Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. “Sámi folklore” is therefore not one uniform body of tradition. In this episode I identify Aanaar/Inari Sámi and Skolt Sámi contexts. Sárnoo Kurrâ — Aanaar Sámi The name translated in the episode as Speaker's Gorge. savutupa — Finnish A traditional smoke cottage or smoke-heated dwelling without a conventional chimney. tietäjä — Finnish Literally “one who knows.” A traditional ritual specialist or knowledgeable practitioner who could diagnose and treat supernatural afflictions, work with incantations and understand forces, vedenneito — Finnish Literally “water maiden.” A female supernatural being associated with water. vesilehmä / vesilehmät — Finnish Literally “water cow / water cows.” Supernatural cattle associated with lakes and waterways.