Maastikule kleepuv tekst: põrgupärimus

• Authors: Marju Kõivupuu

Title variants

EN

Text stuck to landscape: hell lore

• Languages of publication: ET

Abstracts

EN

On the landscape, there are natural caves known as hells or hell graves, formed, for example, as a result of the outflow of spring water and in some cases expanded and deepened by human hands over time, as well as sandstone outcrops, feather holes or sölls or valleys, where, according to folk tales, mythological creatures-giants have lived or live: old pagans or devils. In this article, the focus is on “hell” as a traditional landscape element and places named “hell” in place lore and place creation, in original fiction based on folk tales, in tourism economy, etc. I claim that hell-themed place stories written down by folk over the ages stick to the landscape in different ways, whether it is the reuse of stories based on standard motifs in place creation, the consolidation of the landscape image embedded in traditional texts in tourism, even when the landscape itself has long since changed, etc. Scenically interesting places need attractive stories; this is one of the key themes of placemaking. As a concept, I use local place lore as an umbrella term for oral tradition in the field that can be linked to certain places in the landscape. Local place lore includes both international motifs and local legends, which in some cases have also been told as true stories. Local lore, as a type of lore that shows the connection between a person and a place, has been valued mainly because of the aspect that creates and supports local identity. However, the landscape surrounding the community is not a static but a dynamic space, in which new meanings that reflect the life of the community arise or are created, and these are also reflected in the lore related to the landscape.

Keywords

EN

grottos; hell(s); hiis legends; landscape lore; Old Nick; outcrops; place lore; sandstone

• Publisher: Folk Belief and Media Group of the Estonian Literary Museum, Estonian Institute of Folklore, EKM Teaduskirjastus
• Journal: Mäetagused
• Year: 2022
• Volume: 84
• Pages: 133-162

Contributors

author

Marju Kõivupuu

• Centre for Landscape and Culture, School of Humanities, Tallinn University, Narva rd 25, 10120 Tallinn, ESTONIA