Silva Fennica vol. 21 no. 4 | 1987

In Finnish music national forests and international urban culture meet in an original way. Around the last turn of century, composers believe they had discovered their spiritual roots in nature and especially in the forests. The universal musical language of Jean Sibelius, for example, is based on a deep Finnish identity, the atmosphere of Kalevala. Sibelius’ Tapiola is, thus, among our century’s most powerful musical interpretations of feelings about nature. Nature inspired music is, generally, associated with such positive qualities as beauty, peace, softness, light and joy. A great deal of forest music is based on literature, where natural images have almost always had a positive interpretation.
The paper is based on a lecture given in the seminar ‘The forest as a Finnish cultural entity’, held in Helsinki in 1986. The PDF includes a summary in English.

• Hako, E-mail: ph@mm.unknown

Several views to forest’s role in the Finnish folklore are presented. They clearly show how many important dimensions forests have had in Finnish life. Descriptions concentrate on forest-related traditions of ancient times. They give a basis to examining the role of forests in the modern Finnish mind.

The paper is based on a lecture given in the seminar 'The forest as a Finnish cultural entity’, held in Helsinki in 1986. The PDF includes a summary in English.

• Virtanen, E-mail: pv@mm.unknown

The paper presents aspects of town and forest architecture. A feature of the Finnish building tradition is that the forest is allowed to grow next to buildings. After the Second World War a new type of town was created in Finland, ”the forest town”. The most prominent feature of the history of Finnish architecture, from national romanticism to functionalism and up to the present day, is the modification of international ideals to a certain ”forest culture” style.

The paper is based on a lecture given in the seminar ‘The forest as a Finnish cultural entity’, held in Helsinki in 1986. The PDF includes a summary in English.

• Pallasmaa, E-mail: jp@mm.unknown

The Finnish forest was elevated into an appreciated artistic motif by Werner Holmberg with his picture ”The Finnish conifer forest” in 1858. The second significant period was during national romanticism in the 1980’s, when the decorative beauty of the winter forests was discovered. At the turn of the century, the forest obtained a central national symbolic significance, and many leading artists regarded increased cuttings as a rape of the forests. Since that period, individual artists have succeeded in bringing new features in the art history of our forests.

The paper is based on a lecture given in the seminar ‘The forest as a Finnish cultural entity’, held in Helsinki in 1986. The PDF includes a summary in English.

• Reitala, E-mail: ar@mm.unknown

In world literature, there are many forests of significance, e.g. oak forest of Mamre and in Dante’s Divine Comedy. Finnish literature has abounded with forest topics since ancient folkore. We have a literature of floaters, loggers and paper workers of industrialized Finland, not to speak of a hunting literature. A major theme is ”from forest to town”, where the first work, Aleksis Kivi’s ”Seven brothers”, is a landmark in Finnish literature. Forests of many other authors are also presented, as well as ancient chants and poems.

The paper is based on a lecture given in the seminar ‘The forest as a Finnish cultural entity’, held in Helsinki in 1986. The PDF includes a summary in English.

• Suhonen, E-mail: ps@mm.unknown

According to universal primitive beliefs, there was a huge pole or tree in the centre of the universe to support the sky. These beliefs gave rise to innumerable customs where both trees and wood have been used to promote health and good luck. Even today, many such customs exist: the Christmas tree, maypole, Midsummer birches, birch whisks in the Finnish sauna, ritual tree plantings etc. In addition to the tree, also the forest as both a protecting and a frightening maternal symbol can be considered as an archetype. Intensive forestry diminishes the archetypal contents of forests, which may be one reason behind critical attitudes towards modern forestry.

The paper is based on a lecture given in the seminar ‘The forest as a Finnish cultural entity’, held in Helsinki in 1986. The PDF includes a summary in English.

• Reunala, E-mail: ar@mm.unknown

The security provided by forests is approached through various authors’ descriptions and through psychotherapeutic experience. The lap of the forest can recreate early security, protection and unity, for example the lap of mother or father. The forest is also a safe place to externalize inner feelings, desires, fears and erotic images. Intensive forest management and air pollution are nowadays threatening the protective role of forests.

The paper is based on a lecture given in the seminar ‘The forest as a Finnish cultural entity’, held in Helsinki in 1986. The PDF includes a summary in English.

• Siltala, E-mail: ps@mm.unknown

Sociological studies on the way of life tell rather little about the impact of forests on Finn’s everyday life. The change of life styles, urbanization and middle-class values, signify a detachment from immediate and practical relationship with nature. Those born in the countryside conserve their relationship with nature in their leisure activities, but the urban-born generation needs the mass-media, education, travel and other institutions in order to maintain and develop its relationship with nature.

The paper is based on a lecture given in the seminar ‘The forest as a Finnish cultural entity’, held in Helsinki in 1986. The PDF includes a summary in English.

• Ahponen, E-mail: pa@mm.unknown

The earliest manor parks, which are a special form of cultivated forests, were created at the end of the 18th century. The surrounding of the main buildings was divided into two parts, an aesthetic park and yard serving household and economic purposes. Early in the 19th century, large parks were created which represented dominant aesthetic ideals but, on the other hand, formed a ”wild” counterpart to the structured inner world of the main building. A good example is Ratula Manor and its park, which represent the diversity of the cultivated forest of the 19th century manors.

The paper is based on a lecture given in the seminar ‘The forest as a Finnish cultural entity’, held in Helsinki in 1986. The PDF includes a summary in English.

• Lönnqvist, E-mail: bl@mm.unknown

The paper describes some examples from Paris and Helsinki areas, where trees are essential landscape elements. It is typical in France to plant trees around town squares, market places and along streets and roads. In Finland trees are almost always kept close to the house, together with other vegetation protecting the entrance and windows. These traditional uses of trees should be studied to serve landscape management.

The paper is based on a lecture given in the seminar ‘The forest as a Finnish cultural entity’, held in Helsinki in 1986. The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.

• Guignard, E-mail: mg@mm.unknown

Forstästhetik is a programme for forest management, resembling an art manifesto. Forest managers are programme executors. Forest aesthetics is forest investigation from the point of view of beauty. In the case of managed forests, it is possible to ask, what is the manager’s programme and his skill to achieve personal solutions. In forests, the functioning and sustainability of the ecosystem are basic principles affecting all other values. On this basis it is possible to evaluate the competence of taste systems and the logic of their application.

The paper is based on a lecture given in the seminar ‘The forest as a Finnish cultural entity’, held in Helsinki in 1986. The PDF includes a summary in English.

• Sepänmaa, E-mail: ys@mm.unknown

The main features of the Finnish landscape are a result of preglacial erosion processes and the structural lines of the bedrock. The microstructure of the landscape was created by the Ice Age and its melting processes. Upon this base, human activities have created a palimpsest of cultural landscapes. The article describes the effects of slash-and-burn cultivation, tar production, cattle ranging and some other forest uses to the forest landscape. 

The paper is based on a lecture given in the seminar ‘The forest as a Finnish cultural entity’, held in Helsinki in 1986. The PDF includes a summary in English.

• Linkola, E-mail: ml@mm.unknown

The article compares forest images in provincial and patriotic songs and in forest advertisements by banks and insurance companies. In songs, coniferous forests represent the primaeval nature and broadleaved forests represent culture. Coniferous forest is the real patriotic forest. Forest images in advertisements are twofold: both elevated patriotic forests and profane raw-material forests are found.

The paper is based on a lecture given in the seminar ‘The forest as a Finnish cultural entity’, held in Helsinki in 1986. The PDF includes a summary in English.

• Julkunen, E-mail: ej@mm.unknown
• Kuusamo, E-mail: ak@mm.unknown

Only a few studies exist concerning the political anthropology and geopolitics of forests. The role of forests in European geopolitics and their role in restraining concentration of power and promoting guerrilla warfare is examined. The shelter of forest cover has been a fundamental factor for the formation of the Finnish people and it has also played an important role in the defence of independent Finland. Clearcuttings, forest roads and modern reconnaissance technology have recently diminished the protective shelter of forests.

The paper is based on a lecture given in the seminar ‘The forest as a Finnish cultural entity’, held in Helsinki in 1986. The PDF includes a summary in English.

• Raumolin, E-mail: jr@mm.unknown

• Leikola, E-mail: ml@mm.unknown

Four basic attitudes towards forests are distinguished: In utilitarianism the forest is seen merely as a means of increasing the standard of living. Humanism strives for the forest use in the service of educational ideals. Mysticism aims at an immediate experience of unity between man and nature. Primitivism denies all human privileges in nature. These attitudes describe that multiple relations exist between man and forest. An essential question is which attitude can best be defended.

The paper is based on a lecture given in the seminar ‘The forest as a Finnish cultural entity’, held in Helsinki in 1986. The PDF includes a summary in English.

• Pietarinen, E-mail: jp@mm.unknown

This publication consists of 16 papers on importance of forests to Finns, mainly from the viewpoint of various social and humanistic sciences. The articles are based on lectures given to a seminar organized in Helsinki, December 18-19, 1986.

This paper includes preface and list of the speeches in English.

• Reunala, E-mail: –
• Virtanen, E-mail: –