I rituali della caccia all’orso in Finlandia e Carelia: credenze, canti, incantesimi e riti magici

The Finnic rituals of the bear hunt are a fascinating topic for anthropologists, ethnologists and folklorists. The abundant ethnographic material and rituals songs transcribed by ethnographers in the xix and xx centuries in several areas of Finland and Carelia permit quite a realistic and complete reconstruction of every phase of the rituals, including the preparations. In the Finnic regions the bear was considered both human-like and supernatural, as it was strongly connected with female guardian spirits of the forest, who where its mothers, protectors and mistresses. The bruin itself was believed to be always “innocent”, but also a powerful seer (tietäjä) with a sharp hearing and sight: it was able to follow all the ritual actions of the hunters, to listen their songs and prayers and also to wreck magically the riffles or to divert the flight path of bullets. In order to leave to the bear hunt, the hunters should carefully find the den of the bear, empower magically themselves, the weapons and dogs. Leaving the village, several liminar rituals and spells were performed to avoid the risks of contagious by the forest force (metsän väki or viha) and the effect of “evil-eyes”. The hunt was considered a travel into a marvellous and dangerous Otherworld (often defined Tapiola, the realm of the forest master Tapio). In the first part of the ritual particularly important were the songs and prayers dedicated to the forest masters and mistresses: their wrath could be fearsome, but they were sharing a “moral code” that the hunter was supposed to know well. The attitude of the hunter was both humble and seductive, as the forest itself was considered as a female “being” who accepted the hunters “falling in love” with them. Songs were dedicated also to the bear: “origin spells” to control it and sweet words to wake up it from the den after the final den. The kill of the animal was completely negated by the hunters: the bear fell from a branch. After that, the hunters continued to sing for the bear as it was still alive. The second part of the ritual was the “mirror” of the previous phase: this time the “guest of honour” that should be accepted in the human village is the bear. Similar liminar rituals followed the entrance of the bear into the gates and house. The feast where the bear meat was consumed was presented as “marriage”, “dinner” or “drinking feast” of the bruin. Finally, the bear skull was hung to a pine branch, but the hunters continued to sing about the “good life” of the bear in the spot. The role of women in the initial and final phases of the ritual is particular interesting, as their magic power was considered often opposed to the forest “force”. As a such, the rituals tried to transform a kill into its opposite: a celebration of life and union between the people of the forest and the village. For this reason, reference to marriage, sexuality or romantic love are quite abundant. Performing all the hunt rituals, the hunters should please with sweet songs and acts both the bear and its powerful guardian: the whole ritual was performed “in exchange” of a bear – delivered from the “granary” of the “ranch” of the forest masters - and the songs were supposed to be not only long, respectful and precise, but beautiful and poetically elaborated. The presence of a skilful seer or singer in the hunting group was an important prerequisite for a successful chase and feast.