Hossa – What the People of the Wilderness used to believe in

This book “What the People of the Wilderness Used to Believe in” provides background information on the exhibition constructed at the Hossa Visitor Centre in 2011. The theme for the exhibition was obtained from the topical questions of our time; people appear to be thinking about what has been before and how life was led before us. We are interested in the question of what elements constituted the worldview of our parents and the preceding generations. In the Hossa area, where Kainuu and Koillismaa meet and eastern influence can be felt, it is rewarding to look into the beliefs of the past. 

The task of the Metsähallitus Natural Heritage Services is to nurture the Finnish natural and cultural heritage. The belief system of the old times, what is known about it and how it is interpreted, is well suited to the theme of the new exhibition at the Hossa Visitor Centre. The exhibition starts with the old northern worldview, and then presents the contents of the paintings on the Värikallio Cliffs, takes a look at the arrival of Christianity in the northern wilderness and takes up a few significant things where the ”things of the spiritual world” have been reflected in the different phases of people’s lives. 

This book and the script for the exhibition were written by Oili Räihälä, MA, archaeologist.