Francis Joy

External and Internal Factors the Desecration and Destruction of Pre-historic Rock Paintings in Finland?

Finland hosts approximately 120 rock paintings, originating from within a pre-historic hunting culture. The metaphors, which depict symbols and figures in the art relate to Sami cultural history, religious practices and shamanism. Many of the painted sites are located close to waterways. Due to the growth of the tourist industry and expansion of urban areas in central and southern parts of the country, approximately ten present of rock paintings in Finland have been extensively damaged. Analysis of photographic material and correspondence with the National Board of Antiquities in Helsinki, which oversees heritage management in Finland, has revealed that recorded vandalism and the on-going vulnerability of many sites is linked to unclear structures and policies aimed at protecting the sacred areas. At the present time, and despite documentation of these occurrences, academic discourse has not dealt with this topic and therefore, which is what this paper aims to address.

Noaidi drums from Sápmi, rock paintings in Finland and Sámi cultural heritage – an investigation

A new, extensive examination of figures with horns and triangular shaped heads in prehistoric rock paintings in Finland reveals remarkable parallels with similar attributes on the Radien and Akka groups of spirits, pictured as male and female powers of the sky, earth and underworld, painted on the heads of indigenous Sami noaidi drums from Swedish and Norwegian Sapmi during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. What makes this particular study of interest is that the cultural context or origins of rock paintings in Finland remains ambiguous. They are contextualised as being ‘Finnish’ according to academic literature. This paper explores these theories further and presents the findings of this investigation. In light of these findings, a re-examination and re-interpretation of the cultural context of rock paintings in Finland concerning Sami pre-Christian religion and cultural heritage is prompted.