PUHASTUMINE. PURIFICATION

The spatial installation PURIFICATION deals with the sense of place – in the Reigi church, the important and the sacred come together in the Estonian cultural space. Both the church and the sauna provide an opportunity for inner purification in physical and sensory space and activity.

The sauna was a cleansing, sacred and healing place, where important life events took place from birth to death. The location of the sauna itself was considered sacred and when it was time to build a new sauna, it had to be built in the same sacred place. It was believed that the hot sauna steam would bring good luck in everyday household chores and even when fishing. Behavior in the sauna had to be respectable – the saunagoer had to be polite, quiet and avoid certain language and actions. It may seem strange, but in many ways it was the sauna that helped our ancestors survive in difficult times and maintain their self-esteem. Enduring the proper heat of the steam and hard whipping carried genuine Estonian pride in our toughness and strength. This endurance distinguished the natives from strangers. It was believed that whipping would help one better withstand a landlord’s beating. Even those who did not go to the sauna had to respect the sauna and not work during that time. The sick were treated in the sauna and the departed were sent on their final journey. Likewise, women gave birth in the sauna, and so the sauna was a place where the entire cycle of life from birth to death was completed.

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Sa arvad küll, et on saabunud vaikne ja
pime öö, mil midagi ei juhtu, ent ometi
hakkab äkki just sinu siniste akende all
põlema kask, nii et valgeid sädemeid

kaselehtedest, tuleniite okstest ja tuha-
ase tüvest, ja kasetoht põleb end uduks
hõljuma luhtadele, voolama jõena läbi luh-
tade ja sel viisil kandma mälestust ühest

kunagisest kasest ikka uutele ja uutele
luhtadele.

Kase põlemine, 1971 / Toomas Liiv