The Connection of Viena Karelian Ritual Specialists to Communicative and Origin Incantations

Abstract Researchers in the field of Kalevala-metric poetry have regularly connected types of incantations called communicative and origin incantations with Finno-Karelian ritual specialists known as the tietäjät. Although there is nothing inherently wrong with this view, the assumption has never been empirically tested. This article reports a methodological experiment aimed at investigating the connection between ritual specialists and the two incantation types, based on an index of users of incantations from Viena Karelia. The analysis shows that a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods facilitates empirical investigation of the phenomenon. The results of the analysis give some empirical support to general assumptions made in earlier research, but also demonstrate difficulties of such etic categorizations. In addition, the methodology could potentially be used with materials extending beyond those examined in the present article.