Conceptual Analysis and Variation in Belief Tradition: A Case of Death-Related Beings

Abstract

The article focuses on the popular conceptualisation of a death-re- lated agent which is known in Finnish folk belief and narratives by the name churchyard-vaki (vaki means 'crowd', but also 'power' in Finnish). Natural concep- tualisation is economical and distinctions are only made when found relevant enough. Verbal descriptions of churchyard-vaki's appearance and actions to- wards people vary remarkably according to the narrative context. Rather than a clearly defined supernatural agent, churchyard-vaki is a complex of different ideas which have had enough similar features to form a single polysemous concept. The incoherence and context-bound variation of the concept imply that the status of churchyard-vaki has been instrumental rather than constitutive in belief tradition. In folk belief, churchyard-vaki usually represents the other world's intrusion into this world. As an instrument of conveying intended messages, churchyard- vaki has been used both in local gossip and traditionally formed discussions about morally charged questions. I have distinguished between three mental models, which have dominated the normative discussion about the relations between this and the other world. The question is about the ambivalence of the otherworldly impact and whether people are allowed or not to get actively in- volved with the supernatural. Belief legends about a sorcerer in the church at night make use of all the three models.