Intertwined Histories: 150 Years of Finnish-Namibian Relations ed. by Marjo Kaartinen, Leila Koivunen and Napandulwe Shiweda

Abstract

Reviewed by: Intertwined Histories: 150 Years of Finnish-Namibian Relations ed. by Marjo Kaartinen, Leila Koivunen and Napandulwe Shiweda Mark Nygard Intertwined Histories: 150 Years of Finnish-Namibian Relations. Edited by Marjo Kaartinen, Leila Koivunen, and Napandulwe Shiweda. Turku, Finland: University of Turku, 2019. 173 pp. Available at: https://www.utupub.fi The term “ethnic Festschrift” comes to mind as one seeks to describe this collection of essays. In this case, it is not an esteemed colleague who is being honored, but a venerable relationship—the cultural interaction between Finns and Namibians since the first Finnish missionary arrived in Owambo a century and a half ago. As with most Festschrifts there is a gently organizing focus—here, the ongoing Finnish-Namibian relationship that has developed since then—but as with many Festschrifts, the diversity of articles is vast, ranging from an analysis of a missionary letter collection to the evolution of a particular Namibian cloth design, from stories of a Namibian child brought to Finland by a missionary family to the use of Namibian parish registries for demographic research, from discussion of mission architecture in Owambo to the fate of a Namibian artifact collection in Helsinki. As the editors state, “This volume by no means claims to offer a complete history of the relations, but rather presents a selection of various perspectives that introduce some recent scholarship to the reader” (10). An essay that epitomizes the goal of the book is “Stories from South West Africa for Young Finnish Readers” (154–161). Here Raita Merivirta uses three children’s stories published by the Finnish Missionary [End Page 482] Society in the 1950s and ’60s to analyze what impression of Namibian children was being offered to Finnish children. On the one hand they “advocate missionary work as a progressive and civilizing force in the area and are often patronizing towards South West Africans [Namibians].” On the other hand, they have very relatable and likeable young South West African protagonists with whom the reader is able to sympathize and who act as guides in a region foreign to the readers. Thus, while the novels may have emphasized and also helped to consolidate some differences at the time of their publication, they also leveled others . . . , crossing cultural boundaries and bringing Owambo and its people closer to young Finnish readers on an emotional level (161). Two separately authored essays consider the intriguing story of Rosa Clay, the Namibian girl who through missionary intervention was taken from her native Omaruru to live life as “the only black Finn” (55) before her immigration to the United States. In “Lessons to Learn in the Story of Rosa” (53–59), Anna Rastas discusses the importance of Rosa’s story for later generations of Finns of African descent as they search for identity and meaning in their adopted country. More, the story is an occasion for original Finns to ponder their “colonial complicity” (57), though their nation never held a colony, and to think how subtle racial attitudes may prejudice their approach to others today. The book is impressively illustrated in color with historic and current photographs and charts. The articles, though short (averaging under eight pages) and unfootnoted, usually conclude with bibliographies, many of them extensive. The pagination does not correspond with the table of contents, perhaps a software error of the online edition. (I’ve used the online pagination for this review.) My impression that the book emphasizes an academic approach was strengthened by the cryptic concluding comment of Napandulwe Shiweda and Romie Nghitevelekwa’s article: “[T]he current discourse on Finnish influence remains firmly grounded in the precepts of modernism, and not necessarily on the significance of alterations in material culture and local practices” (52). I take this to mean that they disciplined themselves to describe the data, with restrained interpretive comments or attempts at synthesis. I would [End Page 483] propose this is generally true of the articles. It means that readers with a scientific epoché-style reserve will be more satisfied with this volume than those seeking historical or philosophical integration. Mark Nygard St. Paul, Minnesota Copyright © 2021 Johns Hopkins University Press and Lutheran Quarterly, Inc