Virgin’s Dance
Bride’s Dance

There are over one hundred labyrinths in Finland. Many have been found in the archipelago and the west coast and are thought to have been associated with fishing and hunting magic.In the Swedish folklore of western Finland labyrinths were considered a doorway to the underworld.

There is one created at the Brage Open Air Museum that is modeled after one found in Valsörarna. In folk traditions there is a game where a girl and a boy are tied together and must keep the rope from touching the ground while traveling the paths.

This morsiantanssiin/jungfrudans (bride’s dance, maiden’s dance,virgin’s dance possibly recalls ancient pagan hedelmällisyysriiteistä (fertility rites) when a young woman stood in the middle of the labyrinth and a suitor had to find his way through the maze to her.

photo credit: betterphotography.in
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