Sauna Culture, Sweat and Spirituality: On the Architectonics and Cosmology of Sacred Space (Springer Studies on Populism, Identity Politics and Social Justice)

By: Kaarina Kailo

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Synopsis: This book explores spiritual and sacred practices in Finnish saunas and Native North American sweat lodges through a comparative study. It also sheds light on ancient traditions from Ireland and Galicia, tracing their evolution and shared spiritual features. The book further analyzes gendered rituals, woman-centered lifeways, and cyclical worldviews rooted in rebirth and regeneration. This book shows how these practices reflect a deep, cross-cultural matrix of symbols celebrating Heaven and Earth. It presents the Delaware Sweat Lodge and Big House as prototypes of sacred structures for world renewal and their connections to sauna cultures worldwide. By defining key concepts from patriarchal, feminist, and Indigenous perspectives, this book challenges normative, unquestioned notions of the sacred and the divine. The book's interdisciplinary approach will appeal to students, scholars, and researchers of gender studies, Indigenous studies, cultural studies, religious studies, philosophy, and anthropology interested in a better understanding of how ancient rituals hold ecological significance for addressing today&’s planetary crises and social imbalances, revealing like-mindedness across diverse faith traditions.

Book Quality:: Publisher Quality
ISBN-13:: 9783031879357
Related ISBNs:: 9783031879340
Publisher:: Springer Nature Switzerland
Date of Addition:: 07/01/25
Copyrighted By:: The Editor
Adult content:: No
Language:: English
Has Image Descriptions:: No
Categories:: Nonfiction, Religion and Spirituality, Social Studies, Philosophy, Politics and Government, Sociology
Submitted By:: Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:: This is a copyrighted book.