Puhastuste

Puhastuste is an Estonian term used to denote acts or processes of purification or cleansing. The root word puhastus means purification or cleaning, and puhastuste is a form used to refer to multiple cleansing acts or the concept of purification in various contexts. The term covers physical cleaning as well as symbolic or ritual cleansing, depending on the discourse.

In religious and cultural contexts, puhastused describe ritual washings, ablutions, or rites believed to remove impurity or ill fate and to prepare participants for worship or communal rites. In everyday language, the word can refer to routine hygienic cleaning, such as handwashing or sanitation procedures, or to the cleaning of objects, spaces, and equipment. In environmental and public-health discussions, puhastuste can refer to purification or remediation processes, including water treatment, air purification, soil remediation, and waste management steps.

In scholarly and literary discussions, puhastuste may appear in analyses of purification motifs in folklore, religious traditions, or literature. The term is primarily used in Estonian-language sources and may not have wide recognition in English-language encyclopedic writing, where equivalents such as purification, cleansing, ablution, or sanitation are more common.

See also: puhastus, cleansing, purification, ablution, sanitation.