Selitystarinat

Selitystarinat, literally meaning “explanation stories,” is a term used in Finnish folklore and ethnographic scholarship to describe a type of traditional narrative whose primary function is to explain why something is the way it is. They are a subset of etiological myths found in many cultures and are especially noted in Finnish oral literature. The core aim of selitystarinat is to provide a cause or justification for natural phenomena, customs, place features, or social practices.

Characteristics include a causal mechanism embedded in a story, often featuring agents such as gods, spirits, ancestors, or animal figures. The plots usually trace a before-and-after scenario, showing how a present condition came to be through a transformative action. They are typically transmitted orally within communities and can be integrated with ritual practices or seasonal cycles.

Functions of selitystarinat include explanation, memory, social cohesion, and moral instruction. They help people understand and remember their environment, laws, and traditions, particularly in communities with limited scientific explanations for natural world phenomena.

Relation to other genres: selitystarinat are distinguished from purely mythic or heroic narratives by their explicit explanatory aim. They may overlap with legends (explaining historical events) and with myths about origins.

Examples: traditional stories explaining the existence of a river’s course, a mountain’s shape, the origin of a festival, or a customary practice. Regional variants exist across Finnic and other cultures.

Scholarly relevance: researchers study selitystarinat to understand how cultures rationalize the world, how narratives encode social values, and how these stories change under contact with other belief systems.