Ancient Singing Tradition Helps People Cope With Trauma in the Modern World

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From YES! Magazine: “‘Lament [singing] is a very old, traditional way to express your feelings,’ says Fihlman, a lament teacher and matriarch of the group. ‘If you are hurt or you have sorrows or you want to express your feelings, you cry it out. You let it come out. That’s what they would do in the old times.’

In Finland, the ancient musical tradition known as lament singing is seeing a revival . . .

‘[In lament] people can express themselves,’ Fihlman says. ‘Very often people [in my courses] make laments of their grief. They miss their parents or they have troubles in their marriage or maybe they were hurt in childhood and they never had a chance to bring it up.’ . . .

In Karelia, Fihlman says that lament singing existed in rural communities for generations, but it was viewed as a pagan tradition by Orthodox and Lutheran Christians and often driven underground. Urbanization also threatened the continued existence of lament singing. In the last century, as young people moved away from their hometowns to find jobs and schooling in cities, villages began to disappear, along with lament singers. And in the early days of the Soviet Union, authorities often employed lament for ideological and propaganda efforts, creating laments that expressed support for the Soviet system and its leaders.

Stepanova says that, eventually, only old people told ancient stories and sang antique laments. ‘They were museum items, and they stopped being a living tradition among people,’ she says.

But somehow, adds Fihlman, it survived. ‘We don’t have those old people anymore,’ she says. ‘But [now] we have this new generation.’ . . .

Hokka, 41, is part of the new generation learning from Fihlman. She says she hopes to start composing laments for young people struggling with addiction.

‘Nowadays crying is seen as losing face, so people avoid and fear it,’ says Hokka. ‘Finland needs its tears.'”

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  1. “In Karelia, Fihlman says that lament singing existed in rural communities for generations, but it was viewed as a pagan tradition by Orthodox and Lutheran Christians and often driven underground. Urbanization also threatened the continued existence of lament singing.”

    Absolutely our Lutheran “mental health” workers believe no Lutheran woman can ever inspire a lament song, ever. I have the medical proof of this in my medical records. And all “Orthodox and Lutheran Christian,” child rape covering up “mental health” workers,” apparently believe all modern day music has no inspiration or basis, whatsoever, from the hope and sadness of the mothers of our societies’ millions of child abuse survivors.

    https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2019/01/23/18820633.php?fbclid=IwAR2-cgZPcEvbz7yFqMuUwneIuaqGleGiOzackY4N2sPeVXolwmEga5iKxdo
    https://www.madinamerica.com/2016/04/heal-for-life/

    “’Does [lament singing] have connection to the past? To tradition? To beliefs or values?’ Stepanova says. ‘Or do we make it a museum item behind glass and go and think, Ahh, nice, yes, and forget about it? It depends on us.’”

    I can tell you the story of my love story with God, and my cries against our Lutheran “mental health” and “religious” industries’ systemic child abuse covering up crimes. In a story which has been, and still is, singing out on the radio. In the tunes and lyrics of many artists, as if i were some sort of muse for the pop music artists.

    But the child rape covering up Lutherans, and their child rape covering up “mental health” minion, still stand against me.

    https://books.google.com/books?id=xI01AlxH1uAC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

    I’m quite certain the decent women, and all the decent people of the world, still need to speak out against the evil within this world. It’s important. So our “laments,” and possible inspiration of the pop music artists, may be how we do this.

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