PENTIKÄINEN, JUHA

(1940– )

Professor of religious studies at the University of Helsinki, Finland, who has devoted a lifetime’s research to Finnish folk and popular religion, shamans and “shamanhood,” bear folklore and cults, and similar topics, both in relation to Finland and more widely. InOral Repertoire and World View(1978), Pentikäinen details interviews with a traditional Finnishhealer, who was also considered a shaman or awitch. His more recent discussions of shamans and their practices and worldviews are important for bringing together careful local ethnography with a clear grasp of broad surveys.