Saunatonttu- the guardian spirit of the sauna
One of the beautiful things about sauna is that it represents just one form of sweat tradition out of so many from all over the world. Sauna originated in Finland; the Banya is from Russia; the Temazcal from Mesoamerica; the Sifutu from South Africa, the Mushi-buro from Japan, to name just a few. All these traditions have their cultural differences and they are definitely not the same— but they share the commonality of sweating as purification.
When we decided to immerse ourselves in the world of sauna in Vermont, we knew we wanted to respect the culture that birthed sauna as much as possible, being the indigenous Ecuadorian/white-Jew-mayflower-descendent non-Finns that we are.
Researching Finnish sauna culture and traditions, we stumbled upon the idea of the Saunatonttu— the spirit that inhabits and protects the sauna and the people who use it. In the Vermont society that we live in this could seem far-fetched. A spirit that’s chillin in the sauna?
However, to us it feels familiar and quite logical. In the Andes, where Marco is from and where we lived before coming to Vermont, there is constant awareness of time-space energies and the need for giving offerings and needing energetic protection; in the Amazon, where we also lived for a time, we quickly learned of the Sacha Runa, the spirits and protectors of the forest.
The thing with protecting spirits is that it isn’t a one-way street. They’re not going to just give-give-give. They require things from us: respect, asking permission, a reverence and acknowledgement that we are guests in this sacred space. When we don’t give those things, there are real negative consequences that happen: getting lost in the forest or getting burned by the sauna stove, for example.
We are not Finnish, and yet the Saunatonttu feels familiar and real to us. Saunatonttu requires that we keep the sauna clean, that we respect it by not yelling inside the four walls, that we treat others we share the space with with respect. In turn, the saunatonttu keeps our fire burning nicely, gives people a good sweat, and provides the perfect “löyly”— the steam that comes off the rocks when water is poured on them.
When we enter the sauna, a sacred space, we try to acknowledge the saunatonttu and ask for protection and for a good sauna experience for everyone as we light the first fire. Can we prove that the saunatonttu exist? Absolutely not— we’re intentionally not in the proselytizing business! But we can tell you about the burnt fingers or the ash that spilled when we rushed in and didn’t pause to enter into relationship with the saunatonttu. At the end of the day, we offer the saunatonttu the last “löyly” and add one last log to the fire, after everyone has left, so that the spirit can also get its chance to relax in the sauna.
Before we opened Brattleboro Sauna or knew anything about the saunatonttu, Allison was talking to another sauna owner as we were still in the beginning stages of thinking about opening the sauna. Allison was explaining how crazy it was that a few weeks ago sauna wasn’t at all on her radar, but during and after an amazing sauna session in Maine, she couldn’t stop thinking about it and how she wanted to bring that experience to people in Brattleboro. The person she was talking to, experienced in all things sauna, calmly replied, “oh that’s not strange at all- the spirit of the sauna entered you.” It was so logical, and made sense.
The saunatonttu reminds us that the sauna is a sacred space; it reminds us to pause, to enter and act with intentionality; to take care. In exchange, we get protection, peace, and a really great sweat.
