Reet Hiiemäe
Biographic Data
| ID | 295006 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Reet Hiiemäe |
| GIVEN NAMES | Reet |
| FAMILY NAME | Hiiemäe |
| SIGNATURE | HIIEMÄE R |
| AFFILIATIONS | Estonian Literary Museum |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8942-8983 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 33 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 10 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 33 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2000 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Ülitaju ja usundisidus intersektsionaalne agentsus
So far, intersectionality has been viewed predominantly in a rather unidirectional way – mainly in the context of vulnerability and discrimination. In recent years, however, there has also been increasing discussion that the interplay of characteristics encompassed within the definition of intersectionality may likewise give rise to certain unique modes of coping. In this article, I experiment with placing specific ways of perception associated w…
Myths, Maps and Vernacular Perception
Environmental Health Crises (EHC), often manifesting as interconnected polycrises (e.g. combining environmental, medical or military aspects), have surged in frequency, intensity and geographic spread in recent decades. Public understanding of such crises plays a crucial role in taking proper action to mitigate their consequences. Thus, finding innovative communication models that would address and mediate the complex nature of EHC is of utmost i…
Verbal Magic In Contemporary Women’s Narratives About Nightmare Experiences In Estonia
The focus of this article is on the contemporary use of verbal magic in situations interpreted in personal experience narratives as nightmare (old hag) attacks whereby the emphasis is on women’s perspective. First, the author gives a general overview of the outputs of protective verbal magic in contemporary Estonian material to situate more specific verbal magic used for warding off the supernatural attacker during the nightmare experiences. The …
Bridging Mythology and Science
This article presents a report on a mental mapping workshop conducted in Estonia within the framework of the CHRYSES project, examining the methodological, ethical and analytical insights gained at the workshop and situating them within a broader theoretical context. Drawing on both the structure and outcomes of the workshop and making comparisons with other topical case studies, the article demonstrates how mental mapping can serve as an effecti…
Sauna as Sanctuary
Kaarina Kailo. Sauna Culture, Sweat and Spirituality. Cham: Springer, 2025. 410 pp
Usundiuurijad religioonide dialoogi otsinguil
Reet Hiiemäe writes about the third world conference on dialogue and cooperation among religions entitled “Religion and the Contemporary Phase of Globalization: Possibilities and Challenges” held from 23–27 June in Kruševo (North Macedonia
Mida on rohekommunikatsioonil õppida keskkonnapärimusest
The usefulness of traditional environmental folklore in addressing sustainability issues in modern contexts requires a more nuanced analysis. Despite the technologized and secularized surface of modern society, its values (including environmental ethics and concepts of sustainable resource use) are based on traditional worldviews. This article uses qualitative content and context analysis to look at key concepts and motifs in Estonian environment…
Contemporary Ecocultural Bonds with the Non-human
This article will analyze some Estonian examples of increasingly popular contemporary rituals for creating spiritually meaningful ecocultural bonds. As one example, it offers a case analysis on contemporary beliefs and spiritual approaches related to the fly mushroom, providing an overview of shifts in its meaning compared to older folklore. The author will exemplify how the interest in using the fly mushroom for spiritual purposes has triggered …
Kogemuslugudes kirjeldatud kokkupuuted füüsiliselt agressiivsete vaimolenditega
Folkloristid Diane Goldstein, Sylvia Grider ja Jeannie Thomas märgivad, et „vaatamata põlvkondadepikkusele ratsionalismi ja valgustusajastu mõjule läheb tarbijatele endiselt korda üleloomulikkus” (Goldstein jt 2007: 2). Samuti pole olnud ühtegi ajastut, mil inimesed oleksid olnud ükskõiksed vähemasti neid endid ähvardava vägivalla suhtes. Käesolevas artiklis vaatlen üleloomulikkuse ja vägivalla kooslust jutustamisainena. Keskmes on tänapäevastes …
Environmental folklore as a vernacular code of sustainability
Hop-on Hop-off Spirituality
In contemporary spirituality-related thought and behaviour in Estonia (as well as in a number of other regions), a phenomenon can be observed that I call hop-on hop-off spirituality. This means testing and tasting of various forms of contemporary spirituality (via techniques, courses, lectures, books, etc.) out of curiosity or for fun or just because a friend said that this or that teaching has changed their life. Such experimenting can sometimes…
Fear of Magically Induced Love in Estonian Traditional and Contemporary Belief Narratives
The loss of control over one’s mind, body and behavior is one of the most common psychological fears that is often also expressed in belief narratives. The aim of this article is to comparatively analyse beliefs and narratives of magically-induced love in Estonian older tradition and contemporary folklore in order to find out to what extent the emphases and explanation models related to allowed and forbidden types of such magic intrusion have cha…
Suicide Games, Abandoned Houses, and Thirst For Danger
The article looks at the dynamics of the media and real life in relation to the so-called dangerous folklore of teenagers, which includes, for example, contacts with aggressive (semi-)supernatural fear creatures, frightening experiences in abandoned houses and notions of so-called suicide games. The authors analyse the interactions between media reality and youth behaviour and related developments in folklore. It is concluded that the presentatio…
A Hundred Forms of Spirituality in the Least Religious Country in the World
This paper is mainly based on interviews and observations that the author made during the process of writing a book about a hundred forms of religious and spiritual movements, teachings, and techniques in Estonia, thus being a reflection of trends and transformations of spiritual thought and practice in a country that has been repeatedly called the least religious country in Europe or even the whole world. Bringing some topical case analyses from…
Introduction into Health-Related Folklore and Its Research
y accentuating the central keywords and observations of the articles published in this special journal issue, the author - situating the articles in a broader theoretical framework - offers a glimpse at the role of the humanities in the research of the realm of health in such a unique period as the Covid-19 pandemic. The author concludes that based on the complexity of the topic (its physical and mental, individual and collective angles, impact o…
From 'Unbelievable Stupidity' to 'Secret Clues for Staying Healthy
Based on a one-month (April 2020) comparative observation of media content in three Estonian and three Finnish mainstream media sources (two daily newspapers and one weekly women's magazine) along with some examples from an earlier period, the authors analysed the representation of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the media. The analysis showed that the media from the two countries presented CAM both in its various mainstream and m…
Vernacular Reactions to Covid-19 in Estonia
The objective of the article is to give an overview of the vernacular reactions to the corona crisis in Estonia, based on COVID-19-related folklore collected from written, oral, and online sources from March to June 2020, i.e., during the emergency situation established due to the coronavirus. The methodological approach of the article was a context-dependent comparative content analysis studying the functioning of thematic texts in the wider tra…
Hirmude kirjeldused tänapäeva õpilaspärimuses
Viimastel kümnenditel on pärimuse levikuviisid ja inspiratsiooniallikad oluliselt muutunud ja moderniseerunud, määrava tähtsuse on omandanud massimeedia mõju: uskumuste, hoiakute ja kujutelmade vormumisel on oma roll teleseriaalidel, filmidel, YouTube’i kanalitel, sotsiaalmeedia postitustel, uudisteportaalidel ja koguni mobiiliäppidel. Paralleelselt on suurenenud isegi väikeste laste ligipääs heterogeensele meediasisule. 2007. ja 2018. aasta üle…
Koroonakriisi rahvapärased väljendused Eestis
2020. aasta läheb maailma ajalukku koroonaviiruse SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandeemia aastana. 2019. aasta detsembris Hiinas Wuhani linnas alguse saanud viirusepuhang jõudis Eestisse 26. veebruaril 2020, kui ametlikult tuvastati esimene nakatunu. 12. märtsist 17. maini samal aastal kestis Eestis valitsuse kehtestatud eriolukord, mil kasutati viiruse leviku tõkestamiseks erimeetmeid: keelatud olid avalikud kogunemised, sh kultuurisündmused, konverent…
Vaimud, tulnukad ja Slenderman
The article concentrates on mapping continuities and changes in the contemporary Estonian school lore about experiences with supernatural beings: main characters, fears, and emotions connected with such supernatural beliefs as well as supernatural protective mechanisms are highlighted. One of the central topics of the article is cultural and linguistic loans (e.g. international newcomers like the Slenderman) and their sources (e.g. films, compute…
Belief Narratives of Spirit-Animals
This paper focuses on the images, communication modes, and belief narratives connected with spirit-animals in Estonian folklore. Firstly, the older (pre-twentieth-century) concept of the spirit-animal is described. Secondly, contemporary beliefs and experiences related to spirit-animals are highlighted. The paper desribes to what extent the old local soul concepts have intermingled with the imported ideas of the spirit-animal and how narratives d…
Destiny, Miracle Healers and Magical Intervention
The article* focuses on the dynamics of contemporary beliefs related to involuntary childlessness. Firstly, the methodological issues of collecting source material on delicate matters and the advantages of anonymous and narrative presentation modes in certain contexts will be discussed. Secondly, conclusions drawn from the collected material, i.e. the temporary and changeable nature of those beliefs, their relations with the mass media, the socia…
Teispoolsuskujutelmad pärimustekstides
Pärimustekstid kirjeldavad mitmesuguseid elavate ja surnute vahelise suhtlemise meetodeid – nende järgi võivad surnud oma teateid edastada unenägudes või sümbolmärkide kaudu ning ilmuda elavatele varjukujudena ka isiklikult. Sellise pärimuse eelduseks on kujutelm, et inimene jätkab mingil kujul oma eksistentsi ka pärast surma ning lahkunutel on võimalik elavatega suhelda. Käesolev artikkel keskendub sellele, kuidas kirjeldatakse surnute [...]
Narrative Maps of Danger as a Means of Subjective Protection
is article examines how mental danger maps are mediated in belief narratives.e focus, which is novel, is on narrative localisation phenomena in connection with mobile sources of danger.e author demonstrates the universality of the process of constructing danger maps, illustrating its similarities with older legends (e.g.plague legends) and with modern media-in uenced narrations.In addition, the importance of such maps in the selective collecting …
Introduction
This special issue of the journal Folklore: Electronic Journal of Folklore is dedicated to belief narratives. The articles in the current issue are based on papers that were presented at two joint conferences that took place simultaneously in Macau (China) on March 23-28, 2015. Both conferences focused on the traditions of the supernatural: the conference under the heading Vernacular Religion, Folk Belief, and Traditions of the Supernatural conce…
Vernacular Reactions to Covid-19 in Estonia
The objective of the article is to give an overview of the vernacular reactions to the corona crisis in Estonia, based on COVID-19-related folklore collected from written, oral, and online sources from March to June 2020, i.e., during the emergency situation established due to the coronavirus. The methodological approach of the article was a context-dependent comparative content analysis studying the functioning of thematic texts in the wider tra…
Narrative Maps of Danger as a Means of Subjective Protection
is article examines how mental danger maps are mediated in belief narratives.e focus, which is novel, is on narrative localisation phenomena in connection with mobile sources of danger.e author demonstrates the universality of the process of constructing danger maps, illustrating its similarities with older legends (e.g.plague legends) and with modern media-in uenced narrations.In addition, the importance of such maps in the selective collecting …
Hop-on Hop-off Spirituality
In contemporary spirituality-related thought and behaviour in Estonia (as well as in a number of other regions), a phenomenon can be observed that I call hop-on hop-off spirituality. This means testing and tasting of various forms of contemporary spirituality (via techniques, courses, lectures, books, etc.) out of curiosity or for fun or just because a friend said that this or that teaching has changed their life. Such experimenting can sometimes…
Belief Narratives of Spirit-Animals
This paper focuses on the images, communication modes, and belief narratives connected with spirit-animals in Estonian folklore. Firstly, the older (pre-twentieth-century) concept of the spirit-animal is described. Secondly, contemporary beliefs and experiences related to spirit-animals are highlighted. The paper desribes to what extent the old local soul concepts have intermingled with the imported ideas of the spirit-animal and how narratives d…
Muld sakraalse ja profaanse reliikviana
The article attempts to shed some light on beliefs and customs concerning the concept of earth as a relic, and clarify the origin of the notion 'Holy Ground' and popular concepts associated with it. The author draws parallels with the cult of saints, brings examples of the transitory role of earth in connection with the burial sites and apparition places of saints, and discusses the essence of contact relics. The article concludes with drawing pa…
Katkupärimuse kujunemist mõjustavatest teguritest
Teemal, kuivrd lahus vi lahutamatud on rahvaprased ja petatud traditsioonid, on folkloristikas ohtralt diskuteeritud. Poolt
Handling Collective Fear in Folklore
Taevasest teenäitajast kommertsmaailma sõnumitoojaks
Teesid
Pärimuslikud kohamääratlused ja liikuvate ohuallikate kaardistamine usundilistes juttudes
The article provides an overview of the mediation of cognitive danger mapping based on traditional place designations in belief narratives. Firstly, processes of cognitive mapping are observed, using the example of plague tradition, and further on, parallels are drawn with modern religious phenomena, such as spiritual mapping in Neo-Pentecostalism, which aims to identify places in the landscape where demons lie in wait for humans, as well as deli…
Mitteverbaalne sündmus kui usundilise jutuloome osa
Kahe vi rohkema osapoolega kommunikatsioon sisaldab alati ka mitteverbaalset aspekti
Painajakogemusest rääkimine internetifoorumites
The article focuses on sharing nightmare experience on Internet forums. The author discusses how people, who, as a rule, are not active carriers of a consistent nightmare lore, speak about this phenomenon, how and on the basis of which sources they define and interpret their experience, and which dynamics become manifest in solving ideological arguments. One of the objectives of the article is to find out if we could, in spite of the fact that ni…
Teispoolsuskujutelmad pärimustekstides
Pärimustekstid kirjeldavad mitmesuguseid elavate ja surnute vahelise suhtlemise meetodeid – nende järgi võivad surnud oma teateid edastada unenägudes või sümbolmärkide kaudu ning ilmuda elavatele varjukujudena ka isiklikult. Sellise pärimuse eelduseks on kujutelm, et inimene jätkab mingil kujul oma eksistentsi ka pärast surma ning lahkunutel on võimalik elavatega suhelda. Käesolev artikkel keskendub sellele, kuidas kirjeldatakse surnute [...]
Narrative Maps of Danger as a Means of Subjective Protection
is article examines how mental danger maps are mediated in belief narratives.e focus, which is novel, is on narrative localisation phenomena in connection with mobile sources of danger.e author demonstrates the universality of the process of constructing danger maps, illustrating its similarities with older legends (e.g.plague legends) and with modern media-in uenced narrations.In addition, the importance of such maps in the selective collecting …
Introduction
This special issue of the journal Folklore: Electronic Journal of Folklore is dedicated to belief narratives. The articles in the current issue are based on papers that were presented at two joint conferences that took place simultaneously in Macau (China) on March 23-28, 2015. Both conferences focused on the traditions of the supernatural: the conference under the heading Vernacular Religion, Folk Belief, and Traditions of the Supernatural conce…
Nonverbal Event as Part of Belief Narrative
A communicative act that involves the presence of two or more persons always involves a nonverbal aspect. The focus of the article is on nonverbal situations as a basis for the evolution of belief narratives. This pre-narrative aspect has not received much attention in narrative research as most analyses are based on texts that already exist in verbalised form. However, on many occasions the basis for a belief narrative is a nonverbal act that ha…
Destiny, Miracle Healers and Magical Intervention
The article* focuses on the dynamics of contemporary beliefs related to involuntary childlessness. Firstly, the methodological issues of collecting source material on delicate matters and the advantages of anonymous and narrative presentation modes in certain contexts will be discussed. Secondly, conclusions drawn from the collected material, i.e. the temporary and changeable nature of those beliefs, their relations with the mass media, the socia…
Vaimud, tulnukad ja Slenderman
The article concentrates on mapping continuities and changes in the contemporary Estonian school lore about experiences with supernatural beings: main characters, fears, and emotions connected with such supernatural beliefs as well as supernatural protective mechanisms are highlighted. One of the central topics of the article is cultural and linguistic loans (e.g. international newcomers like the Slenderman) and their sources (e.g. films, compute…
Belief Narratives of Spirit-Animals
This paper focuses on the images, communication modes, and belief narratives connected with spirit-animals in Estonian folklore. Firstly, the older (pre-twentieth-century) concept of the spirit-animal is described. Secondly, contemporary beliefs and experiences related to spirit-animals are highlighted. The paper desribes to what extent the old local soul concepts have intermingled with the imported ideas of the spirit-animal and how narratives d…
Hirmude kirjeldused tänapäeva õpilaspärimuses
Viimastel kümnenditel on pärimuse levikuviisid ja inspiratsiooniallikad oluliselt muutunud ja moderniseerunud, määrava tähtsuse on omandanud massimeedia mõju: uskumuste, hoiakute ja kujutelmade vormumisel on oma roll teleseriaalidel, filmidel, YouTube’i kanalitel, sotsiaalmeedia postitustel, uudisteportaalidel ja koguni mobiiliäppidel. Paralleelselt on suurenenud isegi väikeste laste ligipääs heterogeensele meediasisule. 2007. ja 2018. aasta üle…
Koroonakriisi rahvapärased väljendused Eestis
2020. aasta läheb maailma ajalukku koroonaviiruse SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandeemia aastana. 2019. aasta detsembris Hiinas Wuhani linnas alguse saanud viirusepuhang jõudis Eestisse 26. veebruaril 2020, kui ametlikult tuvastati esimene nakatunu. 12. märtsist 17. maini samal aastal kestis Eestis valitsuse kehtestatud eriolukord, mil kasutati viiruse leviku tõkestamiseks erimeetmeid: keelatud olid avalikud kogunemised, sh kultuurisündmused, konverent…
A Hundred Forms of Spirituality in the Least Religious Country in the World
This paper is mainly based on interviews and observations that the author made during the process of writing a book about a hundred forms of religious and spiritual movements, teachings, and techniques in Estonia, thus being a reflection of trends and transformations of spiritual thought and practice in a country that has been repeatedly called the least religious country in Europe or even the whole world. Bringing some topical case analyses from…
Introduction into Health-Related Folklore and Its Research
y accentuating the central keywords and observations of the articles published in this special journal issue, the author - situating the articles in a broader theoretical framework - offers a glimpse at the role of the humanities in the research of the realm of health in such a unique period as the Covid-19 pandemic. The author concludes that based on the complexity of the topic (its physical and mental, individual and collective angles, impact o…
From 'Unbelievable Stupidity' to 'Secret Clues for Staying Healthy
Based on a one-month (April 2020) comparative observation of media content in three Estonian and three Finnish mainstream media sources (two daily newspapers and one weekly women's magazine) along with some examples from an earlier period, the authors analysed the representation of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the media. The analysis showed that the media from the two countries presented CAM both in its various mainstream and m…
Vernacular Reactions to Covid-19 in Estonia
The objective of the article is to give an overview of the vernacular reactions to the corona crisis in Estonia, based on COVID-19-related folklore collected from written, oral, and online sources from March to June 2020, i.e., during the emergency situation established due to the coronavirus. The methodological approach of the article was a context-dependent comparative content analysis studying the functioning of thematic texts in the wider tra…
Fear of Magically Induced Love in Estonian Traditional and Contemporary Belief Narratives
The loss of control over one’s mind, body and behavior is one of the most common psychological fears that is often also expressed in belief narratives. The aim of this article is to comparatively analyse beliefs and narratives of magically-induced love in Estonian older tradition and contemporary folklore in order to find out to what extent the emphases and explanation models related to allowed and forbidden types of such magic intrusion have cha…
Suicide Games, Abandoned Houses, and Thirst For Danger
The article looks at the dynamics of the media and real life in relation to the so-called dangerous folklore of teenagers, which includes, for example, contacts with aggressive (semi-)supernatural fear creatures, frightening experiences in abandoned houses and notions of so-called suicide games. The authors analyse the interactions between media reality and youth behaviour and related developments in folklore. It is concluded that the presentatio…
Kogemuslugudes kirjeldatud kokkupuuted füüsiliselt agressiivsete vaimolenditega
Folkloristid Diane Goldstein, Sylvia Grider ja Jeannie Thomas märgivad, et „vaatamata põlvkondadepikkusele ratsionalismi ja valgustusajastu mõjule läheb tarbijatele endiselt korda üleloomulikkus” (Goldstein jt 2007: 2). Samuti pole olnud ühtegi ajastut, mil inimesed oleksid olnud ükskõiksed vähemasti neid endid ähvardava vägivalla suhtes. Käesolevas artiklis vaatlen üleloomulikkuse ja vägivalla kooslust jutustamisainena. Keskmes on tänapäevastes …
Environmental folklore as a vernacular code of sustainability
Hop-on Hop-off Spirituality
In contemporary spirituality-related thought and behaviour in Estonia (as well as in a number of other regions), a phenomenon can be observed that I call hop-on hop-off spirituality. This means testing and tasting of various forms of contemporary spirituality (via techniques, courses, lectures, books, etc.) out of curiosity or for fun or just because a friend said that this or that teaching has changed their life. Such experimenting can sometimes…
Sociology (15 works) · History (14 works) · Psychology (14 works) · Art (13 works) · Narrative (13 works) · Literature (12 works) · Philosophy (9 works) · Aesthetics (8 works) · Social Psychology (8 works) · Anthropology (7 works)