kalmanväki

In Finno-Ugric religion, kalmanväki refers to the spirits of the dead and the power associated with them. This term is also used in Finnish to describe the collective power that shamans can wield for sorcery. Related words for the dead or graves exist in other Uralic languages, such as kalmo among the Mordvin and halmer among the Samoyed.1

The dead were often buried in village cemeteries, and customs like the Finnish karsikko involved making offerings to trees in memory of the deceased. These practices aimed to prevent the souls of the dead from returning, as Finno-Ugric peoples generally viewed the dead as a dangerous force requiring precautions from the living.1