Stories

Eino Isohanni (1978, 238) wrote in his book Vanhaa Toholampea that “above all the blacksmith Leanteri Nisula described in a surprisingly skilful, illustrative and vivid manner how the economic life of the municipality prospered”. He regarded this as the result of local land clearing, tar burning, potash cooking, and iron manufacturing as well as the hard work of skilled artisans, blacksmiths, brass founders, painters, and carpenters.

Based on oral lore, the blacksmith Leander told about his ancestors’ times when church discipline was strict. After committing a crime and having been to prison or subject to whipping, offenders still had to sit on the punishment bench (aka “black bench”) throughout the church service and confess their sins to the parishioners. Only after that was the offender allowed to return to the congregation. Leander told about a certain horse thief from Toholampi who, relieved after sitting on the black bench, stated that he “was God’s cousin again, just like the others” (Alaspää 1963, 11).

According to Leander, priests used to supervise the moral behaviour of young parishioners strictly. If there was reason to suspect that a child had been conceived before marriage, the priest would send the couple to the black bench on the following Sunday. After the black bench punishment, a public confession would be heard, followed by a pardon and readmission to the congregation (Alaspää 1963, 11).