Ghosts of the landscape: how folklore and songs are key to rewilding Finland’s reindeer

Wild forest reindeer (Rangifer tarandus fennicus), a rare sub-species largely found in Karelia, which straddles the Finnish-Russian border. The rewilding project uses ‘deep mapping’ – rejuvenating the folklore around the animals to rebuild people’s connection to the land. Photograph: Antti Leinonen/Snowchange

The Finnish folk musician Liisa Matveinen lives in a mustard-coloured house in Ilomantsi, 12 miles (20km) from the Russian border. Large books of folk songs line her walls. Sitting in her kitchen, Matveinen sings about a humble hunter going into the woods to find reindeer.

The song tells us how they were “honoured” providers of food, clothing and a sense of place, says Matveinen, who is recognised as a doyenne of Finnish folk music.