Comics can be useful tools for research in cultural anthropology, mythology and folklore. The Finnish comics artist Sanna Hukkanen collaborated with cultural anthropology researcher Inkeri Aula (Aalto University), and together they created a book about trees. For the book Metsänpeitto (‘Covered by forest’, Arktinen Banaani, 2018) they collected stories and mythology from Finnish and Karelian tradition about the significance of trees and forests. They combine these stories with research into contemporary questions about ecology, forest management and the relations between humans and non-humans. With this book Inkeri and Sanna want to raise awareness about the vital importance of forest diversity as a shared global heritage. Each story in the book is centered around a specific tree. The story below is about the aspen. Christianization of Finland altered pagan tree worship and later paved the way for seeing forests as a commodity. Central to this animistic worship was the 'Hiisi', a sacred grove that was characterized by the church as devilish and demonic.
