The Genre of Trolls - Doria

for shorter periods. He represented the ultraevangelical branch of the
movement, and is rumoured to have claimed that even a person committing
serious crimes could be saved in the very act of violence if he simultaneously
confessed his status as God’s saved child (Dahlbacka 1987: 110).
Through Julin’s activities, the ultraevangelical branch was firmly established
in Vörå. He frequently arranged Bible classes and created a revival in
the parish (Dahlbacka 1987: 110, 130; Åkerblom 1963: 159).
In the 1880s the parish applied for a permanent colporteur, and the petition
was granted in 1892, when Karl August Sjöberg was stationed in Vörå
(Dahlbacka 1987: 147, 236; Åkerblom 1963: 159). Prior to Sjöberg’s appointment,
Jakob Edvard Wefvar had replaced Julin in 1886. Wefvar’s main
concern was the Ostrobothnian parishes, but he conscientiously conducted
a tour of all Swedish-speaking areas in Finland each year (Dahlbacka 1987:
155; Dahlbacka 1984: 20–21). Unlike many other lay preachers, Wefvar also
included more remote villages in his itinerary, and the meetings at which
he spoke were remarkably well attended. In 1888 he reported that he could
hold as many as ten Bible classes in the same village without any diminution
of interest. Wefvar was particularly pleased with the reception his message
got in Vörå: in 1891 the parish is portrayed as a place where the wind of
grace has blown for many years, and Wefvar liked to linger in such districts.
He seems to have been a born speaker, and he was more successful
in this task than in his capacity as bookseller. Nevertheless, he is commonly
credited with the introduction of Sionsharpan to a wider audience in the
Ostrobothnian parishes—thanks to his efforts, the songbook gained a currency
that would otherwise have been denied it (Dahlbacka 1984: 12, 20, 24–
26; Dahlbacka 1987: 165–166, 168–169). Due to his status as folklore collector
as well as preacher, Wefvar is interesting in this context, and the implications
of his dual status deserve investigation.
Wefvar conducted fieldwork in the Swedish-speaking areas in Finland
between 1868 and 1886, and by the mid-1870s he appears to have started
preaching. These activities were therefore simultaneous, at least in part.
Few manuscripts of sermons have survived, and most date to 1875–1880, i.e.,
to the beginning of his career as a preacher (Dahlbacka 1984: 17, 28). One
of these early sermons was delivered in the village of Rejpelt on December
5, 1875 (IF 111: 74; Dahlbacka 1984: 58 n. 43). According to Ingvar Dahlbacka,
it is probable that Wefvar did not need a manuscript for his sermons when
he acquired more experience; the early ones have a simple structure and are
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Material and Context