Two New Books on the Finnish-Namibian Historical Relationship

New research on the colonial aspects of the Finnish-Namibian historical relationship

The Finnish Literature Society has recently published a peer-reviewed open-access edited collection Colonial Aspects of Finnish-Namibian Relations, 1870-1990: Cultural Change, Endurance and Resistance (SKS, Studia Fennica Historica 28, 2024, eds. Leila Koivunen and Raita Merivirta).

This collection re-examines the long history of Finnish-Namibian relations through the lenses of both colonialism without colonies and anti-colonialism. The book argues that although Finland never acquired colonies, Namibia was once treated in the areas of culture and knowledge formation in a manner now recognised as colonial. Namibian people’s ways of being in the world were transformed when the Finnish Missionary Society started its work in Owambo in 1870 and introduced Christianity and European modes of education, medicine, material culture and social practices. In time, cultural colonialism faded and during the Namibian struggle for independence from South African rule in 1966–1990, Finns took an actively anti-colonial approach. The collection focuses on the ways in which knowledge of Owambo that had been collected and formulated by missionaries was disseminated to a wider Finnish audience.

Written as a collaborative effort of scholars from Namibia, Finland and South Africa, this book will interest historians and students of cultural and colonial history and colonialism without colonies, as well as general readers interested in Finnish-Namibian relations.

In conjunction with the edited collection, an extensive bibliography of Oshigwana Hashi Lesha. A Bibliography of 150 Years of Writing on Namibia (SKS 2024), compiled by Joel Kuortti, has been published in the Doria Repository. The bibliography contains almost 2000 entries for scholarly and other writings on the historical relationship between Finland and Namibia, making it an invaluable tool for students and scholars.

Both the edited collection and the bibliography are freely available in electronic format:

edited collection: https://oa.finlit.fi/site/books/e/10.21435/sfh.28/
bibliography: https://www.doria.fi/handle/10024/189023

A print version of the edited collection can also be purchased in the SKS online shop: https://kirjat.finlit.fi/EN/page/product/colonial-aspects-of-finnish-namibian-relations-1870-1990/5124338