To Örebro University

In the winter of 1935 a series of strange events began to unfold. It began with news items about a flying ark that would take the true believers to the Promised Land. A religious group called the Korpelans saw the new Finnish bible translation as the abomination of desolation, which meant that the end was near. They began to end their earthly lives by quitting their jobs, getting rid of their property, etc. Such peculiar behavior caught reporters' attention and the drive was on. Coverage of the movement consisted of various rumors and rather random accounts of threats, curses, and the constant praying of members and their retreat from everyday life and reality. Since the event took place among the Sami and Finnish minorities living in Northern Sweden at the juncture of the Swedish, Finnish and Norwegian borders, there were also ample amounts of exoticism.