The Banya
Throughout my life I’ve always enjoyed the good sweat that saunas offer. It probably started as a teenager, when my high school outdoor education teacher Mr. Burton taught our class how to make camping saunas during canoe trips. Moving up to Thunder Bay, I hardly ever passed up an invitation to join some friends at Kangas or at camp for a splash and steam. Not to say you have to be a Finn to enjoy a sauna, but I’ve felt a little bit like an imposter, especially when sweating it out with Nordic friends. That was, until my first time in Ukraine, when I experienced a banya. Although most people associate saunas with the Finns, other cultures have their own variations of the tradition. Middle Eastern and Turkish cultures have hammams, Japan has mushi-buros, and Slavic countries have banyas.
Throughout my life I’ve always enjoyed the good sweat that saunas offer. It probably started as a teenager, when my high school outdoor education teacher Mr. Burton taught our class how to make camping saunas during canoe trips. Moving up to Thunder Bay, I hardly ever passed up an invitation to join some friends at Kangas or at camp for a splash and steam. Not to say you have to be a Finn to enjoy a sauna, but I’ve felt a little bit like an imposter, especially when sweating it out with Nordic friends. That was, until my first time in Ukraine, when I experienced a banya. Although most people associate saunas with the Finns, other cultures have their own variations of the tradition. Middle Eastern and Turkish cultures have hammams, Japan has mushi-buros, and Slavic countries have banyas.
For our May issue, we’re celebrating saunas. Betty Carpick looks at the history of the sauna and the significance in our community, and from a gondola sauna to what rocks are the best for sweating it out, we present an infographic with some sauna stats and facts that you might not know. Plus, Kim Latimer explores the remote saunas on Lake Superior, I chat with sauna builder Kari Jamsa, and we asked and you’ve delivered—our cover story includes a spread of unique saunas submitted by our readers.
Keeping with our cover story, Stuff We Like features ideas for the sauna, Laurie Abthorpe delves into the history of Kangas Sauna for our architectural spread, and Chef Rachel Globensky shares memories of cooking sauna lenkki on hot rocks.
Also in the issue, Neil Burke gets screeched in as part of the Taste of Newfoundland fundraiser, Nancy Saunders visits Roots to Harvest’s Culture Kitchen to see what’s cooking, and just in time for Mother’s Day, Amy Sellors gets a sneak peek of Cambrian Players’ funny and heartwarming season closer The MOMologues.
So it doesn’t matter if you have a Finnish background or not, the sauna is a place to bring people together. To quote Professor Harold Tier, president of the Finnish Sauna Society: “The idea is not to have the best sauna on the block, but to get the entire block in the sauna.”
-Adrian Lysenko
