Samuli Paulaharju (14 April 1875 – 6 February 1944) was a Finnish teacher,

ethnographer Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

and writer. He was granted with the title of Professor in October 1943. Paulaharju was born in

Kurikka Kurikka is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. It is located in the Southern Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region. The population of Kurikka is () and the municipality covers a ...

in 1875. He studied in the Jyväskylä Teacher Seminary and graduated in 1901. After graduation, he first worked in Uusikirkko but in 1904 he moved to

Oulu Oulu ( , ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the northwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Oulujoki, River Oulu. The population of Oulu is approximately , while the Oulu sub-regio ...

to work as a crafts and arts teacher in a school for deaf-mute children. Paulaharju spent summers for field trips collecting

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

, in the winter he wrote his works and taught in the school. He wrote 21 books, hundreds of journal articles, took over eight thousand photographs and made thousands of drawings on his trips. Since 1908 Paulaharju also worked as a curator for the Northern Ostrobothnia museum in Oulu. Nowadays Paulaharju's study and library can be found in the museum. Samuli Paulaharju is buried in the Oulu Cemetery.

References

1875 births 1944 deaths Finnish ethnographers People from Kurikka Finnish schoolteachers Finnish curators {{Finland-writer-stub