烟熏桑拿房：爱沙尼亚人涤荡身体与心灵之所

In the deciduous forests of southern Estonia, small cabins made of logs layered with moss dot the countryside. These are the smoke saunas — places to bathe bodies and cleanse spirits. The aromas of alder wood and stripped birch, burning below hot stones, waft through the air. Once the stones reach peak heat, the smoke is vented out with the help, it’s said, of a mythical “smoke eater.” Inside the cabin, a caretaker whisks visitors’ skin, delivering gentle beatings with a bouquet of leaves gathered, as at the sauna in Vorumaa at left, from the surrounding woods as the hot air alleviates the anxiety that comes with living in one of the world’s most technologically savvy populations. For three to five hours at a time, Estonians go back and forth from hot cabins to cold ponds nearby. Generations of Estonian families have marked the special occasions of life and death and healing in these small cottages and communal sweats — the oldest written references to the practice date back to at least the 13th century, and Unesco includes the tradition as a part of “the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.” But the tradition is productive, too: It turns freshly slaughtered livestock and wildlife into smoked meat to be eaten for a post-sauna meal. In a smoke sauna, you are meant to breathe deeply, to relax, to feel the heat and then to plunge into the chill of the pond. Jaime Lowe

爱沙尼亚南部的落叶林中，生着青苔的原木小屋点缀在乡野间。它们是烟熏桑拿房——涤荡身体和心灵之处。热石头底下燃烧的赤杨木和去皮桦木散发出香气，飘荡在空气中。一旦石头达到最高温度，就在所谓的神秘“食烟者”(smoke eater)帮助下把烟排出去。小屋内，一名服务员以一束采集自周围树木的叶子轻拂游客的肌肤，并温柔地拍打——就像在上图左侧位于沃鲁的小木屋里那样——与此同时，热气缓解了因置身世界上高科技普及程度最高的国家之一而生出的焦虑。在三五个小时的时间里，爱沙尼亚人会数度往返于热气腾腾的桑拿房和附近清凉的水池之间。这些小屋见证了一代又一代爱沙尼亚人的生死病愈带来的特殊场合，以及他们共同挥汗的经历——关于烟熏桑拿的最古老文字记录至少可以追溯至13世纪，联合国教科文组织已将该传统认定为“人类非物质文化遗产”的一部分。但这项传统也颇具生产力：它能把新宰杀的家畜和野生动物变成熏肉，供人在蒸过桑拿后大快朵颐。在烟熏桑拿房里，你要深呼吸，要放松，要感受那热气，然后跃入凉得沁人心脾的池塘里。Jaime Lowe