Is that actually a well-known saying?

17 comments

1. Never heard but it’s totally plausible.

2. Never heard of. Possibly some local saying.

3. Could be a real saying, but I’ve personally never heard it before. The German hierarchical system of saunameisters and such is quite antithetical to Finnish sauna culture. There’s no leader in a sauna and everyone is naked and equal.

4. Neve heard either (45 years of life in southwestern Finland, just mentioning in case this is about dialects/local sayings)

5. Never heard that one.

6. Well known? Not really, but considering saunas were historically a communal space, it’s likely a truthful one.

7. Never heard that one, but I think it’s unwritten rule that whoever has the laddle must ride out the löyly they throw themselves

8. No its not very common proverb. Also it’s possible that it doesn’t have anything to with sauna since kuuppa can also mean a head instead of ladle.

9. Feels like this has been said by someone with connections to Germany and it has then spread further as a “fact”. It does sound like a house rule at best, not common at all.

10. Similarly to others, I have not heard that exact phrase. Still, the idea behind the saying is familiar to me at least. The one with the laddle decides when water is thrown. Though, at the same time, if you throw water, you need to stay the duration of the heat wave.

11. Never heard that one, but it totally sounds like a Finnish thing to say.

12. Never heard that saying, but at the same time that is the general rule in public saunas.. If you enter a public sauna with other people, there’s usually one person who is doing the löyly, and when they leave either someone else takes over, or you may direct a general question to the assembly if you can take over..

    It’s not something anyone is clamoring for, it’s just (imo) generally accepted that the one who sits by the bucket is the one responsible for the löyly at this moment.

13. I’ve heard my Karelian grandparents use it (or something along those lines) once or twice I think. “Kuuppa” in itself is a north eastern/eastern dialect word, which might explain why it isn’t that familiar saying.

14. Grandpa used to say that if anyone complained it got too hot, and tell them to go cool. Instead of kuuppa it was kauha but same thing. Also the rule was that the one who had the ladle and made it hot wasn’t allowed to leave first to cool since they were the ones who threw so much. Many old men in public saunas as well used to share a similar sentiment. I think it’s more of an old thing, more democratic these days I’d say, trying to be more considerate to everyone.

15. Personally i haven’t heard of this one, and as you mentioned, i couldn’t find any finnish sources mentioning this phrase, only german ones. The form of the phrase is valid finnish and very typical of real old finnish sayings though, so i wouldn’t completely dismiss it either.

    So yeah i have no idea, might just be some old saying that was imported from finland to germany long enough ago that it has since been mostly forgotten in finland. Or maybe the saying never was widespread in finland to begin with; the specific traditions, rituals, and sayings are different in each family and in each sauna.

16. Never heard it but it is so specific it’s hard to believe it would not exist.

    ”Kuuppa” is a slang word and not used in Häme area at least. Couldnt find with a quick search where the word originates but maybe eastern/northern parts of the country?

    It is somewhat of an unwritten rule that the one with the ladle decides when to throw water but it isnt hierarchical in a sense that others couldnt ask for it.

17. Never heard.

    I think they have wrong proverb. I read the German text and I think they speak about who decides how much water is thrown to stove.

    “Kellä kauha, sillä valta. ” = the one with scoop has power (to throw water).

    They also speak of rule that person entering sauna (opening and closing door) should throw water to stove. Never heard or seen that happen. Total nonsense.