Make a peace with the muddy legged cows

“Make a peace with the muddy-legged cows” is a folk song performed by members of the Men's Choir of Mynämäki, Finland, in their village hall. The traditional song is an appeal to Mother Mary and the wild beasts to ensure the safety of farm animals as they are released into the outdoors in the springtime. Make a peace with the muddy-legged cows was first presented during para field notes, an exhibition of Matthew Cowan's work held at the Photographic Gallery Hippolyte in Helsinki, Finland, in 2018. Looking into folklore and local history while staying at the Saari residence in Mynämäki, Cowan discovered what seemed to be images of devils on the walls of a church in Kalanti, Southwest Finland, painted by Petrus Henriksson in the late 15th century. The creatures depicted in these scene turned out to be "para"—a supernatural being who, although not evil, belonged to a pan-European tradition of milk-stealers. These mythological beings preceded the arrival of Christianity in Finland.