POST3 Sami Religion

 

    The Sami people are pastoralists who mainly herd reindeer as well as hunt, fish, and raise other animals like sheep and cattle. They live mainly in Scandinavian countries such as Norway, Sweden, and Finland although a smaller number of them live in north-western Russia as well. The lands they live in is sometimes called "Lapland" by non-Sami people, with the Sami being called "Laplanders", although they do not call themselves that name. Today, we are looking over the Sami's mythology(773), various sacred objects and places (778), and their spirits and gods (776).

One popular myth of the Sami religion involves the Scandinavian god Thor. Many centuries ago, one group of Sami had adopted this god of Scandinavian myth into their religion although the majority of Sami do not worship Thor or any other Scandinavian deities. This group also changed Thor's name as well, deciding to call him Aijeke. The myth goes that in a cave under Lake Enare, Aijeke lived there. He would cast thunder and lighting there. This group of Sami that worship Aijeke lived on a nearby island called Ukko, which was believed to be blessed by Aijeke since lighting constantly struck there. The Aijeke cult believed that the god of thunder pursued evil wizards who cast harmful spells on the Sami's reindeer herds. Aijeke was also believed to hunt trolls who lived in the mountains that the Sami worshipped so much. The god constantly struck down the trolls with lighting. This leads to the interpretation that lighting is much more likely to strike mountains.

    Much of the Sami religion is nature-based as the Sami worship many inanimate objects in nature, such as mountains. One sacred object they use to demonstrate this worship are seidis, pieces of wood or stone that are meant to illustrate the Sami's belief that nature is sacred since they heavily rely on nature to survive. Mountains are a prominent place of worship to the Sami. Mountains are called "Savio" or "Passevare" by different groups of the Sami; where Sami visit to undergo a ritual that allows them to communicate with the spirits of the dead. The Sami also believe mountains contain a heavenly angel inside them who they pray to.

Although the Sami worship many spirits associated with nature, they do have a few deities. However, there is debate on whether the Sami worship these deities as beings in a human-like form or if they are meant to be seen as the literal object they are the deity of.  Their most principal god is Paive, the Sun-God or the Sun itself. The Sami praise Paive because they give the Sami the light they need to herd their reindeer. Other Sami worship a different sun deity, these Sami call this Sun-Goddess "Beive-Neida" or the Sun-Virgin. She is also worshiped for the same reason Paive is. Another important deity to the Sami is Mano, the Moon-God or the Moon itself. Mano is also worshiped because the moonlight it emits allows the Sami to see even at night.

    

     

Bibliography:

Forster, Christopher. “File: Sámi Mythology Shaman Drum Samisk Mytologi Schamantrumma 079.Png.” Wikimedia Commons, 3 June 2011, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:S%C3%A1mi_mythology_shaman_drum_Samisk_mytologi_schamantrumma_079.png. 

Karsten, Rafael. The Religion of the Samke: Ancient Beliefs and Cults of the Scandinavian and Finnish Lapps. E.J. Brill, 1955, https://ehrafworldcultures-yale-edu.northernkentuckyuniversity.idm.oclc.org/document?id=ep04-005.

Loeffler, David. “Surreptitious Sámi--Suppressive Swedes: Maintaining Sámi Identities through the Use of Religion and Stone Circles.” Arctic Anthropology, vol. 52, no. 2, Feb. 2015, pp. 67–80. EBSCOhost, search-ebscohost-com.northernkentuckyuniversity.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=31h&AN=113584806&site=eds-live.