Sami peoples
]]The Sami People (there are other names and spellings including Sámi, Saami and the obsolete Lapp) are a group of Germanic and Scythian tribes decleared as an indigenous people of northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia, covering a total area in Nordic corresponding to the size of Sweden. The Sami are one of the largest groups of indigenous peoples in Europe and speaks a Finno-Ugric language; the Sami languages.
They call their ancestral lands Sápmi;. Traditional occupations are hunting, fishing, reindeer herding and farming, but today only a minority of the Saami making a living from these things alone. The population is about 85,000, of which roughly half live in Norway, although Sweden also has a significant group. Finland and Russia only have smaller groups located in the far north, including the Russian Kola peninsula.
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2 Organisation 3 Religion 4 Language 5 Music 6 Related articles 7 External links |
Lapponia, a large, 35-chapter book written by Johannes Schefferus (1621 - 1679) is the oldest source of detailed information on Sami culture in ancient times. It was written due to "ill-natured" foreign propaganda (in particular from Germany) claiming that Sweden had won victories on the battlefield by means of Sami magic. Although the prominent position Sweden had in that time is today seen as a rather lucky coincident by historians, these rumors were seen as gross slander on the Swedish honor and the country's ability to conduct warfare, and Scheferrus felt they had to be condemned by an accurate view of the Saamis. The book was publicized in late 1673 and quickly translated to French, German, English, and other languages (though not to Swedish until 1956). However, an adapted and abridged version was quickly publicized in the Netherlands and Germany, where chapters on their difficult living conditions, topography, and the environment had been replaced by made-up stories of magic, sorcery, drums and heathenism. See Laponia for antiquity history.
Sami inhabitants have in Sweden, Norway and Finland (but not Russia) a vote in their special designed authority, the Sami Parliament (SP). The SP has a democratically elected parliament and acts as a governmental authority. An individual have a Sami vote length if
The term Sami religion is usually referring to the pre-Christian religion, practiced till about 18th century. The Christianity started already in the 16th century but the Lutheran bible was first translated in much later time. Priest had tried to convert them, sometimes by cruel means such as burn runedrums (and peoples) on the stake and nail "those damn backdoors" on their coats [a heathenry ritual]; but it was not until the bible got translated major parts converted.
The religion has often been described as "magic" and "sorcery" through out time, and peoples both admire and (especially priests) condemn it. But it is rather covered by a large degree of wisdom and a great worship of one's ancestors. Major worship (for men) was in Tordöm (Thor), the Storjunkarn (Stone God) and the Sun God, in that order, and is the figures on many preserved runedrumes. It also has common elements with other Circumpolar religions -- such as those in Siberia and North America -- and also the Norse mythology.
The Sami language is divided into nine dialects, of which several have their own written languages (orthography). Southern Sami cannot understand Northern Sami. Most dialects are spoken in several countries, as linguistic borders do not correspond to national borders. The Sami language is part of the Finno-Ugric family, related to Finnish but not to Norwegian and kin, however due to prolonged contact with the Scandinavians, there is a large number of Germanic words in Sami.
One very interesting Sami tradition is the singing of joik (not to be confused with the call yoicks used in fox hunting). Joiks are traditionally sung a capella, usually sung slowly and deep in the throat with apparent emotional content of sorrow or anger.
Christian missionaries and priests regarded these as "songs of the Devil". In recent years, musical instruments frequently accompany joiks.
History
Main article: Sami historyOrganisation
Main article: Sami organisationReligion
Main article: Sami religionLanguage
Main article:Sami language.Music
Main article: Sami musicRelated articles
External links