Welcome
A storytelling session.
Meet the Sami culture through stories, the yoik and the old hymns
Storylines
There are 90,000 Sami in Sápmi. 60,000 live in Norway, 20,000 in Sweden, 9,000 in Finland, and 2,000 in Russia. Only 30% of the Sami population speak a Sami language. 10% of the Sami population is engaged in reindeer herding - the oldest way of life in Sami, and largely carries the Sami culture. But what about those who lost their language and are not involved in reindeer herding? Is a bygone culture lost forever, or does it live on in the people?
Storytellers
Toril og Heidi er begge samer, men med ulik bakgrunn. Den ene er fra reindriftskulturen og den andre fra sjøsamene. Sammen forteller de historier fra kyst samisk og reindrifts samisk perspektiv. Det er en historie om en samisk kultur i stadig endring. Om et liv fra en nomadisk tilværelse som reindrifter, inn i moderne tid og urbant liv. Og det er en historie om å finne sin tapte kulturarv i voksen alder og ta den tilbake ved sangen og joiken.
Some historical facts
Ordet Finn og Sápmi
People have lived in the arctic for thousands of years. Rock carvings and geological findings tell us that. People were hunters, fishermen, skiers and boatmen. Today, many people groups live in the arctic, but the Sámi have the longest history. The word Sapmi refers to the lands the Sámi have traditionally lived in. Areas that stretch across four countries. Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia.
The first author to use the term Finn
and to describe the people of the north was historian Publius C. Tactitus. A Roman civil servant, historian and philosopher. This was in the year 100 AD.
In 140 AD Claudius Ptolemy, a Greek astronomer, mathematician, and geographer who worked in Alexandria wrote about the Fenni and Phinnoi, the people of the north.
500 AD. Procopius of Caesarea described the Sámi as the "Scrithiphini" (Greek for "skiing Finns") due to their advanced skills at skiing.
They all somewhat described the Sami as nomads without permanent homes, a people who lived in a harsh climate, survived by hunting and fishing, and where the women hunted in teams with the men and that they shared equally.
Sámi and the Vikings
It is well known that Vikings and Sami traded and built boats together. In trading the Sámi providing furs and antlers for metal, salt and other in return. The Sami boatbuilding techniques were stitching planks with sinew and willow without iron nails. This allowed the boats to be fast and light. A construction technique that was respected and adopted by the Vikings.
Harald Hårfagre (Fairhair) is the viking king who united Norway under one crown in 872. According to the saga, he fell in love with the Sami woman "Snefrid" from Dovre, daughter of the "Finn king" Svåse. In the myth Snefrid married Harald and became a central ancestress of the Norwegian royal line, with several sons, symbolizing the union of Norwegian and Sami culture.
When the Vikings started converting to Christianity at the start of the 11th century, there did not seem to have been any attempt to convert their Sami neighbours. Probably motivated by the "otherness" of the Sami, and a lack of interest in their territory, which was considered too wild to be useful. In fact, the Vikings often referred to the area as uninhabited, despite the Sami living here.
Norsk idenditet
The Norseization period was from 1850–1960 and was a period in which Norwegian authorities actively pursued a policy of assimilating the Sami and Kven people into Norwegian society, primarily through the prohibition of the Sami/Finnish language in schools,
purchases use of boarding schools and restrictions on land. This policy had serious consequences and was formally ended in the late 1950s. It has later been regretted by royalty and politicians. First by King Olav - at the opening of the first Sami Parliament in 1989. By king Harald in his speech to the Sami Parliament on October 7, 1997 and by Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik in his New Year's speech for 1999.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was a commission established by the Storting in June 2018 to investigate the Norwegianization policy and injustice against the Sami and Kven/Norwegian Finns. Later, the commission also included the Forest Finns in its mandate.
Other stories
From natural religion to Christianity
The first Sami missionary was a woman named Margaretha. This was in 1389. Her story is completely unique. Several hundred years later, hymn singing in small chapels along the coast of northern Norway and in mountain areas and became an important part of preserving the Sami language during the period of Norwegianization.
Samene og polekspedisjoner
The Sami played a crucial role in early polar expeditions. Through their unique knowledge of skiing and survival in extreme cold, represented by pioneers such as Per Savio and Ole Must (Antarctica 1898) who were indispensable for their knowledge of Arctic conditions and navigation. Other Sami who contributed their knowledge about surviving in the Arctic were Margrethe Lango who sewed warm clothing for Amundsen and Samuel Balto who contributed reindeer and knowledge to expeditions in Svalbard and Alaska. All their skills in handling harsh weather and equipment made them invaluable members, long before modern polar research took shape.