Introduction
Understanding Spirituality sámi
Traditional Sami spirituality linked breeding or reindeer hunting, fishing, kinship and landscapes. Mountains, rocks *sieidi*, waters and passages could become places of relationship and offering.
From the 17th to 18th centuries, Scandinavian missions and states destroyed drums, banned rites and repressed the "noaidit".
To be retained
Four essential principles
- Traditional Sami spirituality linked reindeer breeding or hunting, fishing, kinship and landscapes.
- From the 17th to 18th centuries, Scandinavian missions and states destroyed drums, banned rites and repressed the "noaidit".
- The "noaidi" used singing, drum and special states of consciousness to treat, practice divination or travel between dimensions.
- this spirituality expresses a belonging to the Sápmi and a set of relationships with beings and places.
Small timeline
A tradition shaped by history
Origins and training
From the 17th to 18th centuries, Scandinavian missions and states destroyed drums, banned rites and repressed the "noaidit".
Historical developments
Christianization did not make any continuity disappear: the Lutheran movement, the local customs and contemporary revitalizations today make up a complex landscape.
Ritual life and teachings
The "noaidi" used singing, drum and special states of consciousness to treat, practice divination or travel between dimensions.
A living and plural tradition
Christianization did not make any continuity disappear: the Lutheran movement, the local customs and contemporary revitalizations today make up a complex landscape.
History and development
From the 17th to 18th centuries, Scandinavian missions and states destroyed drums, banned rites and repressed the "noaidit*". Christianization did not eliminate any continuity: the Lutheran movement, the local customs and contemporary revitalizations today make up a complex landscape.
Worldview, beliefs and practices
The "noaidi" used singing, drum and special states of consciousness to treat, practice divination or travel between dimensions. Offerings were deposited with the "sieiidi" group.
The animals, including the reindeer and bears, were economically, socially and ritually important, and traditions varied widely between maritime, forestry and livestock communities.
Texts, symbols and transmission
The transmission was mostly oral. The drums were wearing symbolic maps whose interpretation is difficult, because many were seized and documented by foreigners.
The *joik*, identity and relational song, can evoke a person, an animal or a place rather than simply "talking about" him.
What research can and cannot say
Modern use of Sámi signs in tourism or esotericism can erase colonial history. Museums are now working to restore objects and to the authority of communities.
References