{"id":508,"date":"2023-03-09T13:57:29","date_gmt":"2023-03-09T11:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mythsandfolklore\/?p=508"},"modified":"2022-10-17T14:07:10","modified_gmt":"2022-10-17T12:07:10","slug":"reindeer-in-the-saami-mythology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mythsandfolklore\/2023\/03\/reindeer-in-the-saami-mythology\/","title":{"rendered":"Reindeer in the Saami Mythology"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

The Reindeer People<\/strong><\/p>\n

Saami are the native inhabitants of Lapland in Sweden, Finland, Norway and Kola Peninsula in Russia. Saami land is a wide area which covers several Saami tribes and languages such as; Northern Saami, Koltta Saami, Inari Saami etc. The majority of the Saami were fishermen, hunters and above all reindeer herders. Therefore reindeer is one of the most sacred animals in the Saami culture.<\/p>\n

Taming The Wild Deer<\/p>\n

Some other totem animals of the Saami were bears and birds but the reindeer was the most important. The first inhabitants of what is now known as Finland were Saami tribes which arrived thousands and thousands of years ago and many Finns today have Saami ancestry. These people were hunters and fishermen, not reindeer herders. The reindeer business started 100 ACE around the time when the Saami\u00b4s tamed the wild deer which started the companionship between humans and the reindeer. The Earliest written documents of people owning reindeer are from the 900th century. The lifestyle of the people got more intertwined to the reindeer herding. Saami\u00b4s got milk from the reindeer to drink, the flesh of the reindeer to eat, the reindeer helped people to pull heavy things and people made clothes from the reindeer fur. In the 16th century, there was a big change in the Saami culture and people started to measure their wealth according to the amount of reindeer. The ways of herding also changed from static to a nomadic lifestyle. The reason for this was that people ran out of food. They had fished all the lakes empty and there were no animals to hunt. People realized that by following the natural cycle of the reindeer they produced more offspring. Herders started to follow the reindeer to their mating sites and places where reindeer gave birth. This lifestyle change made Saami\u00b4s connection to the reindeer even deeper.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Reindeer meat is very salty. It is food that you can survive in a cold climate this is one of the reasons why reindeer were important for the Saami who were used to harsh weather conditions. Samoyed tribes in Siberia still follow this nomadic lifestyle and the natural cycle of the reindeer. In Scandinavian countries, herding became again static around the 18th and 19th centuries because of political issues and the drawing of the lines of national borders. In many ways, these political changes were harmful to the Saami especially when it came to land rights. This is an issue that is still on the table today and is relevant for the survival of the Saami lifestyle and culture.<\/p>\n

The White Reindeer\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

There is a legend in Saami folklore about the white reindeer. Albino reindeer was the most magical reindeer. White reindeer was the leader of all the reindeer. If a human would catch the white reindeer it would bring them luck, riches and eternal happiness. Totemic belief in the reindeer spirit was essential and was also one of the reasons for people to take especially good care of the reindeer. In ancient Finland when a bear has killed the hunter prayed that the bear\u00b4s spirit would find its way home to the star sky. Saami\u00b4s had similar traditions and beliefs. When reindeer were killed hunters and herders prayed that the great reindeer spirit would take care of those reindeer that were killed.<\/p>\n