The sami

The Sami people are the indigenous people of Sweden, they are also from Finland, Norway, and part of Russia (Swedish Institute, 2019). It is estimated that there are arounf 20,000 Sami in Sweden (Swedish Institute, 2019). They were originally hunter gatherers until the 17th century when they turned to the herding of domestic reigndeer (Swedish Institute, 2019). Because of their herding the Sami were and are a nomadic people (Swedish Institute, 2019).

Legend

One legend that the Sami people believed, (and some still do) has to do with the northern lights. While many cultures revered the northern lights the Sami feared them (Aurora Nights, 2023). They believed that the lights were created by the souls of the dead danicing across the sky (Aurora Nights, 2023). The Sami believed that it was unlucky to talk about the northern lights (Aurora Nights, 2023). They also believed that it was dangerous to whistle or sing during the lights as it could lead to you being carried off by one of the spirits or even having your head cut off! (Aurora Nights, 2023).

Photo

Aktiebolag, G. N. (2008). Nordic Sami [Photo]. In Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4558053