The Souls
The Saami are an indigenous people of the northern Scandinavian peninsula. These semi-nomadic northerners are a small ethnic group, yet one of the largest indigenous groups in Europe. They are sometimes referred to as Lapps, an expression now considered pejorative. Its etymology refers to the word "lapp", which means "idiot" in High German and "ragged wearer" in Swedish. So we're talking about the Sami people, especially as that's how they refer to themselves. The Saami of the 4 countries are politically united and organized, with their own Parliament and a Saami Council created in 1956 in Norway. They also have their own flag, anthem ("Sámi soga lávlla", literally "the song of the Sami people") and national holiday (February 6).
The territory of the Saami
The Saami settled in the northernmost region of Scandinavia. Geographically, they are now spread across the whole of Lapland, a territory of some 400,000 km² straddling four countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. These vast expanses with their dotted borders are their ancestral lands, which they call Sápmi. Today, around half of the Sami people live in Norway, scattered in small groups.
Saami population and distribution
There are three groups of Saami: mountain Saami, forest Saami and coastal Saami. There are around 100,000 individuals (around 60,000 in Norway, 30,000 in Sweden, 10,000 in Finland and 2,000 in Russia)
The Mountain Saami occupy a vast territory stretching from the Varanger peninsula (off the Barents Sea) to Lake Femund (near Røros, already in the south). They are often nomadic reindeer herders, and thus practice transhumance within the two Scandinavian Laplands, as well as in the most arid regions of Finnish Lapland! It is they who most faithfully perpetuate their traditional culture and way of life.
Forest Saami. They can be found in Swedish Lapland, in the Finnmark province, an immense plateau in the north crossed by numerous rivers, and on the Kola peninsula. Traditionally, fishing has been their main source of income, but today, the development of agriculture and livestock farming is leading to the abandonment of traditional activities and a nomadic lifestyle in favor of a sedentary lifestyle.
The Saami of the Arctic coast, located in the northern fjords between the Varanger peninsula and the Tysfjord, are entirely sedentary. For the most part, they are the descendants of poor former reindeer herders who came to try their luck among the Norwegian and Finnish populations. They fish and raise livestock. They are the largest group and have adopted a lifestyle very similar to that of other Norwegians in the north of the country.
The Russian Sami: the Skolts. The impressive size of the municipality of Inari, the largest in Finland, results in a very low population density. Two thousand Saami live here, including 500 Skolts. Orthodox in religion, they fled the Soviet annexation of the Petsamo region in 1944. Most of them fled to Nellim, 45 km northeast of Ivalo, where they still distinguish themselves by their costumes and dialect.
The Saami language
Saami belongs to the Finno-Ugric branch of the Uralic languages. The language comes in several varieties, the most widely spoken of which is Northern Saami with 30,000 speakers, followed by Lulea Saami with 2,000 speakers. Some 35,000 people in total still speak various dialects. Saami vocabulary contains an impressive array of expressions to describe the elements of nature, with, for example, over 180 different expressions for the word snow, depending on its texture, the season, etc.!
Bilingualism is common among Saami people, and in Lapland some are even trilingual (speaking Saami, Swedish and Finnish). The Saami vocabulary is very rich in terms relating to natural phenomena; for example, there are no less than ten words to describe snow... However, due to the number of dialects, often far apart, the language divides the Saami as much as it unites them.
The soulful moults
The best way to discover culture is to visit one of Lapland's many museums, scattered throughout the region. Here are a few addresses to quench your thirst for knowledge.
In Finland , the imposing Arktikum Museum, with its immense glass roof, is located on the banks of the river in the heart of Rovaniemi, and features a number of exhibitions on the Sami people and culture. Further north, in Levi, the Samiland Museum with its open-air museum introduces visitors to the typical architecture of this northern people and their trade as reindeer herders. In Inari, near the border with Norway, the SIIDA - Sami Museum and Nature Centre is also dedicated to all aspects of Sami history and culture. The museum also has a branch in Sevettijärvi which focuses on the Skolt, the Russian Sami who form one of the many groups that make up the Sami people. Also in Inari is the Sámediggi, or Same Parliament of Finland.
On the Norwegian side , the permanent exhibitions and open-air museum of the Sámiid Vuorká-Dávvirat in Karasjok are a good complement to a visit to the Norwegian Saami Parliament, located next door. To the west, the University Museum in Tromsø presents two comprehensive permanent exhibitions on Sami culture and the place of Sami people in today's society.
In Sweden , Nutti Sámi Siida in Jukkasjärvi is an open-air museum highlighting the trade of reindeer herding. There's also a café and store where you can discover Saami specialities and feed the reindeer. In Jokkmok, Ájtte is the main information center for Saami culture. Several exhibitions present the history, skills and environment of the Sami people.
The Kven
The Kven are an ethnic minority in Finnmark, Norway, a status they obtained in 1996. They are the descendants of farmers and sailors who migrated from northern Finland and Sweden in the 18th and 19th centuries. Since 2005, Kvensk has been recognized as one of Norway's minority languages. Mainly concentrated around Lakselv in the Finnmark region, they are also present in the Troms area. It is difficult to estimate the Kven population, as there is no official definition of Kven. Some consider themselves Norwegian, Saami, or a mixture of the two. Although Kvensk is a dialect of Finnish, it evolved in isolation and is therefore very different. Kvensk includes many words that are no longer used in Finnish, as well as many borrowings from the Norwegian language. Since 2013, there has been a Kvenland flag. Visit the Ruija Kvenmuseum in Vadsø to learn more about this northern people!
The Meänkieli language
Meänkeli speakers populate the Torne river valley, on both the Swedish and Finnish sides. Recognized as one of Sweden's minority languages, this dialect of Finnish closely resembles Kvensk and, like Kvensk, evolved differently from standard Finnish due to the lack of contact with Finnish speakers in Finland after the land east of the Torne River was ceded to Russia in 1809. It includes borrowings from Swedish and Saami. Like the Saami and Kvens, Meänkieli speakers were forced to learn Swedish and forbidden to use their mother tongue. Few people today speak Meänkieli alone. Again, it's difficult to estimate the exact number of speakers, since many speak it rarely and not fluently, but the majority are concentrated in the Norrbotten region of Sweden. Today, radio and TV programs, artistic performances and books are published in Meänkieli.
