Variations of ethnic boundary significance in north Norway
ABSTRACT In coastal north Norway the Saami people have lived in a close relationship with Norwegians or Norse people for a thousand years or more. This relationship has been articulated in various ways over the centuries, and this article argues that in parts of the region it took a rather intimate...
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2012
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247411000623 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247411000623 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0032247411000623 2024-05-19T07:45:39+00:00 Variations of ethnic boundary significance in north Norway Thuen, Trond 2012 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247411000623 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247411000623 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Polar Record volume 48, issue 3, page 239-249 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 journal-article 2012 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247411000623 2024-04-25T06:51:19Z ABSTRACT In coastal north Norway the Saami people have lived in a close relationship with Norwegians or Norse people for a thousand years or more. This relationship has been articulated in various ways over the centuries, and this article argues that in parts of the region it took a rather intimate form based on the shared exploitation of the dominant marine and terrestrial niches, a common class position as tenant farmers, a varying practice of inter-ethnic marital relations and the effects of a bilateral kinship system. Various forms of inter-ethnic contact and exchange may thus have served to reduce the relevance of ethnic difference in daily life, as suggested by Barth's argument about the integrative effect of transactions, but contrary to his argument about the transactional reinforcement of ethnic boundaries. Contrary to the intention, governmental assimilatory efforts served to reproduce the boundary as the basis for a ranked society and left coastal Saami individuals in some confusion as to how to define themselves, often opting for a mixed category of Norwegian and Saami, labelled ‘Northerner’. Ethno-political emancipation in recent years has tended to put pressure on this identity construction and promoted a dichotomised identity as either Saami or Norwegian. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Norway Polar Record saami Cambridge University Press Polar Record 48 3 239 249 |
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English |
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ABSTRACT In coastal north Norway the Saami people have lived in a close relationship with Norwegians or Norse people for a thousand years or more. This relationship has been articulated in various ways over the centuries, and this article argues that in parts of the region it took a rather intimate form based on the shared exploitation of the dominant marine and terrestrial niches, a common class position as tenant farmers, a varying practice of inter-ethnic marital relations and the effects of a bilateral kinship system. Various forms of inter-ethnic contact and exchange may thus have served to reduce the relevance of ethnic difference in daily life, as suggested by Barth's argument about the integrative effect of transactions, but contrary to his argument about the transactional reinforcement of ethnic boundaries. Contrary to the intention, governmental assimilatory efforts served to reproduce the boundary as the basis for a ranked society and left coastal Saami individuals in some confusion as to how to define themselves, often opting for a mixed category of Norwegian and Saami, labelled ‘Northerner’. Ethno-political emancipation in recent years has tended to put pressure on this identity construction and promoted a dichotomised identity as either Saami or Norwegian. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Thuen, Trond |
spellingShingle |
Thuen, Trond Variations of ethnic boundary significance in north Norway |
author_facet |
Thuen, Trond |
author_sort |
Thuen, Trond |
title |
Variations of ethnic boundary significance in north Norway |
title_short |
Variations of ethnic boundary significance in north Norway |
title_full |
Variations of ethnic boundary significance in north Norway |
title_fullStr |
Variations of ethnic boundary significance in north Norway |
title_full_unstemmed |
Variations of ethnic boundary significance in north Norway |
title_sort |
variations of ethnic boundary significance in north norway |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247411000623 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247411000623 |
genre |
North Norway Polar Record saami |
genre_facet |
North Norway Polar Record saami |
op_source |
Polar Record volume 48, issue 3, page 239-249 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247411000623 |
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Polar Record |
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48 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
239 |
op_container_end_page |
249 |
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1799485756923707392 |