The Sámi Noaidi Grave in Kuusamo and the Significance of the North-South Orientation

• Published in: Journal of Finnish Studies
• Main Author: Joy, Francis
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: University of Illinois Press 2016
• Subjects: Kuusamo; Norway; Northern Finland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.5406/28315081.19.1.12; https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/jfs/article-pdf/19/1/208/1609679/208joy.pdf

Abstract The Sámi noaidi in Finland, often referred to as a shaman, has been studied primarily in a historical context and primarily within the framework of events that took place between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when the priests in Finland, Sweden, and Norway, during the upheaval caused by colonialism, converted the Sámi to Christianity. Of this time period, a great deal has been written about the noaidi and his drum and the many traditional practices that had both a physical and spiritual dimension to them. However, there is little information about the items that decorated the noaidi's costume or the physical objects (e.g., amulets or charms in the forms of animals) that were used ritualistically as spiritual helpers, guides, and protectors of the noaidi when he undertook his out-of-body voyage from the physical world into the world of the spirits. The discovery of a grave in the Kuusamo municipality of northern Finland in 1970, and the archaeological investigation which followed, uncovered a number of grave artifacts amongst the noaidi's remains: a metal bird, an axe head, metal rings, a knife blade, a belt buckle, and a bone hammer, made from a reindeer antler, which was used for playing a magical drum. Another significant feature, which may provide a new understanding of Sámi burial customs, was the positioning of the body as it was found in its resting place. I will demonstrate the significance of the objects found beside the noaidi, analyzing a number of possibilities as to why they were placed with him to accompany him on his journey to the spirit world.