Indigenous Spirituality in the Touristic Borderzone: Virtual Performances of Sámi Shamanism in Sápmi Park
For tourists travelling to the northernmost parts of Europe, the tour includes not only experiences of wild nature, Midnight Sun, and Aurora Borealis, but also encounters with the indigenous Sámi people who populate the area. Emblematically represented in tourist guidebooks as reindeer herders, the...
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2010
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:d7f67624054e457e931ceffad0c28ef7 2023-05-15T18:14:50+02:00 Indigenous Spirituality in the Touristic Borderzone: Virtual Performances of Sámi Shamanism in Sápmi Park STEIN R. MATHISEN 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.33356/temenos.6941 https://doaj.org/article/d7f67624054e457e931ceffad0c28ef7 EN eng Finnish Society for the Study of Religion https://journal.fi/temenos/article/view/6941 https://doaj.org/toc/2342-7256 doi:10.33356/temenos.6941 2342-7256 https://doaj.org/article/d7f67624054e457e931ceffad0c28ef7 Temenos, Vol 46, Iss 1 (2010) Religion (General) BL1-50 article 2010 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.33356/temenos.6941 2022-12-31T06:40:35Z For tourists travelling to the northernmost parts of Europe, the tour includes not only experiences of wild nature, Midnight Sun, and Aurora Borealis, but also encounters with the indigenous Sámi people who populate the area. Emblematically represented in tourist guidebooks as reindeer herders, the Sámi stand out as representatives of a life lived in close contact with nature, and as carriers of an indigenous spirituality that reflects a deep concern for the environment and for the powers found in nature. How can this insight be represented or performed in tourism? The article discusses the representation of this image of the Sámi in a theme park in the village of Kárášjohka, Norway. Transposed to the stage of the experience industry in the Sápmi Magic Theatre, a virtual Sámi shaman narrates to tourists the story of an ancient indigenous wise man. This narrative is on the one hand deeply embedded in Western imaginaries about the Noble Savage and about a prelapsarian, pre-colonial past. On the other hand, this myth is represented as something belonging to a more glorious past, and not as part of present-day indigenous life. From the point of view of ethno-politics, such narratives may support Sámi claims of representing a unique culture, while at the same time constituting a threat to the fight for an equal position in contemporary society. Article in Journal/Newspaper Sámi midnight sun Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Kárášjohka ENVELOPE(25.805,25.805,69.434,69.434) Norway Temenos - Nordic Journal of Comparative Religion 46 1 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Religion (General) BL1-50 |
spellingShingle |
Religion (General) BL1-50 STEIN R. MATHISEN Indigenous Spirituality in the Touristic Borderzone: Virtual Performances of Sámi Shamanism in Sápmi Park |
topic_facet |
Religion (General) BL1-50 |
description |
For tourists travelling to the northernmost parts of Europe, the tour includes not only experiences of wild nature, Midnight Sun, and Aurora Borealis, but also encounters with the indigenous Sámi people who populate the area. Emblematically represented in tourist guidebooks as reindeer herders, the Sámi stand out as representatives of a life lived in close contact with nature, and as carriers of an indigenous spirituality that reflects a deep concern for the environment and for the powers found in nature. How can this insight be represented or performed in tourism? The article discusses the representation of this image of the Sámi in a theme park in the village of Kárášjohka, Norway. Transposed to the stage of the experience industry in the Sápmi Magic Theatre, a virtual Sámi shaman narrates to tourists the story of an ancient indigenous wise man. This narrative is on the one hand deeply embedded in Western imaginaries about the Noble Savage and about a prelapsarian, pre-colonial past. On the other hand, this myth is represented as something belonging to a more glorious past, and not as part of present-day indigenous life. From the point of view of ethno-politics, such narratives may support Sámi claims of representing a unique culture, while at the same time constituting a threat to the fight for an equal position in contemporary society. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
STEIN R. MATHISEN |
author_facet |
STEIN R. MATHISEN |
author_sort |
STEIN R. MATHISEN |
title |
Indigenous Spirituality in the Touristic Borderzone: Virtual Performances of Sámi Shamanism in Sápmi Park |
title_short |
Indigenous Spirituality in the Touristic Borderzone: Virtual Performances of Sámi Shamanism in Sápmi Park |
title_full |
Indigenous Spirituality in the Touristic Borderzone: Virtual Performances of Sámi Shamanism in Sápmi Park |
title_fullStr |
Indigenous Spirituality in the Touristic Borderzone: Virtual Performances of Sámi Shamanism in Sápmi Park |
title_full_unstemmed |
Indigenous Spirituality in the Touristic Borderzone: Virtual Performances of Sámi Shamanism in Sápmi Park |
title_sort |
indigenous spirituality in the touristic borderzone: virtual performances of sámi shamanism in sápmi park |
publisher |
Finnish Society for the Study of Religion |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.33356/temenos.6941 https://doaj.org/article/d7f67624054e457e931ceffad0c28ef7 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(25.805,25.805,69.434,69.434) |
geographic |
Kárášjohka Norway |
geographic_facet |
Kárášjohka Norway |
genre |
Sámi midnight sun |
genre_facet |
Sámi midnight sun |
op_source |
Temenos, Vol 46, Iss 1 (2010) |
op_relation |
https://journal.fi/temenos/article/view/6941 https://doaj.org/toc/2342-7256 doi:10.33356/temenos.6941 2342-7256 https://doaj.org/article/d7f67624054e457e931ceffad0c28ef7 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.33356/temenos.6941 |
container_title |
Temenos - Nordic Journal of Comparative Religion |
container_volume |
46 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1766187820931612672 |