Being Sami Enough – Increasing the Sami Stage of Performance
The area of inner Finnmark is often presented as a core Sami area. Many of the cultural markers that are considered and recognised as Sami, are based on traits from these areas. Based on fieldwork done mainly in inner Finnmark, I argue that there is a constant process of expressing a Sami ethnicity...
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| Format: | Master Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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2017
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10852/57491 http://urn.nb.no/URN:NBN:no-60222 |
| Summary: | The area of inner Finnmark is often presented as a core Sami area. Many of the cultural markers that are considered and recognised as Sami, are based on traits from these areas. Based on fieldwork done mainly in inner Finnmark, I argue that there is a constant process of expressing a Sami ethnicity within a performance stage defined by both the norms of "how to be Sami" and the ever evolving and breaking of new grounds for this performance. The process might be conceptualised as two axes; one illustrating a measurement of "purity" and the other the constant means of expanding the boundaries for expressions of the Sami ethnicity. Language is a vital foundation that affects both of these axes; although it is used contextually as a marker of Sami ethnicity, it is still an important, perhaps the most important way to assert ones Sami ethnicity, as it makes out the basis of the objective part of the Sami Act’s criteria for how one might be considered Sami. The language is both an important means of communication, and thus social inclusion, but it is also a deeply emotional matter that carries meaning beyond the use as a marker of ethnicity. The gákti (Sami traditional clothes) might be considered the most recognised emblem of Sami ethnicity besides the languages. The making of the gákti is a process that involves both the continuation of cultural specific knowledge, and the composing of new expressions. As the gákti is a garment that pinpoints the wearers geographically based affiliation, it also connects the wearer to a specific social community and might counteract feelings of rootlessness associated with globalisation. Still, it also allows for a range of manipulation within certain boundaries. Based on these two examples, the language and the gákti, I argue that while the Sami ethnic identity needs to take on the challenge of including people into the ethnic group that does not necessarily master this knowledge, this might still be a difficult process for many of the people considering this knowledge as vital for themselves and for their ethnic expression. |
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