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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Online Access: | https://journal.fi/temenos/article/view/6941 https://doi.org/10.33356/temenos.6941 |
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fttsvojs:oai:journal.fi:article/6941 2023-05-15T18:14:50+02:00 Indigenous Spirituality in the Touristic Borderzone: Virtual Performances of Sámi Shamanism in Sápmi Park MATHISEN, STEIN R. 2010-01-01 application/pdf https://journal.fi/temenos/article/view/6941 https://doi.org/10.33356/temenos.6941 eng eng the Finnish Society for the Study of Religion https://journal.fi/temenos/article/view/6941/6753 https://journal.fi/temenos/article/view/6941 doi:10.33356/temenos.6941 Copyright (c) 2010 Temenos https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ CC-BY-NC-ND Temenos - Nordic Journal of Comparative Religion; Vol 46 No 1 (2010) Temenos; Vol 46 Nro 1 (2010) 2342-7256 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2010 fttsvojs https://doi.org/10.33356/temenos.6941 2020-05-29T22:06:58Z 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 Federation of Finnish Learned Societies: Scientific Journals Online Norway Kárášjohka ENVELOPE(25.805,25.805,69.434,69.434) Temenos - Nordic Journal of Comparative Religion 46 1 |
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Open Polar |
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Federation of Finnish Learned Societies: Scientific Journals Online |
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fttsvojs |
language |
English |
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 |
MATHISEN, STEIN R. |
spellingShingle |
MATHISEN, STEIN R. Indigenous Spirituality in the Touristic Borderzone: Virtual Performances of Sámi Shamanism in Sápmi Park |
author_facet |
MATHISEN, STEIN R. |
author_sort |
MATHISEN, STEIN R. |
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 |
the Finnish Society for the Study of Religion |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
https://journal.fi/temenos/article/view/6941 https://doi.org/10.33356/temenos.6941 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(25.805,25.805,69.434,69.434) |
geographic |
Norway Kárášjohka |
geographic_facet |
Norway Kárášjohka |
genre |
Sámi midnight sun |
genre_facet |
Sámi midnight sun |
op_source |
Temenos - Nordic Journal of Comparative Religion; Vol 46 No 1 (2010) Temenos; Vol 46 Nro 1 (2010) 2342-7256 |
op_relation |
https://journal.fi/temenos/article/view/6941/6753 https://journal.fi/temenos/article/view/6941 doi:10.33356/temenos.6941 |
op_rights |
Copyright (c) 2010 Temenos https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY-NC-ND |
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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1766187820748111872 |