Die Krankheit auf Wanderschaft

• Published in: Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran Aikakauskirja
• Main Author: Bartens, Hans-Hermann
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: German
• Published: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura 2021
• Subjects: Sámi; legends; epidemic diseases; Inari; Southern Sámi
• Online Access: https://journal.fi/susa/article/view/95743; https://doi.org/10.33340/susa.95743

Among the speakers in the area from Inari to Southern Sámi, legends about epidemic, contagious diseases are part of the oral tradition. The core is constituted by legends about the plague and therefore are at the centre of the present article drawing upon both published and unpublished sources. Legends about other contagious diseases show parallels with them. The plague can take different shapes. For example, it may assume an anthropomorphic shape in the entire tradition area which becomes invisible in certain situations. Zoomorphic shapes turn out to be rather peripheral. The plague is, just as other contagious diseases, not induced by magic in the Sámi tradition. It is incurable, but it is possible to protect oneself from it in different ways, seek to annihilate it, or to make it submissive. Out of self-interest, the plague spares certain individuals. There are, also for taboo reasons, multiple denominations for the plague restricted to certain regions. As far as the contents are concerned, there are also clear regional differences. This can be seen, for example, in the way of getting around, which in the North is above all unindependent, or in the ethnic aspects which surface in the more multifacetic Southern traditions.