Sami culture
Photo: Rogper at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The Sámi are an indigenous ethnic group, endemic to the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Kola Peninsula in Russia. Their total population is just short of 100,000 people.
The Sámi National Day is celebrated on February 6. This date the first Sámi congress was held in 1917 in Trondheim.
Other destinationsSámi culture is not about city life.
UnderstandThe Sámi call their homeland ("the Sámi land") Sápmi (Northern Sámi), Sámeednam (Lule Sámi), Saemie (South Sámi), Säämi (Inari Sámi), Sääʹmjânnam (Skolt Sámi) or Sábmie (Ume Sámi).
TalkThere are nine existent Sámi languages, although Northern Sámi is by far the most widely spoken and understood also by many Sámi not having it as mother tongue.
Get inThere are quite a few airports in the Sápmi area, with at least domestic flights. Kittilä in Finland has relatively many seasonal flights from European destinations.
Get aroundThe area is served by coaches, mostly at least with daily services.
See
Do
BuySámi handicraft makes good souvenirs, but check that it is authentic. In shops the item should have the Sámi duodji (literally: Sámi handicraft) mark. Typical materials are wood, leather, wool, horns and bones.
EatAs agriculture is quite a hopeless try with most crops at these latitudes, most dishes are based on reindeer, fish and game.
SleepAs the Sámi lived semi-nomadic lives wandering between summer and winter locations they had mobile homes.
Stay safeSápmi, the Sámi region, is mostly very sparsely populated, with a harsh or even extreme climate. Do not venture into the wilderness without proper skill and equipment.
RespectSámi are often known in other languages as Lap, Lapons, Laplanders or similar, but many of them regard these as pejorative and obsolete terms.
See also
Sources and licences
- Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "Sami culture" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo: Rogper at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons