I Made a Luhkka For My Sami Friend – With a Brief History of Sami Oppression in Norway

I hope you enjoy this labor of love that has been several months in the making. I know this video is really two videos in one, but I really wanted the creation of the luhkka and the history to be in the same place!

Important note: The Sami words I am briefly using in this video are from the Northsami language. There are many more Sami languages, including Lulesami, Pitesami, Southsami, Skoltesami, Tersami, and Kildinsami. Northsami is simply the one I have the most knowledge and relation to.

Video link: https://youtu.be/lmetu345cbc

The pattern I based my luhkka on (Bonus Sami language).

The Sami Pathfinders

Mainnas

Ina.Omma

Samekofter

Words that might be unfamiliar:

Sámi – Indigenous person of central- and northern Scandinavia and north-westernmost parts of Russia. Many Sami are or were nomadic, moving with their reindeer (if they are reindeer-herding Sami, not everyone are) from winter camp to summer camp and back again.
Sápmi – The territory where the Sami traditionally lived
Luhkká – Sami closed cape
Yule – The Norse celebration of the winter solstice
Snøfrid – From “Snow” and “beautiful”. Sami woman
Svåse – Sami chieftain
Harald Hårfagre – Harald Fairhair (beautiful hair, not necessarily blond), Norwegian saga king
Gamme – Sami earthen home. Could be either a permanent or temporary structure.
Ottar – Norwegian explorer and merchant. Known as Ohthere in King Alfred’s Orosius
Biarmians – A group of people living in what is now modern-day Russia
Gakti – Sami tunic/kirtle
Seid – Magic
Noaidi – Sami spiritual leader

Sources:

Text sources are separated by language, with a (NO) for Norwegian sources and (EN) for English sources.

[1] long cape https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023185419/cape
[2] Short cape https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023180429/cape
[3] https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/38958
[4] https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023130290/cape
[5] https://digitaltmuseum.no/011025212424/luhkka
[6] Snorre (NO) – Snorre Sturlasons Kongesagaer “Stormutgaven” originally translated in 1899 by Gustav Storm, reprinted in 2009. J. M. Stenersen’s Forlag AS ISBN: 978-82-7201-456-7 https://heimskringla.no/wiki/Snorre:_Kongesagaer
[7] DM Ohthere (EN) – The Discovery of Muscovy with The Voyages of Ohthere and Wulfstan from King Alfred’s Orosius. Richard Hakluyt, 2014, Project Gutenberg ebook https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/4076/pg4076.txt
[8] Holmsen (NO) – Aschehougs norgeshistorie (1995), Volume 2.
[9] Svestad (EN summary) – Svøpt I myra – Synspunkter på Skjoldehamnfunnets etniske og kulturelle tilknytning. Asgeir Svestad, 2017. https://journals.uio.no/viking/article/view/5476
[10] Skjoldehamn shoe reconstruction http://www.vesteraalen.info/reportasje_andoy_skjoldeforedrag_09_english.htm
[11] Sami shoe https://digitaltmuseum.no/021027389332/komager
[12] (NO) Skjoldehamnfunnet I lys av ny kunnskap, Dan Halvard Løvlid 2010. http://www.ceilingpress.com/Resources/Skjoldehamnfunnet%20i%20lys%20av%20ny%20kunnskap.pdf
[13] SH 1750 (NO) – Samenes historie: Fram til 1750 by Lars Ivar Hansen and Bjørnar Olsen. 2004. ISBN: 82-02-19672-8
[14] Hagen (EN) – Female Witches and Sami Sorcerers in the Witch Trials of Arctic Norway (1593-1695) https://www.academia.edu/1344583/Female_Witches_and_Sami_Sorcerers_in_the_Witch_Trials_of_Arctic_Norway_1593-1695_
[15] (NO) Beskrivelse over Finnmarkens Lapper, deres Tungemaal, Levemaade og forrige Afgudsdyrkelse, Knud Leem, 1767
[16] Veivisere (NO. A small part of the webpage is available in English, but none of the history articles) – Official webpage of the Sami Pathfinders (Samiske Veivisere), an organization that each year recruits 4 young adult Sami people from the “Sami culture and social studies” degree at the Sami college in Kautokeino. They travel around the country to educate and reduce misinformation and misconceptions around Sami culture primarily to high school students https://samiskeveivisere.no/
[17] Elsa Laula Renberg
[18] (NO) Elsa Laula Renberg Historien om Samefolkets store Minerva, Siri Broch Johansen, 2015 (biography about Elsa Laula Renberg)
[19] Ingvar (NO) – Raseforskere jaktet på hodeskaller – nå vil Ingar ha hjem tippoldemoren https://www.nrk.no/sapmi/xl/raseforskere-jaktet-pa-hodeskaller-_-na-vil-ingar-ha-hjem-tippoldemoren-1.15031837
[20] Skilt (NO) Den harde kampen om samiske skilt https://www.nrk.no/sapmi/xl/den-harde-kampen-om-samiske-skilt-1.13220982


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