Wednesday, March 25, 2026 · 天火 · tianmu.org
Sami
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Texts
Fjellner — The Son of Pischan-PaschanA Sámi hero epic — the son of a murdered chieftain discovers his parentage, confronts the ogre Stalo on the Black Ridge, and wins back his father's herds through ritualized combat and an extraordinary eschatological vision. Collected by Anders Fjellner from South Sámi oral tradition; translated from the 1873 Swedish edition by the Good Works Archive.Fjellström — A Brief Account of the Lapps Bear-HuntingThe earliest detailed account of Sami bear-hunting ceremonies, written by the Swedish missionary Pehr Fjellström in 1755. Covers the origin myth, the sacred bear-language, post-kill ceremonies, ritual bone burial, and the women's brass-ring rites. First English translation.Introduction to Sami ReligionScholarly introduction to Sami religion and sacred practice — the noaidi shaman, the gobdas drum oracle, the hierarchy of sky and earth powers, the Maderakka birth-spirits, the saivvo spirit world, and the bear ceremony of the Arctic peoples.The Sun's Son's Courtship in Giant-LandThe complete text of the most important Sami mythological epic ever recorded — the Sun's Son's voyage beyond the North Star to court the daughter of a blind giant, the wedding, the flight, and the three magic knots that summon the storm. Collected by Anders Fjellner from Leuhnje of Tornio Lappmark; first complete English translation from Gustaf von Düben's 1873 Swedish verse edition.Therman — Joikun, the Song of the LappErik Therman's 1940 essay on the Sámi joik — its power as sorcery and trance, its capacity to conjure the spirit-host of the mountains, and its deep kinship with the Arctic landscape. Includes improvised joik compositions by the master singer Jooseppi Maaka of Nunnanen. First English translation from Swedish.