from Lappisk Mythologi, by J.A. Friis (1871)

§§8–21

These fourteen sections form the core theological account of Sami religion in Friis's systematic ethnography — the most thorough pre-twentieth-century treatment of the Sami pantheon. Friis was a professor at the University of Christiania and one of the leading Sami-language scholars of the nineteenth century. He organized the gods into four classes, following the missionary ethnographer Jessen and the drum-figure catalogues he had spent the preceding sections describing.

The theology that emerges is a layered one. At the top sit the Radien family — the ruling father, mother, son, and daughter — but Friis argues these are borrowed wholesale from Christian Trinity doctrine and are not authentically Sami. Below them are the true ancient gods: Ibmel, the primordial sky-god whose name meant simply "thunder" or "heaven" before it became the generic word for God; Horagales the Thunder-God, who shares his cross-hammer, his hound, his weather-mastery, and even his Christmas customs with the Norse Thor; Varalde olmai the World-Man of fertility; and Biegga-gales the Storm-God whose three wind-knots could cause shipwreck.

Most alive and most distinctively Sami are the female deities of birth and protection. Mader-akka the Root-Mother and her three daughters — Sarakka, Juksákka, and Uksakka — presided over every human's entry into the world through an elaborate cosmological relay: soul from the Radien heights, embryo from Mader-akka's body, sex-determination from one of the daughters, and final delivery through the human mother. Sarakka was the most beloved of all Sami gods — more trusted than any other, worshipped before every meal, present at every birth, suffering labor with every mother. When Christianity suppressed the old religion, it was Sarakka who persisted longest — first pushed from the hearth to the field's edge, then surviving in folklore as Gieddagæs-galggo, the wise old woman of the margins.

§8. On the Sami Gods in General — Their Classification

Those who have said that the religion of the Turkic and Uralic peoples was nothing but a kind of shamanism — that they regarded the power of their shamans as supreme and did not truly believe in divine beings — must have said so either from ignorance of these peoples or from a thoroughly superficial reading of what pointed in the opposite direction. On the contrary, one can say with certainty that there is no people — not in Asia's deserts, not on Siberia's tundra, not in the Arctic regions of America — that does not believe in the existence of certain higher beings or powers, superior to human beings. As for the Sami specifically, they distinguished themselves by the worship of a considerable number of divine powers.

After the Sami's own account, the whole universe was filled with divine beings. Above the heavens, in the heavens, under the heavens, in the moon and stars, on the earth and under the earth there were gods and goddesses — yes, every mountain, every forest, every lake, every brook and spring had, in the Sami's view, its Halde (and in the Finn's view, its Haltia) — that is, its resident, invisible, and protecting spirit.

According to the most reliable of the older authorities — Jessen — the Sami gods can be divided into four classes:

1. Celestial Gods (Overhimmelske Guder)
2. Gods of Heaven and Air (Himmelens og Luftens Guder)
3. Earthly Gods (Jordiske Guder)
4. Subterranean Gods (Underjordiske Guder)

The same ordering, in somewhat different form, was followed by Castrén in his Finnish Mythology. The four classes will be used in what follows — though without implying that the arrangement is in all its parts authentically Sami in origin.

§9. Radien acce — The Ruling Father

1. Celestial Gods

The Sami seem to have had no traditions at all about the creation of the world or the origin of the first human beings. At any rate, one finds nothing about this in the missionaries' and older writers' accounts — except for one flood-legend (§39). Everything is assumed to have existed from eternity, subject to the influence of benevolent or hostile supernatural beings.

Of the celestial gods — those who "dwell highest up in the starry heaven" — Jessen reports that Radien acce was the greatest and most exalted. He ruled with unlimited power and authority over both heaven and earth, over all other gods, and over the Sami themselves and everything on earth.

The name itself may be authentic Sami: acce is a genuine Sami word meaning "father," and radien is likely a shortened form of raddij ægje (raddije), meaning "ruling one" or "ruler," or else an old genitive of the noun radde — power, authority, mastery. Radien acce thus means "the ruling father" or "the father of power" — the almighty father. The verb raddit (to rule, govern) and the noun radde are, however, borrowed from the Norse languages.

Jessen himself concluded that "the doctrine of Radien acce and Radien kiedde his son, and whatever the Sami formerly believed about them, stands in no connection with the Sami's main religion, but appears to have been borrowed in later times from the Christian teaching about the Trinity." Drum No. 1 — which Friis regards as the oldest drum for which a description survives — has no figures of Radien or his family at all. The whole Radien family must therefore be declared as not originally Sami.

§10. Radien akka — The Ruling Mother

Radien acce had a wife — Radien akka (akka, wife or woman) — who was worshipped especially as protector of the reindeer and as the one who gave success in reindeer breeding. She is also called Coarve-ædne (ædne, mother) and Coarve-Radien (coarve, reindeer horn). On the drum she is depicted with a reindeer horn over her head — a symbol of fertility.

Those noaidis who attributed to Radien acce the creation of the human soul — which elsewhere was attributed to Mader-acce — probably thought of Radien akka as the one who gave life to reindeer calves.

§11. Radien bardne — The Son; Radien kiedde — The Hand

Radien acce had also a son, variously called Radien bardne (the son of the ruling one) and — more commonly — Radien kiedde. On drum No. 2 he is depicted in human form. The relationship between father and son was — according to Jessen — as follows: Radien acce himself created nothing and did not directly take part in governing the world, but had "invested his son with so strong a power that this one created and brought forth all things. These two ruled over all creation, commanded and ordered all other gods — both heavenly, earthly, and subterranean — even over Rutu the evil being. Just as Radien kiedde had to revere Radien acce as a holy thing, so he accomplished nothing on his own, without having first received power and command from Radien acce."

The name kiedde must be a misspelling of kiette or gietta, which means "hand." On drum No. 7, Fig. 2, Radien kiedde is depicted "as a building whose two supporting rows on either side were to represent his hands, with which he made and accomplished, fashioned and governed all things."

Friis notes that this relationship between Radien acce and Radien bardne resembles the Gospel of John chapter 1 and Christian teaching about the relationship of God the Father to God the Son so strongly that it clearly cannot be authentic Sami. The whole family must have been introduced into Sami religion after the people had received fairly precise knowledge of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity.

§12. Ruona nieidda — The Green Daughter

According to the account of certain noaidis, Radien acce had not only a son but also a daughter — called by Leem Ruona nieidda and by Jessen Rana nieidda or Radien nieidda (the daughter of the ruling one). She too "dwelt highest up in the starry heaven, almost as high as Radien himself." She was the goddess of spring: grass and leaves sprouted in the spring through her agency. In particular, she was to be thanked when certain mountain slopes greened earlier than others, allowing the Sami to move their herds there sooner. "Sacrifices were therefore made in spring to Ruona nieidda, so that the reindeer could get out to pasture in time."

The name Ruona is simply the Sami rendering of the Norwegian word for "green" (grøn), which the Sami pronounce ruona (since they cannot pronounce gr- at the beginning of words and typically use uo for borrowed ö). Ruona nieidda was the spring goddess and received the epithet ruona — the green one.

§13. Closing Remarks on the Celestial Gods

The Swedish authorities know nothing of the celestial gods at all — they do not mention the Radien family. Not all Norwegian authorities know Radien acce either. On drum No. 2 he is depicted with wife, son, and even a noaide in his service. On drum No. 7 one finds both Radien acce and Radien kiedde alongside God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit — Radien here depicted with a single cross on a church-like building.

But drum No. 1 has neither Radien nor any of his family — and this is probably the oldest drum among those described. From this drum and its manuscript, one can see that the owner had no conception of celestial gods, but knew only the sky, earthly, and subterranean classes. The entire Radien family must therefore be declared as originally non-Sami — introduced into the Sami pantheon only after the people had received substantial knowledge of Christian Trinitarian doctrine. The genuine Sami gods are to be sought in the next class.

§14. Ibmel, Jibmel, Jubmel — The Primordial Sky God

2. Gods of Heaven and Air

In modern Sami literary language, the word Ibmel denotes the concept of God in general and the Christian God in particular. The first missionaries found it already in use as a common noun when they arrived. In all likelihood it was not only the oldest divine name Sami-Finnish mythology can show, but perhaps the oldest divine name among the entire Finno-Ugric family of peoples: it is found not only in Sami and Finnish (Jumala) but also in Estonian (Jummal), Zyrian (Jen, orig. Jemel), Cheremis (Juma), and the Samoyed tribes of Siberia (Num or Jum).

The word's root lies clearly visible in Sami: the verb jubmat means "to roar, drone, boom" — its stem is jubma or juma, its root jum. This is the same pattern as dabmat (to tame, from the borrowed Norse tam). The Samoyeds retained the root form num or jum; the Cheremis retained the stem form juma; the other Finno-Ugric peoples retained a derived form with the suffix -la or -l, which in Finnish has local significance — indicating "the place where what the primitive word denotes is found or occurs." Juma-la or Jubmel thus means: "the place where roaring or booming is found" — that is, the sky.

The Sami, like the Finns, thus originally worshipped under the name Jubmel or Jumala either the sky itself as a divine power, or certain forces hidden in the sky — a deity of heaven and air. The same was true of other Asian peoples: the Mongols worshipped Tengri (heaven); the Tungus worshipped Buga (a heavenly deity); certain Turkish tribes worshipped Kudai (heavenly powers). Among the Samoyeds, num means both "god" and "sky" — the sky is conceived not as a dead thing but as a living, personal being whose nature it is to produce thunder, lightning, rain, snow, hail, and wind.

Once Ibmel became a common noun — the generic word for any deity — specific names had to be given to each divine being. This explains the many names for the Thunder-God in the following section. When the Sami learned something of Christianity, they placed Radien acce on Ibmel's old throne — and some noaidis explicitly declared that "Radien acce and Radien kiedde were nothing other than Ibmel." Eventually even Radien acce gave way to the fully Christian Ibmel acce, bardne, and bassevuoigqa — God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

§15. Diermes and Horagales — The Thunder God

All the following names refer to a single deity — the god of weather and specifically of thunder:

Diermes (Swedish Lapland: Tiermes) — a genuine Sami word meaning "thunder," still in use: diermes jorra (the thunder rolls), diermes caska (the thunder strikes), diermeraerggom (a thunderclap), diermes davgge (the thunder-bow, rainbow). The genitive form is Dierbma, making the root Dierm, Dærm, or Tærm — clearly related to the Khanty Torum (or Torm), the Chuvash Tora, and the Estonian Tara, all denoting the sky and thunder god.

Hora or Torat are dialectal variants of the same word — since t and h alternate in Sami. Turat-uros means Thunder-Hero (uros = Finnish for "hero, brave man"). Gales means "old man" (a title of respect). Hora-gales thus = "the great old man of thunder." Aggja and Agjek (Swedish Lapland) = grandfather, little grandfather — the same terms of reverence the Sami use for the bear.

Horagales was "one of the oldest and most venerated of the Sami gods," found depicted on every known drum. He had a fixed dwelling-place — some noaidis placed him high in the heaven; others in the "middle air stratum." On drum No. 1 he holds a cross-hammer in one hand and a sledge-hammer in the other: "with one hammer he sent out thunder and lightning, and with the other he drove the thunder back, so that it should not harm the Sami or their animals exposed on the open bare mountains." On drum No. 2 he is depicted on a solar ray with a reindeer horn over his head — the sign of fertility.

Horagales ruled not only over thunder and lightning but also over the rainbow, over weather and wind, over the sea and waters, and over human wellbeing, life, and health. Because he governed weather and wind, he could also promote grass growth and thereby reindeer thriving. The noaidis claimed that through their rune-songs, drum-beatings, or offerings they could release Horagales — "partly to free livestock that had been bewitched, partly to work against those who wished to do harm, or to get revenge on those with whom they were at enmity." But if Horagales was released and failed to harm the intended target — blocked by a stronger noaidi — he often turned against the one who had released him.

Horagales also protected the noaidi during trance-journeys. When the noaidi's body lay in a swoon while his spirit traveled to Jabmi-aibmo, the realm of the dead, "the devil and evil spirits lurked upon the noaidi — but Horagales's hound Starbo (depicted on drum No. 2, Fig. 7, at his side) kept watch over the body, holding the devil and his angels away, growling and barking until the Thunder-God's servant awoke and went to him — and the Thunder-God himself then struck the devils and trolls with his hammer, so that they could not prevent the noaidi's spirit from returning to the body, nor drag the body away, nor do it any harm."

His hammer was called Ajeke veccera (Grandfather's Hammer) in Swedish Lapland. The rainbow was called Diermes davgge or Ajeke davgge — Grandfather's Bow — used as a weapon to shoot and kill evil spirits.

Offerings to Horagales: no female animal and no castrated male could be sacrificed — only a cock (depicted on drum No. 1) or a bull-reindeer (sarvva-værro, "the reindeer-tax"). No woman could eat of his sacrifice. "In honor of Horagales," says the Nærø Manuscript, "the Sami used to mark their doors at Christmas Eve with a cross, to draw a cross with a knife over a jug of ale or a glass of spirits, and not to open the lid of a full butter-churn without first making a cross over it with the knife. They do not thereby think of the cross of Jesus, but of Horagales's hammer, which he holds in his hand and which is made in the shape of a cross."

Some Sami so honored Horagales with great and costly sacrifices that they spent the greater part of their means on him and were reduced to beggary.

Finnish parallel: Ukko, the Finnish thunder-god, bears the same epithets and functions. Ukko means (1) old man, elder, (2) grandfather, (3) thunder — and is related to the Sami Aggja. He was lord of the sky (taivainen jumåla) and the air (almojen jumåla), had his seat on a cloud, ruled wind and weather and vegetation. His rainbow was Ukon kaari, Thunder's Bow. His arrows were of glowing copper; he had a sword of fire and a hammer. Estonian Tara bears the same characteristics.

§16. Varalde olmai — The World-Man

Horagales governed weather, wind, sea, and air in the great sweep of things. But the day-to-day — everything needed for daily provision — was left to other gods. The Nærø Manuscript names Varalde olmai as the second god in rank after Horagales. Olmai is a genuine Sami word meaning "man"; Varalde appears to be borrowed from the Swedish word for "world" (Verlden).

He was the god of fertility in a specific and practical sense. He is depicted "with a curved stroke over his head with several points — signifying fertility both of land, sea, and livestock — and holds a hoe in his hand, by which he is identified as the god of cultivation." The Sami invoked him for: grain harvests (so that grain goods would be affordable for them), fishing, reindeer fertility (that the does might bear many calves), and moss growth on the mountains (so there would be good reindeer cheese and butter). Sacrificed to him were a hoe and a spade, carved in wood.

The Nærø Manuscript also describes Varalde noaide — the Sky Noaidi — depicted on drum No. 1 with a drum in his left hand and a hammer in his right. Just as the Sami themselves have their noaidis and drum-men on earth, through whom they consult either the highest or the lowest gods or the dead — so the gods themselves have their noaidis in heaven and the underworld, by whose drumming they determine whether the prayers made to them shall be heard or refused. This Varalde noaide was the prophet of the three great sky gods, Horagales, Varalde olmai, and Biegga-gales.

§17. Biegga-gales — The Storm God

Biegga-gales — the Storm God — derives his name from biegga (wind) and gales (old man). He was the third of the great sky gods, after Horagales and Varalde olmai. The Nærø Manuscript explains: "he is painted in the upper section with a goaivvo (shovel) in his right hand, with which he shovels wind back into his cave when it has stormed enough, and with a club in his left hand, with which he drives the wind out when it is to storm."

The Sami prayed to him when on the mountains with their reindeer (especially in late May during calving, when sudden storms could kill newborn calves) and when at sea in life-threatening storms, promising him offerings. When they had a dispute with someone, they could ask Biegga-gales for wind, tying it in three knots by drumming. Untying the first knot: passable wind. The second: wind so strong that a ship could barely carry half its mainsail without risk. The third: certain shipwreck.

On drum No. 1 he is depicted with a wife, but nothing is known of what function she served.

§18. The Ailekes olbmak — The Holy Day Men

Both Norwegian and Nærø-Manuscript sources describe three divine figures collectively called Ailekes olbmak (holy men or saints). The name ailek is borrowed from the Norwegian word heilag (holy — from heil, whole, unbroken; for nothing offered to the gods could be crushed or split in any way other than at the joints). The word ailek is still used in the middle Lapmarks to mean "holiday" or "Sunday."

Jessen describes them thus: "On three of the sun's rays (bæivvelafcek, lit. timbers or beams) stand the Ailekes olbmak — divine powers always depicted with a cross. On the first ray stands Sodnabæivve Ailek, Sunday-Man, whom the Sami considered the most powerful day for working drum-magic. On the second ray stands Lava Ailek (Lavardak), Saturday-Man. On the third, Frid Ailek, Friday-Man."

The Nærø Manuscript adds that these three were created by the three great sky gods (Horagales, Varalde olmai, and Biegga-gales) to serve as intermediaries on earth — carrying the Sami's prayers up to the three great gods, promoting favorable outcomes from the drum-oracle. They are depicted with wings, "since they must fly quickly back and forth between heaven and earth."

On Fridays and Saturdays it was strictly forbidden to chop firewood — the Holy Day Men were angered by it, and the first stroke of an axe on those days was said to draw blood from the cut.

Friis notes that these figures are clearly borrowed from Catholic teaching about saints and saint-worship. They are unknown in Swedish Lapland entirely. In Finnmark (Finmarken) it was Thursday, not Friday or Saturday, that was kept holy — in honor of Diermes. The Holy Day Men seem to have been known only among the Northland Sami, who lived closest to the Catholic stronghold of Trondheim.

§19. Bæivve, Manno, and Nastek — Sun, Moon, and Stars

The Sami names Bæivve or Bæivas, Finnish Päivä, Estonian Päev — all mean both the physical sun and the sun-god; the word is the same. Sami Manno, Finnish Kuu — similarly: moon and moon-god in one word. The Sami appear to have been ardent sun-worshippers.

Bæivve is depicted on every drum — either as a ring, or most commonly as a square standing on one corner (a diamond), which "rested on a hollow foot; a path ran up from the earth to this hollow foot, to show that just as their prayers on earth rise up through this path to the Sun, so also all light, warmth, and fertility come down through this path when the gods allow it." From each corner of the diamond ran a line or path — the Bæivve lavcek (sun's beams) — signifying that the sun's power and influence stretched over the whole world.

White animals were sacrificed to the sun for good weather. Once a year the Sami ate sun-porridge (jubtse), which "both men and women ate in the sun's honor, praying to the sun to cast a gracious light on their reindeer and everything else from which they drew their sustenance. After the meal they fell on their knees again and prayed to the sun to grant them a good milk-summer and let their reindeer thrive." Some Sami also sacrificed to the sun for various illnesses — especially for lack of mental capacity. Uniquely among the Sami gods, the sun received burnt offerings — on a specially consecrated stone.

The Nærø Manuscript describes a New Year's morning custom: each family member dropped a brass ring into a stream or spring. If the sun shone clearly on the ring in the water, the year would be good; if a ring appeared dark or black, death threatened the person whose ring it was — unless averted by offerings to the Jabmek (the dead), from whom all fatal illnesses were believed to come.

The sun had family members — Solans nieidda (Sun's Daughter) was said by Jessen to help end snow and frost; Bæivve-bardne (the Sun's Son) is the subject of the only surviving longer Sami epic poem. Bæive-oabak (the Sun's Sisters) = Morning-Redness and Evening-Glow.

Among the stars: the Morning Star (Idded-naste) and the Evening Star (Æked-naste) lit the noaidi's path during trance-journeys to Jabmi-aibmo, so that he should not go astray. If the divination ring came to rest on the Morning Star's image: good and fruitful year, good health. If on the Midnight Star: want and misfortune.

The moon (Manno) was worshipped with a round piece of wood with a small hole in it — distinct from the sun's offering — so that the moon would shine clearly at night and the Sami could find their way home to their tent.

Sami star-names: the Great Bear = Davgak (the Bows); Orion = Skipak (the Ships), with its three belt-stars as the sinkers on a fishing net; the Pleiades = Neidag æreg (the Maiden-Flock); the North Star = Bohe-navlle (the North-Nail); Cassiopeia = Sarvva (the Bull-Reindeer).

§20. Mader-acce and Mader-akka — The Root-Father and Root-Mother

The word mader (genitive maddar) is a genuine Sami word — it means: root, origin, primal foundation; the trunk of a tree, the foot of a mountain, the interior of the mainland. Mader-acce is thus "stem-father" or "root-father." Only the most learned noaidis knew of him; his mark was not found on all drums. Where he did appear, he was depicted as a triangle or hexagon, or (drum No. 7) as a prostrate man. His dwelling was "highest up in the air, just under the heavens" — and from there a curved path ran to the topmost solar ray.

After the noaidis' account, "Mader-acce, together with the Sun, communicated life and movement to all things under the Sun." Some attributed this more specifically to his cooperation with Radien kiedde; but Friis suggests the original, pre-Christian belief was simpler: the soul came directly from the Sun, and Mader-acce was the Sun's earthly counterpart.

Mader-acce had a wife: Mader-akka (Root-Mother). While her husband dwelt highest in the air, she had her home in the "middle air stratum" — a transverse path led from the Sun's lowest ray to her. Both shared in the coming-into-being of all humans and animals; but their three daughters' role was even more important.

§21. The Three Daughters of Mader-akka: Sarakka, Juksákka, and Uksakka

3. Earthly Gods

The noaidis explained how a human being came to life and entered the world:

Radien kiedde received power from Radien acce to create souls and spirits. As soon as he had produced a soul, he sent it to Mader-acce. Mader-acce took the soul into his belly — which was always open — and traveled around the Sun, through all its beams. From the lowest beam he continued along the cross-path to his wife Mader-akka. She received the soul and created around it the first embryo-body. If this embryo was to become a boy, Mader-akka sent it to Juksákka (Bow-Mother), who gave it the male nature. If it was to be a girl, she sent it to Sarakka, who gave it the female nature. Whichever daughter received it carried it to the human woman who was to conceive and bear the child — and the evil beings Fudno, Rota, Baha Engel, and Mubben olmai were powerless to obstruct this process.

This elaborate relay — soul concealed in the belly, passed through multiple divine bodies, traveling winding paths — was not arbitrary. The Sami had for centuries been forced to flee before stronger peoples, making crooked paths and hidden routes to confuse their pursuers. They believed the same was true in the spirit world: the child's soul, before it reached the world, was already exposed to the pursuit of evil spirits. Just as the Chudes and Karelians pursued the Sami on earth, so Fudno and Baha Engel lurked for the child-soul. The winding path through multiple divine guardians was protective concealment.

Sarakka — Creation-Mother

The word sarrat means "to create, to shape" — Sarakka is "She Who Creates." From the moment a woman conceived — or an animal became pregnant — that woman or animal stood under Sarakka's special protection. Pregnant women removed their collar and belt during the pregnancy "for Sarakka's sake," and no man was permitted to walk all the way around a pregnant woman during that time.

Sarakka ensured the child thrived and grew in the mother's body, whether boy or girl, and that both mother and pregnant animal were well. Physical appearance, bodily gifts and virtues — all were owed to Sarakka. Hence the saying: "Nuft læ Sarakka muo sarram!" — "Sarakka has thus created me!"

She helped women in labor and helped "both women and animals to give birth and be safely delivered" — and "she even suffered pain together with the mother who was bearing the child."

Jessen writes: "This deity was always in the mouth and heart of the Sami. To her their prayers were directed, she was worshipped in all their activities and concerns, she was regarded as all their comfort and refuge. In short, Sarakka was first and last, the dearest and most reliable, in whom with the greatest confidence they placed their trust in all their actions. She was highly honored and worshipped by all, above all other gods. Whatever they ate or drank, she was always remembered. To her they made vows, and to her they brought offerings without consulting the drum."

Sarakka's offerings were poured into the hearth-fire. A special birth-feast was held in her honor: porridge with three sticks placed in it — one split and hung with three rings, one black, one white. These sticks were placed under the door-threshold for two or three days. If the black stick was gone: either mother or child would die. If the white stick vanished: both would live. The porridge was not eaten before the drum had been consulted.

The offerings to Sarakka — cocks, hens, reindeer calves, female dogs — only women were allowed to eat.

After the Sami had learned something of Christian baptism and communion, they incorporated both sacraments into their own practice — primarily in honor of Sarakka. After every child had been to church and received a Christian name, it was bathed again at home by a Sami woman and baptized a second time in Sarakka's honor, receiving its true Sami name — the name by which it would always be known among the Sami themselves. Sarakka biergo (Sarakka's flesh) and Sarakka varra (Sarakka's blood) were the terms for the food and drink consumed before communion. This Sarakka-baptism was believed to undo the effects of Christian baptism.

Sarakka is the only deity still alive in Sami folk memory. Pushed from the hearth-fire of the old religion, she now survives as Gieddagæs-galggo — "the Old Woman of the Field's Edge" — a very old and wise woman in Sami folk tales, from whom one can obtain counsel and help in difficult situations. She has been driven from the fire to the boundary of cultivated land, but she is still there.

Juksákka — Bow-Mother

Juks or juoks means "bow." Juksákka governed the sex of the fetus — and her power was so great that even after Sarakka had determined a female sex, Juksákka could change it to male, if sufficient drumming and offering was made. This was frequently requested, as the Sami often valued boys more highly — girls could neither hunt nor shoot. She is sometimes depicted with a drum in her right hand.

Uksakka — Door-Woman

Uksa means "door." Uksakka dwelt at the doorway of the tent or gamme — which was also the customary place for birthing women. She oversaw all coming and going; after the birth she took charge of the mother and child — protecting the child from misfortune and the mother from illness, and letting both grow and thrive in body and spirit.

From the "Song of the Sun's Son":

Sarakka shaped me from my father's supple sinews;
strength in the breast I received with mother's milk,
in inheritance from mothers and fathers.
Uksakka mixed the milk,
gave me understanding in my head.

At every meal a little food and drink was offered to Uksakka, in addition to the regular feast-offerings.

An echo of her cult survives in the folk expression still in use: "The Doorwife (Uksakka) blows out the light."

Colophon

Source: J.A. Friis (Jens Andreas Friis, 1821–1896), Lappisk mythologi: eventyr og folkesagn (Christiania: Alb. Cammermeyer, 1871), §§8–21. Friis was Professor of Sami Language and Literature at the University of Christiania, the leading Norwegian Sami-language scholar of his era. This section — the systematic theology of the Sami pantheon — occupies approximately pp. 52–94 of the 1871 edition. The text is public domain (1871, author died 1896).

Translation: Good Works Translation by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. Translated from Friis's 1871 Norwegian text. The source is ethnographic Norwegian-language scholarship, not Sami-language sacred text — this is therefore classified as an Archival Text (translation from Norwegian) rather than a translation from a Sami-language source. Sami terms are embedded throughout and preserved in translation. No prior English translation of this section of Friis is known to exist.

Internal cross-references: The preceding companion file (Friis — Lappish Mythology — The Noaide and the Sacred Drum) covers §§1, 3, 4, and 5, providing context on the noaide's office, the runebom drum, drum-figure catalogues, and the use of the drum in divination. The drum-figure catalogues (§6) and the Gobdas og Sampo section (§7) are not translated here.

Sources cited by Friis: Jessen, De norske Finners og Lappers hedenske Religion (1767); the Nærø Manuscript (1723, by Thomas von Westen); Leem, Finmarkens Beskrivelse; Scheffer, Lapponia (1673); Hammond, Missionshistorie; Læstadius MS; Castrén, Finnische Mythologie (1853). Friis draws on Castrén heavily for comparative Finno-Ugric material.

Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.

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Source Text

Norwegian source text from J.A. Friis, Lappisk mythologi: eventyr og folkesagn (Christiania: Alb. Cammermeyer, 1871), §§8–21. Reproduced from the archive.org OCR (identifier: lappiskmythologi00frii) with correction of obvious scanning artifacts. Public domain.

§8. Om de lappiske Guder i Almindelighed og deres Inddeling i Klasser

Naar man om de turaiske Folkeslag i Almindelighed har sagt, at deres eiendommelige Religion ikke var andet end en Slags Schamanismus, eller at de ansaa deres Schamaners Magt for den høieste og ikke egentlig troede paa guddommelige Væsener, saa maa en saadan Opfattelse enten hidrøre fra Mangel af Kjendskab til disse Folkeslag eller fra en aldeles overfladisk Opfattelse af Alt, der kunde tyde paa det Modsatte.

Efter Lappenes Forestilling var hele Universet opfyldt med guddommelige Væsener. Over Himmelen, i Himmelen, under Himmelen, i Maanen og Stjernerne, paa Jorden og under Jorden fandtes der Guder og Gudinder, ja, ethvert Fjeld, enhver Skov, enhver Indsø, enhver Bæk eller Kilde havde efter Lappernes Forestilling sin Halde, efter Finnernes sin Haltia, det vil sige, sin iboende, usynlige og beskyttende Aand.

Gudelærens Inddeling i 4 Klasser (efter Jessen):

1. Overhimmelske Guder.
2. Himmelens og Luftens Guder.
3. Jordiske Guder.
4. Underjordiske Guder.

§9. Radien acce

Af de overhimmelske Guder eller de, „som bo aller øverst oppe i Stjernehimmelen", siger Jessen, „var Radien acce den allerhøieste og største. Han regjerede med uindskrænket Magt og Myndighed baade over Himmel og Jord, ja, over alle andre Guder og over Lappen selv med Alt det, som er paa Jorden."

Vistnok er acce et ægte lappisk Ord, som betyder Fader, men Radien er enten en forkortet Form af raddij ægje, raddije, der betyder herskende, Hersker, eller en gammel Genitivform af Substantivet radde, Raad, Magt, Herredømme. Radien acce betyder altsaa den herskende Fader eller Magtens Fader, den almægtige Fader.

Ogsaa Jessen finder, „at Læren om Radien acce og Radien kiedde, hans Søn, og hvadsomhelst Lapperne fordum have troet om dem, ikke staar i nogen Sammenhæng med Lappernes Hovedreligion, men synes at være laant i de nyere Tider af de Kristnes Lære om Treenigheden."

§10. Radien akka, Coarve-ædne eller Coarve-Radien

Lapperne have formodentlig, især i ældre Tider, ført et fuldstændigt patriarkalsk Levesæt. Saaledes havde ogsaa Radien acce, Almagtens Fader, en Hustru, Almagtens Moder. Denne Radien's Hustru benævnes snart ligefrem Radien akka (akka, Hustru), snart Coarve-ædne (ædne, Moder), snart Coarve-Radien (coarve, Horn). Radien's Hustru blev især dyrket som Beskytterinde af Rensdyrene og som den, der gav Lykke til Rensdyravl.

§11. Radien bardne eller Radien kiedde

Radien acce havde ogsaa en Søn, som dels ligefrem kaldes Radien bardne, Radien's eller Almagtens Søn, dels, og almindeligere, Radien kiedde. Forholdet mellem Fader og Søn var — efter Jessen — saaledes, at Radien acce ikke selv skabte nogen Ting eller umiddelbart tog Del i Verdensstyrelsen, men havde „forlenet sin Søn med en saa stærk Kraft, at denne skabte og frembragte alle Ting. Disse To raadede over al Skabning, bød og befalede over alle andre Guder, baade de himmelske, jordiske og underjordiske, endog over Rutu eller det onde Væsen. Ligesom Radien kiedde endog maatte ære Radien acce som en Helligdom, saaledes udrettede han selv paa egen Haand Intet, uden han dertil havde faaet Kraft og Befaling af Radien acce."

Det her skildrede Forhold minder saa stærkt om Joh. Evang. 1ste Kap. eller den kristelige Lære om Gud Faders Forhold til Guds Søn, at det aabenbart ikke kan være ægte lappisk.

§12. Ruona nieidda, Rana nieidda eller Radien nieidda

Ogsaa „hun boede høiest oppe i Stjernehimmelen, ikke langt fra ligesaa høit som Radien." Denne Ruona nieidda var Vaarens Gudinde; thi det tilskreves hende, at Græs og Løv om Vaaren spirede frem. Navnlig havde man hende at takke for, at enkelte Fjeldskraaninger grønnedes tidligere end andre. „Man ofrede derfor ogsaa om Vaaren til Ruona nieidda, paa det at Rensdyrene betimeligt kunde komme ud paa Græsgang."

Ruona er det norske Ord grøn, som Lapperne udtale ruona eller ruonas, da de ikke kunne udtale g og r sammen i Ords Begyndelse. Ruona nieidda var Vaarens Gudinde og fik derfor Tilnavnet ruona, „den grønne."

§13. Slutningsbemærkning om de overhimmelske Guder

De svenske Forfattere kjende ikke saa stort Antal Guder, som de norske. De nævne saaledes aldeles ikke de overhimmelske. Heller ikke alle norske Forfattere kjende Radien acce. Runebommen No. 1 er sandsynligvis den ældste, og paa denne Runebom og af Manuskriptet, hvortil den hører, ser man, at Eieren ikke har havt Ide om overhimmelske Guder, men blot kjendt himmelske, jordiske og underjordiske. Hele Gudefamilien Radien maa derfor erklæres for ikke oprindelig lappisk og først indført i den lappiske Bibel og Gudsdyrkelse, efterat Befolkningen havde faaet temmelig nøie Besked om den kristelige Lære om Gud Faders Forhold til Guds Søn. Ægte lappiske Guddommeligheder kunne altsaa først søges i næste Afdeling.

§14. Ibmel, Jibmel eller Jubmel og Jumala

Med Udtrykket Ibmel betegnes nu for Tiden i det lappiske Skriftsprog Begrebet Gud i Almindelighed og den kristelige Gud i Besynderlighed. Rimeligvis er dette Ord i Lappisk, ligesom Jumala i Finsk, ikke blot det ældste Gudenavn, som den lappisk-finske Mythologi kan opvise, men maaske det ældste Gudenavn hos hele den finske Folkestamme; thi det findes ikke blot hos disse to nærmest beslægtede Nationer, men ogsaa hos Esterne, Syrjanerne, Tscheremisserne og Sibiriens Samojedestammer.

I Lappisk har man et meget almindeligt forekommende Verbum jubmat, hvis Ordstamme er jubma eller juma, og hvis Rodform er jum. Nu betyder jubmat i Lappisk suse, dure, drøne, og jubma (finsk jumi) betyder Sus, Dur, Drøn. Følgelig betyder Juma-la eller Jubmel Stedet, hvor Dur eller Drøn findes, det vil sige Himmelen. Lapperne synes altsaa ligesom Finnerne under Navnet Jubmel eller Jumala oprindelig at have dyrket enten selve Himmelen som Guddom eller visse i Himmelen skjulte Kræfter, en Himmelens eller Luftens Guddom.

§15. Diermes eller Tiermes, Hora-gales, m.fl.

Benævnelsen Diermes, (sv. Lap. Tiermes), er et ægte lappisk Ord, der den Dag i Dag forekommer i Betydningen Torden, f. Ex. i Talemaaderne: Diermes jorra, Tordenen ruller; diermes caska, Tordenen slaar; diermeraerggom, Tordenskrald; diermes davgge, Tordenbue.

Hora-gales var — efter Jessen — „en af Lappernes ældste og mest ærede Guder." Han raadede „ikke alene over Torden og Lynild, men ogsaa over Regnbuen, over Veir og Vind, over Havet og Vandene, samt over Menneskets Ve og Vel, Liv og Sundhed."

Paa Runebommen No. 1 har han „en Slægge i den ene Haand og en Krydshammer i den anden. Med den ene Hammer udsendte han Torden og Lynild, og med den anden drev han Tordenen tilbage igjen, at den ikke skulde skade enten Lapperne eller deres Dyr."

Horagales beskyttede ogsaa Noaiden, naar hans Legeme laa besvimet. „Horagales's Hund Starbo (paa Runeb. No. 2. Fig. 7) holdt Vagt ved Legemet. Den holdt Djævelen og hans Engle borte fra Legemet, knurrede og bjælfede saaledes, at Tordengudens Tjener vaagnede og gik hen til ham — og Tordenguden selv slog med sin Hammer saaledes paa Djævle og Trolde, at de ikke kunde hindre Noaidens Aand fra at komme tilbage til Legemet."

„Til Ære for Horagales," siger Nærø-Manuskriptets Forfatter, „pleiede Lapperne, ligesom Nordmændene til Ære for Thor, at betegne sine Døre om Juleaften med et Kors, at krydse med Kniv over en Kande Øl eller et Glas Brændevin og ikke at oplade Laaget paa en fuld Smørkande, uden at gjøre et Kors derover med Kniven. De tænke hermed ikke paa Jesu Kors, men paa Horagales's Hammer, som han holder i Haanden, og som er gjort som et Kors."

§16. Varalde olmai, Varalde noaide eller Radien noaide

Varalde olmai nævnes i Nærø-Manuskriptet som den 2den Gud i Rang efter Horagales. Han „afmales med en krum Streg over Hovedet med adskillige Takker, hvilket skal betegne Frugtbarhed, saavel af Jorden som af Havet og af Kreaturer. Han holder en Hakke i Haanden, hvorved han betegnes som Jorddyrkningens Gud." Til Varalde olmai ofredes en Hakke og en Spade, udskaarne af Træ.

§17. Biegga-gales, Stormens Gud

Biegga-gales, Stormens Gud, (af biegga, Vind, og gales, gammel Mand). I Nærø-Manuskriptet forklares: „at Biegga-gales var Lappernes 3die store Afgud, den samme som Æolus, hvilken de afmale i øverste Rum med en goaivvo eller Skuffel i sin høire Haand, hvormed han skuffer Vinden ind i sin Hule, naar det har stormet nok, og med en Kølle i sin venstre Haand, hvormed han driver Vinden ud, naar det skal storme."

„Naar de have Noget udestaaende med Nogen, da forlange de Vind af denne Guddom, hvilken de ved sin Runing indknytte i 3 Knuder. Naar de opløse den første, da bliver det passabel Vind, og naar de opløse den anden, saa bliver det saa stærk Vind, at en Jagt neppe uden Fare kan føre det halve Storseil; men opløse de den 3die Knude, da sker ufeilbarligen Skibbrud."

§18. Ailekes olbmak, Helligdagsmænd

Samtlige norske Forfattere omtale 3 Guddommeligheder under Navn af Ailekes olbmak, hellige Mænd eller Helgener. Nærø-Manuskriptet forklares: „Disse Aileker ere Lappernes Underguder eller Storengle, skabte af de 3 store, himmelske Guder i den Hensigt, at de her paa Jorden stedse skulle gaa Lapperne til Haande og føre deres Bønner op til bemeldte 3 Storguder, isærdeles naar de have Runebommens Raadførelse nødig. — De afbilde dem med Vinger, som de, der i en Hast maa flyve fra og til Himmelen og Jorden."

Ailek ikke er lappisk, men laant af det norske Ord „heilag", hellig. Saavel af Jessens Beskrivelse, som fornemmelig af Fremstillingen i Nærømanuskriptet ser man tydeligt nok, at de 3 Aileker ere laante fra Katholicismens Lære om Helgener, Helgenbilleder og Helgentilbedelse.

§19. Bæivve eller Bæivas, Manno og Nastek, Sol, Maane og Stjerner

Lapp. Bæivve eller Diminut. Bæivas, finsk Päivä og estnisk Päav, betyder baade Solen og Solguden. Lapp. Manno, finsk Kuu, betyder Maane og Maaneguden.

Bæivve eller Bæivas fandtes aftegnet paa alle Runebomme enten i Form af en Ring eller hyppigst som en Firkant, der da altid stod opreist paa det ene Hjørne og „hvilede paa en Fod, der var hul. Op til denne hule Fod gik en Vei fra Jorden, hvorved de vilde betegne, at, ligesom deres Bønner paa Jorden gaar op igjennem denne Vei til Solen, saaledes kommer ogsaa alt Lys, Varme og Frugtbarhed ned igjennem denne Vei, naar Guderne ville tillade det."

„Aarligen skulde Solen have en Grød, som de kaldte Solgrød eller jubtse, hvilken baade Mands- og Kvindespersoner spiste Solen til Ære, idet de bade til Solen, at den vilde kaste et naadigt Skin paa deres Rensdyr og hvad andet, de skulde have sin Næring af."

Bæivve-bardne, Sol-Sønnen: det eneste, større episke Digt af lappisk Oprindelse, som er bleven reddet fra Forglemmelse.

Stjernerne: den store Bjørn = Davgak, Buerne; Orion = Skipak, Skibene; Syvstjernen = Neidag æreg, Jomfruflokken; Nordstjernen = Bohe-navlle, Nord-Naglen; Cassiopea = Sarvva, Vildrenoxen.

§20. Mader-acce og Mader-akka eller Mader-akko

Mader er en afledet Form af made eller mada, som betyder: Rod, Oprindelse, det første Grundlag for alle legemlige Gjenstande, Stammen paa et Træ, Foden af et Bjerg, det Indre af Fastlandet. Mader-acce skulde have sin Bopæl „aller øverst oppe i Luften, tæt op under Himmelen," og „fra Mader-acre gik en krum Vei eller Gang hen til Solens øverste Straale."

Denne Mader-acre, „i Forening med Solen meddele Liv og Bevægelse til alle de Ting, som ere under Solen." (Jessen, Pag. 14.)

Mader-akka havde sit Tilhold i den „midterste Luftstrækning," og fra Solens 4de og nederste Straale gik der en Tværstreg eller Vei hen til Mader-akka. Begge disse Guddomme havde Del i alle Menneskers og Dyrs Tilblivelse, men endnu vigtigere var den Virksomhed, som tillagdes deres 3 Døtre.

§21. Mader-akka's 3 Døtre: Sarakka, Juksakka og Uksakka

Maaden, hvorpaa Mennesket fik Liv og kom til Verden, forklaredes af Noaiderne saaledes: „Radien kiedde fik Magt af Radien acce til at skabe Sjæle og Aander. Saasnart han nu havde frembragt en Sjæl, sendte han den til Mader-acce. Denne tog Sjælen ind i sin Mave, som derfor altid stod aaben, og for afsted med den rundt omkring Solen, gjennem alle dens lavcek eller Straaler, men fra nederste lafre fortsatte han sin Vei ad Tverstregen til sin Hustru Mader-akka. Hun optog den i sig og skabte den første Embryokrop om samme. Skulde nu af dette Embryo blive et Drengebarn, sendte Mader-akka samme videre til sin Datter Juksakka, Jagtens Gudinde eller — rettere — Mandkjønnets Gudinde. Men skulde af samme blive et Pigebarn, sendte hun det til Sarakka, for at hun skulde begave det med en Kvindes Natur." (Jessen, Pag. 14–15.)

Sarakka: sarrat, skabe. „Denne Guddom," siger Jessen Pag. 21, „havde Lapperne altid i Mund og Hjerte. Til hende stiledes deres Bønner, hende tilbade de i alle sine Forretninger og Anliggender, og hende ansaa de som al sin Trøst og Tilflugt. Kort sagt, Sarakka var først og sidst, den kjæreste og paalideligste, som de med størst Fortrolighed satte sin Lid til i alle sine Handlinger. Hun blev af Alle høit æret og tilbedet, fremfor alle andre Guder."

„hun led endog Smerte tilligemedModeren, som fødte Barnet."

Sarakka-dåben: efterat Barnet først havde været i Kirken og faaet et kristent Navn, atter ved Hjemkomsten badet og døbt om igjen af en Lappekvinde, til Ære for Sarakka. Sarakka biergo, S.s Kjød, og Sarakka varra, S.s Blod. (Jessen, p. 43–44.)

Sarakka lever endnu i Folkets Erindring under Navn af Gieddagæs-galggo, en meget gammel og klog Kone.

Juksakka (Bue-Moder, af juoksa, en Bue): Hendes Magt var endog saa stor, at hun, selv efterat Fosteret under Sarakka's Omsorg var bestemt til Kvindekjøn, kunde forandre dette igjen til Mandkjøn, naar der blev runet kraftigt nok og ofret til hende.

Uksakka (Dør-Kvinden, af uksa, Dør): havde sit Opholdssted ved Døren i Teltet eller i Gammen, Barselkvindernes Plads. Denne Gudinde passede Ind- og Udgangen og overtog Omsorgen for Moderen og Barnet efter Fødselen.

Fra Sangen om Solens Søn:

Sarakka skabte mig af min Faders Spænstige Sener; Kræfter i Brystet
Fik jeg med Modersmælken
I Arv fra Mødre og Fædre.
Uksakka blandede Mælken,
Gav mig Forstand i mit Hoved.

Source Colophon

The Norwegian source text is reproduced from the OCR of J.A. Friis, Lappisk mythologi: eventyr og folkesagn (Christiania: Alb. Cammermeyer, 1871), archive.org identifier lappiskmythologi00frii. Public domain (1871 publication, author died 1896 — over 70 years). University of Toronto scan; OCR quality rated good by Source Text Scout Life 45. The source text reproduced here presents the key passages from §§8–21; the full Norwegian text of these sections is available at the archive.org identifier cited.

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