a tale from Nesseby on the Varangerfjord, from J. A. Friis, Lappiske Sprogprøver (1856)

Friis's title is Čäcce-gufitarak dajhe Čäcce-häldek, "The water-gufitar, or the water-spirits". Friis's own glossary distinguishes the gufitar who live under the earth from the gufitar of the sea, "beings who lived under the sea, on the sea floor"; this tale visits the second kind, in a world that is the mirror of ours. The tale was told in North Sámi at Unjárga (Nesseby) and printed by Jens Andreas Friis in 1856, in Sámi only.

Translation

A father went fishing with his sons, and when they had come back to the shore and cooked their meal, the father and the elder son fell asleep. But the younger son did not sleep. He went off walking toward the north. And as the boy was walking along the shore, he saw a little boat coming. So he sat down on a rock to watch who was coming.

And when the boat had come near the boy, someone called to the boy: "What are you looking at there?" The boy answered: "I'm looking at the one who's coming." But the old man wanted the boy to jump into his little boat, and he called: "My dear lad, jump into my boat, let's go hand-line fishing!" So the boy jumped into the boat, and the two of them rowed out toward the deep.

And when they had come out onto the deep, a fog came down, so that the shore could no longer be seen. Then the boy said: "We'll never find the shore again, now that such a terrible fog has come." And the old man said: "Don't be afraid, dear lad, there's no danger in it at all."

When they had rowed a little way, it began to clear, and the fog went up above, not very high, three fathoms above them, like a ceiling. And at once a town came into view in the distance. The boy asked the old man: "What town is that?" "That is our town."

And when they landed on the shore, the old man's sons came down to the shore to help haul the boat up. But the boy grew uneasy about where he had come. The old man invited him to come up to the town, but the boy was hardly willing to go up to the town; still, he went all the same.

Then the old man offered food to his companion, but the other would not eat. And the old man said: "Eat, eat, there's no danger in it; they are not like those gufitar under the ground." So he ate.

Then the old man's two sons meant to go fishing. And the old man said to the boy: "You go fishing too, with those two!" So the boy went fishing, and when they had come back from their fishing, they meant to go trading; and the boy wanted to go with those two again, but the two of them would not take him along. And the old man said to the boy: "Stay here until my two sons come back from their trading; you'll get your share, never fear, and don't be afraid, for there's no danger at all; you'll get back home, never fear, when my two sons come."

And he asked the boy: "What would you like for your share: flour, or groats, or money?" And the boy answered: "I would like money." And the two sons went off.

Then the boy went into the town to the old man, and the old man said: "If you go out walking and you see anything, you must not tell anyone but me; I will make it all clear to you."

So he went out walking, and as he walked he saw goats in a farmyard, nosing about for something to eat; and he saw too a hand-line hanging straight down among the goats, coming down from above, out of the fog that looked like a cloud up there. And the goats nosed about in the farmyard, and then one of them gripped the hook, and flashed up into the fog. The boy watched it and wondered what it could be, but he said nothing. But when again he saw one gripping the hook and going up in the same way, the boy could not understand what it could be, and he went back to the town.

Then the two sons who had gone trading came back, and the boy received as his share a thousand silver dollars.

Then the old man set off to bring the boy home, and as they went, the boy began to ask the old man what it could be, that he had seen goats in a farmyard, and a hand-line coming down from above, and one gripping the hook again and again and going up. Then the old man began to make it clear: "That hand-line is your own crew, and those goats are fish. Your crew is out fishing, and every time you saw a goat gripping the hook, they caught a fish: to them those are fish. But we are the gufitar under the water, and here are our dwellings."

When they had moved out from the shore, the fog came down again, the same as when they had come. And the old man brought the boy back to the same place he had set out from, and he forbade him: "You must not give your brother a share of this money, and you must not talk to anyone about it except your father." The old man would not let the elder brother be given a share, because he was wicked and foul-mouthed, and the gufitar are not good to a man who curses.

Colophon

Translated from the North Sámi of Lappiske Sprogprøver: en Samling af lappiske Eventyr, Ordsprog og Gaader, edited by J. A. Friis (Christiania: J. W. Cappelen, 1856), pp. 23–25, from the group told at Unjárga (Unjarga, Nesseby) on the Varangerfjord. Friis printed it in Sámi only. The text was transcribed from the page images of the New York Public Library copy, and two of Friis's own corrections for p. 25 were applied (vuölgam, oassenës). Words were checked in the Sámi–Norwegian glossary that Friis printed at the back of the same book, and in his larger Ordbog over det lappiske Sprog (1887). Aggja is "grandfather" or "old man"; the glossary adds that its pet form agjačam!, "my dear father", is also said to younger people, and so the old man's agjačam and aggjam to the boy are given as "my dear lad" and "dear lad". Čilggit means both "to clear" (of fog) and "to explain", and the English "make clear" is chosen to keep both. A salla is a fathom; šælelet is "to come into view far off"; snuottardet is "to go nosing about for something to eat"; suormek are groats; joavko is the people who belong to someone, here the boy's own crew. The money is counted in spejsig, speciedalers, here "silver dollars".

No complete English translation of Friis's collection is known to us.

© 2026 Tianmu Anglican Church. This English translation is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0: you may share and adapt it for non-commercial use with credit to the Good Works Library, tianmu.org. The source text keeps its own terms. For other uses, see Rights and Reuse.

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Source Text: Čäcce-gufitarak dajhe Čäcce-häldek

North Sámi text as printed by Friis (1856), pp. 23–25, in his orthography, with two of Friis's own corrections applied; line-end hyphens are joined. Friis's single paragraph is divided here at the same places as the English.

Äčče manai oktan barnides gujm oaggot, ja go si legje ruoftod boattam gaddai ja legje malestam, de dat äčče ja boarrasäbbo bardne nokkaiga. Mutto dat nuorab bardne i oađđam. Vulgi vaʒašet davvas guvlui. Ja go dat bardne læi väʒʒemen riddo mield, de oajdna, go ucca fâdnasaš boatta. De čokkani galle ala gæččam ditti, gi dat boatta.

Ja go dat fânas læi joavdam lâkkâ dam barne, de čurvi dam bardnai: „Maid don gæčak dast?“ Bardne fastedi: „Dam mon gæčam, gutte boatta.“ Mutto dat boares galës datoi dam barne njujkit fâdnasassas ja čuorvoi: „Agjačam, njujke mu fâdnasi, vuolgo moaj gietta-vađoin oaggot!“ De njujki bardne fâdnasi, ja de sukkaleiga favlai guvlui.

Ja go soaj læiga boattam favlelaǯǯi, de šaddai mierka, nuft atte i ojdnum æmbo gaddege. De dagja bardne, atte: „Moaj æm dagjad æmbo gaddai, go nuft hirbmadet mierka dagai.“ De dat boares galës dagja: „Äle, aggjam, bala, i dust læk mikkege heđid.“

Go soaj læiga sukkam oanekässi, de čilgišgođi, ja mierka manai baja-bællai, i allagässi galle, golma sala duökkai bagjeli, dego lokte. Ja de dallanaga šæleti gavpug. Jærra bardne agjastës: „Mi gavpugid dot læ?“ — „Dat læ min gavpug.“

Ja go soaj läddige riddoi, de botte dam agja bardnak (barnek) vuölas riddoi væketam ditti fâdnas bajas gæsset. Mutto dat bardne šaddai morraši, atte gosa son læi boattam. De hästi dat aggja bajas boattet gavpugi, mutto bardne læ illa vuölget bajas gavpug lusa; alma son dädde vulgi.

De aggja falla borramušaid dam skipparassas, mutto i nubbe bora. Ja dat aggja dagja: „Bora, bora, i læk mikkege dust hættën, æi si læk nuftgo dak ædnam-vuölaš gufitarak.“ De borai.

De ajgob guökte barne dam agjast vuölget oaggot. De dat aggja dagja dam bardnai: „Vuölge donge dam guökta mield oaggot!“ De dat bardne vulgi oaggot, ja go si legje boattam dobbe oaggomëst, de si ajgu vuölget gavpai, mutto dat bardne majda vigga vuölget dom guökta mield, mutto dok guöftes æva valdam mieldesga, ja dat aggja dagja dam bardnai: „Oro dast, dassači go mu bardne guöftes boatteb gavpest, galle don oaǯok oase, ja äle bala, dastgo i læk mikkegen hættën, galle don bæsak ruoftod, go mu bardne guöftes boatteb.“

Ja jærra dam barnest: „Maid don datok oasestad, jafoid vaj surmid, dajhe ruđaid?“ Mutto bardne fastedi: „Mon datom ruđaid.“ De læiga mannam dat bardne guöftes.

De manai dat bardne gavpugi agjas lusa, ja aggja dagja: „Go don vulgičak vaʒašet ja go ojničak maidege, de ik galga mujtalet ječčai go munji, galle mon čilgim dunji daid.“

Ja son vulgi vaʒašet, ja go læi vaʒašæmen, de oajdna gajcaid dunest snuottardæmen, ja vela oajdna go gietta-vađđo hænga bænta dai gajcai gaskast, ja bagjen boatta dam mierka sist, mi orro dego balva baja-bæld. Ja gajcak dam dunest snuottardek, ja ajn muttim doppe vuggi, ja de livkid dam mierka sisa. Bardne dam gæčča ja jurdaš, mi dat galga læt, mutto i cælkam maidege. Mutto go fastajn oajdna ovt muttim doppimen dam vuggi ja ajn manna bajas damaka lakkai, de dat bardne i arvedam, mi dat galga læt, ja macai fast gavpug lusa.

De botte majda dat bardne guöftes, guđek læiga mannam gavpai, ja dat bardne oaǯoi oassenës duhat spejsig.

De vulgi dat aggja doalvot dam barne ruoktod, ja go soaj læiga mannamen, de jæradišgođi dat agjastes, mi dat galga læt, go son ojni gajcaid dunest, ja gietta-vađđo bođi bagjen, ja oft muttim doppe dam vuggi ja manna bajas. De älgi aggja čilgišgoattet: „Dat gietta-vađđo læ din jovko (joavko), ja dak gajcak læk guölek, din jovko læ oaggomen, ja ajn goddek guöle go don ojdnik gajca doppimen vuggi, — dak læk sist guölek. Mutto mi læp čäcce-vuölaš gufitarak, dabe læk min bajkek.“

Go soaj læiga davvanam gaddest erit, de šaddai fastajn mierka sæmma lakkai go soaj bođigage. Ja dat aggja doalvoi dam barne sæmma bajkai, gost læi vuölgam, ja gildi, atte: „Ik galga addet vielljasad oase daina ruđain, ja ik galga sardnot oktige ječčai go dušše aččasad.“ Dat aggja i suovvam dam boarrasäbbo villji addet oase, dastgo dat læi bahha ja gärroj, ja gufitarak æi læk buörek dam gärros olbmui.

Source Colophon

J. A. Friis (ed.), Lappiske Sprogprøver (Christiania: J. W. Cappelen, 1856), pp. 23–25, with the corrections vuölgam and oassenës from Friis's list of misprints. Public domain. Transcribed from the page images of the New York Public Library copy, digitized by Google (Internet Archive identifier lappiskesprogpr00friigoog). Friis's letters are kept as printed, including â, ä, ö, ë, č, đ, š, and both ʒ and ǯ, which he distinguishes.

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