a tale from Ibestad in Troms, from J. A. Friis, Lappiske Sprogprøver (1856)

Stallo is the monster of Sámi tales, a giant with something of the ghost about him. Told in North Sámi at Ibestad in Troms and printed by Jens Andreas Friis in 1856, in Sámi only, this short tale tells how a Sámi who dared not refuse Stallo his daughter left him a bride of his own making, and how Stallo fared with her.

Translation

It happened once that Stallo was courting a Sámi girl. The Sámi did not dare do anything but promise. Then Stallo set a fixed time when he would come to get the girl. And what did he do? He came at the appointed time.

Now the Sámi had dressed a log in his daughter's clothes: a new tunic, a new cap, a new silver belt, and new shoes, and new shoe-bands. When he had dressed the log in the clothes, he stood it upright in the corner. When Stallo came and saw that the bride was in the corner of the hut, he was in good spirits, as he saw the bride dressed and all. Then the Sámi gave reindeer to that daughter of his.

Then he himself moved away: he took his children and his other goods with him, harnessed his reindeer train, and set off, and hurried as hard as ever he could and was able. Then Stallo began to slaughter those reindeer. When he had slaughtered them, he bade "his Njanja" start the cooking. Njanja did not stir. "Njanja is shy; I'll just do the cooking myself!" said Stallo.

When the food had boiled, he bade his Njanja crack the marrow-bones. "Njanja is shy; I'll just crack them myself!" When the meat was boiled, he let the pot down and bade his Njanja fish the meat out. "Njanja is shy; I'll just fish it out myself!" When he had fished it out, he bade his Njanja eat. "Njanja is shy; I'll just eat myself!"

When he had eaten, he bade his Njanja make the bed. "Njanja is shy; I'll just make the bed myself! Njanja, now come and sleep!" She is shy, that one. "I'll just fetch her myself!" And what did he do but grab hold! When he grabbed, he saw that it was a log.

Then he grew angry, and he ran off in nothing but his shirt, and ran from one mountain to the next, and never caught up. There was drifting snow and snowfall and foul weather. He saw the moon shining, and thought it was the Sámi's fire. He ran and kept on after it still, thinking he would catch up. He did not catch up. Then he grew tired, and he climbed up to the top of a spruce, and there he froze.

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. 101–102, from the group told at Ibestad (Ivarstad) in Troms. Friis printed it in Sámi only. The text was transcribed from the page images of the New York Public Library copy. Friis's list of misprints has no corrections for these pages; đoppi, printed once for doppi "grabbed", is kept as printed. 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). In the glossary Njanja is the name of Stallo's wife or sweetheart, so Stallo calls his bride by it; Njanjas is read as "his Njanja". Skamaskuddat is to be bashful or ashamed, and eš is ješ, "self", as Friis glosses it in the text; the forms in -lestam with which Stallo answers each of his own orders are read as "I'll just … myself", after the glossary's čieskalestet and lačelestet, "the same, a little, in haste". Meist dagai? is glossed "what did he do, what happened?", and ahi as i, "he does not", so Meist dagai, ahi doppim! is taken as the teller's exclamation, "And what did he do but grab hold!"; dobbestestet is to fetch. A stokke is a log or pole (the 1887 dictionary: a dry standing birch); lauko is the corner of a room, which Friis glosses in the text with čikki, "into the corner"; goatte is a tent or turf hut; gajtën is "all", so the bride is "dressed and all". A gapper is a cap; the ending of gapperan is explained by neither dictionary. Bađe is a form of batte, a pot; ađđa is marrow and marrow-bone, and čieskat is to split marrow-bones; roggat is to dig or grope with the hand for something, so the meat is fished out of the pot; lačet is to make a bed. Bivdalet is to hurry, and a rajdo is a train of reindeer with sledges tied one behind another. Bajde is a shirt, and the glossary itself gives okta bajde nalde, "in his bare shirt". Guoldo is drifting snow; doarredet is to follow steadily, and maj "then, yet"; goarbmot is to climb or crawl up, and gæčče a tip or end, so Stallo climbs to the top of a spruce; galbmot is to freeze. The printed le in "the Sámi's fire" is read as læ, "is". The Sámi does not mark he or she; the Sámi who promises his daughter is read as her father, and the English calls him "he". Bođi litto-ajgai is "he came at the appointed time", ajgai being the illative of ajge, time (the glossary's ajgai boattet).

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: Stallo moarse

North Sámi text as printed by Friis (1856), pp. 101–102, in his orthography; his list of misprints has no corrections for these pages. Line-end hyphens are joined. Friis's single paragraph is divided here at the same places as the English.

De lëi muttom gærde, atte Stallo irgastalai muttom Same-nejdi. I Sabmelaš duöstam ječa go lobedët. De bijai Stallo vissa mære, goasse galgai boattët niejda oaǯǯot. Meist dagai, bođi litto-ajgai.

De lëi Sabmelaš garvotam nejtas biktasid stokke nala, ođđa gakte, ođđa gapperan, ođđa silba-avve ja ođđa gabmagid ja ođđa vuoddagid. Go de lëi garvoham biktasid dan stokke nala, de ceggi laukoi (čikki). Go bođi Stallo ja ojni, at' moarse lëi goatte-laukon, de lëi milli buörre, go ojni moarse garvohuvvum ja gajtën. De addi Sabmelaš boccuid dan niejdases.

De ješ jottai, valti manaides ja ječa galvo miltes, čanai rajto ja de jottai ja bivdali nu ænemus go nagai ja sati. De Stallo algi njuovadišgoattet daid boccuid. Go de lëi njuovadam, de gočoi „Njanjas“ malestešgoattet. I Njanja likkasam. „Njanja skamaskudda, malestestam eš (ješ)!“ maid Stallo dajai.

Go malës lëi duoldam, de goččo Njanjas ađđamid čieskačet. „Njanja skamaskudda, čieskalestam eš!“ Go biergok legje duoldam, de lujti bâđe vulus ja gočoi Njanjas bajas roggačet. „Njanja skamaskudda, roggalestam eš!“ Go lëi roggam bajas, de gočoi Njanjas boračet. „Njanja skamaskudda, borralestam eš!“

Go lëi borram, de gočoi Njanjas lačačet. „Njanja skamaskudda, lačelestam eš! Njanja, de boađe nokkačet!“ Skamaskudda dat. „Dobbestestam eš!“ Meist dagai, ahi doppim! Go đoppi, de ojni, at' stokke lëi.

De suttai, de viekkali, akta bajde nalde, de viegai ovta nub' vare, i juksam i goasseg. Guoldo ja muotte ja nævre dalke dagai. Ojni mano bajtemen, de doajvoi, atte le Sabmelaǯa dolla. Viegai ja doarredi maj, doajvoi juksat. I juksam. De vajbai, de goarbmoi guössa-gæččai, ja de dasa galbmoi.

Source Colophon

J. A. Friis (ed.), Lappiske Sprogprøver (Christiania: J. W. Cappelen, 1856), pp. 101–102; Friis's list of misprints has no corrections for these pages. Public domain. Transcribed from the page images of the New York Public Library copy, digitized by Google (Internet Archive identifier lappiskesprogpr00friigoog); a former owner's handwritten marks in that copy are not part of the text. Friis's letters are kept as printed, including â, ö, ë, æ, č, đ, š, and ǯ, which he distinguishes from ʒ.

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