International Sami Day (06/02)

Every year on February 6, Sami People's Day (Saamelaisten kansallispäivä) or International Sami Day is celebrated. This holiday is dedicated to Sami culture and traditions and is celebrated in countries such as Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Russian Federation.

Sami (self-name), Sami, Lopari — people in Norway, numbering approximately 40 thousand people, in Sweden — 18 thousand people, in Finland — 4 thousand people, in the Russian Federation (on the Kola Peninsula) — 2 thousand people.

The date for celebrating Sami People's Day was chosen due to the fact that on February 6, 1917, the first Sami meeting was held in Trondheim (Norway), at which issues of unification of the Sami of the northern countries (Sweden, Norway, Grand Duchy of Finland) and their cooperation across borders were considered. In subsequent years, interaction between the Sami of different countries strengthened. In 1956, the Sami Union was created, which represented the interests of the Sami of the northern countries. The Sami Conference was held annually with the participation of members of the Union.

In 1986, the official symbols of the people were approved on it: the national Sami flag and anthem. In 1992, at the XVth Sami Conference held in Helsinki, it was decided to declare the date of the first Sami Congress in 1917 a national Sami day.

The Sami retain faith in the spirits of the — masters of lakes and rivers. There is veneration of sacred stones (cliffs, large boulders) associated with patronage of crafts and veneration of ancestors. Until the early 20th century, every family kept — gods wrapped in pebbles.

The Sami also worshipped seids. This is a very interesting concept. A seid can be a stump, a stone structure (including one created by man), and even just moss growing on a rock. The most famous Sami seid — is nothing more than moss. Some of the seids have their own names.

If we go deeper into the term itself, then seid — is a spirit living in a certain place. That is, it is not the snag itself, a stone, or a rock overgrown with moss, but directly the spirit living in this very snag, stone or rock. Sacrifices were made to them.

The Sami had cult ministers (noida, noida, kebun) who served as shaman, priest and sorcerer. For kamlaniya, they used a tambourine (kannus, kobdas) or a special belt (vice).

Sami mythology is close to Finnish. The oldest layers of Sami mythology include a cycle of myths about celestial matchmaking: the sun Peiva (a male character) woos the daughter of the moon to his son Peivelke, but is refused. Then the struggle of the elements begins: on the side of the sun come the earth and mountains, pets, deer, birds, on the side of the moon — water, shadow, the afterlife, flashes (northern lights), wild animals. The cosmic struggle is stopped by a midnight old man in the guise of a walrus (possibly the incarnation of a supreme deity), who brings night down to earth. Luna finally gets married. A cycle of myths about Myandash, the totemic first ancestor, is associated with reindeer husbandry.

The composition of the pantheon varied among different Sami groups, especially eastern and western ones. The image of the god Jubmel (Iimmel, Ibmel) is replaced in some myths by the idea of the god-father Radjen-atch and the god-son Radj-en kjedda. In one of the myths, the father entrusts the creation of the world to his son, and he entrusts it to the earth goddess Madder Akke (Maderatje), who sometimes acts as the wife of the heavenly god Maderatch. These gods participate in the cosmic cycle of human birth.

Sami folklore includes fairy tales (Mains) for children: about Tal — a stupid man-eating, about ravki — ghouls, about chakli — dwarfs. Legendary tales about natural phenomena and objects, myths (lovtas), for example, about the human deer Myandash, are widespread. Historical traditions of sakki tell about wars, remarkable mountains, and water bodies.

The celebration of Sami Day is different in each country. But, as a rule, official festive events on this day include raising the Sami flag over the city hall or town hall, singing the Sami anthem «Sámi soga lávllaat», conducting lessons and exhibitions on the topic of Sami culture and history for children and schoolchildren. Even on this day, festive feasts are traditionally held.



Postcard «6 February — Sami People's Day» Story «Non-Formative novel»

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