Sami religion
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The knowledge of the Sami religion is primarily based on archeological remains and written sources from missionary works in northern Scandinavia during the Middle Ages and up to the early 18th c. The descriptions are written by missionaries horrified by "paganism", and are clearly biased.
In the landscape throughout Northern Scandinavia, one can find "sieidi"-places, places of ancient worship. Occasionally, one has also found objects. Some objects date back to 800-1300s, and the sites are usually termed "Samic metal depots", due to the large findings of metal objects. The objects are mostly coins from Germany and England, and parts from weapons (e.g. arrow-heads). Some minor findings consists of horn from reindeer.
The religion was a form of shamanism, practiced by the shaman for the most miscellaneous problems. The shaman, termed noaide in the Sami language, had great influence on the people in the village, since he or she was the link between man and gods, spirits and forefathers.
The instrument used for ceremonies was the rune drum, but even a domestic flute, the so-called "fadno", was used. The traditional Sami chant, joik, was used in ceremonies where the noaide fell in trance and left his or her body to transcend into the divine world of "saivo", where he or she could negotiate with gods, spirits and forefathers to improve the fate of the group he or she represented.
Males confessed to sacrificial male gods, whereas females confessed to female fertility gods. Sacrifice of animals and metal objects was also included in some religious ceremonies. "White" animals (white reindeer, cows, sheep, etc.) played an important role.
As with other circumpolar religions, the Sami religion contains a hunting ceremony especially for bears, known as the bear cult. We find elements of nordic mythology as well as Christian ideas in the religious practice in the later years of Sami religion.
The ancient religion of the Sami is long gone. Already in the 13th c., the first Christian missionaries arrived in the Sami area. Church authorities together with the state did fight the traditional religious views from the 17th century onward. Much of Sami culture was rejected as pagan. A puritan interpretation of Lutheranism, spread by Lars Levi Laestadius from the 1840's onward, appealed to many Sami. Occasionally, wise women, seers etc. combine bible readings with elements that could be considered surviving elements of the old religion, in order to cure, heal or pray for. "Shamans" that offer their services in newspaper ads or perform for tourist groups are not part of any unbroken Sami religious tradition. Their religious ideas are more related to New Age or Neo-Paganism.
Sami people in northern Scandinavia today belong to the main Christian churches, though many are secularized as the majority people in their countries. During the last years, there is a movement in some churches, propagating the use of Sami language and culture in expressing the Christian faith. Official Sami bodies exist today in the Lutheran Church of Sweden and Church of Norway, as well as in the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden.
