'The sieidi is a better altar/the noaidi drum's a purer church bell': long-term changes and...

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‘The sieidi is a better altar/the noaidi drum'sa purer church bell’: long-term changes andsyncretism at Sámi offering sitesTiina Äikäs & Anna-Kaisa SalmiVersion of record first published: 04 Feb 2013.

To cite this article: Tiina Äikäs & Anna-Kaisa Salmi (2013): ‘The sieidi is a better altar/the noaidi drum'sa purer church bell’: long-term changes and syncretism at Sámi offering sites, World Archaeology,DOI:10.1080/00438243.2012.759510

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‘The sieidi is a better altar/the noaididrum’s a purer church bell’: long-termchanges and syncretism at Sami offeringsites

Tiina Aikas and Anna-Kaisa Salmi

Abstract

The changes in the Sami ethnic religion practised by the indigenous people in northern Fennoscandia

have often been described in terms of Christianization brought by Lutheran missions. The changeswere, however, more long term and multifaceted. Archaeological excavations conducted at Samioffering places have shown that the ethnic religion was never static, but the offering practices

changed with time and in connection with changes in livelihood and society. In addition, syncretisticinfluences did not just derive from Christianity, but there were various agents and interplay amongChristianity, the ethnic religion and contemporary neo-paganism.

Keywords

Sieidi; Sami ethnic religion; Christianity; Finnish Lapland; syncretism; long-term change.

What shall I do

I am a simple man

love peace and happiness

But if I say

it is more pleasant to drink

the wine than to offer it to a stone

that the sieidi is a better altar

the noaidi drum’s a purer church bell

what happens then

(Nils-Aslak Valkeapaa, Trekways of the Wind, 1994)

World Archaeology, 2013

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2012.759510

ª 2013 Taylor & Francis

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Introduction

In June 2008 our research group started excavations at a Sami offering place in Kittila

Taatsi. We expected to find ancient bone material as traces of old offering practices, but,

somewhat to our surprise, we also came across an abundant amount of modern objects

that had been left by the offering stone. This led us to consider the influence of Sami ethnic

religion on the meanings that people today give to these places and the longevity of the old

traditions.

The Sami are indigenous people who live in the northern parts of Norway, Sweden and

Finland, and in the Kola Peninsula. This wide area contains not just one, but many

different Sami cultures, separated, for example, by ten different Sami languages (Saarikivi

2011: 78). In historical times too, the cultures, religious beliefs and concepts have varied. In

this paper, we concentrate on Finnish Lapland, where we conducted our field research. We

do not aim to give a general presentation of Sami ethnic religion, but instead concentrate on

the picture of ritual practices as it presents itself in the archaeological record.

The Sami ethnic religion has been one of the most thoroughly studied aspects of Sami

culture (e.g. Aikas 2011; Fossum 2006; Mulk 2003 [1994]; Schanche 2000; Zachrisson

2009). The sacred places of the Sami, ritual practices with allegations of child sacrifice and

stories about Sami sorcery attracted the interest of foreign travellers, as well as local

churchmen and ethnographers (e.g. Castren 1853; Fellman 1906; Itkonen 1946; Tornæus

1900 [1672]). Most of the descriptions of Sami ethnic religion come from the period

between the seventeenth century and the early twentieth century. The viewpoint was often

that of an outsider who saw the Sami as ‘the other’ and their religion as pagan traditions

that antedated the arrival of Christianity in the north. Even the term ‘religion’ is an etic

concept that does not fully cover the notions of a world-view that included all aspects of

living and livelihood (Aikas et al. 2009).

The other problem with the written records of Sami ethnic religion is that they are

relatively late in comparison with the use of Sami offering sites. The archaeological

material from Finland indicates that the use of these sites had already begun in the

eleventh century AD, and some dated material from Sweden as even older, indicating the

use of these sites as early as the eighth century, but more prominently from the tenth

century onwards (Fossum 2006: 108; Hedman 2003: 161–89; Mulk 1996: 73). Hence the

written records from the seventeenth to the twentieth century give a relatively stable

picture of a tradition that was hundreds of years older.

In this paper, we examine religious change among the Sami from a long-term

perspective based on the combination of archaeological evidence and written sources. We

look at religious change especially but not exclusively through the concept of syncretism.

Syncretism is the amalgamation of different religious traditions into a new one (Clack

2011). In modern anthropology, the ‘purity’ of cultures and traditions is contested in

general. As a result, syncretism is today seen in a neutral or positive light, despite its

pejorative connotations in the past (Shaw and Stewart 2005; Stewart 1999, 2007). Mixing,

hybridism and syncretism are even seen as basic phenomena in all cultures (Palmie 2006;

Shaw and Stewart 2005; Stewart 2007).

Today, it is increasingly acknowledged that rituals are not merely reflections and

enactments of religious ideas, but that there is a dialectic between ritual and religion

Long-term changes and syncretism at Sami offering sites 21

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(Fogelin 2007). Rituals are active components of religion and they can construct and

modify religious ideas (e.g. Bell 1992; Boivin 2009; Fogelin 2007). Nicole Boivin (2009) has

argued that the bodily performance of ritual acts can even modify human thought and

thus the meaning of the ritual. Thus, changes in ritual practices are religious changes,

because, whether or not the religious ideas change in any distinct manner, it is clear that

human behaviour and experience change. Moreover, because religion and ritual are

interwoven with subsistence activities and social order in many indigenous world-views

(Aikas et al. 2009; Shaw and Stewart 2005), changes in society and subsistence patterns

can also change religious ideas and ritual practices, and vice versa.

In this paper, we look at how the Sami religion and the use of Sami sacrificial sites have

changed from the eleventh to the twenty-first century in contact with other religions,

world-views and changing subsistence patterns. We also highlight the strategies the Sami

used to accommodate the new religious elements into their ethnic religion, and how they

negotiated their relationships with Christianity.

Ethnic but not static religion

Sami ethnic religion was based on the idea of reciprocity and communication between

humans and spirits. Spirits inhabited the world around humans, and humans had to

negotiate with them when choosing a dwelling place or going hunting. The communication

could take place, for example, in dwelling areas, but one of the most important arenas of

communication were so-called sieidi (in North Sami) places. Sieidis were sometimes

wooden objects, but most often stones, near which offerings were made (Fig. 1). The

offerings were usually connected to means of livelihood and consisted of animals that were

important for subsistence, such as reindeer, fish and birds. In addition, offerings could also

be made, for example, during pregnancy and life crises. There was also variation in the

offerings; in addition to animals, they could include alcohol, porridge, tobacco, small

personal objects and other daily utensils (e.g. Itkonen 1948; Rydving 1993: 104–6.).

Archaeological fieldwork conducted at ten Sami sacred sites between 2006 and 2010 has

shown that there was spatial as well as temporal variation in the offering practices (Fig. 2).

The fieldwork consisted of two pilot field trips during which excavations were conducted

at two sieidi islands in Inari. After these excavations, the ‘Human-Animal Relationships

among Finland’s Sami 1000–1800 A.D.’ project, funded by the Academy of Finland, was

launched in 2008. During the project, excavations were carried out at seven sieidi stones

and in the surroundings of one sacred saiva lake. The number of excavated sieidi sites is

small in relation to the more than one hundred sacred sites currently known in Finnish

Lapland (Aikas 2011). In addition, they are located in different areas of Lapland and most

likely represent different cultural traditions. Nevertheless, they can be used to provide a

picture of some changes in Sami ethnic religion, if not of the whole process in all its

variety.

Before the excavations, the Sami Parliament was consulted about the acceptability of

the fieldwork. Due to the sacred nature of these places, we wanted to avoid large-scale

excavations. Hence only small excavation areas of 1–3 square metres were opened around

the sieidi in order to identify the locations of offering practices. In addition, smaller test

22 Tiina Aikas and Anna-Kaisa Salmi

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Figure 1 Riikka Mykkanen and Anni Guttorm excavating at a sieidi stone in Dierpmesvarri.

Figure 2 Map showing the distribution of excavated Sami sacred places in Finland.


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pits with a diameter of 30 centimetres were opened at distances varying between 3 and 10

metres from the sieidi to clarify the limits of the area of use. Since the decomposition

process is relatively slow in Lapland, the cultural layers were only approximately 10 to 15

centimetres deep. Most of the finds were found between the ground and the leaching layer

(horizon A2) or in the leaching layer. It was not possible to distinguish stratigraphical

layers.

According to our findings, in Finland the offerings consisted mainly of animals. The

most common group of archaeological finds from our excavations consisted of animal

bones (Table 1). The animal bone assemblages are described in detail by Salmi et al.

(2011). Ancient animal bones were found at all excavations except for Porviniemi,

Kirkkopahta, Dierpmesvarri and Akassaivo. Bones of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), sheep

or goat (Ovis aries/Capra hircus), brown bear (Ursus arctos), wood grouse (Tetrao

urogallus), merganser (Mergus sp.), pike (Esox lucius), trout (Salmo trutta) and perch

(Perca fluviatilis) have been identified among the animal bone material. Most bone finds

from Finnish sites dated to cal. AD 1040–1670 (Fig. 3). In addition, there were some

modern bone finds.

In Sweden and Norway, there is archaeological evidence of other new ritual practices

emerging at the beginning of the millennium. These include, for instance, metal deposits

and an increase in scree-grave burials, as well as bear burials (Fossum 2006; Hansen and

Olsen 2007: 83, 117, 122, 130; Hedman 2003: 25; Schanche 2000). At sieidi sites in Sweden

and Norway, metal offerings such as coins, arrowheads, pendants and other artifacts were

commonly deposited (Mulk 2009; Serning 1956). In Finland, there are only rare examples

of metal offerings from the Inari area from this period (Okkonen 2007). The reason for

this difference in tradition is yet to be investigated. All our finds dating to this period were

animal bones. The earliest bone finds were wild mammals, birds and fish. The oldest finds

Taxon Nakkala Sieiddakeadgi Taatsi

Koskikaltiojoen

suu

Ukonsaari

(1968

excavations) Dierpmesvarri

Reindeer (Rangifer

tarandus)

21 (4) 62 (2) 9 (2) 146 (11) 31 (4) 3 (1)

Sheep or goat (Ovis aries/

Capra hircus)

14 (2)

Artiodactyl (Artiodactyla) 1 2

Brown bear (Ursus arctos) 4 (1)

Mammal (Mammalia) 18 54 1 235 46 1

Wood grouse (Tetrao

urogallus)

2 (1) 24 (5) 6 (2)

Merganser (Mergus sp.) 1

Gallinaceous bird

(Galliformes)

1 1 1

Bird (Aves) 1 20 1

Pike (Esox lucius) 2 (1)

Trout (Salmo trutta) 12 (1)

Perch (Perca fluviatilis) 225 (1)

Fish (Pisces) 6 4

Undetermined 2

Total NISP 50 116 258 430 99 4


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were a pike bone from Taatsi (cal. AD 1040–1220), a swan bone from Ukko (cal. AD 1040–

1230) and the remains of a bear skull from Nakkala (cal. AD 1165–1255) (Aikas 2011:

appendix III; Harlin and Ojanlatva 2008: 21) (Fig. 3).

The novel ritual practices have been explained by new trade relationships. It seems that

intensifying trade relationships with Southern Scandinavia and present-day Russia

increased the importance of hunting (Hansen and Olsen 2007: 75, 138; Halinen et al. in

press). Audhild Schanche (2000: 324–5; cf. Hansen and Olsen 2007: 126) has stated that

the growing importance of trade also had an effect on the offering practices by increasing

the importance of hunting rituals to ensure hunting success. The religious change has been

also connected to other changes in society. It has been suggested that surplus from trade

led to social differentiation and initiated changes in settlement organization. At the same

time, new forms of a distinct material culture with both eastern and local styles led to the

unification of ethnic identity (Halinen et al. in press). The beginning of animal offerings

at the sieidi sites we excavated suggests that the same process of religious change took

place in Finnish Lapland. On the other hand, the lack of metal offerings at Finnish sites

suggests that there were regional differences in offering practices in the area populated by

the Sami.

The connection between livelihood and offering practices can also be seen in the way the

changing relationship with reindeer altered religious practice. Reindeer offerings begin at

Finnish sieidi sites in the twelfth century. The oldest reindeer bone finds were from

Sieiddakaedgi in Utsjoki. Reindeer offerings continue to the end of the seventeenth

century (and even to the present day). They peak in the period between AD 1420 and 1660.

At present, it cannot be determined whether the archaeological reindeer bone finds from

Figure 3Datings of different animal species found at sieidi sites in Finnish Lapland. (Drawing: A.-K.Salmi. Sources: Okkonen 2007; Harlin & Ojanlatva 2008; Aikas 2011.)


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sieidi sites originate from semi-domesticated reindeer or wild reindeer. They are

morphologically similar, and the DNA analyses are still ongoing.

The economic and religious importance of reindeer may have increased especially in the

period between 1420 and 1660 because of the beginning of reindeer pastoralism. The exact

timing, mechanism and underlying reasons for the beginning of reindeer husbandry in

Scandinavia are still debated among scholars (see summary in Storli 1996). Most

researchers agree that there is archaeological and genetic evidence of some reindeer

pastoralism in medieval times, especially from AD 1400–1500 onwards, whereas full-scale

reindeer pastoralism did not begin until the seventeenth century, and even then it was

complemented by hunting, fishing and gathering (e.g. Aronsson 1991; Bjørnstad et al.

2012; Hedman 2003; Mulk 2009; Sommerseth 2006; Wallerstrom 2000). Most also agree

that the transition to pastoralism was slow and gradual – from draft animals and decoys to

small-scale pastoralism accompanied by hunting, fishing and gathering, all the way to

large-scale reindeer pastoralism in the nineteenth century (e.g. Aronsson 2006; Lundmark

2007; Mulk 2009 and references therein). There were also regional differences. In Finnish

Lapland, reindeer herds in the sixteenth and seventeenth century were much smaller than

those in the mountain areas of Sweden and Norway. It is thus likely that hunting and

fishing continued to be the main sources of livelihood in the Finnish area (Hultblad 1968:

61, 437; Tegengren 1952).

Many researchers have stressed the interplay between the beginning of reindeer

pastoralism and human-animal relationships, trade relationships, social structure,

settlement patterns and landscape use among the Sami (e.g. Hansen and Olsen 2007;

Ingold 1980; Lundmark 2007; Sommerseth 2006; Wallerstrom 2000). Developing trade

relationships created pressure to produce more reindeer products to sustain the growing

population and enable it to acquire commodities (Lundmark 2007; Wallerstrom 2000).

The relationship between people and reindeer gradually changed when people switched

from hunting to owning animals (Ingold 1980). Our data suggest that religious practices

changed as well – reindeer offerings at sieidi sites peak roughly at the same time as reindeer

pastoralism probably began and grew in importance among the Sami, even in Finnish

Lapland, albeit on a smaller scale. It has to be noted, though, that in Finnish Lapland

reindeer pastoralism was small in scale during this period. Although many researchers

stress the profound effects of reindeer pastoralism on Sami society, it must be remembered

that the change in subsistence and religion was slow and gradual. Our data – although it

has to be noted that the sample size is small – do not support the idea of an abrupt change

in religious ideas concerning the reindeer with the onset of pastoralism, but rather a

gradual growth of the religious importance of this animal.

Landscape analyses give further evidence of distinct offering practices among the

reindeer herders. When ethnographical written descriptions of offerings at certain sites are

compared with the locations of these sites in the landscape, it becomes clear that the sites

used by reindeer herders differ from other sieidi sites in terms of location. Places at which

many different species have been offered are usually situated in different topographical

areas, for example, close to water or in the forest, whereas offering places at which,

according to written sources, only offerings of domesticated reindeer have taken place, are

located in fell areas, which were important for reindeer herding. The fact that there is no

tradition of offerings other than domesticated reindeer at these sites might indicate that


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they have been chosen especially for this kind of use (Aikas 2011: 105–6). The idea of

reindeer herders using offering sites in fell areas is also supported by written records

(Itkonen 1948: 316; Paulaharju 1965 [1927]: 261).

There were no animal bone finds dating to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries

(Fig. 3). It is possible that people no longer offered animals or that the animal offerings

were such as do not leave traces in the archaeological record. It is known, for instance, that

sometimes fat and blood were smeared on the sieidi stones (Itkonen 1948: 311–12;

Schefferus 1673). No chemical traces of such practices have been found from the sieidi

stones to date (Aikas et al. submitted). It may be that the offering tradition changed

because of the influence of and pressure from the Church, as Christianity had a growing

impact on the Sami from the seventeenth century onwards.

Visiting sieidis, visiting churches

The first Christian influences on the Sami area were connected with trade contacts. It is

suggested that the Sami received Christian influences already at a very early stage via the

contacts created for fur trade already established at the beginning of the millennium (Kylli

2005: 12). The earliest recorded trade contacts came from the east in c. AD 1000–1200,

especially with tradesmen from the town of Novgorod in present-day Russia (Makarov

1992; Mulk 2009; Wallerstrom 2000). Also the earliest Christian influences in medieval

times came from the Orthodox Church in Russia (Hansen and Olsen 2007: 151, 220). The

Sami also had contacts with the Christian agrarian settlement in Northern Norway (Mulk

1996), and the influence of the Catholic Church increased in the north when the Umea,

Lulea, Pitea and Tornio parishes were organized between the fourteenth and sixteenth

centuries (Wallerstrom 1995, 2000). Already at this early stage of contact, there were

syncretistic features: the Sami female goddess Sarahkka was identified with Virgin Mary,

hence increasing the popularity of Mary among the Sami (Kylli 2012: 30). Also the

crucifixes and other Christian objects that have been left at Sami offering places up to the

fourteenth century have been interpreted as Christian influences (Kylli 2012: 35).

However, they could have been intended purely as pendants without religious

connotations.

As the next step in Christianization, the Lutheran mission gained ground as the control

of the Crown increased in the north. The Lutheran mission arrived in the Utsjoki and Inari

areas at the latest during the seventeenth century, and the seventeenth and eighteenth

centuries were the most active times for conversion. Even though the Lutheran mission

was tied to the power struggles of the Crown, the new religion also had personal relevance

to the Sami, and in the seventeenth century there were some Sami priests, as well as

legends of the Sami building their own churches and destroying sieidis (Hansen and Olsen

2007: 151, 220; Kylli 2005: 12, 14–17, 18; Lundmark 1998: 51–3).

The fabric of Christianity was not constructed on an empty landscape. Especially in the

northern parts of Finnish Lapland, Christian churches were often built either directly at

Sami offering places or in a location from which an old sacred place could be seen. For

example, a church in Inari was built on the shores of Lake Pielpajarvi at the latest during

1754–60, but a previous church, built between 1646 and 1648, may have existed at the


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same place (Lehtola 1997: 131). According to an old manuscript, this place was previously

an old offering site (Ahnger n.d.). In Markkina, Enontekio, there is an offering pine called

Uhriaihki still to be seen in a place where a church was built no later than the end of the

seventeenth century (for the dating of the church, see Halinen 2007). In addition, it has

been noted that offerings also took place inside the dwelling place in Markkina (Halinen

2009: 112). In Utsjoki, the church of Aimajoki, built in the seventeenth century, and the

church of Mantojarvi, built in 1700, were located so that one could see the sacred fells of

Ailagas and Annivaara from the church (Fig. 4; Andelin 1859: 281; see also Aikas and

Salmi in press). There are similar examples from around the world of attempts to

Christianize old pagan places by building a church or a chapel in the same location (Park

1994: 278; Turner 2004: 126; Urt�ans 2008: 15).

But the new religion did not replace the old ways. Instead, people turned both to old

gods and to the new one. In addition, the old offering practices were moved into a new

context. From the eighteenth century and even up to the twentieth century, the Sami in the

Inari and Utsjoki areas gave presents to churches in connection with sickness, travelling,

hunting trips or reindeer slaughter (Aima 1903: 116; Turi 1979 [1910]: 136). Even during

Communion, some Sami were praying to their old gods (Andelin 1859: 254–5). In many

cases, people thought that the new god might be good in other ways, but when one needed

help in matters related to livelihood, it was best to turn to the old gods (Kylli 2005: 118,

120). There is no direct archaeological evidence of offerings in churches, but the coins

found during the excavations of a church place in Markkina, Enontekio, might be

connected to church offerings. Three coins from 1686/1687, 1724 and 1779 were found

under the footings of the church. They were likely deposited there when the church was

built (Halinen 2007: 174). On the other hand, the habit of placing deposits under buildings

has been widely practised in non-Sami contexts too (e.g. Herva and Ylimaunu 2009;

Hukantaival 2007).

Figure 4 The church place of Mantojarvi in Utsjoki with a view to the sacred fell Ailagas.


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The offerings to churches could be seen as a representation of double consciousness: the

ethnic religion lived side by side with Christianity. This could also be seen in old blessings

and prayers, in which old gods are addressed together with new saints (Paulaharju 1963

[1923]: 261). Another example comes from Markkina, where people both visited the

church and left offerings to Uhriaihki. Local tradition tells that coins were taken to the

pine even during the Second World War (Mannela 2007: 106).

The influences of ethnic tradition on Christianity could be seen in the teachings of Lars

Levi Læstadius, the founder of the Læstadian Lutheran movement. He had a Sami

background and he combined elements from Sami mythologies with Christian teaching

(Outakoski 1991; Pentikainen 2002: 24–5). For instance, the gnomes (human-like creatures

that lived underground) featured in Sami mythology are often helpful to people, but in the

teachings of Læstadius gnomes were presented as evil (Outakoski 1991). Later,

Læstadianism was strictly against old traditions, such as the use of sieidi and traditional

singing, yoik, but some Læstadians have combined elements from Sami mythologies as

Læstadius himself did. In recent times, the church has returned to the old sacred sites. In

Sweden, a service was organized next to a sieidi that was returned to its original place as a

sign of respect to the old sacred places (Bientie 2001). Hence syncretism can be seen at

offering sites both in the form of the decrease of certain kinds of use, as represented by the

lack of bone finds starting from the eighteenth century, and the beginning of new kinds of

use by the Christian church.

Continuation of use, but what about the continuation of traditions?

Even though Christianity and especially the Læstadian movement eventually led to a

situation in which people saw the ethnic religion as a shameful pagan tradition that

was not proper to discuss, the old sieidi places were never abandoned altogether.

During our fieldwork, we found traces of recent visits to the sites. These modern,

post-1950s finds varied from coins to spruce cones and from alcohol bottles to rings.

But who had left these items and for what purpose? The explanations can be

manifold.

The commonest modern finds were coins, which were found from all excavated sieidi

sites. The amount of coins varied from five at Koskikaltiojoen suu to 329 at Nakkala.

Even though the drift of euros from different countries throughout the common euro zone

made it hard to separate coins actually deposited by foreigners from those deposited by

Finns, some modern non-euro coins from Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Switzerland and

Germany indicated that sieidis had also been visited from abroad. The most obvious

explanation would be to connect the coins to a touristic performance in which coins are

dropped in fountains and other touristic attractions in order to wish for good fortune or a

return to that particular place. But there are also examples of coin offerings from Sami

ethnic religion. In Norrland, Sweden, there are coin finds from offering places dating from

the end of the tenth century to the thirteenth century (Hedman 2003: 164–5; Wallerstrom

2000: 18; Zachrisson 1984: 122). In addition, written sources indicate that the habit stayed

alive at least up to the twentieth century (Itkonen 1910; Paulaharju 1932: 17). The fact that

coins were left mostly by sieidis connected to a strong tradition of offerings and sometimes


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over 10 kilometres away from the closest road or tourist route seems to indicate a

continuation in local tradition rather than just tourism.

Another group of finds that can be related to either old traditions or tourism is of

alcohol offerings. Bottles were found during excavations at Taatsi and on a survey at

Sieddesaiva. In a Web forum used by tourists, a fisherman wrote that, as a part of his

fishing trip, he was going to smear a sieidi with cognac (Discussion forum). Also in old

traditions, alcohol offerings are sometimes connected to fishing (Holmberg 1915: 88–89;

Sammallahti 1975: 114–15). Bottle glass from the nineteenth century found at

Sieiddakeadgi could be seen as a link between the old and new alcohol offerings. There

are also other examples of fishing-related items, including flies and spinners, found at

Porviniemi and Sieiddesaiva. Fishermen can be either locals or tourists. According to

Vuokko Hirvonen (2007: 85), tourist fishermen have left coins and trolls at Seitigadgi in

Utsjoki. Fishing is and has been an important means of livelihood in Lapland and hence

the finds connected to fishing emphasize the old tradition of offerings connected to

livelihood.

There are also other examples of connections to livelihood among the modern offerings;

in Kirkkopahta, elk skulls had been left on top of the sieidi stone (Fig. 5), and by the lake

Akassaivo a slice of cold smoked reindeer meat was found on a rock formation close by

the lake. Since animal offerings have been the most common form of offerings given to

sieidis, it is not surprising that there are still signs of the continuation of this tradition.

Also, small personal objects can indicate the continuation of old traditions. All the

previously mentioned coin finds from Sweden were perforated, which indicates their use as

pendants instead of currency. In Finland, two undated items, a bone ring from Taatsi and

an antler button from Nakkala, have been found. In addition, there are several modern

finds in this category, including rings, an earring, an eyeglass lens and a yoyo. These kinds

of personal objects could indicate a closer relationship with a sieidi than coins. But were

the objects given by locals? Was the purpose to honour the traditions of ancestors or were

the objects left behind with the idea of leaving an offering? As stated earlier, it can

Figure 5 Elk skulls on top of the sieidi stone at Kirkkopahta.


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sometimes be difficult to separate touristic behaviour from the continuation of local

traditions – they might go hand in hand. There is a continuation of traditions that have

also been borrowed by tourists.

On the other hand, the meanings and agents behind rituals might also have changed.

Some objects have no equivalents in the offering traditions of the ethnic religion. These

include spruce cones, quartzite, candles and quills. The closest counterparts come from

the offerings made by neo-pagans in Britain (Blain and Wallis 2007: 10, 56; Wallis 2003:

171). Most of the neo-pagan activities in Finland are concentrated in the south, but

sieidis are also visited occasionally. The visited sites are usually the best-known ones

(informant, pers. comm. 2009) and hence the ones where the above-mentioned finds were

made.

Discussions with local informants revealed that sieidis are still important for Sami

people as a part of their cultural connection to the traditions of bygone generations. In

addition, offerings were also given out of respect towards the sacredness of these places. At

the same time, new groups of people have given ritual meanings to these places. In a study

conducted in Norway, Trude Fonneland (2010) showed that neo-shamanism is also

practised among the Sami and that the practitioners with a non-Sami background felt

connected to Sami traditions.

Appropriation, syncretism or dual religious participation?

The research on the contacts between Sami ethnic religion and Christianity has mainly

concentrated on the Lutheran mission that was strongest in the seventeenth and

eighteenth centuries (Kylli 2012; Rydving 1993, 2006; cf. Pulkkinen 2011: 208). This

gives the impression that before that time Sami ethnic religion was more or less static

with no connections to other religions. Moreover, syncretism is usually understood as

the amalgamation of world religions, such as Christianity or Islam, with small ethnic

religions (Clack 2011). However, the archaeological and written evidence of religious

practice at Sami offering sites, sieidi, shows that long-term changes have taken place

from the eleventh century to today in contact with different religious traditions. In the

case of the Sami religion, it seems that the religion has always been in a state of change,

hybridization and syncretism (cf. Palmie 2006; Shaw and Stewart 2005; Stewart 2007),

even before the arrival of Christianity in the north. Even the word sieidi has been

interpreted as an Old Norse loan word (Parpola 2004). Linguist Asko Parpola (2004:

266) has suggested that already between AD 900 and 1300, Nordic religions influenced

Sami ethnic religion and vice versa. Also the arrival of Christianity was not a rapid

change but a slow process over a long time. New groups of people using these sites and

new meanings attaching to them are not a new phenomenon. Even in older times, the

groups using sieidis were not stable. G. A. Andersson (1914: 45) tells how settlers used

sieidis by bringing brass objects to a stone called Pyhakivi (sacred stone). Moreover,

syncretistic processes take place today between Sami ethnic religion and neo-pagan

religious practices.

The term syncretism is usually reserved for the amalgamation of religious traditions.

This can be problematic, because it is based on the Western idea of religion as a separate


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sphere of life. In cultures where religion is inseparable from other social practices, which

is the case among the Sami, religious syncretism is impossible to distinguish from other

cultural hybridization (Aikas et al. 2009; Shaw & Stewart 2005). It is evident that

religion does not change in isolation, but changes in other social practices have an effect

on religion, and vice versa. For instance, the spread of Christianity around the world

was a part of the spread of a Western-dominated world cultural system. It changed not

only religion, but also other social practices and experiences of time, space, power

relations, gender and personhood (Comaroff and Comaroff 1997: 5–6; Shaw and Stewart

2005). When we consider religious change among the Sami, it is particularly obvious

that religion did not change in isolation. Religious change has been interconnected with

changes in social structure, landscape use, trade relationships and subsistence strategies

that have taken place at the same time. For instance, the development of new trade

interests and the growing importance of hunting probably initiated the tradition of

giving animal offerings to the sieidi, whereas the gradual transition to reindeer

pastoralism affected the religious importance of reindeer. Nowadays tourism, livelihood

and ritual are tied together. Offerings connected to old means of livelihood have been

continued by locals as well as by tourists. In addition, tourism as a livelihood uses

sacred places and imitations of old rituals as tourist attractions. From visiting authentic

sites, tourists have moved to invented sieidi stones, sieidi climbing walls, bars and hotels

(for a discussion of authenticity, see Aikas 2011: 127–8 with references). The meanings

of these new rituals can vary from touristic performances to a deep spiritual experience.

Religious change in colonial situations has often been simplified to dualistic terms such

as domination and resistance, whereas in reality a wide variety of strategies and processes

have taken place when indigenous peoples have negotiated their relationships with the

colonizers (Lindenfeld and Richardson 2010). According to Shohat (1992), agency is a

problematic issue in colonial and neo-colonial hybridization and syncretism, which may

result from forced assimilation, social conformism and cultural mimicry, among other

things. In colonial situations, syncretism may be a form of resistance; the incorporation of

new elements involves the transformation of these elements to a form that is meaningful to

the people. It can be described as syncretism from below – as religious synthesis by people

who create meaningful syntheses out of a context of cultural or political domination. On

the other hand, in many instances, Western values and practices became promoted

through syncretism (Shaw and Stewart 2005). In the case of the Sami, syncretistic practices

were clearly present where the practices of the ethnic religion amalgamated with Christian

practices. For instance, the offerings made in churches probably represent a syncretistic

combination of different religious traditions. The way churches were built near or in sight

of Sami sacred places can be interpreted on many levels. On the one hand, it can be seen as

an appropriation of the Sami sacred places by the Church. On the other hand, it was a way

of amalgamating the sacred landscapes of Sami religion and Christianity (Aikas and Salmi

in press).

In addition to Sami ethnic religion receiving influences from Christianity, Christian

religious practice in the north was also changed by the contact with the Sami. Colonial

societies rarely remained two discrete worlds, but became integrated totalities (Comaroff

and Comaroff 1997: 25). It is important to note that colonization changed the colonizers

too (Comaroff and Comaroff 1997: 28, 125; Gosden 2004; Johnson 2006). The encounter


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with the colonized people can result in new localized cultural forms (Comaroff and

Comaroff 1997: 23). In Finnish Lapland, the Christian Læstadian movement – which

combined Sami mythologies with Christian teaching – was especially influenced by the

Sami religion.

The degree of syncretism in cultural contact has varied from complete assimilation to

dual religious participation, the practice of two religions simultaneously (Lindenfeld and

Richardson 2010). In general, the multiplicity of cultural practices (and their synthesis) in

colonial situations can result in a double consciousness (Comaroff and Comaroff 1997:

13). Among the Sami, dual religious participation and a double consciousness of religious

practices were valid ways of negotiating the relationship between the ethnic religion and

Christianity. People turned to different gods in search of help for different matters, and

they sometimes visited both a church and an offering site during the journey, as in for

instance in Markkina.

The study of religious change among the Sami from the eleventh century to today shows

that religious change was a long-time process and there never was a static, ‘pure’ and

‘traditional’ Sami religion. Instead, religious syncretism was always a part of the Sami

religion.Moreover, religious change was accompanied by changes in other social practices –

especially subsistence, which was an integral part of the Sami religion. Religious change

among the Sami was also a complex process that involved multiple agencies and

negotiations. Moreover, the religious change among the Sami cannot be easily captured

by such terms as syncretism. Appropriation, syncretism and dual religious participation

coexisted among the Sami, demonstrating the complex and fractured nature of religious

change.

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank the Academy of Finland project ‘Human-Animal Relationships among

Finland’s Sami 1000–1800 A.D.’ (1122623) for funding. Additional funding and support

was also provided by the Giellagas Institute at the University of Oulu and the Academy of

Finland project ‘Food and Identity in Medieval and Early Modern Urban Communities’

(138081).

Tiina Aikas

Department of Archaeology, University of Oulu

[email protected]

Anna-Kaisa Salmi

Department of Archaeology, University of Oulu

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Tiina Aikas is a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Oulu. Her doctoral thesis

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Anna-Kaisa Salmi is a post-doctoral research fellow of the Academy of Finland. She is

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