Sami Employments and Industries in the 17th Century
Hunting was the chief employment in Lapland. It varied with the season of the year and the size of the prey. In summer they hunted on foot with dogs, "which…
From: 1917 C.E. To: 1917 C.E.
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From Through Lapland With Skis and Reindeer by Frank Hedges Butler, 1917.
Employments and Industries.
Hunting was the chief employment in Lapland. It varied with the season of the year and the size of the prey. In summer they hunted on foot with dogs, "which are very good in these parts, not only for their scent, but that they dare set upon anything, being still tied up to make them more fierce."
In winter the men themselves ran down their quarry, sliding over the frozen snow on their "skier"—smooth pieces of wood, one shorter than the other, about 8 ft. long and 4 in. broad, turned up in front and fastened to the feet by a withe run through the sides. The feet were placed in the middle, so that the length of wood before and behind prevented them from sinking into the snow. A long staff was carried in the hand, and to the end a large round piece of wood was fastened to keep it from going deep into the snow.
Thus equipped, they propelled themselves along very swiftly, not only over level ground, but in the roughest places, "and there is no hill or rock so steep but with winding and turning they can at last come up to the top, and that which is a greater miracle, will slide down the steepest places without danger." The skis were covered with the skins of young reindeer, of which the hairs acted like bristles against the snow and prevented slipping backwards.
Small beasts were hunted with bow and arrows, large ones with spears and guns. They were so expert in the handling of their weapons that against animals of which the skins were valuable, such as ermines, squirrels, and beavers, they could always direct the blow where it would do least harm to the fur. Wolves were the chief quarry, because they were very numerous and did much damage. They were either caught by holes or shot, or scythes were hidden under the snow to cut off their legs.
The most profitable hunting was reindeer and bears. Reindeer are peculiar to Lapland, and were caught in various ways and soon domesticated. Among the methods employed were enticing the males to the tame does in the autumn, when the huntsman would shoot them from behind; or in the spring, when the snow is deep, the men would slide after the deer and easily take them, or drive them into traps with dogs, or set up hurdles and chase the animals in between them, so that they must fall into holes purposely made.
The hunting of the bear was a much more ceremonious proceeding, and attended with many superstitions. First the bears' den had to be discovered in the winter, and that done, the finder invited his friends and acquaintances "with much joy" to the hunting, "as to a solemn and magnificent feast," for bear's flesh was considered a great delicacy. But the actual sport had to be deferred until March or April, when ski could be used.
The drum had also to be consulted in order to find out if the hunting would be prosperous. Then the finder of the den, now called "the captain," went forth armed with a club, followed by the others, to each of whom was allotted a fixed duty. Some had to kill the bear with spears and guns: one had to boil the flesh, another to divide it; a third had to gather sticks; and so on. When the bear was despatched a hymn of victory was sung, and the animal was placed on a sledge and dragged by reindeer to the hut where it was to be cooked. In the feast that followed the men and women were separated. The killing of a bear was accounted a great honour to a man, and the women worked crosses in wire on cloth for the men to put in their caps, one for every bear killed.
In summer they shot birds, and in winter snared them. All kinds of waterfowl abounded, as well as stock-doves, ptarmigan, and wood-cock. Fish were plentiful in the rivers and lakes, among them salmon, pike, perch, and a species of carp.
One of the chief industries was the making of boats and sledges. The former were made of pine or deal boards sewed together with reindeer's sinews and caulked with moss to keep out the water. They were propelled by means of two or four oars fastened to pegs in the sides.
The sledges, called pulkas, the pattern of which remains the same to-day, were fashioned like a boat, the prow turned up, with a hole in it for the cord which harnessed the reindeer to it. The poop consisted of one flat board. There were no runners, the convex bottom enabling the pulka to roll any way and be more easily drawn over the snow. The reindeer was guided by a halter made of sealskin tied round his head or horns and fastened to a stick which the driver held in one hand, moving the thong to either side according to the direction in which he desired to go ; with the other hand he guided the sledge, or rather balanced himself, taking care that it did not upset.
They could travel thus at the rate of twenty miles an hour. Women were as expert in this mode of travelling as men. As will be seen later, this way of travelling still prevails, and is, with skiing, the only method by which it is possible to get about in Lapland today.
Basket-making was an important industry, and Sheffer declares that no nation could compete with them in the art. The baskets were made of the roots of trees, and on occasion were woven so neatly and closely that they held water like a solid vessel, and for their excellence and strength were exported to distant countries.
Women were the tailors and shoemakers; they made all the clothes, shoes, boots, and gloves, and the harness, such as it was, for the draught reindeer. They purchased linen and woollen cloth from Norwegian merchants and embroidered it with a sort of tin wire. Such embroidery was employed on gowns, boots, gloves, and shoes, "and she that doth it neatest is preferred before other women, and had in greater estimation."
Butler, Frank Hedges. Through Lapland with Skis and Reindeer. T. Fisher Unwin LTD., 1917.
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