The Sami. The Nomads Of The Arctic // Indigenous Peoples Of Russia

the history of the Sami goes back to the remote past their ancestors were known to ancient Greek and Roman authors the mention of them can be found in the historical works of pus in 325 BC the middle-aged Vikings called these people lops giving rise to a word lapia the land of lops it encompassed all the lands where the Sami lived 4,000 years ago the glacier retre in the carelian ismos appeared over Which sadian tribes traveled to Scandinavia and the cola Peninsula from the urals and the European tribes came from the other side as a result of this merger Proto Sami appeared the old Sami people lived on a big territory bordering the ladoga lake on the south over time their habitat reduced and now it covers the area from northern Norway and Sweden over the northern regions of Finland to the cola peninsula in our country the SII live in the mermans region the village of laosa is considered to be the center of their cultural life according to the census of 2010 there are 1,771 Sami in [Music] Russia this Sami family has no interest whatsoever in our research or historic subtleties they have a lot of household chores to attend to Boris the tea is ready come here it looks like it might rain today that's true the weather has changed for the [Music] worse ulana and Boris Ulan live 30 km outside of the laera village right in the middle of the tundra a few years ago after retiring they built a house here erected a kuaka a reindeer High tent in Sami started to breed reindeer and to follow the traditions of their people boris's parents and my parents worked on the tundra as well as our grandfathers and grandmothers great grandparents that's right from generation to generation I guess we are the last of the moans we spent all our life in the tundra with the reindeer when I go to mormans I get a headache in half an hour I can't stay there for too long we essentially grew up on the tundra spent our childhood here later on when working and taking vacations I never went to the Sea for example I only saw it on TV to be honest but I never felt a need to go to the sea I always spent my holidays at my mother's place on the tundra nowadays the Sami rarely choose this way of living the events of the first half of the 20th century Force collectivization and the rapid Industrial Development of the cola Peninsula were a big upheaval for these people the authorities appropriated their reindeer then moved them from places where they used to live to laosa Village as a result the aboriginals stopped doing their traditional crafts their culture and way of life came close to extinction over there we have a lamb we call it a lamb reindeer hide there from mosquitoes and gadflies here we made a kuaka it's not big in warm weather we make a fire here to cook at times we have guests who stay with us overnight in the olden days the tents used to be much bigger they accommodated two families each living in their own separate part the tent was first covered with one cloth then with a special tarpine it was also easy to enter you could open it this way and enter the way you enter a house in a week's time ulana is going to a very important event she has long dreamt of visiting the sacred and legendary Lake sedoa for various reasons she never managed to visit this iconic place and finally the opportunity has arrived I heard a lot about Lake SE doero and I always wanted to visit it to ask the spirits for health for the people I love the spirits of our ancestors live there the seads that is why it's called SE doero the Lake of the spirits our Spirits live in the water on the ground in the forest up in the mountains and in the rocks in a word in nature and we believe in them there is still a lot to do before the departure today the ulans are having their relatives over at their place andana is preparing a treat for them I will cook a soup now the way our grand parents and parents did of course we need meat for it we cook it and then add some potatoes to the broth then we take flour and blackberries what did people eat before mostly meat fish mushrooms and berries they didn't have the vegetables we eat now like tomato and cucumbers they were self sustaining the food was simple they also made their own bread living in a forest like we do now you have to make your own bread traditionally the kitchen has always been a woman's domain although generally there was no strict distinction of Duties between men and women each family member could do everything [Music] Boris and I come from the same Village I was friends with a sister when boris's girlfriend left him I was there to console him saying don't worry you'll find someone better so I did yes he did he started visiting me more often once he arrived on a snowmobile and took me to the Civil registry office that's how we got married we've been together for almost 30 years [Music] while his wife is cooking Boris goes to check on the [Music] reindeer how many reindeer do I have it's not polite to ask assami that question because reindeer is like money to us it's the same as asking someone about the size of their salary in any event I don't have many reinder and a misfortune happened recently a bear came and killed a female that's why I now have to guard them depending on their habitat and natural surroundings reindeer breeding fishing and hunting are the traditional activities of the Sam this is a tasma it belonged to my wife's father and this chain belonged to my lay brother those Rings were my father's and this one too this I made myself everything is here a knife a little chest but it's empty now the chest should be placed here before and during caving they put notebooks here and little sticks once you brand a calf you make a notch it's very practical you have everything with you when it's winter you tie it around a deer skin Park and the wind doesn't get in you can tie it lower here you can lie on the snow and sleep in it and you won't feel the cold at all dear [Laughter] friend that's a reminder of my father a very precious [Music] thing I could watch them all day they are amazing animals they are a source of food Transportation clothing everything us take a big a very big swamp for example and bring a reindeer over there take a handful of mixed feed and put it somewhere discreetly take him away you can blindfold him he'll come back and find his food straight away as if following a compass how can you explain that they probably have a built-in GPS so many people you didn't expect us no we didn't very well hello give me a kiss my dear hello hello hello very well well done well done hello take it easy Kia come here come here glad to see you let's go before grandma gets cold don't worry I won't get cold you won't freeze let's go the long- awaited relatives came to visit the Ulin unfortunately their daughters couldn't make it one lives and works in laosa the other even further away in rans they each have their own lives and they don't often manage to visit their parents we made soup today fish soup fish soup why meat [Music] soup that's it have at least one spoonful at least one have some [Music] bread there you go Galia thank [Music] [Music] you I decided to go to Lake searo so I wanted to consult you consult me I've never been there but maybe you know how to behave there what should I do I think you need to consult our Shaman Olga she'll be able to give you advice she was there and she knows a lot about [Music] it [Music] okay see you soon come on Saturday so we can celebrate together okay I might come but I'm not sure about Boris I have my reindeer here I can't okay all right see you okay bye call us call us write us [Music] bye the celebration ulana and Boris were invited to are the Sami games it's an old tradition for families to get together and compete with each other who's faster stronger smarter can last the longest in Soviet times the tradition was forgotten and it was only revived 28 years [Music] ago the Sami games take place in laosa the village which is often referred to as the capital of laia this is the habitat of the majority of the Sami in Russia it hosts the Sami cultural center and all national Sami celebrations are held here even on an international [Music] scale the first menion of the village dates back to the 16th century it was a small Sami burial ground it developed mostly in Soviet times in the 1960s the Sami were moved here in Mass from the entire Cola Peninsula that's how the L became the capital of these people for the Sami people these games the national sporting competition is a large celebration and one of the most important ones of the year as well as one of the favorites they wouldn't miss it so ulana leaving her husband to guard the reindeer came to Laos and together with her sister antonina she went to watch the Sami football [Music] [Applause] [Music] game Sami football is a truly exciting show which attracts a lot of Spectators mostly because the players are women dressed in [Applause] sarons men always went hunting fishing and tended to the reindeer while women played football during their short breaks from household chores they played with a very nice ball made from reindeer leather stitched together in this way you can see here with the reindeer fur inside and if it gets wet during the course of the game it becomes heavier it's not a regular football each game consists of two halves of 10 minutes each a score is achieved only if the ball rolls into the goal soccer teams score when they make the ball get into the net in Sami football different rules [Applause] [Music] apply in the meantime other compet itions are also underway ulana's sister antonina decided to participate in the crossbow shooting competition her other relatives came to support her everyone used to shoot with crossbows right yes boys made them themselves from Willow tree branches fishing lines thread or something like that they made arrows too and they put nails on their tips I was it before did they use bows at first then introduce crossbows later sure understood that's how it was done I understood we even went hunting with crossbows I see you must have been good at it when you were young me naturally I grew up among boys oh boys I see you could shoot an eye out [Music] Andre antonina's son and her cousin yanii went to take part in the lasso throwing competition looking at them I remember my father the way he threw alasso and competed with his neighbor Yura oh I remember that too my father only once lost to Yura otherwise he always won see how good Andre is at it it's the first time he's participating in the competition the goal of those competitions is to strengthen the spirit of each family and the nation as a whole and at the same time to promote the Sami language in general because the situation with it is not particularly simple I witnessed the times when the Sami language was taught in schools I was a teacher Sami it's no longer taught and the only way to learn the language is through speaking it the youth has started displaying some interest in it but there are still only a few people who can understand and speak it there's a danger that the Sami language will disappear together with our generation and those who have been speaking it since childhood along with the sporting competitions people dance and sing at the Sami games dressed in Fancy National costumes the Sami always dressed in traditional costumes made from reindeer skin with the arrival of the Russians to the cola Peninsula we started using modern materials such as silk cotton and wool but these are traditional costumes the cul a mosquito headnet which protected the Samy from mosquitoes in summer a c traditional costumes were decorated with beads but before we started using beads people used silver and Tin thread to embroider traditional costumes which were made by themselves this is traditional embroidery I did it myself and used it in a modern costume look here this boy has a leather frame decoration this is a traditional symbol it protects one from the evil eye there's another one on the back they use those symbols to protect their backs too long socks are also knitted in a traditional way and the traditional Sami colors the boots are called kangi with the front curled up the winter shoes were even more curled up in the front they were used as ski [Music] [Music] shoes ulana who is going to visit the sacred sedoa decided to come and see this very Shaman both women are from the same Village they've known each other for ages but don't often meet hello Olga did I disturb you no not at all hello hello I've come to ask for your advice I'm going to the lake the say do yes I heard of it I don't recommend that you go there why not what's wrong I went there once Lana when I was 18 years old and I saw something which made me decide to never go back there ever again and you shouldn't either the Samy shouldn't go there Spirits live there that shouldn't be disturbed not at all otherwise something bad might happen Olga suggested that ulana addresses the lake Spirits right where they stand first they made an offering of coins to the land then communicated with the water spirits and treated them with salt sugar reindeer meat and bread they were to be left on a rock one has to tap on the rock like this with a knife to call upon the spirits that attract their attention s Doo is a unique place I heard that it has three bottoms I heard that they found the traces of the hyper Bora there there's a legend that it is on the lake of SE doero that the Aryans considered as Gods by the Sami emerged from the air by all means this lake is sacred to our people the spirits of our ancestors the sades live there and they are to be worshiped from afar [Music] Lana followed Olga's advice and decided against going to se doara it remains distant and unexplored to her yet holding a profound meaning which is only fathomable to the unique Sami people who have been living in the fascinating land of lapia for hundreds of years [Music] [Music]

Channel: Travel and Nature

Views: 610,089

Keywords: arctic peoples, indigenous people, lapland people, reindeer people sami, sami, sami culture, sami facial features, sami history, sami language, sami language example, sami location, sami people, sami people documentary, sami people history, sami people language, sami people music, sami peoples of the north, sami russia, sapmi, the sami, what is sami culture, sami traditions, sami clothes, Lovozero, Kola Peninsula people, Kola Peninsula sami, Lapland, Murmansk sami, Lappajarvi

Id: 8U0gtiYx2T8

Length: 23min 17sec (1397 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 30 2023