5 symbols of Sami culture

The Sámi are an indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, Northern Scandinavia. The Sámi have historically been known as Lapps or Laplanders, offensive terms. There are about 100,000 Sámi people, who share a common history, culture and languages across borders.

Sami flag

The colors found in Sami clothing inspired the Sámi flag – designed by Astrid Båhl, from Skibotn, Norway, and approved by the Nordic Sámi Council in1986. The circle is a symbol for the sun (red) and the moon (blue), emphasizing Sami people’s connection to nature.

The colors found in Sami clothing inspired the Sámi flag –

Reindeers

One of the most typical traits of Sami culture is the central role of reindeers: around 10% of Sámi practice reindeer herding nowadays, which in some parts of the Nordic countries can be practiced only by Sámis.

Sami languages

There is no single Sámi language, but a group of around 10 distinct Sámi languages which belong to the Ugro-Finnic language family (as Finnish and Estonian). Sami languages are relatively closely related, but not mutually intelligible to each other. North Sámi is the most widely used language and is spoken in all the four countries.

traditional clothing

The Sami traditional clothing, gákti/gapta/gábdde in Sami languages, kofte/kolt in Norwegian and Swedish, is well dinstinguished from Norwegian bunads and Swedish national dresses. It is worn at important occasions and varies depending on the gender, family, area one is from and status.

handicrafts: duodji•

Important parts of Sami culture are Sami handicrafts, known as duodji, which include accessories, clothing, various objects – from drums to infant beds and knives. There is a Duodji certificate to prove that what you are buying is made by a Sami.

Yoik

Another unique cultural element is the Yoik (or jojk), a traditional song-chant, with different functions, and can be about each other, places and animals. it is however inappropriate to sing a yoik about oneself, as this would be a form of self-flattery. Sami national jojk is Sámi eatnan duoddariid by Nils-Aslak Valkeapää, who modernised the yoik tradition. A famous example of yoik is Daniels jojk by Jon Henrik, a yoik tied to his late friend, which was sung at tv-show Sweden’s got talent.