Theme description RELV208/RELV308

Despite being a minority, the Sami have influenced the cultures of the neighbouring peoples in many ways. To have some knowledge about the religion of the Sami is therefore beneficial for anyone who is interested in the history of the cultures of northern Europe. During the autumn of 2024, the course on Sami religion presents the indigenous religion of the Sami with a special focus on the most intense period of religious confrontation during the 17th and 18th centuries. The earlier and later developments will also be dealt with.

Against the background of a short overview of Sami culture and history, the lectures take up the following themes:

(1) Source material and source criticism. How is it possible to know anything about the indigenous religion of the Sami?

(2) Transition rituals from birth to death, calendar rituals from spring to winter, and crisis rituals with focus on the ritual specialists and their tools.

(3) Narratives about visible and invisible landscapes, about the living and the departed, about men and women, young and old, and about invisible beings like helping spirits, rulers, and divinities. 

(4) Religious change and confrontation, Sami church history, and Sami religiosities today.