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This open access book provides a unique way of documenting traditional Sámi knowledge that has survived almost 300 years followed by today s analysis of the modern state of Sámi reindeer husbandry. Reindeer herders knowledge, their language and ways of managing the herds have hardly changed over the past centuries. It is the same ancient knowledge that now forms the basis for how reindeer herders think and carry out their operations. The book shows sustainable reindeer husbandry with long continuity in knowledge and practices which is still used today. It gives an overview of the knowledge systems and technical language of an ancient industry that has survived through millennia and is still crucial today.
Our vision with this book is to highlight the long perspectives of Sámi reindeer herders indigenous knowledge based on what Knud Leem did at the beginning of the eighteenth century. The content is based on Knud Leem's translated version of Description over Finmarkens Lapper, their language of language, lifestyle and past idolatry.
There is a direct need for this unique material to be published in English to provide access to the knowledge of the time to a wider audience. In the rest of the world, the eighteenth century is getting more and more attention in both national and international research: it is in this period that modern ways of thinking about religion, politics, science, and society find their form. Movements and ideas from the eighteenth century are important as they structure our ideas and discussions to this day. Therefore, Knud Leem's descriptions of the Sámi in the eighteenth century will also be important today and in future. Leem was a unique researcher of his time as he collected all material in Sámi.
List of contents
Knud Leem and Reindeer Husbandry.- Ideas about the Sámi Reindeer Nomadism in Europe in the 16th 19th Centuries.- An Account of the Laplanders of Finmark, their Language, Manners, Religion by Knud Leems, Professor of the Laplandic.- Appendix.
About the author
Dr. Inger Marie G. Eira works as an associate professor at Sámi allaskuvla / Sámi University of Applied SciencesHánnoluohkká 45 NO-9520 Guovdageaidnu/Kautokeino. She holds a Ph.D. in Sámi language at Department of Language and Culture, University of Tromsø—the Arctic University of Norway (2012).
Anders Oskal (M.Sc.) is an executive director of the International Centre for Reindeer Husbandry (ICR) and Secretary General of World Reindeer Herders. Anders Oskal graduated from the Bodø Graduate School of Business, Nordland University.
Dr. Prof. Svein Disch Mathiesen holds a Ph.D. from the University of Tromsø (UIT), Department of Arctic Biology and Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine in 1999. Svein Disch Mathiesen is an associate professor in physiology, focusing on reindeer nutrition and digestion at UIT (1989–2000). Svein Disch Mathiesen is a professor of zoo physiology at the Norwegian Veterinary College (2000–2014). Since 2002, Svein Disch Mathiesen is a researcher at the Nordic Sami Institute, (NSI) later Sami University of Applied Sciences (SA) and International Centre for Reindeer Husbandry (ICR) in Kautokeino, Norway. Mathiesen has published around 120 scientific articles.
Marina Tonkopeeva, M.A., Ph.D. candidate in Linguistics, is a project leader at the International Centre for Reindeer Husbandry in Guovdageaidnu, Norway. Between 2016 and 2022, Tonkopeeva worked as a project manager and coordinator for the Open School of Sustainable Development and the Coalition for Sustainable Development. As a language professional, Tonkopeeva has contributed to the work of the Arctic Council, DOCIP, and UNDP. She was a lecturer in the School of International Relations at St. Petersburg State University from 2017 to 2020. Her scope of research includes sustainable development, technologies for Indigenous languages, and knowledge co-production.
Summary
This open access book provides a unique way of documenting traditional Sámi knowledge that has survived almost 300 years followed by today’s analysis of the modern state of Sámi reindeer husbandry. Reindeer herders’ knowledge, their language and ways of managing the herds have hardly changed over the past centuries. It is the same ancient knowledge that now forms the basis for how reindeer herders think and carry out their operations. The book shows sustainable reindeer husbandry—with long continuity in knowledge and practices—which is still used today. It gives an overview of the knowledge systems and technical language of an ancient industry that has survived through millennia and is still crucial today.
Our vision with this book is to highlight the long perspectives of Sámi reindeer herders’ indigenous knowledge based on what Knud Leem did at the beginning of the eighteenth century. The content is based on Knud Leem's translated version of Description over Finmarkens Lapper, their language of language, lifestyle and past idolatry.
There is a direct need for this unique material to be published in English to provide access to the knowledge of the time to a wider audience. In the rest of the world, the eighteenth century is getting more and more attention in both national and international research: it is in this period that modern ways of thinking about religion, politics, science, and society find their form. Movements and ideas from the eighteenth century are important as they structure our ideas and discussions to this day. Therefore, Knud Leem's descriptions of the Sámi in the eighteenth century will also be important today and in future. Leem was a unique researcher of his time as he collected all material in Sámi.
