For their religious leader, the Sámi have used the name noaidi, which is an old Finno-Ugric root (cf. Finnish “noita”, ‘witch’). The concept of the northern witch must be kept separate from the continental European witch (German: Hexe, English: witch, Swedish: häxa) that was the target of witch persecutions. The noita of the Finns and the noaidi of the Sámi have more in common with the shaman of the eastern Finno-Ugric peoples. On Teeriniemi in Kuusamo, the noaidi has also been called a stone rower, because according to the story, a Sámi noaidi was so powerful that they could use a stone as a boat.
The oldest written sources about the Sámi witch belief are the reports of missionaries and mentions in court records. However, these must be treated with caution, as they also reflect the values of the time.
Noaidi’s tools:
- The drum i.e., goavddis (Fin. “kannus”)
- The T-shaped hammer made from reindeer bone
- Arpa (usually made from metal rings tied together) which jumped around on the drum skin
- A belt
- A bag made of the reindeer or black-throated loon skin, which was used to store the drum
- Previously also a hat (might be the four-pronged hat often pictured on the drum skins)
Noaidi’s skills:
- Loveen lankeaminen i.e., visiting either the land of the dead or the land of the gods for information and help
- Animal-shaped helper spirits:
- Sáiva sarva, a male deer used by the noaidi in a fight with another noaidi, the death of the deer often meant the death of the noaidi as well
- Sáiva guelle, a fish that guided the noaidi during their visits to the land of the dead
- Sáiva leddie, a bird that guided the noaidi during their visits to the land of the gods
- Sáiva olmah, the supernatural men, or passevare olmah, the holy men of the fells, who helped the noaidi in various activities
- Healing either through yoik or medicine
- Divination either with a witch drum or by observing nature, the sky, and animals
- Juovssahit gottiid, luring/chasing of deer, the noaidi turning into an animal to lure (deer) or chase (bear, wolf) wild deer within reach of hunters
- Raising the dead, i.e., “hiring” the deceased as an assistant for a certain time, e.g., as a reindeer herder
The drum was the most important tool of the noaidi. It was used to achieve a state of altered consciousness (trance, loveen lankeaminen) and for divination. Unfortunately, due to the fierce Lutheran conversion work of the 17th and 18th centuries, witch drums were almost completely eradicated from Lapland. Some drums were managed to be hidden, but because they were made of wood and reindeer hide, which rots easily in nature, hardly any hidden drums have survived to this day.
More successfully researchers have found money and metal objects used in connection with divination and drumming, which, in addition to the hiding places of the drums, have also been found in the noaidi graves. Drums can still be found in private collections around Europe, as they were sought-after exotic collectibles in the 17th and 18th centuries, thanks to e.g., Schefferus’ Lapponia, which was one of the first publications about the Sámi. Only two drums have been found in Finnish Lapland: one from Kemi Lapland and one from Utsjoki.
The appearance of witch drums and the patterning of drum skins varies between eastern and western Sámi cultures. In the Kuusamo area, an angular cylinder drum called the Kemi type has been used, which in addition to the shingle shell has a rim made of wood bent into an oval shape with the help of notches. Inside the drum, there were crossed pieces of wood, which formed the handle for the noaidi. The pattern of the drum skin has been segmented, which has been considered to represent the concept of a three-part world, which includes alinen, keskinen and ylinen. Alinen represents the land of the dead and the territory of the earth spirits, or underwater sáiva. In this area, symbols associated with the dead have been placed on the drum. Keskinen represents the land of the living, world of humans and animals. Ylinen represents the sky, the territory of divine beings and celestial bodies. In segment drums, a snake or zigzag pattern is usually placed at the alinen, probably because the soul of the noaidi travelled in the form of a snake in the underworld.
The illustrations on the drum skins probably depended on what the drum was primarily used for. There could also have been several drums for different purposes. The interpretation of the patterns on the drum skins has been problematic because the information was collected at a time when Christianity was very strongly trying to eradicate the “pagan faith” of the Sámi people. Many times, the accounts of the symbols of the drums were given under the threat of death, so the noaidi could have deliberately distorted their information or add Christian meanings to fool their interrogators.
The inside of the witch drum was also illustrated. When the front side of the drum was its public part and visible to all, the “innermost part of the drum” was noaidi’s own knowledge, to which they initiated only their successor. While drumming, the noaidi themself looked at the inner surface of the drum, where the metal charms and amulets accompanying the drumming were also attached, which reflected the helping and protective spirits of the noaidi. Because of this, there were markings on the inner skin of the drums and on the wooden structures, which have been studied even less than the patterns on the outer surface. A true noaidi also knew the meaning of these signs. The drum skin has been a map that has reflected both this and the other worlds and acted as a guide on the noaidi’s soul journeys. The “greater” the maker and user of the drum was, the more they got out of it.