Why the absence of autonomous, multi-age playgroups makes parenting suck. (This is a reshare of Elena Bridgers’ article).
Sámi mommy breastfeeding toddler in Tromsdalen, Tromsø, Arctic Sápmi, while smoking some tobacco.
“Fasten your seatbelts, ladies and (two or three) gentlemen, because we are about to dive into the my absolute favorite topic of all time: the importance of multi-age playgroups in hunter-gatherer societies. Honestly, I get more excited about this stuff than a dog whose owner just said the word “walk.” Back when I first started reading about motherhood in hunter-gatherer societies there were two things that made me go, “ohhhhhhhh, now I get it.” One is the longer interbirth intervals that probably characterized most of human history (as I wrote about here) and the other is the critical important of multi-age playgroups as a source of substitute childcare for mothers. It was a total epiphany for me, and I suspect you may have the same reaction, because once you see how this used to work, how human childhood evolved to work, it just makes so much sense. Over millions of years, we basically evolved a perfect system involving care of children by children, in a way that was wholly compatible with their own need for play, and that we have entirely abandoned in the modern context, to the detriment of all.
But in order for you to understand why this still matters for mothers in the modern context, I need to tell you my own story about just how much I hate playing with my children (even though I love them deeply) and how misguided I was about the role of a “good mom” and what she owes her kids…
I’d rather stick a fork in my eyeball than play pirates.
Only after I had begun doing deep research on hunter-gatherer societies did I realize that this is exactly how things were supposed to work. Children are supposed to play with other children. It was never meant to be the mother’s job. But trapped as we are in single-family homes where playmates can be hard to come by, parents often end up filling this tedious and time-consuming role…[..]”
The Sacred Bear and “the Origin of the Sámi People”
In Sámi mythology, the bear is a divine ancestor, not just an animal.
One myth tells of a heavenly bear who descended to earth and married a human woman. Their children became the first Sámi people.
Because of this, bears were/are honored as ancestor spirits, and when a bear was killed (very rare and ritualised), its bones were carefully placed in a tree to allow its soul to return to the sky.
A ceremony called the Bear Feast included songs, dances, and apologizing to the bear spirit for the killing, inviting it to be reborn.
The Bear Who Fell From the Stars:
A Sámi Creation Song of the First Bear
In the hush before dawn, where no footprints fall, Where the wind hums secrets to the pine, A star broke loose from the roof of night And tumbled down through time.
He fell with a roar through clouds of gold, Bathed in *Beaivi’s light. He landed not dead, but dreaming still In the heart of the forest’s white.
The reindeer bowed their crowned heads low, The lynx stood still in her track. For this was the First of Bears, The Sky-Child, fallen back.
He walked like thunder on ancient snow, His breath, a wind of flame. Yet gentle were his dreaming eyes, And wise, and without shame.
A woman came from a northern vale, A weaver of skins and song. She found him sleeping in a ring of birch And stayed with him all night long.
They spoke without words by fire and frost, By the rhythm of blood and bone. She taught him the names of the winds and streams; He gave her dreams of home.
And so their children, wild and wise, Were neither beast nor man. They sang to trees, they hunted clean, They walked where few else can.
But then the bear, when spring had sung, Felt longing rise like steam: His fur grew light, his eyes grew wide He vanished into dream.
And so today, when the bear is seen, The Sámi bow and sing “Child of stars, our ancient kin, Return again in spring.”
If ever a bear is taken in hunt, The people weep and pray. They dress his skull in flowers and moss And lift his bones away.
Art card with envolope ✉️ 17 x 12 cm including white edges. 75 NOK (norwegian kroner) Can be shipped anywhere 🤍🌍
The prints are made from a painting I did back in 2021 when I first became a mother. Afterwards, I slightly edited it digitally, and thought it looked wonderful as printed art cards 😊 I have 3 cards available currently.
“Maintain the state of undistractedness, and distractions will fly away. Dwell alone, and you shall find the Friend. Take the lowest place, and you shall reach the highest. Hasten slowly, and you shall soon arrive. Renounce all worldly goals, and you shall reach the highest Goal. If you follow this unfrequented path, you will find the shortest way.” -Milarepa
October photos. Colourful sky, sunny days and snowy days.. It’s always shifting very fast here, you could almost say there is four seasons within one season 🌅🌦❄️Prayer flags in our garden ☃️ The weather was interesting that day; grey sky and sea, white landscape and a heavy kind of silence.
“Pregnancy is a process that invites you to surrender to the unseen force behind all life.” 💚🧡🤍🩵 Photos taken by Gunhild Berg Johansen, I was ca 6 months pregnant here.
I highly recommend this very helpful and insightful podcast episode on breaking the fear-tension-pain cycle that most women go into when in labour, myself included. I am very close to giving birth to our second child, and feeling all the emotions that comes naturally leading up to that. This podcast episode really helped me, along with a hypnobirthing course I’ve been doing lately.
In my summer sea sámi gákti. And small baby “shoes” made by mother-in-law 🙏🏼Shades of blue shellRusty coloursBlue and purple hues“Det er morgen igjen, vesle håp og verden frotterer seg med nyvasket solskinn. Livets ansikt er aldri det samme selv om vi ser på det i all evighet.” – Kolbein Falkeid #home #kitchen #midnightsunCurious little guy on a short hike in the rain. ☔️Summer details in some of my older paintings. Just playing and experimenting with colours and techniques so that I will hopefully find the Joy of painting again 😄 I guess I have a little dry spell in my creative life at the moment.. Blue, orange and yellow are great together. A bouquet I picked by the side of the road.Details Beef tallow.Son and daddy 💙💛❤️💚My partner of 14 years meditating. #yogisondisplay Our shed with some new flowers.Curious little rabbit in our garden.
Can I just say, this is the best photo anyone has ever taken of me? Susann, thank you for capturing my essence. Here I am wearing a headdress and silk liidni I sewed myself, and the gákti summer dress is made by Nadezda Johnsen. Autumn wind…🧡🍂🙌🏼Life is a lot of chopping wood and carrying water… I think that is how the saying goes 😉
“Your healing journey will, of course, include a consideration and use of all the best tools modern medicine can offer you, as well as the best tools holistic healing can offer you. From a deeper perspective, illness is caused by unfulfilled longing. The deeper the illness, the deeper the longing. It is a message that somehow, somewhere, you have forgotten who you are and what your purpose is. You have forgotten and disconnected from the purpose of your creative energy from your core. Your illness is the symptom: The disease represents your unfulfilled longing. So above all else, use your illness to set yourself free to do what you have always wanted to do, to be who you have always wanted to be, to manifest and express who you already are from your deepest, broadest, and highest reality. If indeed you have discovered yourself to be ill, prepare yourself for change, expect your deepest longing to surface and to be brought to fruition. Prepare yourself to finally stop running and turn and face the tiger within you, whatever that means to you in a very personal way. I suggest the best place to start to find the meaning of your illness is to ask yourself: “What is it that I have longed for and not yet succeeded in creating in my life?”’ (From Barbara Brennan’s book Emerging Light)
Me, our son and my friend and relative ❤ Láhppigákti. Coastal Sámi.💙💛❤Hat and traditional shawl made by me ❤💛Traditional knit by his father’s mother. Belt is supposed to be on hips, but not easy when he is moving like a little maggot 🪱😄
Today, we celebrated the Sámi National Day, Feb 6th.
I have Kven/Finnish, Norwegian and Sámi heritage, and love to celebrate what I can while I can. I am deeply thankful for my connection to my heritage and my own heart, and wish you all the best 2022 possible.
Photo coloured by Per Ivar Somby. In the photo: Brita Somby, wearing traditional dress (gákti) with traditional wool shawl. Reindeer pants and boots.
The eight remaining Sámi languages are spoken here in the north of Europe (see map and gallery below) in a cross-border region which includes Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Kola Peninsula of Russia. This region is generally called Sápmi – mostly by northern Sámis, and is sometimes referred to as Lapland or Samiland. Laponia in Swedish Lapland is the one of the World’s largest unmodified UNESCO nature area still cultured by natives. Sámis are indigenous to Sápmi/Northern Europe and Kola Peninsula, our heritage and ancestry traces back to Ural mountains and Siberia. Sámi is part of the Uralic language family, alongside Khanty, Mansi, Nganasan and Karelian, to mention a few. Lap is considered a deragatory term for Sámi person.
Sámi languages speakers estimate:
Southern Sámi 300 – 500 speakers
Ume Sámi – less than 20 speakers
Lule Sámi 2 000 – 3 000 speakers
Pite Sámi – less than 20 speakers
Northern Sámi – 20-30 000 speakers. There are three main North Sámi dialects. Northern Sámi is the most accessible language, both in terms of literature, news broadcasts, and other material for those who want to learn a Sámi language as a foreign language.
Kemi Sámi – extinct
Inari Sámi 300 – 500 speakers
Akkala Sámi – considered mostly extinct since 2003
Kildin Sámi 300 – 700 speakers
Skolt Sámi 300 – 500 speakers in Finland, fewer than 20 speakers in Russia
Ter Sámi – less than 5 speakers left, all elderly (update 2023: Ter Sámi is extinct)
Today we are around 90 000 Sámis, but as you can see from the numbers they do not match up to speakers of Sámi languages. Roughly 4/10 Sámis speak and use one of the Sámi languages today.
Why is this so?
To avoid humiliation and to give their children “better chances in life”, indigenous and minority parents often decide to speak a dominant or official language with their children. Sámi parents have not been an exception to this rule, especially in the very near past.
For the sake of how long this post would be in order to include all four countries’ history with the Sámi people, I will mainly focus on Norway.
Title: Samiske barn undervises i norsk / Sámi children learning norwegian Opphaver: Fotograf Sverre A. Børretzen Rettighetshaver: Leverandør NTB scanpix
Up to the 17th century, Sámi society lived pretty much its own life, with little interference from the outside. But with the new borders of the Nordic countries, interference was inevitable. Historically, the language situation after interference can be divided into three distinct periods: a missionary phase; a harsh assimilation phase; and the present phase, with potential for integration and revitalisation.
The 17th and 18th centuries characterise the beginning of missionary activities, with some very positive projects for the benefit of the Sámi languages: teaching was conducted through the medium of Sámi and religious texts were translated into Sámi (the Læstadian faith was introduced to Sápmi). From the middle of the 19th century however, a new policy based on national romanticism and ‘vulgar Darwinist ideas’ led to a harsh suppression of Sámi and the languages. The Norwegian Parliament and government pursued overtly a policy aiming at assimilating the whole Sámi population in Norway in the course of one generation. One can only say that this assimilation was very effective.
The “dark century,” 1870 to 1970 ca, had detrimental effects which can still be felt on both the languages themselves and on their status and speakers. In the coastal areas of Norway (and elsewhere), negative attitudes were transmitted by the Sámi themselves as a result of the policies, and inter-generational transfer of the language ceased in only a few generations.
Approx distribution of the languages/dialects today. The biggest blue area is mainly Troms and Finnmark.
New efforts in maintaining the languages were revived in the 1970s and still continues to this day. However, one of the most striking failures of the Sámi strategies is that the smaller Sámi languages (in numbers of speakers as listed above) have not seen success in improving their situation or even in defending their previous position. This failure is partly due to the fact that most speakers live apart from the larger Sámi groups. Dispersed among Norwegians, Swedes, Finns, and Russians, they do not have the demographic concentration that would enable them to use their language in the workplace and in official situations, including schools.
A language’s development, aging, and dying was considered “natural,” out of human reach. Languages were not killed, they “died of old age.” This agentless “model” for the prediction of the future of languages is still found among politicians, and legitimates their way of treating minority languages. The view that a minority is not autonomous and their own people, is devastating to that people’s culture and language.
In Norway, many municipalities with a Sámi population had developed procedures to give the Sámi some local linguistic rights. Yet, when the Sámi language law (in force since 1992) designated certain areas as belonging to the Sámi administrative districts, many of the municipalities left outside these official districts – often municipalities where the speakers of the smaller Sámi languages lived – withdrew services in Sámi, claiming that the law did not require them. Even today, there is strong resilience towards using official Sámi names in for example Norwegian towns and municipalities. This seems to stem from the view that Sámi people somehow belong to Norway, Sweden, Finland or other countries, and not to ourselves as our own people with our own unique language, history and culture.
South Sámi name for Bodø not welcome, 2011.
Currently, education, official documents and the media use Northern Sámi almost exclusively. This variant is used as a de facto “official language” and the most significant efforts have gone into the development of this particular language, to the detriment of other Sámi languages.
Opinions also differ on whether the different versions of Sámi are actual languages or dialects, and how to designate their speakers. Here is a an example what ‘Have a good weekend’ is in 6 Sámi languages:
“Buorre vahkkoloahppa” – North Sami
“Buerie hïelje” – South Sami «Buorre vahkkogiehtje» – Pite Sami “Buorre vahkoloahppa” – Lule Sami “Šiõǥǥ neä’ttel-loopp” – Skolt/East Sami “Pyeri oholoppâ” – Inare Sami
Eastern Sámi is the most different from the other languages.
Official Sápmi flag by artist Astrid Båhl from Skibotn, Troms. Photo: Ørjan Bertelsen
Most Sámis today speak either Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Russian, or even English as their everyday tongue (some migrated to the USA). Many are bilingual as well. Another factor is that some Sámis do not identify as Sámi or even know that they are due to the heavy assimilation of the past. They do not have any relationship with the language(s), and thus have lost their door to that culture.
Unlike the Indo-European languages spoken in most of Europe, the Sámi languages belong to the Uralic language family.Photo I took at the main square in Tromsø 2019. Demonstration against violence and discrimination towards sámi.South Sámi women and a man in Sweden. Colourised photo by Per Ivar Somby. Many young Sámis today use the traditional handwoven wool shawl as an everyday garment in a more urban way in order to still show our Sámi identity, and belonging. (Photo by NatGeo of Jokkmokk Sámi Ella-Li Spik, herder).Portrait of my relative Johannes from 6 generations ago. Wearing a pesk/finnmudd. Finnmark, Arctic Sápmi. I think we have the same nose, and eyebrows. It was a black-white photo by S. Trombolt but Per I. Somby colorised it.
Norway, Sweden and Finland was in 2019 urged by the UN to increase public funding of Sámi parliaments as a response to the dire state of the disappearing languages. But even if the situation seems dire for many languages, it is still possible to revitalise them and start using them more often. Which languages survive and which do not ultimately seems to be a question of human will, not of any rules of nature.
I know that languages and cultures come and go, but I do feel it a great loss to lose what has been native for Sápmi for literally thousands of years, in only a few generations, when it can be perserved. I am happy that some schools and institutions are giving sámi language courses to anyone who wishes to learn it (although this is mostly in Northern sámi), and I do also wish that my children will learn it, which I never did due to the Norwegianization process in Finnmark. Language is a huge part of culture and when it’s taken away, people get confused about their own community, identify and sense of belonging, and even turn on each other as a result of feeling alienated.
The languages we learn from our parents shape our brains, literally!, and our worldview, how and who we relate to. The immense loss of language and culture for the Sámi people cannot be described as anything else but traumatic.
Me keeping warm and optimistic about the future of the languages and culture.
My favourite shawl. Head dress I made by hand.A tantric Padmasambhava and Yeshe Tsogyal statue I helped repaint for a friend. The union of wisdom and compassion. Wish I had a similar one! Hopefully one day I will afford one 🙏🏻
You know how you need to pretend to sleep in order to fall asleep? And at some point it just happens. Maybe it’s the same with other areas of life. Fake it till you make it, kind of, not in a bad way – just a dedicated one. I have noticed at least that the same applies to yoga and meditation sometimes. If I feel stressed, anxious and restless, I force myself to do the practice anyway. And at some level it still does its magic, of that I am 100% sure. In between the sleepless thoughts and rough emotions – they become like clouds in the pastel coloured sky.
Wishing all a lovely calm Polar night, and remember that it’s in darkness you shine the brightest 🌌✨🎆
Did you know there is a reason why orange+blue and yellow+purple work together so well? 🧡💙💛💜 They are considered complementary colours! “Complementary colours are pairs of colours which, when combined or mixed, cancel each other out by producing a grayscale colour like white or black. When placed next to each other, they create the strongest contrast for those two colors. Complementary colours may also be called ‘opposite colours’.”
Sommeren er på hell, og jeg ser tilbake på en begivenhetsrik sommer, til tross for at jeg har vært mest hjemme. Vært heldig med været i juli, nå er det august og kveldene er mørke igjen, midnattssola er borte og det er på tide på finne frem stearinlysene.
“Sometimes she moves like rivers, sometimes like trees; Or tranced and fixed like South Pole silences; Sometimes she is beauty, sometimes fury, sometimes neither.”
Go towards the people that see you for who you truly are, in all your colours. For your badass kindness and fierce compassion. How we treat others reaches far beyond outer beauty and appearances; touching someone elses’ heart and helping them feel free and loved unconditionally is a gift that will never stop giving.
En enkel d.i.y som jeg ladge for masse år siden; sydde et lite hårtørkle/pannebånd ut av et sjal med fint fargerikt blomstermønster. På midten av båndet er det et lite tøystykke som klemmer det sammen og gir sånn fin fasong. Enkel dobbelknute i nakken ✌ Nå som jeg begynner å få hår igjen (holdt det på 7 mm en god stund), så er det gøy å leke med litt farger, frisyrer og diverse hårpynt. Også må jeg innrømme at min naturlige hårfarge ikke er så verst, er nok ferdig med å farge det.
Handmade traditional form fitted sámi silk shawl for my Sea Sámi kofte made with Asian brocade fabric traditionally used in buddhism. Lotus and vajra pattern in yellow and gold 😊 Turned out so nice, very happy with the result, it’s glowing in the sunlight 🙌 My kofte (gákti) is green, which will look amazing with the yellow 💛
Påska har så langt vært ganske chill for min del, har stort sett vært hjemme å slappa av, lada opp. Spist godteri. Tatt tvangs-selfies med kattene. Prøvd meg på litt hjernetrim i form av kryssord. Blitt sint fordi jeg ikke er noe flink på kryssord. Drukket litt for mye kaffe, og hørt veldig mye på Lord Huron. Legger ved en fin sang av dem! Ser ikke ut til at det blir så mye skitur eller sol i år, da vi har snødd ned her oppi nord, men håper alle har en nydelig påske læll ❤
Har lenge tenkt på å gjøre en cover-up av den tatoveringen jeg har på høyre overarm som jeg dessverre ikke er så fornøyd med, og har bestemt meg for å bare gjøre halve armen helt svart. Har alltid elsket blackwork, syns det ser utrolig kult ut. I går satt jeg tre timer og fikk gjort ferdig et svart bånd nederst, resten blir nok å ta noen timer til 🙂 Regner med å bli helt ferdig i løpet av neste år en gang!
Nydelig novemberlys ute, forresten. Sola har takket for seg for i år her i nord, men av en eller annen grunn så liker jeg mørketida. Nordlys og stearinlys. Hvitt på bakken og nakne trær.
Etterhvert som jeg har vaska håret, ser det ut til å bli mer og mer lilla enn blått (som det opprinnelig var), noe som egentlig ikke gjør noe, da jeg også er nokså glad i lilla. Har fremdeles ganske mye hårfarge igjen og tenker å freshe det opp så snart jeg får dreadsene mine i posten (har bestilt sånne håndlagde syntetiske dreads – igjen)!
Idag var jeg i en tur i byen for å handle litt og kom over en veldig fin mørk blå kajal med glitter samt en blå øyenskygge. Vanligvis kjøper jeg kun sminke på salg, fordi jeg syns alt er overprisa, og idag var intet unntak. Kajalen kosta 10,- og øyeskyggen 20,- – på salg på H&M 🙂 Så da jeg kom hjem måtte jeg prøve de sammen med en lilla matte lipgloss jeg fikk i bursdagsgave. Syns det ble en fin look så tok ‘noen’ bilder. Mini photoshoot med Kali💙💚💜
Made some more jewellery lately. Love the colors. All jewellery is made with glass or crystal beads, and either nickle free metal or sterling silver. Pine cones and shells are from the local nature. Will put it in the shop asap! 🙂
Ask The Mountains 