Page 147 - Panjek, Aleksander, Jesper Larsson and Luca Mocarelli, eds. 2017. Integrated Peasant Economy in a Comparative Perspective: Alps, Scandinavia and Beyond. Koper: University of Primorska Press
P. 147
livelihood diversification in early modern sami households in northern sweden
dental but came about due to the reindeer’s ability to survive in northern
latitudes with short growing seasons and long winters. In summer the re-
indeer graze on grasses and herbs, and in winter they eat lichen, which
they dig for through the snow using their front hooves. The written sources
describe reindeer being used to provide:
– traction as pack and draught animals
– help as decoys when hunting wild reindeer
– foodstuffs such as milk, blood, intestines and meat
– antler and bone for making tools and utensils
– intestines and stomachs for making containers
– hides and furs for making utensils, clothes and blankets
– sinews for making twine and rope
Both Mountain Sami and Forest Sami used reindeer for all the above,
albeit to varying degrees. A Mountain Sami herder could own several hun-
dred reindeer, whereas a rich individual might possess up to a thousand
animals (Linnæus 2003, 44; Ehrenmalm 1743, 129). At the same time the
Forest Sami are described as owning only a few reindeer that they used pri-
marily as pack and draught animals (Högström 1980, 85). The following
section describes the Sami’s versatile use of reindeer more in detail.
Reindeer were used either to pull or carry loads by Mountain Sami
and Forest Sami alike, and were the primary means of transport for mov-
ing between various habitation sites. Apart from transport, reindeer also
provided milk during summer and autumn. Milking was an intricate task
in which all the reindeer were first herded into pens, with the females sep-
arated and tethered, four by four, to special milking poles (Awebro 2000;
Graan 1983, 51, 56; Linnæus 2003, 105; Rheen 1983, 24–5; Ruong 1969, Ch.
10). Reindeer were milked twice a day, which is described as a task for both
men and women, young and old. It was time-consuming work, especially
for households with many reindeer, which explains why all available labour
was needed for milking. Some milk was drunk immediately but most of it
was turned into cheese. The milk yield was nevertheless small and the milk
from at least ten reindeer was required to make a cheese the size of a plate.
Given the limited availability of reindeer milk, the Forest Sami would have
produced and traded reindeer cheese only on a small scale. For the Moun-
tain Sami on the other hand, reindeer cheese is described as a common
form of merchandise, which they sold at market and bartered with neigh-
bouring groups.
145
dental but came about due to the reindeer’s ability to survive in northern
latitudes with short growing seasons and long winters. In summer the re-
indeer graze on grasses and herbs, and in winter they eat lichen, which
they dig for through the snow using their front hooves. The written sources
describe reindeer being used to provide:
– traction as pack and draught animals
– help as decoys when hunting wild reindeer
– foodstuffs such as milk, blood, intestines and meat
– antler and bone for making tools and utensils
– intestines and stomachs for making containers
– hides and furs for making utensils, clothes and blankets
– sinews for making twine and rope
Both Mountain Sami and Forest Sami used reindeer for all the above,
albeit to varying degrees. A Mountain Sami herder could own several hun-
dred reindeer, whereas a rich individual might possess up to a thousand
animals (Linnæus 2003, 44; Ehrenmalm 1743, 129). At the same time the
Forest Sami are described as owning only a few reindeer that they used pri-
marily as pack and draught animals (Högström 1980, 85). The following
section describes the Sami’s versatile use of reindeer more in detail.
Reindeer were used either to pull or carry loads by Mountain Sami
and Forest Sami alike, and were the primary means of transport for mov-
ing between various habitation sites. Apart from transport, reindeer also
provided milk during summer and autumn. Milking was an intricate task
in which all the reindeer were first herded into pens, with the females sep-
arated and tethered, four by four, to special milking poles (Awebro 2000;
Graan 1983, 51, 56; Linnæus 2003, 105; Rheen 1983, 24–5; Ruong 1969, Ch.
10). Reindeer were milked twice a day, which is described as a task for both
men and women, young and old. It was time-consuming work, especially
for households with many reindeer, which explains why all available labour
was needed for milking. Some milk was drunk immediately but most of it
was turned into cheese. The milk yield was nevertheless small and the milk
from at least ten reindeer was required to make a cheese the size of a plate.
Given the limited availability of reindeer milk, the Forest Sami would have
produced and traded reindeer cheese only on a small scale. For the Moun-
tain Sami on the other hand, reindeer cheese is described as a common
form of merchandise, which they sold at market and bartered with neigh-
bouring groups.
145
