Page 149 - 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. 149
livelihood diversification in early modern sami households in northern sweden
Sami used a special type of boat built without nails (Lundius 1983, 9). Fish
were grilled, boiled or dried and, at least among the poor, eaten with little
or no salt. Furthermore, dried fish, especially pike, was used to pay tax, bar-
ter with Mountain Sami in return for reindeer meat and cheese, and sold at
market to merchants from the coast.
Fish was an important resource also in Mountain Sami households.
For example, Rheen (1983, 19) writes that the Mountain Sami during spring
readily ate fish instead of meat on Fridays, which were observed as fast days.
If they had not fished themselves they bought the fish from Forest Sami.
Fishing was probably considered too time-consuming for Mountain Sami
who owned many reindeer and for them it was easier to buy fish. So, for this
group fishing is described primarily as an occupation of the poor (Graan
1983, 36; Lundius 1983, 11). Neither was fishing as lucrative in the mountains
as it was in the lakes and streams down in the forest, partly because of the
nutrient-poor waters and partly because fewer species of fish populated the
mountain lakes and streams (Norstedt, Axelsson, and Östlund 2014).
All in all, fishing was the main subsistence activity for Forest Sami and
the fish was either consumed in the household or used for paying tax. In
addition, dried fish is described as a common trade good, especially for the
Forest Sami. For Mountain Sami fish was a part of the diet during spring.
However, they seldom fished and fishing is described mainly as an activi-
ty for the poor.
3.3 Hunting
Hunting is a broad term that includes grabbing, trapping, pursuing and
tracking. The Sami used rifles or bows for hunting both small game, such
as marten (Martes martes), ermine (Mustela ermine), fox (Vulpes sp.), squ-
irrel (Sciurus vulgaris), wood grouse (Tetrao urogallus), ptarmigan (Lagopus
muta) and large game such as wild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and brown
bear (Ursus arctos arctos) (Fjellström 1985, 185ff). The pelts from bear and
wild reindeer were often sold while the meat was consumed in the house-
hold. Other hunting methods were trapping and snaring, commonly used
for catching small game (Fjellström 1985, 197ff; Linnæus 2003, 61ff). The
objective of the hunt for small game was to get furs that could be traded
with and used to pay tax. Moreover, there are descriptions of how the Fo-
rest Sami traded feathers from seabirds and wood grouse with the Moun-
tain Sami, who in turn sold them at market in Norway (Lundius 1983, 17).
Furthermore, seabird eggs are described as an important part of the diet
147
Sami used a special type of boat built without nails (Lundius 1983, 9). Fish
were grilled, boiled or dried and, at least among the poor, eaten with little
or no salt. Furthermore, dried fish, especially pike, was used to pay tax, bar-
ter with Mountain Sami in return for reindeer meat and cheese, and sold at
market to merchants from the coast.
Fish was an important resource also in Mountain Sami households.
For example, Rheen (1983, 19) writes that the Mountain Sami during spring
readily ate fish instead of meat on Fridays, which were observed as fast days.
If they had not fished themselves they bought the fish from Forest Sami.
Fishing was probably considered too time-consuming for Mountain Sami
who owned many reindeer and for them it was easier to buy fish. So, for this
group fishing is described primarily as an occupation of the poor (Graan
1983, 36; Lundius 1983, 11). Neither was fishing as lucrative in the mountains
as it was in the lakes and streams down in the forest, partly because of the
nutrient-poor waters and partly because fewer species of fish populated the
mountain lakes and streams (Norstedt, Axelsson, and Östlund 2014).
All in all, fishing was the main subsistence activity for Forest Sami and
the fish was either consumed in the household or used for paying tax. In
addition, dried fish is described as a common trade good, especially for the
Forest Sami. For Mountain Sami fish was a part of the diet during spring.
However, they seldom fished and fishing is described mainly as an activi-
ty for the poor.
3.3 Hunting
Hunting is a broad term that includes grabbing, trapping, pursuing and
tracking. The Sami used rifles or bows for hunting both small game, such
as marten (Martes martes), ermine (Mustela ermine), fox (Vulpes sp.), squ-
irrel (Sciurus vulgaris), wood grouse (Tetrao urogallus), ptarmigan (Lagopus
muta) and large game such as wild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and brown
bear (Ursus arctos arctos) (Fjellström 1985, 185ff). The pelts from bear and
wild reindeer were often sold while the meat was consumed in the house-
hold. Other hunting methods were trapping and snaring, commonly used
for catching small game (Fjellström 1985, 197ff; Linnæus 2003, 61ff). The
objective of the hunt for small game was to get furs that could be traded
with and used to pay tax. Moreover, there are descriptions of how the Fo-
rest Sami traded feathers from seabirds and wood grouse with the Moun-
tain Sami, who in turn sold them at market in Norway (Lundius 1983, 17).
Furthermore, seabird eggs are described as an important part of the diet
147
