The Saami. A Cultural Encyclopaedia
Edited by Ulla-Maija Kulonen, Irja Seurujärvi-Kari &
Risto Pulkkinen
Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, 2005. 498 p., ill.
ISBN 951-746-506-8
€ 52, paperback

'I considered it best that there should be a book in which everything about the life and circumstances of the Lapps was recorded, so that no one need ask: "In what manner of circumstances do the Lapps live?"' This was how Johan Turi, father of Sámi literature, characterised his intentions when he published the classic work Muittalus samid birra. En bog om lapparnes liv af den svenske lap Johan Turi (1910; English translation, 1966: Turi's Book of Lapland) almost one hundred years ago. Turi's intention was to describe the life of the Sámi people from their own perspective, and he was one of the first authors to give them a voice.
     Like many other minority cultures over the course of history, the Sámi have been portrayed by researchers, priests and civil servants whose roots were in the majority culture. In older scholarly terminology these studies were called Lappology, a term that is based on the name given to the Sámi by outsiders. Nowadays Sámi researchers point out that those studies gave expression to both social Darwinism and Orientalism. Lappology unquestionably bore traces of the Romantic view of 'primitive peoples', in which the latter were viewed as happy savages outside civilisation. However, the first source that describes the Sámi is Germania by Cornelius Tacitus (AD 56 — c. 120), where they are portrayed as an 'amazingly wild and miserably poor' people. At the same time, according to Tacitus, these children of nature have arrived at the most enviable condition that man can reach, for 'left in peace by the gods and humans alike, they have attained that most difficult of goals, the need not to hope for anything.'
     Today the Sámi can be characterised as a proud indigenous people, conscious of their roots, their cultural heritage and their unique position in Europe. The Sámi live in the northern parts of Scandinavia, Finland and the Kola Peninsula. They are, apparently, the only indigenous people in the European Union with their own language, their own culture and to a certain extent their own specific industries. Even though the Sámi have traditionally been viewed as nomads with reindeer husbandry as their principal branch of trade, they have always cultivated several industries. And as the encyclopaedia mentions, tourism is not the least important among these nowadays. A considerable part of the Sámi population lives in the Nordic capital cities of Helsinki, Stockholm and Oslo. Sometimes one also hears Sámi call Stockholm 'the biggest Sámi village' in Sweden.
     As in the case of most minorities, the numbers of Sámi are hard to determine.The information about their numbers varies according to the way in which 'Sámi nationality' is defined, and which authority compiles the data. The Sámi Parliament in Finland has estimated the number of Sámi in Norway at over 45,000, in Sweden at approximately 20,000 and in Finland at around 8,000. For the entire Sámi population a figure of 75,000—100,000 is often given.
     The word 'Sámi' frequently refers to the largest linguistic variety, North Sámi, but in reality the Sámi language consists of several variants. Sámi belongs to the Finno-Ugric family of languages and is related to the Baltic-Finnish languages (like Finnish), the Samoyedic languages (like Nenets) and to Hungarian. The number of speakers has continued to fall, and there are fears that smaller variants like South Sámi may disappear. However, since the 1970s there have been revitalisation movements among the Sámi, which aim to transmit the language to younger generations.
     Like all historical writing, encyclopaedias reflect first and foremost the time in which they are created — its conception of what knowledge is, its picture of the world and, above all, its current assessments. The Saami. A Cultural Encyclopaedia is no exception.
     As the authors point out in the preface, the aim of the work is not only the compilation of information. They wanted to reassess the earlier research, compile the articles from a Sámi perspective and strengthen the cultural awareness among the Sámi people. We can see a similar development in Romani Studies in Europe. The ideological points of departure for a project such as the Romani Studies Institute in Sweden are more or less identical with what is presented in the preface to The Saami. A Cultural Encyclopaedia. The encylopedia's intentions reflect the international development of an ever-greater awareness of the rights of indigenous peoples and a willingness to allow more voices and 'truths' to gain a hearing. One example of this is the reproduction of a map which places the Sámi capital of Kautokeino (Norway) as the central point and shows Europe and the polar regions in relation to it.
     The encyclopaedia has been accomplished as a collaborative project between researchers at Helsinki University, Umeå University (Sweden), Tromsø University (Norway), The Research Institute for the Languages of Finland and The Finnish Literature Society. In addition, several specialists are represented, including religious historian Håkan Rydving, Susanna Angéus Kuoljok (specialist in Lule Sámi), Hans-Herman Bartens (Finno-Ugric languages) and Tove Skutnabb-Kangas (language rights). The project has unquestionably brought together the most illustrious experts in the field of Sámi studies and also in associated areas such as research into minority rights.
     The book covers a wide variety of disciplines, and contains articles on language, Sámi politics, history, folklore, economy, nature, education, etc. One of its merits is that it draws attention to subjects and fields of study that have hitherto received rather little elucidation. Thus, the previously often-neglected small Inari and Skolt Sámi groups are given thorough presentations. One of the newer disciplines in Sámi studies is literary history. As Vuokko Hirvonen points out, Sámi literature is closely interwoven with both visual art and music, something which indicates that the definition of 'art' is a wider concept here than the one traditionally adopted by Western civilisation. Nor, when it comes to Sámi studies, is it really possible to distinguish between the different fields in the strict sense. For example etymologies: those presented in the encyclopaedia are of great cultural and historical interest and also provide essential information about the lives of the Sámi today.
     For an uninitiated reader this encyclopaedia will be a treasure trove. Even though the book is based on research which the layman would find hard to follow, it succeeds in giving, in a relatively accessible format, an overview of Sámi life through the ages. When comparing the Sámi to other minorities, it can be said that thanks to the social welfare systems that have existed in the Nordic states, the Sámi belong to that part of the world's indigenous populations which have been given a reasonable degree of material resources for their existence and livelihood. At the same time, it is obvious that Nordic welfare policies have brought with them a strong pressure for assimilation. An important step in the Sámi's struggle for the rights to land and water areas was the so-called 'Alta Protest' of 1979—1981 which took place when the Norwegian government was planning to build a dam on Sámi land. Many of today's Sámi politicians, artists and scientists took part in this ultimately successful protest and, as Irja Seurujärvi-Kari mentions in her article, the Alta Protest can be seen as a uniting factor for Sámi identity.
     With these new points of departure, and a happy balance between the different fields of research, the editors have succeeded in producing a very interesting and readable book which should appeal to a wide readership. Even though it may be a somewhat eccentric thing to read an encyclopaedia through from cover to cover, it needs to be said that it is hard to put the book down. The Saami. A Cultural Encyclopaedia is illustrated with maps and photographs, a feature which further increases its readability. Johan Turi's Muittalus samid birra has without question acquired a worthy sequel, which even now can be considered an important classic in Sámi studies.

Translated by David McDuff