NORTHERN LIGHT
by Elizabeth (Burnett)Kuhns

Imagine the heady first love between a young woman and man.

Every time the community comes together, they manage to steal moments to share secret glances, tender smiles and soft words. Then one day, the young man gets all his courage together to approach her father to ask for her hand in marriage. Making his intent known, the young man produces a beautifully made silver cup, drops a silver coin into the bottom, fills it up with schnapps and holding his breath in anticipation, offers it to the old man. The air hangs heavy with expectation. The young man wishes with all his heart the old man will reach out, take the cup, bring it to his lips and drink the contents as his happiness and future with the old man’s beautiful daughter depends entirely on this.

Their eyes meet, the old man sizing up the integrity of the young man and the young man staring back, hoping the old man will recognize and approve of his strength of character. The moment stretches and the silence can be sliced with a knife. Then slowly the old man reaches out and for a brief moment their fingers touch as he takes the cup from the young man. Holding the young man’s gaze, the old man brings the cup to his lips and with a quick movement, knocks back the schnapps. Hmph!, he grunts, indicating his approval of both the schnapps and that the discussion of marriage could start. With an audible sigh of relief, the young man’s shoulders relax and forgetting all about the speech he has been rehearsing for so long, he starts talking.

It was a close call, for if the old man had not taken the cup, he would have visibly shown disapproval of an intended match between the young man and his daughter and discussions would have come to an abrupt end – before they even got started, so to say.

Such is the ancient culture behind the Lappish Suitor Cup, a culture going back to the times of the Saami hunters, fishers and food-gatherers of the Sapmi territory, that vast stretch of land across the top of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. A culture steeped in symbolism and lived close to nature in the wide-open spaces of snow-capped mountains, indigenous forests and sparkling lakes. The hidden message in the ritual of the suitor cup says that the young man has the means to support the old man’s daughter because he can afford to have the cup made out of silver. Dropping a silver coin into the bottom of the cup is additional proof of that.

Within the Saami culture, much emphasis is put in the ownership of silver. Not only is it a status symbol, but it is easy to carry and easy to hide. To understand this, we need to understand the history of the land and its people.

About 10,000 years ago, the Ice Age neared the end of its reign and the heavy glaciers started slipping across the land. The movement was diagonally NW/SE across Sweden digging out softer rock in the process. This was the formation of the long lakes in Sweden and an areal view of the landscape shows these lakes running predominantly NW/SE towards the Baltic Sea. Today these lakes are fed from annual snowmelt and those lakes that do not drain due to the gravel moraine are green from mosses and algae. Others are a beautiful clear color or chalky from glacier silt. When these lakes meet the ocean, they become fjords.

By about 9,000 years ago almost all of Scandinavia was free of ice and became what is known today as a “Deceased Glacial Area” with a unique geology of rich mineral ores. As the ice retreated, the game started moving north. The Saami followed the game and so became the first inhabitants of Sapmi, the northern part of Scandinavia and have continued to do so since these pre-historic times. It is hostile territory with long, harsh winters of howling snowstorms and summers spoilt by swarms of insects, persistent in their harassment of man and beast. Yet, the Saami adapted, survived and multiplied. The many lakes had an abundance of salmon, char, whitefish, trout. The mountains and forests offered reindeer, elk, bear. The ocean had whales and seals. There were food, oil, skins for clothing and rope, and bone and wood for tools and utensils.

The land was divided up into hunting and fishing areas by means of a local social system called the Sijdda. Each Sijdda consisted of a group of families, often related, and managed by the head of the family and had control of their own territory that no other Sijdda was allowed to use. These were close-knit communities where the catch was shared with those unable to hunt. The worst form of punishment within a Sijdda was banishment where the whole community turned their backs on the culprit who was sent into the wilderness, never to be heard of again.

By the 17th century the Sijdda system was modified into a new social system where reindeer herding became the principle source of income, setting the blueprint for today’s Saami villages. Whole reindeer herds were domesticated and the Saami started migrating East/West/East across the country with their herds.

The riches of the Sapmi area did not go unnoticed and by the Middle Ages the Saami were heavily taxed by the young Nordic states who demanded exorbitant payments in whale bones, walrus tusks, dried fish, furs, but especially reindeer skins. So heavy were the taxes that it caused a major decrease in the size of the reindeer herds.

In 1634, Sweden’s first rich silver ore body was discovered in the Nasa mountain range on the border between Norway and Sweden leading to the opening of a mine in 1635. The territory was unfriendly. The mine was 60km from the melting hut, which in turn was 400km from the coast of Bothnia where the shipping harbor was. The transport of ore became a headache for the miners resulting in the local Saami being forced to use their reindeer to move the silver from the mountains to the coast. This led directly to a further decrease in the size of reindeer herds as many died of exhaustion during these journeys.

The Saami had had enough. They took matters in their own hands and escaped further north to protect themselves and their animals.

However, the value of silver was not lost on them. They soon realized to own silver was an investment that did not lose its value and it was the type of investment that suited their nomadic existence – it was portable. Important too was the fact it was easy to hide – a statement which makes you wonder from whom? Robbers? Or perhaps the taxman himself – after all, is he not a robber too?

The Saami continued to trade furs and reindeer skin for salt and flour and other useful commodities with one additional change to their lifestyle. Whenever there was a surplus from trading, this was now invested in silver, which took the basic shape of drinking cups, spoons as well as ornaments for their clothing. All along these articles were crafted out of wood or antler. When the Saami was in a position to invest in silver, these wood or antler articles were taken to silversmiths for exact reproductions. The Saami were never silversmiths themselves.

Traditional Saami silver has distinct shapes decorated with distinct patterns made according to techniques that have not changed much for centuries. Many objects for sale today are purchased primarily by the 90,000 Saami still living close to their original ways and to a much lesser extent tourists. It is interesting to note too that the designs are still exactly the same as all the beautiful historical silver on display in the various silver museums dotted all over the Norbotten – the northern territory of Sweden.

A visit to a silversmith workshop in a village called Jokkmokk, a few kilometres north of the Arctic Circle in Sweden revealed the many surprises of this ancient art.

First to attract my attention was the variety of spoons on display. Elaborately engraved and decorated with numerous jingling silver rings, there was no doubt about the importance of spoons. Apart from the usual western application of probably using it as a sugar or preserve spoon, there were also spoon earrings, spoon brooches, spoon pendants.

What’s with all the spoons, I wondered?

'These are called chest spoons', Leif Ohlund, the local artisan, told me and went on to explain how the nomadic Saami would arrive at a village while migrating with his herd and be offered a meal. This he will eat with his own spoon he always carried hanging around his neck. As per the custom, when the financial position of the herdsman allows, this spoon was then manufactured in sterling silver as a visible emblem of his status. A man has to eat, hence the importance of the spoon.

The salt spoon is another ancient utensil still being made today. This spoon has a sharp point on the edge to assist with the scraping of salt that had gone hard in the moist winters. Also beautifully engraved. ‘This particular design was first made in 1883 and apart from the decorative engravings that may change, has not altered since’, Leif notified me proudly. The manufacturing method has not changed much either, I noticed, as he pointed out the dome-block which is just a wooden tree trunk with different size hollows carved out of it.

Saami women wear very little jewelry, only an engraved wedding band, in fact. However, on special occasions, as a sign of their prosperity, they would adorn their traditional clothing with a selection of collar pins. Silver may be a by-product from certain base-metal mines and therefore not regarded in such serious light by some, but it is known to reflect more light than any other metal, gold and platinum included. Newly polished silver will reflect 95% of light. Against the dark-blue traditional Saami tunics enhanced with red, green, yellow, black patterns, the reflective silver has the most spectacular effect. It was interesting to note too that the majority of homes in the area were painted red, green, yellow or blue. Was this a coincidence? I never could find out.

Apart from the high quality silver hallmarked at 925, each article has added value due to the interesting engravings of mythological figures that played an important part in the shaping of this culture. The Sun is the all important father symbol and appears regularly on the articles. Everything rotates around the sun. Earth is seen as the mother and the Saami are the children of their progeny. The Wind decides the migrations of the reindeer and therefore controls the Saami wandering. They see themselves also as children of the wind and today are often referred to as people of the Sun and Wind. Other regularly engraved symbols are the Noajdde and the Noajdde’s wife; Juksakka, the goddess of the bow; Horagalles e Tiermes, the god of thunder. One rule prevails though: 'Don’t ever engrave the Noajdde’s wife onto a vessel with anyone else but the Noajdde. That’s really looking for trouble!' I was warned.

Between the 17th and 19th century, the Noajdde was regarded as the principle figure of the Saami society. A modern day equivalent would possibly be the weatherman, a priest, a stockmarket analyst. In other words, the magician who could pull the cat out of the bag, so to say. In times of crisis, the people would turn to the Noajdde for advice, as he was the mediator between the gods and the people. This was a powerful position. To distinguish him from the crowd, he would wear his clothes inside out and his prime role was to beat the drum, go into a trance, mediate and negotiate with the souls of the departed world, return to consciousness and interpret his transcendental visions to the people of his Sijdda. Not an easy profession to have. It took many years of understudy to become a Noajdde. When you think of it, today’s stockmarket analyst has it real easy!

The Noajdde’s drum became a symbol of power as well as powerlessness, a mirror of the soul, a way of ‘reaching the hidden little islands inside us that no-one has reached’. Traditionally the drum was made from a pine or spruce wooden frame with de-furred reindeer skin from a sterile cow pulled over the frame. On the smooth skin the drum owner’s life was painted, always with the sun as the center-piece. When the drum was beaten, a pointer placed on top of the drum would move with the vibrations of the rhythm and periodically stop on one of the symbols painted on the skin. This was then interpreted into a prediction. Small amulets of silver or brass were hung on the back to give the drum power and noise. At Noajdde ceremonies, the drum was beaten to the rhythm of a yoik chant, which was an emotional song of sound that assisted the Noajdde into a trance to travel to other worlds.

After a deliberate destruction of these drums by missionaries, only about seventy of the original drums are still in existence. However, beautiful miniature drum replicas are now being made in sterling silver or pewter. These designs are also copied in pendants and earrings.

What about the artisans making the Saami silver?

This is a very precise and delicate art form that takes many years of apprenticeship to master. In fact, it takes more than a year before a silversmith business can start earning any kind of profit from an apprentice. Leif Ohlund has been with Jokkmokk Tenn for fourteen years and still considers himself to be a junior craftsman.

'When I started here, it would take me an hour and a bit to engrave a cup like this,' he told me. 'Today I can do this in ten minutes. Eventually you get to a stage where you can do the engraving without a stencil. But some craftsmen never manage to get there. It is experience and a good eye that teach how to loop the patterns around a cup. There must be an exact pattern of eleven loops all the way round,' he demonstrated with swift, fluid ease. I was amazed at the perfect pattern taking shape in front of my eyes, which to an ignorant observer would look machine-made if seen in a display window. The quality control is superb as the standards are kept exceptionally high.

Each artisan has his own set of tools handmade to fit the palm of his hand. For this reason, artisans cannot borrow tools from each other. These tools can take two weeks or more to manufacture as each tool has to be tested and polished until perfect. If there is the misfortune of a tool breaking, the artisan is faced with a serious down time of approximately two weeks, while the tool is remade, as each pattern needs a specific type of tool. These tools are also exceptionally sharp. 'When the tool slips, it does not stop until it reaches bone!' Leif said ruefully. He must have learnt the hard way.

The most important item of the manufacturing process is the engraving clamp. This is a well made steel ball that rests on a leather ring. The ball is divided in half with the bottom half weighted. The top half swivels by means of a pivot attachment to the bottom half. The swivel motion can be controlled depending on the type of item being engraved at the time. These clamps just never wear out, I was informed.

That day, many wonderful items were purchased by the other members of our group. If those were proper Saami business dealings, the trade would have been concluded, not with a shake of the hands, but with the meeting of the eyes and the sharing of the business cup filled with strong schnapps. This was the traditional ritual of closing a deal when reindeer skins were traded for salt and flour.

The origin of Saami silver goes back centuries. That the culture has survived enforced modernisation, is remarkable. Now though we are ensured of its continued survival. In 1996 this area, also called Laponia, was named a World Heritage Area, meaning its cultural value and ecological diversity will enjoy special protection. Its uniqueness is truly special.

Return to Articles page