‘Superstitious and Pagan, or Magical and Diabolical’: Saami shamans and their drums according to Johannes Schefferus’ Lapponia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51359/2525-5223.2021.252870Keywords:
Shamanism, Saami, Schefferus, Lapland, OthernessAbstract
Johannes Schefferus, professor from the University of Uppsala, has been requested during the year of 1671 to write an essay on the Saami, an indigenous people inhabiting the territory belonging to the Swedish Crown. Schefferus came up with an extensive description on the Saami, comprising subjects going from their physicial and emotional characteristics to their religious beliefs and magical practices, approaching their shamanism. Our aim is to highlight the construction Schefferus has made of the image regarding Saami shamanism, the shaman and the use of drums, contrasting such information with what is known today about these aspects. We intend to explicit how the Saami and their identity were perceived by Schefferus as a deviation of ‘european ethos’, since they were still holding into primitive and wild aspects, like shamanism and the use of drums
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