Fragments of Lappish Mythology

"Fragments of Lappish Mythology" is the detailed documented account of Sami religious beliefs and mythology during the mid 1800s. It was written between 1838-1845, but was not published until 1997 in Swedish, in Finnish in 2000 and in English in 2002. The book was written origianly in Swedish by Lars Levi Laestadius for the La Recherche Expedition (1838-1840), but was lost and soon forgotten for many decades thereafter.

Laestadius describes the state of Sami religious beliefs held at that time and that were soon passing into history by the Christianization of the Sami during this period. The condition of these stories are as described in "fragments", however Laestadius himself admitted that there were much of the Sami religious beliefs that he knew little about because of Sami secrecy of their beliefs. [Laestadius, p.54]

Loss and discovery of the book

Laestadius was invited to participate in the La Recherche Expedition (1838-1840) by the French navy and wrote his descriptions of the Sami people at the time. He was recognized for his knowledge in botany and of the Sami langauges that the expedition would undertake. Laestadius was a field guide for the Norwegian Atlantic islands and in the interior of Northern Norway and Sweden, studying both plant life and the culture of the Sami inhabitants for the expedition. After the expedition, Laestadius was mention extensively within the project, however the Sami methodology work was forgotten as other issues came to the forefront; Laestadius' personal and moral struggles, focusing on the new Laestadist movement rather than spending additional efforts on Sami shamanism, his delay in sending the complete parts of the project rather than in single parts, and his personal lack of money for publication. The French government also lost interest as there was considerable political instability during the 1840s, ending in the French Revolution of 1848, which finally ended French interest in the whole project and in the "Fragments... " publication. The results of the entire expedition (excluding "Fragments") became buried in the National archives of France. [Laestadius, p.51] rquote|right
"But since these noaides through their alleged or real magic skills represented the greatest hinderance for the rapid spread of the faith among the populace, it was natural that they would be hated and persecuted by the priests who saw the noaides as the Devil's instraments. [Laestadius, p54.]
"Laestadius' " Fragments...

Discovery

Because of the delay in receiving "Fragments" it was not published in the expedition's final publication work. The leader of the expedition, Joseph Paul Gaimard held Laestadius' work in his private collection until his death in 1858. Thereafter, part one of the work was sold off to a Xavier Marmier of Pontarlier, France, who upon his death in 1892, willed it to the Pontarlier library. There it stayed in the Marmier's un-catalogued collection until it was discovered in 1933. Parts 2-5 of "Fragments" were sold off as part of Gaimard's estate to the local antiquarian bookstores where is ended up in the personal library of French Count Paul Edouard Didier Riantin. Thereafter, it's whereabouts remained unknown until they were discovered in 1946 across the Atlantic Ocean in the manuscript archives of Yale University. In 1959, parts 2-5 were microfilmed and added to the university's Swedish library. [Laestadius, p.48-52]

"Fragments of Lappish Mythology"
Contents
1. Reminder to the Reader
2. Part 1: Doctrine of Deities
3. Part 2: Doctrine of Sacrifice
4. Part 3: Doctrine of Divination
5. Part 4: Selection of Lappish Tales
6. Part 5: Addition

ee also

* La Rechereche Expedition (1838-1840)
* Lars Levi Laestadius
* Norwegianization
* Sami shamanism

Notes

Citation

Title: "Fragments of Lappish Mythology"
Author: Lars Levi Laestadius
Edited: Juha Pentikainen
Publisher: Aspasia Books (December 1, 2002)
ISBN 0968588190