LAPLAND
FINLAND
Näkkälä: subarctic peatlands
Ancestral footprints from Nordic walkers lay in the subarctic climate of the peatlands.
Families from the Sami population have traveled through this hostile territory for millennia in a symbiotic relationship with the peat. They teach us that “north” and “south” are ideas or concepts that come from arbitrary reference systems, and that there are other ways of sensing direction as well. The world above is towards the south, just like the path of the Milky Way in the sky, where the ancestors dwell, on the sacred mountain Máttaráhkká: the great celestial goddess. Below lies the underworld, to the north where legendary reindeer and other nocturnal animals live.
The Sami people are the guardians of the peatlands, they guard the entrance to the multidimensional network of labyrinths. A mantle cloaks the earth and serves as a cosmic and metaphysical refuge for the people and their companion species. Delicious fruits also thrive in the peat and are used to make sweets and natural medicines, such as blackberries or cloudberries. They contain multiple minerals, since they get sunlight twenty four hours a day.
The peat is also intertwined in the tundra. Both the ability to survive and the economy depend on what the land provides—mosses, lichens, reeds, and other vegetation that has adapted to this subarctic ecosystem. The Sami people’s relationship with the peatland is unconditional and they are willing to stand up and fight for it. They exist at the intersection of four countries—Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. The language is a combination of ancient verse and the winds.
The Sámi inhabit and travel these vast and cold lands on a path guided by the footsteps of their ancestors
In its cosmology, the peatland has a cultural heritage and spiritual value. The Sámi people believe that the peatlands are inhabited by spirits and so they are considered to be portals to a divine plane. Rituals and ceremonies are performed to maintain harmony and balance with the cosmic forces present there.
Reindeers play an essential role in the culture, economic sustainability and vital sustenance of the Sámi people. The reindeer feed on the peatland vegetation, which includes more than three hundred species of moss, herbs, ferns, shoots, shrub leaves and trees.
The Sámi are a nomadic peoples. They walk as a family, traveling in search of sustenance and following the reindeer. Jouni Näkkälä grew up walking the territory and decided to continue his cultural legacy as a herder, just as his ancestors did for centuries. Herding is not only a job, but a lifestyle as well. During the winter, he has to feed the animals twice a day. Although the climate is hostile, he considers it part of their identity. In springtime, new members of the herd are born and they grow up in the summer. When autumn arrives, preparations for the arrival of the winter begin. Birds, insects and other wild animals also find their place between the tundra and the peatland, creating symbiosis and contributing to ecological balance. One can survive the harsh weather conditions only through direct cause and effect interaction between the environment and its inhabitants. In this place, like all places, no one can survive on their own.
The markings made by the different families are seales that travel through time and space. They hold a sacred image that moves from place to place on the reindeer’s body. Thanks to the symbols, the animals and people can move in open areas and live together.
Marking the territory and the animals are a fundamental way of organizing life. They create a code for survival and communication. Marko Ranta also learned the tradition of caring for reindeer from his family. He has been a shepherd for thirty years and knows his job well. It’s his life and it means everything to him. The Sámi people and reindeer belong to one another. July is the time to make the markings. This is a traditional activity in which young people participate as an initiation ritual and elders share their wisdom.
Climate emergency
Marko shares that, due to global warming, life has become more complicated and more expensive. Back in the day, the reindeer could find food on their own, breaking up the frozen soil with their hooves and eating the frozen lichen underneath. However, in the past years, this is no longer an option. The snow arrives before the ground freezes. The plants rot and the reindeer get sick. Rising temperatures around the globe affect subarctic life. The Sami people try to keep their livestock fed with stocked feed, however everything is becoming much more expensive.
Taina Vuolteenaho believes the most important thing that she learned from her Sámi family was to respect nature; taking care of oneself during the hostile weather, and protecting the land, air, and water of the peatlands. Her people pass this wisdom on to the new generations.
The Sámi stand up against climate change and ask for concrete actions against these changes that threaten their way of life. They oppose the exploitation and plundering of any wild territories that modern industries consider to be unconquered and non-productive.
Marya Näkkälä carries ancient wisdom and the people rely on her intelligence. Her children are the channels that translate her Sámi knowledge. She knows the peatlands and its inhabitants. She knows about herbs and their properties—such as the secret of the plants that store heat. She knows how to braid them and place them in shoes during the winter. This tradition almost vanished, however, language and symbols have the ability to change their meaning.
Sámi people have the ability to create interconnected networks amongst different species. They know how to survive extreme climates because they have already experienced it. Peatlands are memory banks. Scientists currently study these lands to explore this phenomenon. Perhaps they will find answers to our current climate dilemma.