On beliefs in non-shamanic guardian spirits among Saamis

Abstract

Often the saiva (or saivo) spirits have been defined as the guardian and helping spirits of the shaman. In this way, Saami shamanism appears as a counterpart to shamanism in Siberia and North America where guardian-spirit beliefs have similarly played a distinctive role. These beliefs should be considered as one of the constituent elements of shamanism. However, the concept of guardian spirits is not necessarily limited to shamans. The intention of this paper is to try to prove the occurrence of a non-shamanic guardian-spirit belief among the Saamis, and to discuss its religio-historical import.  Apparently not only shamans but also other Saamis formerly owned guardian spirits that were handed down in the family. Among the western Saamis these spirits were anthropomorphic (if we may believe the sources), among the eastern Skolt Saamis they were zoomorphic. There is also some information on the purchase of guardian spirits. It seems, furthermore, that some persons—not just the shamans—could achieve guardian spirits through their own efforts. The reasons why the occurrence of this non-shamanic guardian-spirit belief has been so slightly dealt with by research are in particular the following. Firstly, scholarly interest has been directed towards shamanism and the role of the guardian spirits within the shamanic complex. Secondly, the early source writers turned primarily to the shamans in order to secure information on Saami religion, and the shamans of course described saivo from their own points of interest. Seen from a comprehensive circumpolar and circumboreal perspective, the Saami saivo complex may be interpreted as a European counterpart to the North American Indian belief in guardian spirits.