The Sami names for places are an important part of Sami history. A place’s name may contain information about the area’s history and often has a connection to the land’s attributes and features and the area’s function. Names can also tell us about livelihoods, events, or people

Place names may sometimes seem quite simple to understand and interpret. Sometimes this is the case. Words such as johke (river) and vaerie (mountain) are easy to understand. In other cases names are much more complex. The name of the inland lake, Åanghkere, is a compound word. It is built from the words åanghke (deep river bed) and jaevrie (lake); however, in this case jaevrie was shortened to -re, several hundred years ago. In many cases, names are so ancient that it is impossible to know how they were pronounced or what they meant. This can be the case for names that are similar to words in use today. Here, it is necessary to have a knowledge of the language, the linguistic history, and evolution over time, to find the root of a name. Sometimes it is still not possible to interpret a name and we must accept that we cannot uncover the history of a place and its name.

Names tell us stories about our history 

“Gåetietjahke” tells us that there was a settlement, a “gåetie”, or house, near a mountaintop, a “tjahke”. “Buvrienjuenie” describes a nearby storage shed, or “buvrie” . “Giedtienjaevrie” tells us that there was a fenced enclosure for reindeer, a “giedtie”, near the lake.  “Vïnhtsejaevrie” indicates that a boat, or “vïnhtse”, was kept in the lake. Thus, many place names describe settlements or the type of work that took place there. Names also tell us about sacred places.

“Bissiedurrie” tells us that the gorge or valley, “durrie”, had a relationship to something sacred. “Saajvetjåalhte” indicates a relationship to something holy or spiritual. “Saajve” refers to deities or spiritual powers and “tjåalhte” means hill. Seen together, the place names in an area tell a story, they are a map, a compass, and a GPS.

Cities such as “Tråante”, Trondheim, or “Staare”, Östersund, or “Sjädtavaellie”, Sundsvall, encompass part of our history. For hundreds of years, we have lived, traveled, attended schools, and traded in in these cities, “Sjädtavaellie” was long the site of a church, a market for the Sami, as well as winter grazing pastures for reindeer. The first Sami national congresses were held in “Tråante” and “Staare” in 1917 and 1918. These events are regarded as the first major steps towards an established Sami political sphere and important calls for greater respect for the rights of the Sami people. Today, there is a Sami Parliament in Sweden, Norway, and in Finland. Saepmie spans across parts of these three countries, as well as into Russia.

Part 3 – The Sami in Norwegian and Swedish