The migrations of the reindeer have shaped our culture
Just like many other cultures, our Sami culture has changed over the ages, but the reindeer and reindeer husbandry have maintained an important role.
We don’t know exactly when reindeer husbandry first began, but we do know that once bovtse, the reindeer, became the basis of our existence, they became an important part of our lives. Our lifestyle and culture have been formed around the reindeer, reindeer husbandry, and nature. The reindeer is Scandinavia’s oldest species of deer. It has been here since the ice cap retreated at the end of the last ice age. It was the most common type of game for the first people inhabiting the newly ice-free regions. Reindeer undertake long migrations during the year, predominantly steered by the changing access to grazing and food. Its diet consists of burhvieh, moss, kraesieh, grass, sjædtoeh, herbs, and goebperh, fungi or mushrooms.
Reindeer graze across wide expanses
Reindeer are creatures of habit and, whenever possible, they follow the same routes during their migrations, year after year. They have natural instincts, including birthing their calves in the same place again and again. This affects their chosen migration routes. They seek shelter in the forest during heavy snowfall and winter storms. Grazing areas are often expansive and the reindeer’s migration routes between them were established long before national borders were drawn. Today, the reindeer’s movements are also affected by us humans and industrial activities such as the construction of wind turbines and roads, as well as by tourism.
Reindeer husbandry is a living and vibrant industry in the entire area that is South Saepmie
Reindeer husbandry is a living and vibrant industry throughout South Saepmie, on both the Swedish and Norwegian sides of the border. Even though our lifestyle has changed over time, it continues to center around the reindeer. Meat, bearkoe, is the most important product from the reindeer. Reindeer meat is invaluable in a reindeer herder’s household. The largest quantities of meat are sold during the autumn months. The household’s supply of meat is frozen or preserved using traditional methods. Dried meat, gejhkiebearkoe, and smoked meat, soevesbearkoe, are produced through salting, drying, or smoking.