The Shamanic Journey in the Drum of the Saami Noaidi

Record summary

Early modern descriptions of Sámi noaidi practice associate ritual specialists, drums, animal symbolism and journeys or communications involving other-than-human realms. Missionary reports, court records and surviving drums provide identifiable documentary and material leads for studying trance, soul-flight concepts and cultural translation. The records were produced largely by outsiders during Christianization and legal suppression, while many drums were confiscated or decontextualized. The existence of ritual traditions is well documented, but individual journey claims require careful source criticism.