Sámi Sacrificial Sites in Ancient Times

Imagine a cold wind whispering through the mountains of Northern Finland, where rivers wind like veins of silver and stones rest like ancient guardians in the landscape. Here, beside a small lake in Kittilä, an enormous rock formation rises – Taatsi, a sieidi, a sacred place where the Sámi, long before our time, met the unseen. A reindeer hunter stands there, hands trembling with respect, and lays down a head with antlers, a sign of gratitude to the animals that give life. This is not merely a tale from the past; it is an echo of a world where the sacred and the everyday are interwoven like threads in a weave, where hunting, fishing and sacrifice are one and the same dance step in the rhythm of life.

In Sámi shamanism, which lives on among other things in our ceremonies in Sjamanistisk Forbund, the sieidi places are portals to a holistic reality. Not separate from everyday life, but woven into it – as when we today call upon the nature spirits before a journey or a course. This article takes you on a journey through archaeological finds from three sieidi sites: Taatsi in Kittilä, Näkki in Enontekiö and Seitala in Utsjoki. Based on animal bone analyses from excavations in 2008, these sites show how the Sámi regarded the animals not as prey, but as partners in a mutual dance. Sacrifice was not a ritual gimmick, but a practical act in a world where bones could become new reindeer meat, and where the bear's tooth carried powers that could turn fate.

The river's guardian and the fish's song

Sunbeams break through the spruce trees and cast shadows over the 10-metre-high rock formation at the riverbank in Taatsi. Here the hunter stood, perhaps a fisherman with hope in his heart, and placed perch bones in cavities in the rock – 225 fragments, skulls and vertebrae that testify to a whole. Reindeer heads with antlers, black grouse and seabirds followed, mixed with trout and pike. This was not random; it was a conversation with the spirits of the river, where the fish's oil greased the stone to secure the next catch.

Imagine you are the Sámi nomad crossing the highland plain. You have just pulled up a giant perch, the flesh steaming, but you take the best part – the head – and carry it to the sieidi. In our shamanic understanding this is not a loss; it is an investment. The animal gives of itself, and in return you promise respect. The archaeologists found reindeer bones from young animals, 21–25 months old, antlers and bones. The birds – black grouse and ducks – point to a varied diet, where hunting and fishing merge. The sieidi did not stand isolated; it was part of a landscape of river and forest, where everyday life pulsed with the spiritual.

From a shamanic perspective we see here a fluid boundary between the sacred and the profane. In our modern ceremonies in Norway we do the same: we sacrifice symbolic food during full-moon rituals to thank nature, and feel how the energy is turned back as abundance. The find of a whole perch in a cavity reminds us of the belief that bones gather into new lives – a cycle in which death becomes birth. Paulaharju described how reindeer antlers and fish bones lay scattered on the top; today we can feel the same vibration when we step into a sieidi and hear the wind sing.

The bear's secret and the reindeer's wisdom

Farther north, by Lake Näckijärvi in Enontekiö, a 3.2-metre-high stone sits enthroned on a mound, visible only when the leaves fall. Here the excavators found 47 bone fragments, mainly reindeer teeth and antlers from adult males, but also something unusual: bear teeth from a skull, placed upside down facing the water. Reindeer bones suggest that meat-rich parts were also carried here, perhaps after a successful hunt. Fish scales whisper of oil that greased the stone.

Imagine the silent night before the bear hunt. The hunters fast, and place the prey with the feet toward what was the den. The bear was sacred among the Sámi – married to humans in folk tales, its bones carried special power. At Näkki the teeth lay close by the sieidi, perhaps an offering for strength in everyday life.

In our shamanism today we channel the bear's energy in drum journeys – its power lifts us through underworlds. Sacrifice was rational: give the best to receive more in return. The find of a shed antler shows flexibility – even fallen parts carried value. This place reminds us that religion is not separate; it is the glue of existence, where reindeer heads and bear bones are woven into the family's survival.

The mountain cave

In the mountains of Utsjoki, near the Teno River, rests Seitala's low sieidi stone with a cavity deep enough for a man. Here reindeer dominated: 62 bones, mostly antlers, teeth and skull fragments, including two shed antlers and neck vertebrae that belonged to heads. Cut marks on the antlers suggest that meat was taken, but the bones returned with respect. The ages ranged from calf to adult, male and female mixed.

Paulaharju saw quantities of antlers around the stone; the archaeologists confirmed it. This was a place of reindeer hunters, where heads were placed to let the spirit be reborn in them with new flesh. The belief that unbroken bones gather into new reindeer lived strong – a cycle of respected remains.

From the sieidi perspective, Seitala is a peak of balance. In our Norwegian rituals we place crystals or bones in sacred circles for similar purposes – to honour the cycle. The find of reindeer heads with the neck shows wholeness; the head as a whole carried the soul. This place, with its cavity as a portal, invites us to reflect on our own practice: how we in Sjamanistisk Forbund integrate ancient sieidi wisdom into modern life, where sacrifice is consciously used.

The sieidi in the weave of life

Through these three sieidi we see a pattern: reindeer dominate, followed by fish, bird and bear – species central to Sámi livelihood. At Taatsi diversity, Näkki bear power, Seitala antler focus. Bones from skull and antler predominate, recurring at or near Sámi dwellings, pointing to religious significance: the head as the seat of life force, antlers as antennae to the spirit world. Sacrifice secured hunting luck, the reindeer herd and the fishing – a rational strategy in a world where the animals listened.

In Sámi shamanism this is the essence: a holistic view in which hunting is ritual dialogue. The hunters visited the sieidi before the catch, ate a sacrificial meal afterwards, shared with the gods. The bear's special status – a sacred animal with its own burial rites – underlines the relationship. Even cut bones show this. Meat eaten, bones returned for rebirth.

Modern practitioners in today's Sápmi carry this on. Our courses teach respect for the bones, where we use drums of reindeer hide to call upon the spirits. The find challenges the Western division between ritual and everyday life; in the Sámi worldview, everything is one. Sacrifice was not symbolic, but believed to work – like the joiks that call upon wind or healing.

Sources

Iks, T., Puputti, A.-K., Nez, M., Aspi, J. & Okkonen, J. (2009). Sacred and Profane Livelihood: Animal Bones from Sieidi Sites in Northern Finland. Norwegian Archaeological Review, 42(2), 109–122.

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