When people think of the Arctic Circle, they think of ice, snow and heavily dressed Eskimos. But in fact, there is also a mysterious people living in the Arctic Circle of Northern Europe — the Laplands, who insist they are Sami. The people are mysterious because, until now, no one knew where they came from. More than 80 percent of the Sami population, now 75,000, lives in Norway, with the rest in near-polar countries. Through genetic sequencing, it is known that this people have been around for tens of thousands of years, but the origin of their ancestors is unknown, as they have remained confined to the polar regions, lived a nomadic life and had little communication with the outside world.
The people still use their own language, practice shamanism and live a very primitive way. For a long time, the people were even hostile to outsiders and refused to communicate with the outside world. This is because the area they lived in was occupied by Russia during the Tsarist era, which eventually led to the permanent destruction of their own culture. The tsar also doctored its history, erasing some of the people’s deeds and even naming it Laplanders, much to the Sami’s displeasure. That’s why this nation is so firmly xenophobic. However, with the continuous progress of technology, the Sami people have been affected by a certain way of life has changed.
In fact, in order to make their lives better, they also accepted the outside people, began to receive tourists from all over the world. Because of the mysterious nature of the Sami people, many people visit their gathering places every year, wanting to experience their unique lifestyle and understand the unique customs of this people. When visitors arrive, they find themselves living in a world away, adhering to their own national laws and having a “Presbytery”. Lovozero Village is like this. Until now, it still insists on holding its own festivals every year, such as “Reindeer Festival”, which attracts many tourists to come and experience.
The daily life of the Sami people is very simple. The men graze and fish for food, while the women sow potatoes and other foods. Of course, when the berries are ripe, the women and children also go to the wild to gather berries and make them into delicious jam for the winter. When people return from fishing, they divide it equally among them, which the Sami feel is only fair. During the winter months, the Sami migrate with the reindeer, much like the Mongols in my country, where the reindeer go for food, the Sami follow. The Sami used to have independent kingdoms, but they were defeated by the Tsarist Russians and eventually had to disperse to live in the polar countries of Northern Europe. Today, the people of this ethnic group still sing their own unique songs. The song is the long and bitter history of the expulsion of the people, who were bullied by almost every country in northern Europe, and it is still remembered by the Sami people. However, in modern times, they lived in relative ease and no one bullied them any more.
The Sami gathering place has become a popular destination, and the people here are willing to welcome visitors. With the development of tourism, their life has become a lot richer, but the increase of tourists has also brought a certain impact on people’s life here. For example, after some large tour groups come, their life becomes noisy. After more people, the ensuing troubles also become more, very troublesome is all kinds of garbage. They live in a sparsely populated area, and it takes a lot of people and money to get rid of this huge amount of garbage. In addition, the quality of some tourists is not very good, which may bring some disturbance to their domesticated reindeer.
Of course, because of the limited living conditions here, many tourists will complain that the living conditions here are too bad, the experience is not very good. Indeed, unlike developed cities, it is not a good choice to get very good service and so on. After all, it mainly provides people with rare folk experience. Where the Sami people live, there are generally five seasons, in addition to the four seasons and a polar night, and in the beginning of spring is the New Year here. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to see the aurora from here for the perfect visual treat.
The life of the Sami people is simple and unpretentious, and even after being exposed to foreign tourists and culture, they haven’t changed much. They are very hospitable and it is very satisfying to visit their gathering place. But they lived in a part of the country that was not cheap, for things were scarce, better than the Eskimos, with berries and other food, but only a little better. This is the Arctic Circle, after all, so anyone who wants to visit should be prepared.
