You can check my video on Saami goddesses or scroll down and read the article )O( 

​Máttaráhkká was the goddess of earth. She was the beginner of all life. Her job was to receive the soul and the spirit of the child from the sky god Radien and give the breath of life to the child in the womb. Women turned to Máttaráhkká during childbirth and if they suffered from menstrual pains.
Máttaráhkká had three daughters. In the shaman drum these three figures are painted to the very bottom of the drum. Saami´s believed that these three goddesses lived in the ground with their mother just below kota or the house.

​Uksákká the third sister looked after the child when they grew up. She protected the child not hurting themselves or getting into accidents. Uksákká guarded all the doors of the kota´s and houses. She was also protector of doors in the animal world. She protected entrances of bear and wolf caves, doors of the birds´s nests and entering holes of the bee hives.

Check my other videos and articles about Saami myths and culture:

​Dark spirits in Saami mythology 
Water spirits in Saami mythology and folklore 
Daughters of the sun, sons of the moon 
​Sun and the moon in Saami mythology and folklore

There are new bags in my store )O( tote bags, beach bags, back-bags and so much more. With my nature-paintings and Saami goddesses (they are so much fun to paint). 

​In Estonia there is interesting myth told about the birth of the northern lights. According to Estonian myths northern lights were created when humpback whales were playing games and their scales are reflected into the night sky.
Another Estonian folk tale tells us that northern lights are born when spectacular horse drawn carriages are carrying heavenly guests into magnificent celestial wedding.

​In the Lapland of Finland northern lights were believed to be created by a magical giant fox called Tulikettu. Foxes were hunted because of their fur and it was believed that great fox hunter was also a great shaman. Tulikettu was like the Phoenix of all foxes and there could only be one fire fox at time. It was believed that the hunter who catch the fire fox would live in great wealth for the rest of their life. Fire fox however was so fast that no one could ever catch it. When it ran in the snowy hills it´s fur and tail brushes would create sparks that would fly into the skies and turn into northern lights. Finnish word for northern lights revontulet literally means fox´s fires.

According to another Saami myth northern lights were spume of water ejected from whales swimming in the arctic sea.
For fishermen in northern Sweden northern lights were a good prophecy. Omen that there was large groups of herrings swimming by.
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In Norse myths aurora borealis thought as reflections of the shining spears, armors and helmets of the valkyries. The warrior women who rode on horseback leading fallen soldiers to Valhalla. Sometimes northern lights were believed to be the Bifrost Bridge. Magical arc that lead straight into Valhalla the home of the gods and goddesses.
For the Inuits in Greenland northern lights were spirits of still born babies and even children that had been killed after birth.

Native American myths about the Aurora Borealis vary great deal same way as the traditions and cultures of different tribes.
Algonquin´s the natives of Ottawa and Ontario in Canada believe that northern lights were created by their creator spirit Nanahbozho. For them it was a sign that he was always watching over them.
For the Menominee´s native American tribe of the Wisconsin area northern lights were torches used by evil giants when they speared fish at night.
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Inuit´s living in Point Arrow, the most northern point of Alaska believed strongly that northern lights were evil and suspicious and they could come down from the skies and kill a man. They carried knives with them to protect themselves from them.

Inuits of Nunivak Island in the Bering Sea thought that northern lights were created by a walrus spirits who were playing with human skulls.

Makah´s, native american tribe from the Washington state told stories about a tribe of dwarfs who boiled whale blubber. Another myth which connects Aurora to cooking comes from Mandan from north Dakota where people believed that in the northern lights there lived great warriors who cooked their enemies heads in massive pots.

It is not very common to see Aurora Borealis in the firmament of Japan or China but when they are seen they are considered to be mystical powerful occasions.

In Japan child conceived under northern lights is believed to receive good looks, intelligence and great fortune.
In China Aurora Borealis are connected to the stories and legends about mighty dragons. Lights in the skies are good and evil dragons testing their powers against one another and breathing fire.
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Australian Aboriginals do not see northern lights but southern lights, Aurora Australis. For the aboriginals Aurora Australis represents their beloved deities and spirit dancing in the celestial sky.

​Northern Lights are rare phenomena in central and southern Europe. Before people knew the science behind the northern lights people lived in an atmosphere where all supernatural things were frightening and northern lights terrified people. In Italy and France northern lights were thought to predict war, plague and mass deaths.
In north of Scotland where northern lights are more common they are called dancing merry men representing souls of the soldiers who died in a battle.

Some Native American tribes believed that northern lights were trickster spirits who would come down if someone whistled and would kidnap the person. To protect themselves person should clap. This made the lights retreat and people would be safe from them.
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In Greenland expecting mothers were told not to whistle otherwise child would be born crossed-eyed.
Saami´s in Lapland also had superstitions about whistling. If they would whistle the lights would come down from the skies, chase them and burn their hair. Because of this still today many saami´s test their powers by whistling to the northern lights.

My other articles and vlogs with stories from the north:

​Siberian and Eurasian shamanism
​Sun and the moon in Saami mythology and folklore
​Reindeer in the saami mythology
​How stars got in to the sky 
​Mythmas Northern Lights

Check out my northern lights collection from my Redbubble store. 

Some of you might know this already but my family from my mother´s side originates from the Lapland of Finland and Sweden. I´ve always had bit of a soft spot for Saami myths and legeds and they have inspired many of my paintings and here I shall share some of those stories and artworks with you. Enjoy )O( 

To see more of my artworks and get some of my merchandice visit my Redbubble store :) 

Between 2015 and 2016 I had a goal to study and research Saami myths and folklore. I felt this crucial at the time. I had always known I had sami ancestry but I had´t never pay that much attention to saami stories and culture. During that one year I read everything about Saami myths that I could get my hands on + some children´s fairy tales from Lapland (which in many times were inspired by myths). I started to watch saami news (fortunately we get them in Finnish tv). I began to study northern Saami and I found out more about the current situation of the Saamis. This video was born after a year of research. A labour of love.

There are many things that needs to be done for cultural reservation. First step is sharing knowledge. 

 In this video I share stories about the dark spirits in Lapland and beyond )O( 

Stories about the water spirits of far north. 

Check out my Myths & Legends collection from my Society6 store with stickers, prints and posters with my goddess designs. Like Sarahkka from the Saami myths.

Story of the two sisters. The archaic Saami goddesses of night and day )O( 

Stories about the Staalo, mythical giant within Saami folklore.

Labyrinths are mysterious structures and they can be found from all over the world. What was the meaning of labyrinths and what are the most famous labyrinth myths and legends? let´s find out )O(

Video was first time posted around Christmas 2016.

​Saami people are the native people of northern Europe. Saami land reaches from the northern parts of Norway, Finland and Sweden to Kuola peninsula in Russia. In these modern times you can find Saami´s in all kinds of professions but back in the days majority of the saami´s were fishermen, hunters and above all reindeer herders. Nomadic lifestyle was natural way of life for many saami´s. They knew all about the constellations, movements of the sun, moon, stars and the northern lights. Saami stories and folk tales were told orally from one generation to another. Few hundred years ago in Finland, Sweden and Norway pagan beliefs of the saami´s were suppressed and many Saami´s converted into Christianity. Because of this slowly old stories vanished. Now we have only fragments left of the Saami myths and legends.

Because there are many different Saami languages the written form of the names varies. Sun was called Beiwe/Beaivi. In the Saami culture deities were not always personified. Often deities were seen as invisible spirits living inside rocks, rivers, stars, northern lights and such. Beiwe was one of the most important deities in the Saami culture because during winter in Lapland sun does not come out at all. Darkness lasts several months and even though snow reflects moon light, darkness still had it´s effects on the mental health and well being of the people. Sun was greatly missed during the long winter months. Summer was seen as the time of warmth and abundance.
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When sun was in it´s human form it was called Beaivvi Nieida the sun maiden. Beaivvi Nieida was connected to spring and fertility. Her sacred animal was the white reindeer. During summer solstice people made sun wheels from twigs, flowers and leaves and hanged them into the trees. Beiwe was connected to the fertility of the earth and well being of plants, flowers and animals.
There was a custom to sacrifice white animals to Beaivvi Nieda in the midwinter ritual to welcome back the sun. If there was not white animals available animals who had white ribbons attached to their ears were sacrificed. Other traditions that were part of the ritual was to lit fires that represented the sun. There was a custom to sprinkle fat to the door edges which sun would eat and become stronger before turning back to the sky after it´s long rest. Animal sacrifices were only made during winter. Otherwise that would have been impolite because flames might have been shining brighter than the sun itself.

​In the Lapland of Sweden there was a custom to bake so called "sun cakes" from reindeer blood. These cakes were hung into the trees and were left for the sun to "eat".
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In the Lapland of Norway saami´s left sacrificial porridge for the sun.

These sacrifices were made to make sure that reindeer's would stay healthy, so that predators would not get them and to cure sicknesses.

In February there was a custom for people to gather together into groups and walk to the ice to watch first glimpses of the sun after long dark months. Sun was greeted by bowing (this is a custom that was also practiced by several Finno-Ugric and Baltic tribes).

​In Saami mythology there are three goddesses that are connected to the spring. Sometimes these goddesses are seen as aspects of Beaivvi Nieda and sometimes they are portrait as three different individuals.

Sala Niejta (Uumaja Saami) was a female spirit who had the power to order snow and freezing air to leave so she could bring the spring with her.

Rana Niejta (also known as Rana Niete, Rana Neida and Radien-Neito) was the goddess of the earth. Her name literally means green fields/green grounds. She made the flowers and the herbs grow and turned mountains green in the summer. Rana Niejta belongs to the family of Radien-Spirits who were group of Saami deities that had power over human lives.
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Servge Edni was third goddess in the group. She was one of the spring maidens bringing new life with her.

​In Saami shaman drums sun, moon and the stars are common motifs. In so called heliocentric drums sun is painted to the middle of the drum. Saami drums are quite exceptional what it comes to shaman drums. In different cultures, drums where the skin is completely decorated with patterns can only be found from the Saami´s and among some tribes in Siberia who speak Samoyed-languages.

​When the sun was many times described as feminine, moon in the Saami myths was described to be masculine. Since there was very little day light, winter was considered to be suspicious time with lots of evil spirits wondering among the living, Mánnu being one of them. People thought Mánnu was very suspicious spirit. Why he came out to the skies during the night when all nature was asleep?

Older stories describe the moon more as a magical and mysterious spirit. Later on with more influences coming from Christianity moon got more bad reputation and features from the Christian devil.

​There was a custom to sacrifice hay to the moon. This can refer into older totemic belief that there might have been some kind of an animal spirit who lived in the moon.

December was believed to be the month when there was evil spirits wondering around and moon was sometimes described to be their leader. People were very careful not to irritate the moon. During December people did not like to stay outside for long periods of time. It was not allowed to do loud chores like chop fire wood and women were careful not to gossip or laugh.

In February when sun was coming back people gathered together outside under the full moon. They had pans and drums with them and they made loud noise to distract the moon and told him to go away so that the sun may return.
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Battle between sun and the moon is something that can be found from many myths and stories around the world. Suspicion towards the moon comes from people´s fear towards the night and darkness. During the time without no electric lights when people did not knew that much about the surrounding world it was easy to let one´s imagination run wild and imagine all kinds of dangers that were waiting in the dark. Returning of the sun was a promise of hope.