Reindeer husbandry Certain theories about the origins of reindeer husbandry have been found to contradict each other. Reindeer most evidently developed from wild deer, but the initial date and place of origin of reindeer herding remains a debatable issue.
Certain theories about the origins of reindeer husbandry have been found to contradict each other. Reindeer most evidently developed from wild deer, but the initial date and place of origin of reindeer herding remains a debatable issue. According to one theory (the diffusionist theory), reindeer herding originally started in Siberia, from where it spread to the Sami areas. Another explanation (the evolutionist theory) suggests that the Sami invented reindeer taming themselves, and that Sami reindeer herding developed independantly from the reindeer herding in Siberia.
Reindeer herding has, in any case, transformed into an independant means of livelihood in the Fennoscandia area. According to archaeology, reindeer herding may have appeared simultaneously with deer hunting. According to Aronsson, Scandinavian reindeer herding is about 2 000 years old. The emergence of reindeer husbandry as a means of living (i.e. large scale herding), probably began in the region of Vefsen, Central Norway, in the 11th Century. This large scale herding spread from the west to the east. The total amount of reindeer in the 14th Century, and up until the 15th Century in the Kautokeinko and Enontekiö regions, was quite small compared to eastern areas of Lapland. In westernmost Norwegian and Swedish Lapland, there were already large reindeer herds by the beginning of the 15th Century.
In 1997, because of the hard spring and partly due to the deterioration of the grazing lands, Enontekiö’s reindeer herders started to bring their reindeer closer to their homes. Keeping them within fenced areas, for at least part of the year, enabled them to feed the reindeer and cut back on the gasoline costs due to excessive use of snowmobiles. The reindeer herding culture still consists of the fixed annual events of calf marking, which takes place between June and August in the high fell areas (in existing old calf marking sites) and reindeer seperation, which takes place in November-December.
The first large scale herding in Finland began in the Käsivarsi region. At the end of the 15th Century all taxed Sami already had reindeer herds. The birth of large scale reindeer husbandry has been essentially linked with the birth of the nomadic Sami culture. Käsivarsi’s nomadic Sami lived according to the conditions of the natural year cycle and the movement of the reindeer. Finland differs from the other Scandanavian countries, in the sense that Finnish inhabitants in the northern parts of Lapland mixed with the Sami population and begun also to practice reindeer husbandry. In Sweden and Norway, only Sami people have ever had the sole rights to practice reindeer husbandry.
In Enontekiö there are two administrative reindeer-grazing councils: Näkkälä and Käsivarsi. Both these administrative councils and the other legally bound reindeer herding units in northern Finland (called "paliskunta") are set annual limits by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, as to the maximum number of reindeer they can own. At present the total number of existing reindeer in Enontekiö, over the age of 1 yr, is approximately 20,000.
Nowadays, reindeer husbandry has become a highly technical means of livelihood. The use of snowmobiles, motorcycles, all terrain vehicles and even small planes or helicopters, is part of everyday life. Some traditional features of nomadic reindeer herding have, however, still persisted in the Enontekiö region. The management of reindeer still follows the old pattern of family and clan based herding. The work of the reindeer herders is not paid by the grazing associations, as in the rest of Finland. Instead, everybody has their own reindeer to manage for themselves.
Further information:
Aikio, Pekka & Helle, Timo (1985): Poronhoito - katsaus Lapinmaan perinteisen elinkeinon historiaan. Lappi 4. Hämeenlinna.
Aronsson, Kjell-Åke (1991): Forest Reindeer Herding a.d. 1-1800. An archaeological and palaeoecological study in Northern Sweden. Archaelogy and environment 10. University of Umeå Department of Archaelogy.
Itkonen, T.I.I. (1948): Suomen lappalaiset vuoteen 1945: I-II.
Linkola, Martti (1985): Saamelaisen poropaimentolaisuuden vaiheet. Lappi 4. Hämeenlinna.
Photo: Pirkka Aalto