{"product_id":"sami-folktales-from-the-near-and-far-worlds","title":"Sami Folktales from the Near and Far Worlds","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe most comprehensive collection of Sámi folktales ever translated into English\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan\u003eby Just Knud Qvigstad, Isak Saba, Barbara Sjoholm (Translated by)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the vast region of Northern Sápmi comes\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eSámi Folktales from the Near and Far Worlds,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003ethe most extensive compilation of Sámi narratives recorded from Sámi storytellers ever published in English translation. Comprising more than 300 folktales and legends from northern Norway, including many from the coastal Sámi and the Skolt Sámi of eastern Finnmark, this volume illuminates an oral storytelling tradition and shares narratives told by fishers, farmers, reindeer herders, lay preachers, and teachers from the interior plateaus and valleys to the Arctic fjords.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOriginally recorded in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by the Norwegian philologist Just Knud Qvigstad and the Sámi politician and folklorist Isak Saba, this collection spans centuries of storytelling in multiple genres, from migratory fairytales with kings and princesses to legends of ghosts and the Devil to fables with talking animals. A young lad from a poor family embarks on a quest through the wilderness to find treasure, receiving help from a wise female elder along his path. A Sámi boy falls in love with a háldi girl from another world, and they find a way to marry. A man carries sickness out of a village and stops the plague from spreading. Cunning foxes outsmart bears and humans alike. The villainous Chudes are tricked, foiled in their plans to steal from and kill the Sámi. People are turned into wolves, able to turn back only if they don’t taste the blood of a reindeer or if they are given cooked food. The ogre Stállu appears again and again, terrorizing the community until he’s outwitted or subdued. Rávgas, undead creatures of the sea, drag themselves out of the depths to lure others to their demise.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith historical context that reveals the cultural resilience of the Sámi people,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eSámi Folktales from the Near and Far Worlds\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ehonors these traditional narratives, often overlooked in other folktale anthologies from the Nordic countries. Translator Barbara Sjoholm’s insightful introduction describes Qvigstad’s and Saba’s backgrounds and their work in gathering and translating these essential texts, and she introduces Sámi storytellers Johan Aikio, Efraim Pedersen, and Elen Utsi, who contributed dozens of stories.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn unprecedented trove of Sámi narratives, this expansive collection brings most of these tales to English readers for the first time, marking a major contribution to Indigenous folk literature and enhancing a broader understanding of Sámi and Nordic cultures.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJust Knud Qvigstad\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e(1853–1957) was a Norwegian philologist, linguist, and ethnographer. He wrote and published extensively on the Sámi people of northern Scandinavia, and his substantial collection of Sámi folktales resulted in the publication of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eLappiske eventyr og sagn,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003epresented in four volumes from 1927 to 1929.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIsak Saba\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e(1875–1921) was a Sámi teacher, politician, and folklorist who collected and translated folktales from eastern Finnmark, including material from the Skolt Sámi. Saba’s tales were published in\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eLappiske eventyr og sagn\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eafter his death.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBarbara Sjoholm\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis an award-winning translator. She is author of many books, including\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eFrom Lapland to Sápmi: Collecting and Returning Sámi Craft and Culture\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Palace of the Snow Queen: Winter Travels in Lapland and Sápmi,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eand she translated\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eBy the Fire: Sámi Folktales and Legends,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003ecollected by Emilie Demant Hatt, all published by the University of Minnesota Press\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e480 pages. 24 b\u0026amp;w illustrations. Hardcover. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e8.3 in H | 6 in W\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Skandisk, Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43652783734858,"sku":"LIT118","price":39.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0289\/4712\/0202\/files\/lit118_700x_189bec37-6048-406e-800e-2ba354003621.webp?v=1780411229","url":"https:\/\/store.vesterheim.org\/products\/sami-folktales-from-the-near-and-far-worlds","provider":"Vesterheim Museum Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}