Abstract
Today, artefacts of the past have immense value for Sámi shamans, artists, and custodians of culture who are reengaging with their spiritual traditions. A cultural revival is taking place through various applications and approaches. Henceforth, there is an ongoing process of creating a restorative framework mainly based on the work of individuals, through which, drum making and decoration, joiking, sacrificial acts, and forms of divination consisting of various sorts of practices are emerging. One of the central symbols that features prominently amongst the Sámi in relation to their prehistoric cosmology and reuse of symbolism in different contexts with regard to spiritual traditions that helps link past with the present is the Sun. Therefore, the purpose of the descriptive analysis in this research paper examines the application of the Sun symbol to new types of drums made by Peter Armstrand who is a Sámi person, for healing and identity building and some of the contexts they appear within. As a method to elaborate on how the past is utilized in the present, the research material constitutes one short case study involving Armstrand who is a Sámi drum maker and likewise, a healer. To help broaden the fieldwork materials collected, I also refer to an old photograph of a drum and its cosmological landscape.
Highlights
The emphasis of the study focuses on a contemporary practitioner of shamanism within Sámi culture and the value he relates to the Sun symbol as a mythical figure that is a source of inspiration within a modern practice in connection with healing, ceremony, and ritual
This is in relation to the representation and implementation of cultural heritage with regard to the construction and subsequent decoration and use of contemporary Sámi shaman drums in various contexts by Sámi persons
The aim of the research is to document the proposed case study to the extent that it demonstrates the number of ways that Peter Armstrand, as a Sámi person, uses art, healing, and ritual as methods to bring traditional Sámi practices related to spiritual traditions and Sámi religion into a contemporary setting
Summary
The emphasis of the study focuses on a contemporary practitioner of shamanism within Sámi culture and the value he relates to the Sun symbol as a mythical figure that is a source of inspiration within a modern practice in connection with healing, ceremony, and ritual. There is an ongoing process of creating a restorative framework mainly based on the work of individuals, through which, drum making and decoration, joiking, sacrificial acts, and forms of divination consisting of various sorts of practices are emerging from within Sámi culture These provide some insight and understanding into each of the aforementioned spiritual traditions (drum making, sacrifice, joiking) and do orient towards the practice of Sámi religion in a contemporary setting through numerous relationships to culture and heritage. The reason for doing this is because the history of the Sámi people is an important factor in relation to how myths have been interpreted within various contexts by Sámi noaidi Some of these are depicted through art on the ancient drum presented below, as well as scholarly sources and through the contemporary work of Armstrand, all of which are connected to the past. Sun play a central component within the research in connection with healing, ritual, art, and myths (cosmology), in order to demonstrate the Sun’s importance in relation to its purpose as a symbol of communication and unity within Sámi religion, spiritual practices, and literature
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