Today I bring you a very talented lady who is of Norwegian Sami ethnicity called Maddji...at least that is the name she uses to sing under. Her full name is Anne Maddji Heatta and she has also played at International level on the Norwegian National Ladies Football team, and is a qualified doctor who practices as a Paediatrician.
Here she sings a traditional Sami song which translated into English means Dawn Light.
The Sami people are an indigenous itinerant people who traditionally herded reindeer across the northern parts of Scandinavia...including Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia. They have their own culture and music, and some well known people have Sami DNA, for instance US movie star Rene Zellweger and Norwegian singer Morten Harket, who both have the typically characteristic high cheek bones and deep set eyes with heavy eye folds, which Maddji seems not to have inherited. It’s thought the evolution of this eye characteristic was a protection for the eyes against the driving snow encountered in reindeer herding in blizzard conditions. I found this additional video of photographs of the Sami, or Sapmi people, taken by Danish researcher Sophus Tromholt in 1882 to be very interesting.
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2 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.Thank you. That was all very interesting.
rogerbenham
Level 8
Mar 9, 2021
1
Glad you enjoyed...it makes my efforts worthwhile.
Thanks for the post, especially for taking the time to include some info about the Sami themselves. My late mother was of Sami heritage, descendant from the first modern humans to reach Europe some 40,000 years ago. Because they have maintained their language and culture — despite being displaced and marginalized by later, aggressive folk — they are an inspiration even to many of the non-indigenous peoples of Europe whose original cultures were swamped by assimilation into nation-states and ... christianity.
The-Krzyz
Level 8
Mar 9, 2021
1
It was my pleasure. I have become keenly interested in Norse, Viking and Celtic history through my studies of Scottish history. That in turn has led me to the world of the ancient tribes and ethnicities of west and north Europe and their cultures, peoples, conquests, intermarriage, barter and trade routes. As you say The Sami are among a small number of ethnic groupings who have managed to keep alive their language, culture and customs. I’m not sure about other countries in the region, as I know more about Norway, but the Norwegian government only permit reindeer to be kept or herded by The Sami people.