Saami Tribe: Culture and Clothing

Posted by admin on August 2nd, 2011

Sami tribe, also known as Sámi or Saami, mostly live in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Kola Peninsula of Russia where was called Sápmi once. They are indigenous to this area of inhabiting. These people are the only official indigenous people of Nordic Countries.

Their traditional clothing is called gakti. Gakti is worn for formal ceremonies and also while working, particularly when herding the reindeers.

Traditionally the gákti was made from reindeer leather and sinews, as their mainstay is reindeer, yet these days it is more common to use wool, cotton, or silk. Women’s gákti typically consist of a dress, a fringed shawl that is fastened with 1-3 silver brooches, and boots/shoes made of reindeer fur or leather. Boots can have a pointed or curled toes and often have band-woven ankle wraps. Eastern Sami boots have a rounded toe on reindeer fur boots, lined with felt and with beaded details. There are different gákti for women and men; men’s gákti have a shorter “jacket-skirt” than a women’s long dress. Traditional Gákti are most commonly in variations of red, blue, green, white, medium-brown tanned leather, or reindeer fur. In winter there is the addition of a reindeer fur coat and leggings, and sometimes a poncho and rope/lasso.

The colours, patterns and the jewellery of the gákti indicate where a person is from, if a person is single or married, and sometimes can even be specific to their family. The collar, sleeves and hem usually have appliqués in the form of geometric shapes. Some regions have ribbonwork, others have tin embroidery, and some Eastern Sami have beading on clothing or collar. Hats vary by gender, season, and region. They can be wool, leather, or fur. They can be embroidered or in the East they are more like a beaded cloth crown with a shawl. Some traditional Shamanic headgear had animal hides, plaits, and feathers, particularly in East Sapmi.