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<P align="justify">The legends and t … <P align="justify">The legends and the folk tales are epic, prosaic forms of folklore. The former ones are connected to the community s religion, beliefs and world-view and therefore, in principle, they change rather slowly. The latter ones have mainly an entertaining function, and thus the narrator takes a more conscious attitude toward the form of the tale and its reproduction in general. In spite of the differences in form, content, world-view, credibility and participatory involvement, the boundary between legend and folk tale is unclear. The speakers of the Saami languages use the same term for these two categories of folklore; in Northern and Eastern Saami areas they are called <i>máinnas</i> and in Western areas <i>cuvccas</i>. </P>
<P align="justify">The legends are divided in several subtypes: belief legends, historical legends and aetiological legends. Notable in the first subtype are stories about [[Stállu (engl. ver.)|<i>stállu</i>]], the human-like monstrous creature living in the wilderness. Their oldest layer of motifs has parallels in the traditionsof all Northern Eurasia. The motifs of the stories about the dualistic pair of female primordial beings, the good [[Áhčešeátne-Njávešeátne (engl. ver.)|<i>njávešeatne</i>]] and the evil <i>áhčešeatne</i>, are of North-Eurasian origine, too. The characters of both stállu and these prime beings have lately attracted quite a few fairy tale ingredients, and e.g. <i>áhčešeatne</i> may appear in a fairy tale in the role of the witch. </P>
<P align="justify">The shaman folklore is closely related to the Saami shamanistic beliefs ([[Shamanism|shamanism]]). These stories describe the shaman s diverse skills and duties and portray the shaman (the noaidi) as the leader, seer, healer and defender of the community ([[Peaivvas|<i>Päiviö</i>]], <i>[[Akmeeli]]</i>). They also depict the shaman s capability of taking the shape of an animal. The ancient Saami views of the human [[The soul|soul]], which allow the possibility of metamorphosis, have also originated stories of doppelgangers ([[Ovdasaš|<i>ovdasaš</i>]]) and even of ordinary people transforming into animals ([[Animal metamorphoses|animal transformations]], also [[The White Reindeer (the movie)|<i>The White Reindeer</i>]]). </P>
<P align="justify">Many stories have been told about ghosts reappearing after death (death and the dead), especially babies born out of wedlock and killed by their mothers (<i>[[Eahpáraš|eahpáraš]]</i>, bastard ).This tradition is typical to Scandinavian peoples and Finns as well. </P>
<P align="justify">Many stories have been collected about spirits and other more or less human-like beings living in the vicinity of humans. A large part of these is formed by stories about the good-natured, but sometimes slightly unpredictable earth spirits ([[Gufihtar (an underground being)|<i>maahinen]], gufihtar, ulda</i>). These half-human underground dwellers are also known to both Scandinavian folks and Finns. These stories have, however, been collected only from the Western Saami areas, which holds true for the <i>eahpáraš</i> stories as well. </P>
<P align="justify">The Eastern, and especially the Kola Saami tradition is represented in the stories about the reindeer man ([[Meandash (engl. ver.)|<i>Meandash</i>]]) which are based on a totemistic world-view. Other special features of the Eastern Saami tradition arecontained inthe stories about the heavenly bodies ([[Sun|<i>Beaivi</i>]], the sun and [[Moon|<i>Mánnu</i>]], the moon) and the [[Northern lights|northern lights]]. </P>
<P align="justify">The historical legends are for a large part foe stories, the motifs of which are often widely spread. The foe stories tell of evil intruders ([[The Čuhti|<i>čuhti</i>]]) which most often end up being defeated by the Saami, usually by means of cunning or magic. In the role of the rescuer we commonly find one specific person (e.g. <i>[[Lavrukaš]]</i>). </P>
<P align="justify">The aitiological stories provide explanations for local phenomena, e.g. topographical names, or for the characteristics of various animals. Their importance varies from one area to another. </P>
<P align="justify">Among the folk tales, animal tales are particularly popular, and there are more than 80 different types of them. Approximately three quarters of the collected animal tales belong to the subtype which depicts the adventures of the sly fox. Although this subtype has no particularly strong Saami character, it has attracted some originally Saamimotifs as well. As to the proper folk tales, the stories about the stupid devil form a strong subtype and part of its motif ingredients are widely spread. The role of the devil is commonly played by the ecotypical <i>stállu</i>. These structurally simple animal and devil stories have been told in the Southern Saami areas, too; the first collectors have gathered animal and <i>stállu</i> stories also from these areas, in which the other types of folk tales are almost unknown, e.g. the tales of wonder, which have been told especially in the Northern Saami area. Humorous tales are represented, at least in the collections published, only by a few thematic areas, (e.g. the selection of the bride) or by the numskull stories which, however, have not acquired any special Saami colour. </P>
<P align="justify">As to the regional distribution of the Saami tradition, there is a clear division in spite of the fact that many figures and motifs are widely spread. This division has been strongly influenced by the neighbouring nations. It should also be considered that the different ways of living and earning one s livelihood have lead to a cultural exchange between various regional groups. This exchange was enhanced by e.g. the fishing at the Lofoten Islands, which was a gathering place for not only Norwegians and Swedes but also the Saami from diverse areas. The overnight lodgings of the inshore fishermen, as well as the campfires of the nomadic reindeer herders are often remembered as the special meeting places where stories were told when the night fell or the weather was foul. </P>
<P align="justify">The collection of legends started in the 18th century (<i>Beskrifning öfwer de til Sweriges Krona lydande Lapmarker</i> of Pehr Högström from 1747 contains several legends). The collection of the folk tales began in the beginning of the 19th century, and the first collector was Jonas A. Nensén, who worked in many areas of Sweden and also collected legends (e.g. <i>stállu</i> and foe legends as well as aetiological legends; Nensén s notes were published in 1918 by Sigrid Drake in a Swedish translation). In the Swedish Saami areas, the oral tradition was collected in the same period by Lars Levi [[Laestadius, L.L. (engl. ver.)|Laestadius]] (e.g. <i>stállu</i> and foe stories; [[Fragments of Lappish Mythology|<i>Fragments in Saami Mythology</i>]]), and in Finland by Jacob [[Fellman Jacob (engl.ver.)|Fellman]] (e.g. stories of the famous shamans) and Matias Aleksanteri Castrén (stories of the <i>Päiviö</i> family). The first comprehensive collection of tales and legends was edited by J.A. Friis. The Saami edition of this collection was issued in 1856, and after its translation into Norwegian (1871) it became known outside Scandinavia as well. At the end of the 1870s, another Norwegian collector, Just Knud [[Qvigstad, Just Knud|Qvigstad]], started his gathering work which lasted several decades. A large part of the results, nearly 1.000 tales and legends from various parts of Norwegian Saami areas, has been published in the monumental collection <i>Lappiske eventyr og sagn I IV</i> (1927 29). Part of the texts have been recorded by the Saami themselves, e.g. Johan Johnsen Aikioand Isak Persen Saba. The Western Saami areas were explored also by the Hungarian Ignác Halász (in 1884 1891) and the Finnish Eliel Lagercrantz (in 1919-1926). Some Finnish scholars travelled even in the Eastern Saami linguistic area. Arvid Genetz continued in 1876 the work that D.E.D. Europaeus had started two decades earlier among the Russian Saami. A.V. Koskimies carried out the same task with the Inari Saami people in 1886. T.I. Itkonen's folk tale and legend collection <i>Koltan- ja kuolanlappalaisia satuja</i> is largely based on the material that he gathered in the years 1914 and 1927. Later, [[Itkonen, Erkki (engl. ver.)|Erkki Itkonen]] has collected the oral epic tradition of e.g. the Inari Saami area. In Russia, the pioneering work was done by V.I. Nemirovitsh-Dantshenko. He disproved the standpoint, widely held in Russia, that the Russian Saami - like all the other ethnic minorities in Northern Russia, for that matter had no folklore whatsoever. Nemirovitsh-Dantshenko s work was continued by N. [[Haruzin, Nikolai|Haruzin]]. In the Soviet Union, folklore was collected in the 1920s and 1930s by V.V. [[Charnolusky, Vladimir|Charnoluskij]] and V. Alymov, to mention but a few. One of prominent post-war collectors was G.M. Kert. <i>Saamskie skazki</i> (1980) is an outstanding selection of the Saami folklore collected in Russia and the Soviet Union. </P>
<P align="justify">The Norther Saami epic tradition of the later times has been explored by the means of a field study project launched in Finland in 1967 (Lauri Honko, Juha Pentikäinen et al.), which contains an in-depth study conducted in a few villages by the river Teno (Talvadas, in particular). </P>
<P align="justify">Saami legends have been studied especially from the religious-historical viewpoint (<i>Sami Folkloristics</i>, 2000). Up to the present, the folk tales have aroused much less interest among the scholars. J.K. Qvigstad presented in 1925 a classification of the types of Saami folk tales and legends (<i>Lappische Märchen- und Sagenvarianten</i>). In his book <i>Entwicklungspsychologische Analyse lappischer Folklore</i>, E. Lagercrantz bases his analyses on Freudian interpretation, as well as on C.G. Jung and his concept of archetypes. </p>
<BR><BR>rchetypes. </p>
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