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<P align="justify">This creature was … <P align="justify">This creature was a kind of counterpart of man that belonged to the dark side of nature. It was rich, dangerous and strong but clumsy and stupid. The <i>stállu</i> was a pan-Saami tradition. The easternmost Skolt Saami of Notozero call it <i>stallo-staal</i>, while the Kildin name for it is <i>taall</i>. This large creature that to some extent resembled a man dwelt in the wilds, and accompanied by a dog it was encountered on the fells alone. It was also related that the <i>stállu</i> would come to challenge a Saami man to a wrestling match, and it would announce its arrival by whistling. Many Saami men were said to have wrestled with it and defeated it by their craft. When they did so, the wealth of the <i>stállu</i>, gold or silver which it carried sewn into its belt, went to the victor. It was not possible to kill a <i>stállu</i> with its own knife because it only gained in strength from this. It was also necessary to kill the <i>stállu</i>'s dog so that it would not be able to revive its master by licking his wounds. According to some legends, the <i>stállus</i> lived in families.</p>
<P align="justify">According to a pan-Saami legend, the <i>stállu</i> abducted children who, in defiance of their parents, rode their sledges down hills late in the evening when the moon was shining. He took them to his own dwelling. However, by their cunning, the children managed to escape, and usually the people of the Saami village killed the <i>stállu</i>. The tall, which is the protagonist in Kildin Saami stories with this theme, is at the same time a giant and a bear. The figures of the <i>stállu</i> and the man-eating bear would seem to have merged in this tradition. This is also reflected in the Kildin Saami language, in which <i>taall</i> has replaced the original Saami word for bear, which still exists in the other eastern Saami languages. In the later tradition, the <i>stállu</i> incorporated numerous foreign features, including those of devil and man-eater (→ illustration). The <i>stállu</i>'s wife, <i>lutak</i> bedbug , was associated with the vampire theme; she sucks the blood of her victims with an iron pipe. In the legends of the Skolt and Akkala Saami, the <i>stallo/stall</i> is also associated with the vampire or some corresponding theme. In the late North Saami tradition, the stállu became an artificial avenging figure made of clay that was conjured up by a hostile shaman.</p>
<P align="justify">The <i>stállu</i> of the southern Saamis was said the be the son of the Moon; according to other sources he was the husband of [[Áhčešeátne-Njávešeátne (engl. ver.)|<i>Áhčešeatne</i>]], the daughter of the [[Moon|Moon]].</p>
<P align="justify">A historical explanation of the <i>stállu</i> has been proffered; according to this, it was a relic of the Vikings or other foreigners who had earlier persecuted the Saami. Lars Levi [[Laestadius, L.L. (engl. ver.)|Laestadius]] also argued in favour of this interpretation in his work <i>Lappalaisten mytologian katkelmia</i> [[Fragments of Lappish Mythology|Fragments of Lapp Mythology]]. Certainly it was easy for the maritime Saami to associate the plundering Vikings with the probably long familiar figure of the <i>stállu</i>; in other words, new interpretations of an old tradition were found, and from these new elements have found their way into the folklore.</P>
<P align="justify"> In the late Saami tradition, the <i>stállu</i> appears as a bogey, an imaginary figure used for scaring children by adults, who themselves do not believe in it. The purpose of stories about it is to teach children certain behavioural norms or to prevent them from going into dangerous places. The Christmas <i>stállu</i> (<i>juovlastállu</i>), known in Norway and Sweden, also belongs to the late tradition. It was used to frighten children into being quiet and behaving themselves at Christmastime. However, it does have a mythological background in that the stállu was truly believed to be particularly active when the [[Moon|Moon]] was shining in December. Likewise, the juovlagatze (the [[The "Christmas Folks"|Christmas folk]], a band of nature and ancestor spirits) were thought to be active around at Christmastime. In the days leading up to Christmas, the areas in front of the lodge had to be kept clear of all rubbish so that the reindeer caravan of the Christmas <i>stállu</i> would not get entangled in it.</P>; would not get entangled in it.</P> +
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