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<P align="justify"> <I>Duodji& … <P align="justify"> <I>Duodji</i> (Saami handicrafts). The word <I>duodji</i> means an act, activity or product, although today it is mostly used to refer to handicrafts. It may originally have come from the word <I>taui</i>, which likewise meant an act, activity or product. The corresponding verb is <I>duoddjot</i> meaning to work with one s hands, construct, build. There are corresponding forms in all the other Saami languages apart from South Saami. The form in Skolt Saami is <I>tuaij</i>, in Inari Saami <I>tueiji</i>, in Kildin Saami <I>tujj</i>, in Ter Saami <I>tijje</i>, and in Lule Saami <I>duodje</i>. The word <I>duedtie</i> is also used nowadays in South Saami, in which however there is original word <I>vätnoe</i> with the same meaning. </p>
<P align="justify"> There are detailed descriptions of handicraft designs, clothing and production processes in old writings. The Saami were well-known for their handicraft skills. From early times they produced boats and other objects. Usually craftwork are divided into men s work and women s work. Even today, in some regions the people believe that it is the job of women to work with soft materials while men work with hard ones. However, in practice these borders have now been crossed, and the first to do so were women. </p>
<P align="justify"> Handicrafts among the Saami have always been connected with their everyday life and their dependence on nature for a living. The Sea Saamis used different raw materials from those of the Fell Saamis: for example, wool and sheepskins, which were a more natural raw material for them than reindeer hides. On the coast, woolen rugs have been woven up till present times, and they are still produced with a basic tool; the vertical loom. Practical crafts were privileged because it was above all necessary for people to satisfy their basic needs. Because the raw materials were obtained directly from the environment, it was necessary to conform in this and in the satisfaction of basic human needs to the natural conditions and to changes in them. Both the obtaining of raw materials and the working of them were closely links with the seasonal cycle, for the people collected their materials at those times when it was possible or most convenient to do so. The same remains true today. For example, the reindeer hides for various products are selected according to the thickness of the coats. Fine fur coats are made from smooth-haired hides, especially from hides that are completely white or dark brown. On smooth hides the hair is less dense but the skin itself is strong. If, on the other hand, the intention is to produce warm mittens for wearing on the fells, then thicker hides are chosen. In the same way, different parts of sheepskins are selected for different purposes. </p>
<P align="justify"> The handicrafts of different regions are described in these writings according to the raw materials used. The scales of both sea and lake fish were used, for example, for making headgear. Knud Leem writes that the Finnmark Saami wore hats made out of fish scales if no other materials were available or affordable. The name for the seal in the various Saami languages indicates that the seal was important for the Maritime Saamis. Summer footwear was made from sealskin, as were straps and strings, but there is no record of clothes being made from sealskins. However, in recent times, sealskin has been adopted as a material for modern garments. </p>
<P align="justify"> Clothes were produced all year round, but different tasks were carried out in different seasons. Winter was the time for all kinds of leatherwork: fur tops made from both sheepskins and reindeer calf hides, long leggings, mittens, hats, capes and other winter garments. Modern Saami craftsmen and craftswomen still skillfully use the old methods to manufacture necessary and practical yet stylish garments. Of these, the [[Saami costume|Saami costume]] is the most easily identifiable today. The styleand decoration of the costume reflect the area from which the wearer comes, and the styles of these areas approximately correspond to those where the different Saami languages are spoken. Other parts of the costume also show where wearer is from. However, since the Saamis led a nomadic existence and came into contact with one another, they also influenced each other, and each person created products to some extent according to her or his individual style. The materials and the decorations reveal how people lived at the time when the garment was produced. Tanned reindeer hide gave way to frieze cloth, after which came felt of different colours, while today, in addition to felt and reindeer hide, all kinds of materials are used in making the Saami costume. </p>
<P align="justify"> Hard handicraft objects are made from hard materials like bone or wood. For example, the birch provided a variety of natural raw materials: saplings, timber, gnarls, different parts of the bark, and twigs. Other materials, too, like the wood of dead pine snags, reindeer horns and various metals are used. Even today some consider that working with these hard materials is men s work, although many women also produce handicraft objects from hard materials. </p>
<P align="justify"> Objects made from hard materials were likewise linked with the satisfaction of basic everyday needs. [[Skis]] have been produced by the Saamis ever since ancient times; in A.D. 98 Tacitus wrote about the Saamis travelling on skis. During the Historic Age, skis were an important means of travel in winter before the taming of the reindeer or the advent of horses. Another use for skis was for crossing swamps in summer, which clearly explains why so many old skis have been found in swamps. Skis were also frequently decorated. Tacitus further mentions that the Saamis wrapped small babies in hides, by which he probably meant cradles. Similar cradles were used by other indigenous peoples, for example those living in Siberia and some native American peoples. </p>
<P align="justify"> Boats (<I>fanas</i>), sleighs (<I>reahka</i>), sledges ([[The sledge|<I>geres</i>]]) and other vehicles are among the large objects that Saami craftsmen produced, and still produce. They were adapted to the nomadic way of life of the people; everything they took with them had to fit in the vehicles, so the goods could not be heavy or bulky. Gnarls provided a suitable material for bowls, cups, ladles, chest covers and other goods, for it was light and durable even when it was whittled thin. Bark was another light and durable material that was used to make objects like saltcellars and containers for cheese and other foods. Despite the fact that an object had to be practical and useful, its aesthetic qualities were also of major importance among the Saami. For example, reindeer harnesses used on holidays and festive occasions used to be decorated with tin wires or cotton ribbons or strips of felt.Other practical objects were also decorated: for example the handles and sheaths of knives were covered with reindeer fur. Today the aesthetic properties have become the primary consideration in objects which previously were mainly utilitarian, such as knives (<I>buvku</i>), sheaths (<I>dohppa</i>), bowls (<I>bollu</i>), cups ([[Guksi (Saami drinking vessel)|<I>guksi</i>]]), and various objects mad from roots. Some articles the production of which had fallen into disuse, like cradles, have begun to be manufactured again. </p>
<P align="justify"> Handicrafts also had spiritual significances and values. For example, the shaman's tray, the die or pointer (<I>vuorbi</i>) and the drumstick (<I>veahčir</i>) were important objects in shamanism. The shaman used the [[Meavrresgárri, the shaman drum]] in order to make contact with the gods, to foretell the future or to achieve a state of trance. Before the coming of Christianity the drum was an important object in every household, and there was a special place in the Saami lodge called the [[Boaššu|boaššu]] where it was kept. The figures on the drum skin, like those carved into rocks, usually had a sacral meaning. Consequently, many persons consider it offensive that the designs and ornaments of the shaman s drum are used indiscriminately, and particularly so when outsiders use them for profit. The decorations could signify affiliation with a particular group, or they could be purely ornamental. There are traces of the ancient religion in modern superstitions related to handicrafts. The superstitions are connected with the acquisition of raw materials, the work and how the object is used or handled. They also include spells for ensuring success, and there are many superstitions related to avoiding bad luck. </p>
<P align="justify"> The importance of handicrafts as a specific cultural mark of identity has grown. It has become imperative to protect handicrafts both as an occupation and as an expression of culture. In 1982 the Nordic Saami Council adopted a common Saami handicraft trademark for the whole of Saamiland as a guarantee that the product on sale has been genuinely produced by a Saami. In Swedish Lapland just after the Second World War, the [[National Saami organization of Saami Aetnam|<I>Sámi Ätnam</i>]] association established a committee to protect the interests of Saami handicrafts as an occupation. </p>
<P align="justify"> In some areas modern living conditions arrived early, and the daily need for handiwork lessened. However, the Saamis have continued to practise their traditional handicrafts. The way people regard handicrafts and the importance they have for people varies with time and place. Craftswomen and craftsmen are motivated in their work by their own needs and the needs of those who commission their products. Today many of the same articles that were made a hundred years ago are still produced, but their significance has changed completely. For example, the [[Náhppi|náhppi]] was originally a vessel used for milking reindeer, but today it is used as a bowl, and its significance is defined by its maker, its beholder or its user. Craftwork has begun to take on a new significance both for individual Saamis and the whole Saami community. For many it has become an occupation, a fact which is also a matter of controversy. The new occupation created a need to invent new products that would be suitable for all people. As the community of Saami handicraftsmen grew, it also became necessary to draw a distinction between different handicraft fields and products </p>
<P align="justify"> Many craftsmen received a training that was not based on traditional Saami craftwork but on Western artistic notions, and in consequence the word <I>daidda</i> art was adopted. The division into different fields grew more relevant as craftwork became institutionalized. Craftwork became a profession, and today professional craftsmen and craftswomen earn their living by their work. Many have their own studios, and many participate in arts and crafts exhibitions both in Saamiland and elsewhere in the world, and some even exhibit in several different fields of art. Contacts with other indigenous peoples have produced cooperation in organizing exhibitions and other measures of a cultural political nature. Organizations promoting Saami handicrafts in various ways have come into being, some of them like [[Organizations of artists|<I>Sámi Dáiddacehpiid Searvi</i>]] The Association of Saami Artists operating all over Lapland. </p>
[[Duodji: tools, materials etc.|Duodji: tools, materials etc.]]
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