The Lost Games of the Sámi: A Look into the Board and Card Games of Northern Europe’s Indigenous People
The Sámi, an indigenous people inhabiting the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia, have a rich cultural heritage that spans thousands of years.
Among their traditions are board and card games, which have been played by the Sámi for generations. However, due to the influence of Christian missionaries and Laestadianists, many of these games were considered sinful and were forbidden.
As a result, only a few Sámi games have survived into modern times, and even those have been heavily influenced by neighboring cultures.
Sáhkku — The Running-Fight Board Game
One of the most fascinating Sámi board games is Sáhkku, a running-fight board game that involves each player controlling a set of soldiers that race across a board in a loop, attempting to eliminate the other player’s soldiers.
The game is related to South Scandinavian daldøs, Arabian tâb, and Indian tablan, but Sáhkku differs from these games in several respects, most notably the addition of a piece — “the king” — that changes gameplay radically.
Tablut — The Pure Strategy Game
Another intriguing Sámi board game is Tablut, a pure strategy game in the tafl family. The game features “Swedes” and a “Swedish king” whose goal is to escape, and an army of “Muscovites” whose goal is to capture the king.
Tablut is the only tafl game where a relatively intact set of rules have survived into modern times. Hence, all modern versions of tafl (commonly called “Hnefatafl” and marketed exclusively as “Norse” or “Viking” games) are based on the Sámi game of tablut.
Dablot Prejjesne — The Game of Three Ranks
Dablot Prejjesne is a game related to alquerque which differs from most such games (e.g. draughts) by having pieces of three different ranks.
The game’s two sides are referred to as “Sámi” (king, prince, warriors) and “Finlenders” (landowners, landowner’s son, farmers).
This game is another example of the unique board games of the Sámi people.
In conclusion, the games of the Sámi are an important part of their cultural heritage and deserve recognition and preservation.
As modern Sámi communities look to their past for inspiration, these traditional board and card games are an important aspect of their identity that should be celebrated and shared with the world.
