Ávjovárri – land, migratory routes and new administrative borders

Abstract

Várri is the Sámi word for a certain type of mountain, hence Ávjovárri is the name of a mountain, and the two mountains that bear this name in the interior of the county of Finnmark are well known to local people. For others, it is probably better known as a name mentioned in old written sources, such as tax and court records from the 16th and 17th centuries. In later texts on Sámi history, Ávjovárri is often referred to as a hunting and fishing Sámi siida or local community. The present article makes use of written sources that paint a different picture, namely, Ávjovárri as a unit of nomadic reindeer herding siidas that share migratory routes and fishing and hunting grounds as well as a meeting place used for court hearings, tax collection, trade and meetings with state representatives. A key source in this regard is the report compiled by border-commissioner Peter Schnitler in the 1740s, prior to negotiations on the establishment of national borders in Sámi areas. The report includes Sámi witness accounts about their land and livelihood. During the following centuries, Ávjovárri is replaced by new administrative constructions and borders. What survives is the system of migratory routes and reindeer herding which, in the main, continues in the same way as described in the witness accounts of the Ávjovárri Sámis in the 1740s. These witness accounts help us to see persistent patterns or sustainable adaptations in the reindeer herding Sámis’ nomadic way of life and in the consideration given to the well-being of the reindeer herds, as well as to activities such as hunting and fishing. The accounts also highlight their way of reading and describing the landscape, of which Sámi place names are an integral part.