The Sámi Herd Reindeer in My Collage for LMAC #155

This is round #155 of the LMAC collage contest. It's amazing that Hive account@shaka never runs out of evocative photos for the community, and the participants never run out of ideas. In most cases, the collages created are spectacular works of art. In my case, that is not true. But, usually I do have something to say in my collages. This week is no different.

When I first saw Hive account@shaka's template photo I wasn't moved by any inspiration. Here is the photo:

Then last night when I couldn't sleep I watched a video about Sámi culture. I watched the video because I had written a blog that included information about reindeer.

Here is a link to that video by Slice. I recommend it, although I did skip over the parts where things were killed. The Sámi live in close connection to nature. They live off the land, which means they fish and hunt. The reindeer in their herd is not only a source of food, but also provides income.

This morning when I woke up, I knew I would want to show the Sámi herding their reindeer across the mountain in Hive account@shaka's picture.

The Sámi

A Sámi by His Tent in Norway, 2006

Credit: Ernmuhl at lb.wikipedia. Used under CC 3.0 license. According to the video I watched last night, the Sámi make crafts, as shown in the picture. They use wood and antlers to create their hand-carved pieces.

Sámi Father with Child (and Reindeer), 1890-1900

Credit: Nasjonalbiblioteket from Norway. Used under CC 2.0 license.

Sámi are the indigenous people of the northern Scandinavian peninsula and the Kola peninsula in Russia. They refer to their land as Sápmi. The territory covers parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia.

Although the Sámi are traditionally nomadic, in recent times many reside in settled communities. Their roots in northern Europe go back thousands of years, and certainly predate any modern cultures/nationalities that have moved into the territory.

Sámi People North of the Arctic Circle

Credit: Preus museum. Unknown date. Used under CC 2.0 license

It is believed that the Sámi may have once had a single language, but today there are three distinct languages in use. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, most Sámi are bilingual and many do not even speak their native tongue.

The IWGIA (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs) estimates that there may be in all between 50,000 and 100,000 Sámi inhabitants. While their traditional lifestyle centered around herding reindeer, today it is estimated that only perhaps 10% of the Sámi follow this lifestyle. (The Sámi skier in my collage is part of that 10%).

My Collage

Here is a still from the collage so you can see the different elements I used. Two of these were borrowed from the LMAC Image Library, LIL.

From LIL:

• Sky I borrowed from Hive account@muelli

• Bears (lower right corner) I borrowed from Hive account@yaziris

I also borrowed from Pixabay and Unsplash:

• Reindeer from Pixaline
• Wolf from Drassari
• Sámi skier Emmakara

I started the collage by taking out the bridge. Then I brought mountains and trees to the foreground and I added Hive account@muelli's sky.

Hive account@yaziris' bear came next. The solitary reindeer I copied and multiplied. The wolves came next. The skier came last. All that was left to do was to move things around so the action would make sense (wolves run off because the Sámi skier has come along to protect the herd).

LMAC and LIL

Usually I borrow more images from LIL. It is such a rich resource--well over 9000 images, contributed by Hive members. Anyone may borrow from the library and anyone on Hive may contribute. Procedures are spelled out here. All images are in the public domain.

I don't participate in the contest but try every week to make an interesting collage. It's great fun.

Check out our winners for this week's contest here. Tomorrow we begin another round. Please join in the fun.

I wish everyone peace and health.

Thank you for reading my blog

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