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About the Facilitator
Helene Lindmark is the Guardian of Wisdom, healer, shaman (noid) and Elder (Mattarahkka) and Grate-GrandMother of the Saami people - the oldest indigenous people living in northern Scandinavia. She follows the shamanic tradition of the heritage of the Ancestors of the Saami people (Sápmi) in the northern parts of Sweden, Russia and Finland. She conveys wisdom and traditions that had to be protected and hidden for years. She uses her knowledge as the voice of Mother Earth, her people and the wisdom of the Saami Ancestors.
She was born in Liikavaara, south of Gällivare in northern Sáami land. She grew up in close friendship with nature, surrounded by the wisdom of the Elders. As a child, she received many visions and messages from the Ancestors and Nature. And her roots in wisdom, shamanism, spiritual healing and mediumship come from both her mother's and father's sides, the Saami people.
As a teenager, she left the village where she grew up, started a new period in her life and closed the door to her shamanic roots. In the 1990s, her interest in spirituality arose, she looked for answers, but found only confusion. When she returned to the village where she spent her childhood for a year, everything she had left behind - her Powers and connection with the Ancestors - returned and the doors began to open. Yet she continued to fight and run from herself. Finally, halfway through her life, while staying with her father, she received news; “What are you looking for, Helene? You are not the 50 certificates you have achieved in life, you are your roots.” This freed her and all the pieces finally came together. She began a New Journey that led her to who and where she is today - an Elder of the Saami People, a mentor to the next generation, speaking on behalf of her people around the world. As Grate - GrandMother, she travels around the world teaching shamanism and Saami traditions, sharing messages from Mother Earth.
In addition, he has extensive experience in psychiatric care, in trauma cases, both in diagnosis and treatment. She also runs her own business as a certified masseur.
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“I am incredibly grateful for my life path, my roots, my gifts, and the ancient wisdom of the North that I am honored to pass on and share throughout the world.
I am here to introduce you to my shamanic path. My calling is to inspire, guide and support people in their healing process. I do it with great love and complete trust in my guides, relying on my intuition.”
https://www.helenelindmark.com
SAAMI PEOPLE - HISTORY
The Saami come from the furthest part of Scandinavia, and their territories cover the areas of northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia (approximately 380,000 km²). They are the original inhabitants of all of Scandinavia. They appeared in these areas over 10,000 years ago. And although the whole world calls them Lapps, they themselves do not recognize this term, because in Swedish the word "lapp" means "patch" - this name has a very negative and discriminatory connotation. Today their population is approximately 80,000.
The Saami have always been wanderers. The nomadic lifestyle was determined by reindeer breeding, which was the basis of their existence. In their own language they called themselves boazovázzi, or "reindeer walkers". They followed herds of reindeer, which recognized no boundaries. In winter, animals concentrated inland, in spring they moved towards the coast to new pastures. Reindeer were the main source of subsistence and food for the Sami. They ate their meat, made clothes and shoes from their skins, and carved tools from their bones. Nothing could be wasted.
The Saami - the People of the North knew and know over 200 words to describe snow.
Traditional Saami beliefs were based on shamanism, Nature and the belief that everything that exists - animate or not - animals, people, plants, rocks - has a soul.
For centuries, Christian missionaries have tried to force the indigenous Sami people to abandon their traditions and beliefs. And throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the Sámi were subjected to forced Christianization - their culture was ruthlessly destroyed, especially shamanic drums and other objects related to the sacred. However, the memory of traditions and ancestors remained hidden.
Nowadays, the indigenous culture of the Saami is considered by many to be something fascinating, but this was not always the case - after settling in the northern areas of Scandinavia, the Saami people became subordinate to the Norwegians, who considered their nationality to be the dominant one. The introduced Norwegian laws prohibited Sami people who could not write and read Norwegian from buying land or grazing animals. This meant there was no space for reindeer grazing. The Sami had no choice but to hide their ethnicity.
It was the result of many years of forced assimilation policy carried out in Norway, Sweden and Finland. An official instruction issued in Tromsø in 1880 stated that Sami children were obliged to be able to count, read and write in Norwegian. A derivative of this regulation were boarding schools where the Sámi had to send their children for upbringing.
The unfavorable policy of the Scandinavian countries towards the Sami people changed only after World War II. A number of laws were adopted to protect the Saami language, and the Saami Council was established, which since its establishment in 1956 has been actively protecting the rights and culture of this community. Teaching in Sámi was introduced to schools only in the 1960s.
In the 1970s The Sami people remembered themselves - due to the controversy caused by the construction of a dam on the Alta River. The emerging power plant would provide energy and new jobs, but at the cost of flooding areas where reindeer have been grazing for years. The dam was eventually built, but thanks to the protests, the Saami people were noticed by international public opinion. Their situation has improved significantly. One such positive consequence was the establishment in 1989 of Sametinget, an advisory body to the parliaments of Norway, Sweden and Finland. It is a kind of Saami parliament to which representatives are elected for a four-year term. And although it does not have real political power in any of the Scandinavian countries, it deals with matters that primarily concern culture, education and the economic development of the Sami community. In 2000, the Storting (Norway's parliament) established a fund from which money is allocated to activities intended to support the development of the Sami language, culture and lifestyle, as well as to collectively compensate for the damage and injustice that has befallen the people in recent years.
Today, Saami culture is beginning to be reborn as an important part of Scandinavian tradition. There is a radio station and television broadcasting only in the Saami language. Yoik also came back into favor. Some Saami families continue to practice the lifestyle typical of their ancestors. Many of them engage in fishing, hunting and reindeer herding, and among the oldest representatives the belief in shamanism is still alive.
SAAMI SHAMANS - NOAIDI/NOID
Noaidi - Saami shamans, were intermediaries between the human world and saivo, the spiritual world. They acted on behalf of the local community and usually used a traditional drum during the ceremony to induce a trance. They communicated with the spirit world. Noid could be both men and women. They healed, helped make important decisions, and provided protection for people, but also for animals, especially reindeer. They restored balance between worlds. Using the drum, they summoned benevolent spirits and travelled to other worlds. However, since the 17th century and the times of forced Christianization, most Noaidi shamanic practices had to be hidden.
Marcea Eliade – an expert in shamanism – described Noaide shamans this way:
[…] Completely naked Sámi shamans, like many other Arctic people, fell into true cataleptic states, during which their souls were believed to descend into Hell to accompany the dead or look for the sick. This descent into the Land of Shadows began with an ecstatic journey to the Mountain [...] cosmic axis [...]. To this day, Sami magicians still recall the miracles of their ancestors who could fly in space, etc. The séance included songs and invocations of spirits; the drum – which was noted to have drawings similar to those of the Altaians – played a great role in achieving trance.”
JOIK – TRADITIONAL SAAMI SINGING
For the Sami, traditional singing (joik) had a special meaning and was used in many shamanic ceremonies. Joik doesn't have to have words. A phrase repeated many times with minor changes may take the form of a single sound or an extended poem. It can be expressed through words, melody, rhythm, expressions and gestures. Everything depended and depends on the shaman's mood. It was once believed that shamans communicated with the dead using the joik.
DEITIES, SHAMANIC WORLDS AND ANIMAL SPIRIT
The Sami spiritual tradition assumed that everything had a soul: animals, plants and inanimate objects. The most worshiped deity was the god of thunder (called Tiermes or Horagalles) and deities controlling the wind, the Moon, fertility, and reindeer health. The Sun, painted on shamanic drums, and the symbol of the Tree as the pillar of the world played an important role.
Everything was connected with the Universe, which was divided into three planes. The Upper World - the home of the gods. The Middle World - was the Nordic Midgard, i.e. the world inhabited by people and the nature surrounding them. In turn, at the very bottom there was the Underground, where mythical monsters that represented death lived. Saami mythology was very colorful, full of giants, deities and fairy-tale events.
In addition to the main cult of the Bear Spirit, there were also other animal spirits, such as Haldi, who watch over nature, or Laib Olmai, a forest spirit associated with the animals of the forest considered to be its herds.
HOLY STONES – SEIDI
In the tradition of the ancient Sami, seidi are highly revered stone idols. These were natural creations distinguished by strange shapes or located in a specific environment, sometimes additionally carved by human hands. They were also made of wood.
The places where the seide were located were surrounded by a semicircle of reindeer antlers and decorated with twigs. Sacred stones belonged to the Underworld sphere. They were considered the abode or incarnation of a given god or powerful ancestor. People making offerings before the seide approached them in a pious position, on their knees and with their heads uncovered.
Sieidis, places with unusual landforms and spiritual significance, can be found throughout the landscape of northern Scandinavia. Each family or clan had its own local spirits to which they made offerings in exchange for protection and happiness.
Storjunkare are stone idols resembling a person or animal, placed on a mountain top, in a cave or near rivers and lakes. They were honored by placing fresh twigs in front of them in winter and leaves or grass in summer. Storjunkare had dominion over all animals, fish and birds and brought happiness to those who hunted or fished them. Reindeer were offered to them, and each clan and family had their own sacrificial hill.
