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REINDEER TRADITION AND MYTH
Reindeer Hunting
Human beings have been hunting reindeer for thousands of years in both
Eurasia and North America; in some areas, like Alaska, northern Canada,
Norway, and Greenland, this relationship has continued essentially
unbroken since the Pleistocene. In Deer of the World: Their
Evolution, Behaviour, and Ecology, Valerius Geist provides a fine
overview of the importance of the tundra-form reindeer inhabiting
Western Europe in the Pleistocene to Upper Paleolithic people. The
highly nutritious meat, the thermal protection of clothing rendered from
the hide, and the suitability of the animal’s antlers for carving made
reindeer a critical and multipurpose resource for humans. At this time,
humans shared in the pursuit of reindeer with wolves, cave lions, and
other large carnivores.
Old brush fences for funneling caribou into the spears and arrows of
First Nations people persist in some parts of the Yukon landscape, just
as similar fences as well as pit traps for capturing reindeer can still
be found in central Norway.
Human pursuit of reindeer continues today, both in the form of
indigenous subsistence and commercial sport hunting.
Reindeer Herding
Reindeer are the only deer species to have been domesticated. Geist
suggests the husbandry of reindeer came about as climatic change and
human hunting pushed many Pleistocene large mammals to extinction at the
end of the last glacial period. Surviving reindeer in the northern
latitudes of Eurasia thus became that much more of a crucial resource
for humans, who began more tightly following the herds rather than just
intercepting them on their migratory routes. This reindeer-directed
travel could, given the animal’s tamable nature, potentially have led to
domestication. The exact timeframe of the reindeer’s domestication is
unclear, and it’s possible different cultures tamed reindeer
independently of one another at different times. Some of the earliest
written records to reindeer herding—dating from the early centuries
A.D.—come from China, in reference to pastoralists in the boreal
forests.
Long practiced in Eurasia and exported—along with domesticated
reindeer—to Alaska and Canada, reindeer herding is a semi-nomadic
practice, catered to the seasonal movements of the herds. The ancient
relationship continues: Domesticated reindeer yield meat, hides,
antlers, bones, and milk. They’ve also traditionally been used for
transportation, hauling sleds and pulks. The International Centre for
Reindeer Husbandry lists nine countries in which reindeer herding takes
place: Finland, Sweden, Norway, Russia, Mongolia, China, Greenland,
Canada, and the United States (Alaska).
In
Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia, the Sami people are famous reindeer
herders, although this pastoralism was traditionally practiced only by
some of that diverse cultural group. In some specially designated
regions like Sweden’s Laponian Area, Sami semi-nomadism and
reindeer-herding continues much as it has for hundreds of years.
Reindeer in Legend
An
animal so important to human livelihood—both for hunter-gatherers and
pastoralists—is bound to figure prominently in myths and legends. Barry
Lopez recounts one in his Of Wolves and Men, stemming from the
Naskapi people of Quebec and Labrador. Their hunting beliefs make
mention of “Caribou House,” a center of caribou movement and the remote,
dangerous residence of the Animal Master with whom Naskapi hunters
parleyed during lean periods to make game available. Caribou House is
described as being surrounded by a deep layer of discarded caribou
antlers.
By
the 1800s, the modern association of Santa Claus with eight magical,
flying reindeer was established. In their pulling of the jolly
gift-bringer’s sleigh (if not in their aerial nature), the team—Dasher,
Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen—evokes the
traditional use of reindeer as draft animals in northern Eurasia. |