The wind and all kinds of weather have always affected the lives of the Sami people. They do activities like fishing, hunting, reindeer herding and berry pickings always with the weather conditions in thoughts. People belive that Bieggolmmái, the Windman dwells on high mountains and rocks, controlling the weather and winds from higher places. The Bieggolmmái, the wind-spirit, is known across the Sami lands. He has been drawn very centrally on shaman drums. This is reasonable, because Sami people always need to follow the weather whatever they are doing. They of course have always attempted to control and influence local weather conditions, in every possible way. The samis know the Windman carries the words if wisdom. On the picture of the shaman drum, the Windman’s symbol is the round circle around the Sami hut.
There are some very important signs that tell us about the coming weather: When there is a warm autumn, there will be a cold spring is one saying. Another is to follow how the willow grouses are behaving. They are usually walking on the ground and hide under bushes, but if you see willow grouses sitting in trees, on branches, there is a snow storm coming up soon.
Another trustworthy sign is how the wind turnes around: When the wind turns clockwise from one direction to another, there will be good weather. And when the wind turnes anticlockwise on the other hand, there will be bad weather. It will start snowing when there are clouds coming up after a windy day.
In ancient times the Sami people tried to affect the weather conditions by worshiping and honoring the Windman when they were herdig reindeer in the mountains or travelling at sea. They believed then the Bieggolmmái would not put hard winds nor storms on them. The Sami people were offering through ceremonies reindeer antlers and other things on mountaintops for Bieggolmmái, the wind-ruler.
If the wind is blowing hard from one direction the Windman can move the reindeer in the direction he wants. The Sami people have always been able to take control of the winds. They are gifted in stopping the wind and knotting the wind in ropes. In ancient times they used to sell windropes. On knot on the rope could hold an ordinary weak wind. Two knots held hard winds and a rope with three knots held a raging storm.
The story tells the Sami people can control the winds with the help of the Windman. That is at least the fact about a Sami capable of catching the wind being born. He or she is then capable of controlling that special wind that was blowing on the day he/she was born.
hey mainly move around during the twilight hours and they can move over distances of tens of kilometers in a single day. An old traditional story tells that a wolf could move over nine treeless bogs (valleys) in one night. In a pack only the dominant alpha pair actually breed, but the pack help to raise the cubs. Three to six cubs are born to a pack each year. Females become sexually mature at the age of about two years, while males typically mature a year later. Wolves mate in February or March, and their cubs are born a couple of months later. Cubs usually leave the pack at the age of 1-2 years. They go far away from their birthplace searching for a mate and a territory of their own.
The coat is mainly yellowish-grey, but there are variations. People often mistake big dogs for wolves, and wolves can be most easily distinguished from wolf-like dogs by their slanting eyes – if you come so near you can see the eyes – and the way they hold their tails at a downward angle. Their tracks are very hard to tell apart from dogs’ tracks. Wolves often walk straight, while dogs tend to wander more. The wolves’ footprints are often larger than the footprint of dogs.
In Finland you can see wolves in 