Anders Poulsen (died 1692), was a

Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise net ...

noaidi A noaidi ( sme, noaidi, smj, noajdde, sma, nåejttie, sms, nōjjd, sjt, niojte, sjd, noojd/nuojd, italic=yes, sje, nåjjde) is a shaman of the Sami people in the Nordic countries, playing a role in Sámi religious practices. Most ''noaidi'' ...

, who was the last victim of the many

Vardø witch trials ( fi, Vuoreija, fkv, Vuorea, se, Várggát) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county in the extreme northeastern part of Norway. Vardø is the easternmost town in Norway, more to the east than Saint Petersburg or Istanbul. The administr ...

, which took place between 1621 and 1692.Rune Blix Hagen: Traces of Shamanism in the Witch Trials of Norway: The 1692 Trial of the Sami Shaman Anders Poulsen, 2005 In Sámi form his name was Poala-Ánde.

Life

He was born in Torne Lappmark in Sweden, married and lived in Varanger. He was active as a

, and as such used a

Sámi drum A Sámi drum is a shamanic ceremonial drum used by the Sámi people of Northern Europe. Sámi ceremonial drums have two main variations, both oval-shaped: a bowl drum in which the drumhead is strapped over a burl, and a frame drum in which the dr ...

. The drum was taken from him by force on 7 December 1691 during the

Christianization of the Sámi people The Christianization of the Sámi people in Norway and Sweden–Finland took place in stages during a several centuries long process. The Sámi were Christianized in a similar way in both Norway and Sweden–Finland. Background - Christianity ...

, and he was put on trial for idolatry for being a follower of the Pagan

Sami shamanism Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise net ...

religion. The law used to persecute him was however formally the witchcraft law. Poulsen explained the drum's use during his trial in February 1692. The case was considered significant and the local authorities sent a request to Copenhagen about how to deal with it. Before a sentence could be reached, however, he was killed by a fellow prisoner who suffered from insanity.

Drum

Poulsen's drum became part of the Danish royal collection after his death and eventually entered the collections of the

National Museum of Denmark The National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet) in Copenhagen is Denmark's largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main building is located a short distance from Strøget ...

. It was on loan to the Sámi Museum in

Karasjok ( se, Kárášjohka ; fkv, Kaarasjoki) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Karasjok. Other villages include Dorvonjárga, Šuoššjávri, and Váljohka. The ...

, northern Norway from 1979 but it took “a 40-year struggle” for it to be officially handed back to the Sámi people in 2022, according to

Jelena Porsanger Jelena Porsanger (born 1967) is a Russian-born Norwegian Sami ethnographer who researches Sami culture and history. From 2011 to 2015, she was the rector of the Sámi University of Applied Sciences in Kautokeino, Norway. Early life and educatio ...

, director of the museum, following an appeal by Norway’s Sámi president to Queen Margrethe of Denmark.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poulsen 1692 deaths Witch trials in Norway Norwegian Sámi people 17th-century births Persecution of Sámi people Norwegian Sámi shamans People in Sámi history Pagan martyrs