{"id":49534,"date":"2022-03-29T20:08:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-29T20:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/senterfornordligefolk.no\/?p=49534"},"modified":"2025-10-21T20:14:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T20:14:19","slug":"vil-dokumentere-samiske-navnetradisjoner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/senterfornordligefolk.no\/en\/vil-dokumentere-samiske-navnetradisjoner\/","title":{"rendered":"Will document Sami name traditions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Previously, it was common practice in S\u00e1mi to place the father's name before the given name when referring to a person. Tor Mikalsen from K\u00e5fjord wishes to document this naming tradition before it disappears completely. The results will be disseminated, among other things, in collaboration with the Centre for Northern Peoples via the portal nordligefolk.no.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Torun Olsen Wernberg<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My grandmother Hansine Mikalsen was called M\u00e1lu Sina after her mother M\u00e1lu. My father was called M\u00e1lu Sina Hjalmar, after both his grandmother and mother, says Tor Mikalsen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He believes personal names are a central and important part of intangible cultural heritage, and therefore wants to ensure the tradition is documented as far as is feasible. The S\u00e1mi Parliament and Troms and Finnmark County Council have supported the project, and now he is ready to get started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tradition of using a mother's or father's name before a person's name is well-known in S\u00e1mi culture. In Northern Troms, this tradition is in the process of disappearing. The youngest person I know with such a name is over 65 years old. Until around the Second World War, almost everyone in the village of Manndalen, and certainly also other S\u00e1mi-speaking villages, had such a name, says Mikalsen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\"Hansine\n\n\n\n
Tor's grandmother Hansine Mikalsen was called M\u00e1lu Sina after her mother M\u00e1lu. Photo: Private<\/strong><\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Despite this naming tradition being very widespread in Sami areas, thorough research or documentation of it has not been done previously. The tradition has largely been an oral phenomenon, and the nicknames are rarely or never written down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unknown to the locals<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Although most had a Sami oral name, everyone simultaneously had a Norwegian, \u00abofficial\u00bb name, which was used for christenings and public documents. An interesting detail is that, in many cases, the Norwegian name was unknown to the locals, says Mikalsen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Mikalsen further states that authors who have been influenced by this tradition write that the father's name is most often used and that the mother's name is only exceptionally placed before the proper name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u2013 A preliminary study I have conducted in Manndalen shows that the mother's name is used at least as much as the father's name, states Mikalsen. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The collection and documentation will primarily take place through interviews with individuals who are knowledgeable about the naming traditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 The main focus will be in K\u00e5fjord, but I will also try to find informants from Lyngen and Storfjord, says Mikalsen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project's results will be disseminated via the website nordligefolk.no, which is run by the Centre for Northern Peoples. Mikalsen believes this will be of interest to everyone concerned with S\u00e1mi culture and history, and especially hopes to reach children and young people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 I envision that children and young people can get a direct connection to names in the project, as it could be about grandparents or great-grandparents. The project can also provide new insight into how strongly the Norwegianisation has impacted coastal areas. People changed names, and in many ways, their identities too, says Mikalsen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have tips or information about naming traditions, Tor Mikalsen would love to hear from you. You can contact him by phone on 993 26 744 or by email at tor.mikalsen@gmail.com.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tidligere var det vanlig \u00e5 sette foreldrenavn foran egennavn n\u00e5r man omtalte en person p\u00e5 samisk. Tor Mikalsen fra K\u00e5fjord \u00f8nsker \u00e5 dokumentere denne navnetradisjonen f\u00f8r den forsvinner helt. Resultatet skal blant annet formidles i samarbeid med Senter for nordlige folk via portalen nordligefolk.no Continue reading Will document Sami name traditions<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":49535,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nyheter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/senterfornordligefolk.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/senterfornordligefolk.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/senterfornordligefolk.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/senterfornordligefolk.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/senterfornordligefolk.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49534"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/senterfornordligefolk.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49534\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49537,"href":"https:\/\/senterfornordligefolk.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49534\/revisions\/49537"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/senterfornordligefolk.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/senterfornordligefolk.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/senterfornordligefolk.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/senterfornordligefolk.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}