Harmløs dissenter eller djevelsk trollmann? Trolldomsprosessen mot samen Anders Poulsen i 1692

Abstract

Urfolket i Nord-Europa, samene, kom også i søkelyset da hekseforfølgelsen grep om seg på 1500- og 1600-tallet. Sett i forhold til det lave folketallet ble mange samer på Nordkalotten dømt for trolldomsaktivitet. Artikkelen til Rune Hagen er den første empiriske undersøkelsen av omfanget av trolldomsprosesser mot samer i Norge. Undersøkelsen viser at 37 samer, de fleste menn, ble tiltalt og dømt for trolldomsforbrytelser i de tre nordligste fylkene i Norge. I 1692 måtte Anders Poulsen svare for anklager om trolldomskunst som han særlig skulle ha utøvd gjennom sin tromme, runebommen. Kildene fra denne saken er blant de mest omfangsrike fra norske trolldomssaker og gir innblikk i trosforestillinger som de dansk-norske myndighetene fikk store problemer med å bringe på begrep. Poulsens beskrivelse av sine evner gir et godt utgangspunkt for en tverrvitenskapelige diskusjonen rundt samisk sjamanisme og magi. Med bakgrunn i denne saken drøfter forfatteren også noen av særtrekkene ved trolldomsprosesser ført mot samer.

In the early modern period the Sami were known throughout Europe as immensely dangerous magicians and sorcerers. The missionaries and people representing the government came to the North Calotte to demolish sacred places and to confiscate magic drums. As this article shows, the witch hunt in the northern part of Norway (Arctic Norway) stands out as one of the worst cases of witch persecutions in all of Europe in comparison to the very small size of the population. Over 175 people were prosecuted for the crime of witchcraft from 1593 to 1695. The witch trials of the far north are distinctive in a European context because of the elements of Sami magic. About 20% of the witch trials are known to have affected the Sami. But only a few of these trials show traces of Sami shamanism. In Sami shamanism the drum, runebomme, is of great importance, and often linked to ecstatic divinations. The Sami shaman, noaidi, played his drum when he wanted to heal, divine, or to bring luck during hunting, and when he wanted to communicate with his gods. During the witch trials in Finnmark, two Sami drums were confiscated. One of the owners had to answer questions about the use of the drum and about the meaning of all the figures and symbols on his drum. Trying to find traces of shamanism, the article emphasises on the trial records of this particular case. These records date from one of the last but most momentous witch-trial in 1692. An old Sami shaman, Anders Poulsen, told the court about the symbols and the use of his magic drum. He also stood up and demonstrated the instrument for the people being present in the court house of a small fishing village called Vadsø.The assessment of the court case upholds the findings which criticise ecstasy and trance as choice characteristics when trying to determine what exactly the shaman world view consists of.