M a n k e r s
AND
C u s t o m s .
being indeed ' few, while the rein deer form their chief wealth. The
fan is here abfent Tor feven weeks ; y e t from ten in the forenoon to
one in thfofoternoon there is a kind o f twilight even ,in the fhorteft
hays, fo that- one- an ay read without a candle ; but the. ftars .are very
viiible, and the moon, when apparent, fhines all the day. In return
the fun never fets-for feven weeks o f fummer ; but his beams are dull
and remifs in .the night, when he allumes a ruddy hue. Several rivers,
particularly the Tana in eaftern Finmark, which fo.metimes-.fwells to-
a great height with the melted fnows, fupply falmon, and other fifh,..
a confiderable part o f the Laplandic food ; but at a feftival are feen
mutton, or rein-deer, and mead. The men wear-conic red caps, lined
with fur, and a fond of robe of cloth or fkin ; the poor fometimes. ufing
that of falmon, which appears like à white fhagreen : the head and
neck are protected with a fort of cowl, and the veft is o f undreft
Iheeplkin, the wool inwards. The head- drefs o f the .women is narrowed
in : the middle, whence it widens like a bafon at the top ; and the veft
and robe referable thofe of the men. ' Their amufements are. Ihooting
with the bow at a., mark, a kind of tennis, and a game refembling
draughts. They are alfo fond of wreftling, and other, exeréifes,4, They
were formerly-addicted to magic, and were fabled by incantations to
invoke a demon in the ihape o f a fly, which was called the gan-jiy, and
ctimmiffioned to fling their enemies. Till recent times they were
immerfed in pàganifm, regarding particular mountains and rocks as-
holy . their chief god Was Radien, who dwelled in the ftarry heaven j
in the lower aerial regions Were Beivi or the fun, a god, as Grotius has-
obferved, very unjuft to them ; with Horangalis or the thunderer, and-
othèr divinities. On earth were, thé gods of hunting ând A f h in g and
the goddefs Maderakko, with her daughter Sarakka, a kind of Venus,
who prepared the body after Radien had lent the foul. The Saivo
Olmak, or-gods o f the mountains, were, fuppofed to be oracular. For
a more full account o f this mythology the reader is referred 'to Leems..
The places of facrifiee were chiefly h o ly mountains near the firth o f
War anger", and along the Tana, and fóme on the. bay o f I
Their magical drums and fongs are already trivial,
4 Leems, 388,
Amidft
Amidft ^he eo-nyerfion dfThfo northern rikiods'tGrChriftiaaity, the
Laplanders had-ibee^hnafeblmhtably'hfegleaed.,' Eric Breda'1, bifhop of
Drontheimj madè'fome vain attempts'about* the year 1660; but the
royal miffion was not founded till 1 7 14 ; and extended to the Laplanders
o f Finmark, with thofe of Norland to the fouth, being a cön-
fiderable portion^ of ,'th&‘ di'oëifé’ ’of Drónthei’m. - 'Sirfog !lhat period the
iniflionaries. have - exerted themfelv.és-.: with great ..fuccefs ; there being
commonly two for Finmark, one for the eaft who prefidësfover Wa-
ranger, Tana, and Laxefiord ; the other for the weft, over Porfanger,
Hvalfund, and Alten.5 Leems vyell delineates the hardlhips- fuifered
by thefe miffionaries * am-otig which',,the ^d^is'f@?exb%fove that, when
-he w ^s' fitting -hear 'a ‘ftrohg-^fire,TBeM w^lh_behind"1 ''woufoptef^t-'his
fhade in thick hóar'"froft. • v
• The -manèers aqd cuftolqs■ o f thé - Greeijhnddrs ihall be confidered
m treating of N. America. Sufficed in '■the- fo'tne to-hidntiori'fhat
the eutious canoes, only 'capablH^-of ■cqn'taining-''a''fingle pejrfon,-and
which aré'rfbröetimes ‘drivén: as far ' as- ffè'horthern! fi0ÊSii’bhSc-ötkiM,
wh'ere-'they.'ar.e faid to-,:beibhg;j to Finiartft.É'syV'lehïi truth' dftlyknown
in jGreenland ; whence-tBey are drlvQn;by tl|e vM&k’G'etof the weftem
-wind; nor is the diftance'greater-5-from tlMhouthcfol^fobeenland, thaq
•from the north of Einmark ; where, as appé&ïs’fro'm Leems, the cahoea
are of a very different conftrqéfión. .
The- people o f Iceland being of Norwegianh-xtraift, have few peculiar
manners, but retain mote' Off the ancient*'drefe and* cuftotos-.-of fhSr,.
anceftors. They are ceriftriined t è prepare -flbu^fr-öm various plants
defcribéd'by 'V o tfT ro il; ‘ and jheir chief ahim-al' nutriment is dtóed fifh j
She common bevèrageis -lyfa, or fbtif whey-kept in calks and left lo
ferment, beer beingTcarce.
I f we except-the Taponic, the languages fpóken in the' Danifh dominions
are all filler dialedts o f the Gothic. The Icelandic is the möft
anciènt and venerable; and being efteemed the moft pure dialed! of the
Gothic, has engaged the" attention |op many profound fcholars, who
have confid.ered it as the parent o f the Norwegian, Danifh,-and Swediih,
and in a great degree of the Englilh, though it would feem that ifos
5 L e e m s ; - v
M a n n r r s1
AND.
C u s t o m s .
Language,
laff