Essay on Jon The Sami

Film Analysis
Anthropology 102 - 005
Jon, The Sami Culture is one thing that isn’t the same, everywhere you go in the world it varies. This could be proven by all the documentaries that have been watched in Anthropology 102. One culture that is truly different from anything we have watched is the Sami. The Sami value their land and animals and depend on the weather. They seem to appreciate everything and don’t let anything go to waste and work very hard for what they have. In their culture they do not take anything for granted but make do with the little they have. However, the Sami enjoy and rely on some of the technology that they do have, such as snowmobiles. The Sami reside in northern Scandinavia, in the mountains above the arctic circle. The anthropologist that went on the journey for a year with The Sami learned a lot about himself and the lives of the Sami people. Throughout the documentary Jon stresses upon the value of nature and the land they live on. Every part of the land seems to be very important to them. The weather really effects how they live as well because a big part of their lives is raising the reindeer. The reindeer will be greatly effected if they don’t migrate to certain areas because they need to feed and the land might be frozen over. Therefore, if there is too much snow on the ground the reindeer can’t get to the food and will starve. The Sami life revolves around the reindeer and engraving/carving to make a good income to live a stable life. Although the Sami raise the reindeer, they also kill them for food but they do not waste any part of the body. The Sami don’t enjoy killing their reindeer because they feel that the animals teach them about nature and they’re highly valued in their culture. It is interesting to see a community of people that are vert dependent on one type of animal to dictate their life. However, their community is one, they feel together in time of disaster. Such as when they were on the journey to Kuorpak and a large number of reindeer drowned or died on the way back home. The community grieves together but the Sami are very optimistic people. The anthropologist, Fajal, who went to northern Scandinavia lived with Jon and the Sami people for a year and followed them on their travels. Fajal mentioned in the documentary that when he goes on journeys that he feels as if he is learning a lot about the history and culture of the Sami. He goes with Jon to migrate with the reindeer and goes hunting for the elk with Jon as well. Fajal also went to religious ceremony for Jon’s baby daughter and got to be there for it. He also experiences a personal moment for Jon when he sells his art work at the market. He notices that Jon gets emotional when he sells his art work because then he has to start all over again and he does not know if his work will be taken care of. All of the information that has been gathered by Fajal was experienced first hand. He observed everything and got to be apart of their life. “My matertial comes from nine months of field studies with the reindeer-herders of the

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