Bone deposits and reindeer luck

Authors

• Oddmund Andersen

Abstract

In the past, it was common in reindeer Sami society to place bones from daily meals in special deposits. Reindeer bones in particular were treated this way. One reason for doing this was that the bones could injure the tame animals if they were lying on the ground close to the dwelling. However, bones were also deposited for sacrificial reasons, to secure reindeer luck.