The History of Lapland: Wherein Are Shewed the Original, Manners, Habits, Marriages, Conjurations, &c. of That PeopleScheffer, Johannes
History
The History of Lapland: Wherein Are Shewed the Original, Manners, Habits, Marriages, Conjurations, &c. of That People
Scheffer, Johannes
Lapland -- Description and travel -- Early works to 1800; Sami (European people)
at the common height of a man: then each Person attemts to leap over
from a station assign’d, and he that performs most dextrously, gains
the applause to himself. A third sort of sport among them is with bow
and arrows. At a convenient place they set up a mark of a very small
bigness, and shoot at it with arrows from any distance prescrib’d. He
that hits either soonest or oftnest, bears away the bell from the rest.
These sports hitherto mentioned are almost instituted by them meerly
for the consideration of credit and renown: yet sometimes they play for
prizes such as they agree upon among themselves, and instantly they lay
them down in the place where they keep their games. Their prizes are
seldom mony, usually skins, especially of Squirrels, sometimes one,
sometimes more as they see convenient and agree upon it. But in those
sports wherein as well the women as men are plaiers, they commonly
play with a leather ball stuffed with hay, about the bigness of ones
fist; whatever company of men and women is there present, is sorted
into two sides, one whereof seizes on this ground, the other on another
opposite to it, and at some distance off. Then every Person of one side
in his turn, beats the ball with a club thorough the Air, those of the
contrary side catching it at the fall; and if any one chance to catch
it in his hands, before it touch ground, then the order of the play
is inverted, and this side strikes out the ball, the other is fain to
catch. Thus play the men and women, the boies and girles together,
nor do the men shew themselves more expert at it then the women. They
besides have another play at ball: in the hard frozen snow they draw
two lines at some distance from one another, then all the multitude
both of men and women parting into two sides, one applies it self to
the defence of this, the other of that line; then they meet in the
middle space between their two goals, and fling down the ball, then
each partie with bandies and clubs strives to strike the ball cross the
opposite parties line, each party still maintaining the defence of its
own line; but if one side chance to strike the ball with their bandies
over the others line (for it is foul play to fling it with their hands)
and so take their goal, that is accounted the conquering side. The
sports as yet mentioned are such as belong to the younger sort, as well
as to those of more mature age: the next is peculiar to these last and
only to men. Their custom is to separate themselves into two companies,
and attacque one another by wrestling: first each company stands like
a file of Soldiers all along in order to confront the adverse company:
then each man catches his adversary by the girdle, wherewith all
_Laplanders_ are alwaies girt, as is elswhere shown, (their girdle
goes six times round their body, and so is fast and fittest for their
purpose,) so each man having caught hold, endeavors to fling the other
down, which they are not allowed to attempt by craft or deceit, as by
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