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)
Those that have young ones never are housed, but give suck without,
and in this case the great multitude breeds no confusion, for each Doe
knows her proper Calf, and is known by it; so saies _Sam. Rheen_, who
affirms that they know one another after two or three years absence.
When the Calves are grown they feed on grass and leaves, and what
the Mountains afford: their color is mixt of red and yellow. About
S. _James_ tide they cast their hair, which in the next growth turns
blackish. They are at their full growth in 4 years, each year changing
their name; the first, they are stiled _Namiloppa_, i. e. nameless.
_Tornæus_ calls the Buck _Hiroas_, but _Rheen_ gives him the name of
_Herki_. When they are able to work, they are tamed; one sort being
condemned to the Sledge, and thence named _Vaijom-herki_, others to
carry burdens, thence called _Lykam-herki_. Those that are design’d for
labour they commonly gueld, which renders them more tractable: this is
done when they are a year old. Those which are reserved for breeding,
are called _Servi_. The Bucks are not so numerous as the Does, of
which there be an hundred for twenty, which are profitable for Milk,
Cheese and breeding. Both men and women milk them kneeling, one hand
being emploied to hold the pail, and the other the dugg. They milk
them sometimes loose, and sometimes bound to a post, about 2 or 3 of
the clock in the evening, and but once a day, the rest being reserved
for the calves: those which have Calves alwaies yield most milk: the
greatest quantity they give at once is a Swedish pint and half, that
is about the fourth part of the ordinary measure upon the _Rhine_. The
milk is fat and thick, and very nurishing, which is their chiefest
food; that which they do not boil they make Cheese of, which is thus
described by _Rheen_. The Dairy-Maids first let the milk stand to
cream, when it hath stood they take off the cream with a skimmer. When
one Cheesefat is filled, they fill another, and put it on the first,
and so till 6 or 8 are filled, then they turn the Cheesefats, that the
lowermost be in the top, and use not their hands to press the cheese,
but let them press each other. Each Cheese requires as much milk as
ten Rain-deers can spare: their shape is round about two fingers thick,
and as big as a Trencher, which we use at table, their Milk makes very
fat Cheese, but no Butter, instead of which they have a kind of tallow,
as I shew’d before.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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