Aikia Aikianpoika (Finnish) or Aike Aikesson (Swedish) (1591–1671), was a

Sámi Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...

Shaman (''

noaidi A noaidi (, , , , , , ) is a shaman of the Sami people in the Nordic countries, playing a role in Sámi religious practices. Most ''noaidi'' practices died out during the 17th century, most likely because they resisted Christianization of the S� ...

'') from

Kuusamo Kuusamo (; ; ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. It is located in Koillismaa, the northeastern part of the Northern Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region. The municipality h ...

near the

Finnish Lapland Lapland is the largest and northernmost Regions of Finland, region of Finland. The 21 municipalities in the region cooperate in a Regional Council. Lapland borders the Finnish region of North Ostrobothnia in the south. It also borders the Gul ...

. He was sentenced to death for witchcraft in KuolajärviMaakunta-arkisto, Oulu
(in Finnish) and accused of having caused the death by drowning of a client Tobias Mordula by a curse. The client didn't pay for his services as promised. Rumors tells that thereafter, Aikia, who was imprisoned in

Kemi Kemi (; ; ; ) is a cities of Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located approximately from the city of Tornio and the Finland–Sweden border, Swedish border. The distance to Oulu is to the south and t ...

, was alleged to have

killed himself Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or acad ...

with witchcraft in order to avoid execution of the sentence. Aikia's case is one of the most famous trials and executions for witchcraft in Finland.Biografiakeskus, Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura (Finland National Biography of Finland) This took place during the

Christianization of the Sámi people The Christianization of the Sámi people in Norway, Sweden, and Finland (Finland was a part of Sweden until 1809) took place in stages during a several centuries-long process. The Sámi were Christianized in a similar way in Norway, Sweden, and Fi ...

.Larsen, Kajsa, Blad ur samernas historia, Carlsson, Stockholm, 1994 He was from

Kitka Kitka Women's Vocal Ensemble is an all-female professional vocal ensemble based in Oakland, California and focused on Eastern European women’s vocal traditions. It was founded in 1979 as an offshoot of the Westwind International Folk Ensemble ...

in Kemi. He was active as a ''noaidi'', and as such used a

Sámi drum Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise n ...

. He was widely rumoured to be able to cause both good and evil by use of magic, and was engaged to do so by others. In 1670, he was paid by a farmer to give him good salmon fishing luck. This succeeded, but the farmer did not pay sufficiently as promised. When the farmer died in 1671, Aikia Aikianpoika was reported by a parish vicar for having caused the death of the farmer by witchcraft. Aikia, not being a Christian and thereby not associating magic with Satan, freely confessed that he could master magic to the Christian authorities, who sentenced him to death for sorcery. He was taken to Piteå to be executed, but the execution never took place, because he died in the sleigh on the way, likely by a heart attack.

References

{{Reflist 1591 births 1671 deaths Finnish people executed for witchcraft 17th-century Finnish people Finnish Sámi shamans Pagan martyrs Persecution of Sámi people 17th-century Sámi people