Anders Poulsen or Poala-Ánde (in

Northern Sámi Northern Sámi or North Sámi ( ; ; ; ; ; disapproved exonym Lappish or Lapp) is the most widely spoken of all Sámi languages. The area where Northern Sámi is spoken covers the northern parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland. Geographic distr ...

; died 1692), was a North

Sami 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 ne ...

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� ...

, who was the last victim of the many

Vardø witch trials Vardo or Vardø may refer to: Places * Vardø Municipality, a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway * Vardø (town), a town within Vardø Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway * Vårdö, an island municipality in Åland, Finland People * Vard ...

, which took place between 1621 and 1692.Rune Blix Hagen: Traces of Shamanism in the Witch Trials of Norway: The 1692 Trial of the Sami Shaman Anders Poulsen, 2005 In Sámi form his name was Poala-Ánde.

Life

He was born in

Torne Lappmark Torne may refer to: * River Torne (England), a river in South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, England * Torne (Finnish and Swedish river), a river in Finland and Sweden * PlayTV#Torne, a Japanese PlayStation 3 accessory See also * Thorne (disambigu ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, but later married and moved to Varanger in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. He was active as a

, 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 ...

. The drum was taken from him by force on 7 December 1691, as part of 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 ...

in Norway during the 17th-century. Paulsen was then put on trial for

idolatry Idolatry is the worship of an idol as though it were a deity. In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the Abrahamic ...

, and for being a follower of the Pagan

Sami shamanism 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 ...

religion. The law used to persecute him was however formally the witchcraft law. Poulsen explained the drum's use during his trial in February 1692. The case was considered significant and the local authorities sent a request to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

in Denmark (Norway and

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

was in a

personal union A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...

at the time) about how to deal with it. Before a sentence could be reached, however, he was killed by a fellow prisoner who suffered from insanity.

Drum

Poulsen's drum was sent to Denmark after his death, and became part of the Danish-Norwegian Royal Collection and eventually entered the collections of the

National Museum of Denmark The National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet) in Copenhagen is Denmark, Denmark's largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main building is located a short distance from S ...

. It was on loan to the Sámi Museum in

Karasjok Karasjok is a Norwegianized version of the Northern Sami name Kárášjohka. Either one may refer to the following places: * Karasjok Municipality or (Northern Sami language, Northern Sami; ) (also: ) is a List of municipalities of Norway, ...

Northern Norway Northern Norway (, , ; ) is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the three northernmost counties Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the largest towns in Northern Norway (from south to no ...

from 1979 but it took "a 40-year struggle" for it to be officially "handed back to the

Sámi people The Sámi ( ; also spelled Sami or Saami) are the traditionally Sámi languages, Sámi-speaking indigenous people inhabiting the region of Sápmi, which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and of the Kola Peninsula ...

" in 2022, according to

Jelena Porsanger Jelena Porsanger (born 1967) is a Russian-born Norwegian Sami ethnographer who researches Sami culture and history. From 2011 to 2015, she was the rector of the Sámi University of Applied Sciences in Kautokeino, Norway. Early life and educat ...

, director of the museum, following an appeal by the President of the Sámi Parliament of Norway to

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is a member of the Danish royal family who reigned as Queen of Denmark from 14 January 1972 until her abdication on 14 January 2024. Having reigned for exactly 52 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poulsen 1692 deaths Witch trials in Norway Norwegian Sámi people Swedish Sámi people 17th-century births Persecution of Sámi people Norwegian Sámi shamans Swedish Sámi shamans Pagan martyrs 17th-century Sámi people People from Kiruna Municipality