Beaivi, Beiwe, Bievve, Beivve or Biejje is the

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 ...

Sun-deity; the name of the deity is the same as the name of the Sun. The Sami Sun-deity is usually depicted as female, but sometimes as male. In

Sápmi is the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sámi people. Sápmi includes the northern parts of Fennoscandia, stretching over four countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. Most of Sápmi lies north of the Arctic Circle, boun ...

, north of the

Polar circle A polar circle is a geographic term for a conditional circular line (arc) referring either to the Arctic Circle or the Antarctic Circle. These are two of the keynote circles of latitude (parallels). On Earth, the Arctic Circle is currentl ...

, where the sun does not even reach the horizon in winter, the sun was widely venerated and played a major role in the

cultic Cult is the care (Latin: '' cultus'') owed to deities and their temples, shrines, or churches; cult is embodied in ritual and ceremony. Its presence or former presence is made concrete in temples, shrines and churches, and cult images, including ...

coherence. Beaivi is goddess of the sun, spring, and sanity, associated with the fertility of plants and animals, particularly reindeer. She made the plants grow so that the reindeer flourished and reproduced, and brought wealth and prosperity to the humans. On the

winter solstice The winter solstice, or hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's geographical pole, poles reaches its maximum axial tilt, tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern Hemisphere, Northern and So ...

, a white female animal or animals, usually

reindeer The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...

, were

sacrifice Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...

d in honor of Beivve, to ensure that she returned to the world and put an end to the long winter season. The sacrificed animals' meat would be threaded onto sticks, which were then bent into rings and tied with bright ribbons. This is called the Festival of Beaivi. At the time of the year when the sun was returning,

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...

(which melts in the sunshine) was smeared on the doorposts, as a sacrifice to Beivve, so that she could gain strength during her convalescence and go higher and higher in the sky. At the

summer solstice The summer solstice or estival solstice occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). The summer solstice is the day with the longest peri ...

, people made sun-rings out of leaves and pinned them up in her honor. On these occasions, they also ate butter as a sacral meal. At the time of the year when Beivve returned,

prayer File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

s were made for the people who were mentally ill. The Sami believed that

madness Madness or The Madness may refer to: Emotion and mental health * Anger, an intense emotional response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat * Insanity, a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns * ...

(in the shape of psychoses and depression) were provoked by the lack of sunshine and light during the long, dark winter. In Sami myth, she travels with her daughter,

Beaivi-nieida Biejjenniejte ("Daughter of the Sun") was a deity of the Sami mythology.Karsten, Rafael, Samefolkets religion: de nordiska lapparnas hedniska tro och kult i religionshistorisk belysning, Stockholm, 1952 She is the goddess of medicine and healing. ...

, through the sky in an enclosure covered by reindeer bones or antlers, bringing spring with them.

References

External links

December 2003 Holidays- School of Seasons
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121228010434/http://www.schooloftheseasons.com/decdays2.html , date=2012-12-28 Sámi goddesses Health goddesses Fertility goddesses Sky and weather goddesses Solar goddesses Spring (season)

See also

References

External links