Quiwe Baarsen (died 1627), was a

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 net ...

shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...

. He was one of 26 Sami people executed for witch craft in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

in the 17th century. Baarsen was a

Noaidi A noaidi ( sme, noaidi, smj, noajdde, sma, nåejttie, sms, nōjjd, sjt, niojte, sjd, noojd/nuojd, italic=yes, sje, nåjjde) is a shaman of the Sami people in the Nordic countries, playing a role in Sámi religious practices. Most ''noaidi'' ...

and a resident in Aarøya. In May 1627, he was put on trial in

Hasvåg Hasvåg is a seaside village in the municipality of Flatanger in Trøndelag county, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and nort ...

accused of having procured wind by use of magic for the sailor Niels Jonsen in 1625. Baarsen claimed to have acted on commission of Jonsen, who needed wind to sail to Hasvåg, and described that he had wet his feet in water to create wind. Afterward, he was asked to repeat it by the wife of one of Jonsen's fishermen, which he did by throwing a pig into the sea. That time, however, the wind grew into a storm which caused the boat to sink. Baarsen explained that he was often hired to create wind. He denied having performed magic by the use of a

Sami 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 net ...

, but admitted that he had the knowledge to do so. On 11 May 1627, Quiwe Baarsen was judged guilty of having caused five people to drown by the wind he had created by use of magic, and sentenced to be executed by burning.

References

Rune Blix Hagen: THE SHAMAN OF ALTA. THE 1627 WITCH TRIAL OF QUIWE BAARSEN
Executed Norwegian people Norwegian Sámi people People executed for heresy 16th-century births 1627 deaths Persecution of Sámi people Norwegian Sámi shamans People executed by Norway by burning People in Sámi history 17th-century executions by Norway Witch trials in Norway Pagan martyrs {{Norway-reli-bio-stub

See also

References