The flag and the national anthem are important Lapp symbols

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Lapp symbols

All people have their symbols. Here we'll cover two of the Lapp symbols.

The national anthem

One of the Lapp symbols is the Sami national anthem (Sámi soga lávlla). This is the official national anthem of all Sami.

The lyrics is by Isak Saba who was from Nesseby in the Varanger area of Norwegian Lapland. He was the first Sami Member of the Norwegian Parliament. The music is by the Norwegian composer Arne Sørlie.

The national anthem was approved at the 13th Sami Conference in Åre, Sweden on August 15th, 1986. The melody of the anthem was approved at the 15th Sami Conference in Helsinki in 1992.

Read the words of the national anthem, which is one of the Lapp symbols. You can read the lyrics both in the Lapp (Sami) language as well as in English.

Here you can even listen to the Sami national anthem.

Sami Parliaments

The Sámi Parliaments in Finland, Norway and Sweden are the highest political organs for the Sámi in each country. They are elected every fourth year.

There are Sami Parliaments in three countries of the Nordic countries, in Finland, Norway and Sweden.

The Sami flag

The Sami flag (Sámi leavga) was designed by the Sami artist Astrid Båhl (pronounced 'bohl'). The subject or idea was inspired by the drum of the shaman and the poem "Paiven parneh" ("Sons of the Sun") by Anders Fjellner (1795 -1876). Fjellner, who was a south Sami, described the Sami as sons and daughters of the sun. .

The circles represent the sun (red) and the moon (blue). The flag has the Sami colours, red, green, yellow and blue.

The Sami flag was inaugurated during the 13th Sami Conference in Åre, Sweden on August 15th, 1986. It was the result of a competition. The winning design was made by the Sami artist Astrid Båhl from Skibotn, Norway.

For those of you interested in the technical side of the colours, they are:
Pantone colour formula guide: 1. red: pantone 485C 2. green: pantone 356C 3. yellow: pantone 116C 4. blue: pantone 286C

Eleven flag days

The fifteenth Sami Conference in 1992 determined seven official flag days. Since then 4 other flag days have been added. The Lapps have eleven flag days. The most important is the Sami National Day (Sámi álbmotbeaivi) on February 6th.

The flag may also be flown unofficially on special occasions as are other national flags. The flag rules of the respective countries are applicable.

The days are these:

February 6th. The Sami national day. The first major Sami meeting in which both North and South Sami took part, was held on February 6th in 1917 in Trondheim, Norway. This is the date when the northern and southern Sami came together across their national borders for their first meeting.

March 2nd. The Sami parliament of Finland was established in 1996.

Mary’s day. A traditional Sami holiday. The Sami flag may be flown on Mary’s day in other countries where it falls on another date.

St. John’s day. A general holiday. Tha Sami flag may be flown on St. John’s day in other countries where it falls on another date.

August 9th. International Day of Indigenous Peoples. The United Nations declared the 9th of August to be the International day of indigenous peoples.

August 15th. The Sami flag was inaugurated on August 15, 1986 during the thirteenth Saami Conference in Åre in Sweden.

August 18th. The Sami Council was officially founded on August 18th in 1956 during the second Sami conference in Karasjok, Norway.

August 26th. The Sami parliament in Sweden was established on August 26th, 1993.

October 9th. The Sami Parliament in Norway was established on October 9th, 1989.

November 9th. In Finland the law establishing the Sami parliament was passed on November 9th, 1973.

November 15th. Isak Saba’s birthday. Isak Saba was the author of the Sami national anthem. He was born in Nesseby, Norway year 1875.

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