saivo

One of the Sami regions of the dead, where the deceased lead happy lives with their families and ancestors, acting in every way as they did on earth.

In Norway the saivo world was thought to exist in the mountains, whereas in Finland it was usually believed to be under special double-bottomed lakes. These localities were regarded as sacred and as sources of power that could be used by the shaman, or noaide. When the noaide wished to go into a trance, he would ask his guardian spirits from the saivo to aid him.

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▪ Sami mythology

      one of the Sami regions of the dead, where the deceased, called saivoolmak, lead happy lives in the saivo world with their families and ancestors; they build tents, hunt, fish, and in every way act as they did on earth. In Norway the saivo world was thought to exist in the mountains, whereas in Finland it was usually believed to be under special double-bottomed lakes connected by a small hole. The saivo localities were regarded as sacred and as sources of power that could be used by the shaman, or noiade. When the noiade wished to go into a trance, he would call to his aid his guardian spirits from the saivo, the saivo-sarva, saivo-guolle, and saivo-loddle, or the “saivo-reindeer,” “saivo-fish,” and “saivo-bird.” The saivo should be differentiated from the other Sami otherworld, yabme-aimo, which, for example, was associated with the sacrifice of black animals and was generally conceived as much less pleasant.

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