Reindeer Remembering Their Origins

Not so long ago, I already showed off our local analogues of livestock. True, these were not the happiest representatives of this genus - racing reindeer. Maybe I'm wrong, and their life is much easier and more enjoyable than I thought.

But in that post I deliberately didn’t post some of the photos, which clearly show that during the races these animals are often injured, and their horns are forcibly cut off so that they don’t hurt each other in a harness.

As far as I know, the Sami also cut the antlers of their reindeer in harness, although I saw that in most cases they use only one or two reindeer, so this is not necessary.

Anyway, yesterday I managed to visit one of the Sami farms, where these animals are treated with great respect. I think you will immediately notice the difference in how much better and more natural these animals look, despite the fact that I photographed them in a pen.

The most interesting thing began when the whole herd entered the corral - they began to form a deer roundelay. This is a very fascinating and still not completely clear to science phenomenon. Reindeer are herd animals, quite often in nature and in the paddock they begin to run in a circle, dancing slightly, and this spiral gradually accelerates and even moves entirely across the tundra.

There are several hypotheses why reindeer do this. protection from predators or threats, heat preservation, protection from midges and blood-sucking insects. However, none of them is definitively confirmed. Especially given the fact that even these deer, who have been living with humans for many generations, practically tamed, do not experience fear, do not suffer from midges and do not freeze, but constantly form roundelay.

The Sami themselves do not try to explain this with science. For them, the circle, as for many peoples of the world, is a symbol of being, infinity, rebirth. They believe that the reindeer, who lead a round dance in the form of a circle, like the Sami themselves, like all living things around, perform a ritual that goes back to the beginning of time. They thank the local gods for the creation of this amazing world and the life granted in it.