THE GREAT CARIBOU OR REINDEER

by guestblogger Tim Yearington

A story about the Great Caribou or reindeer of the Sami culture

Thousands of years ago our ancestors had a natural curiosity for the brilliant stars of the Sky
World. Like connecting dots with imaginary lines, star groups formed constellations in the sky
that served to remind prehistoric holy people and shamans of their cosmological beliefs and the
spiritual worldview they practised to help humans live a good life on Earth.

We all are familiar with the constellation of The Big Dipper (Ursa Major or Great Bear) in the
northern sky. For a long time Ursa Major reminded people of the worldview associated with the
sacred Bear Cult of early humans. But in the high arctic of Canada – and possibly in Sápmi too –
Indigenous people saw this group of seven stars as a different animal. A caribou or reindeer.

The Cree people still see these seven main stars as forming Kitchi-Attik, the Great Caribou, who
flies across the northern sky. The cup of the dipper is the caribou’s back and legs. The handle of
the dipper is the caribou’s neck, head and antlers. This stellar stag is seen as a sacred helper; the
sky caribou who guides people home. How? Lining up the rear legs of the caribou forms a strait
line that points directly to Polaris, the North Star. Knowing how to find north is a good thing,
especially if you are lost in a vast wilderness! For the Inuit people their Great Caribou is called
Tukturjuit and the North Star is called Nuutuittuq, “The one who never moves.” It never moves
because, visually, it is the axis of the spinning Earth also seen as a pole or sacred tree connecting
Earth to the heavens.

The North Star has aided human way-finding ever since we began wandering away from the
safety of our campfires. Seeing those seven bright stars of the Big Dipper as a caribou or reindeer
began with the paleolithic shamans of Siberia thousands of years ago. As the last Ice-Age began
melting away 12,000 years ago people began to migrate north. Then they moved into
circumpolar Eurasia to the west and in the opposite direction they reached circumpolar North
America far to the east. As they went they brought the ancient idea of the Great Sky Caribou with
them too.

As the ancient shamans arrived in Sápmi did the constellation they had known for thousands of
years eventually become Myandash the Holy White Reindeer of the Sámi too? Considering how
this “flying reindeer” travelled across the northern sky to help Siberian shamans of long ago it
seems possible. It’s all related. Common beliefs about the sacred caribou or reindeer are shared
among the circumpolar peoples of the Cree, Inuit and Sámi alike. As further proof perhaps we
can consider the shaman roots of Santa Claus and the reindeer he attaches to his sleigh to help it
fly!

In my next guest blog I will write about the constellation of Cygnus (the Swan) also called the
Bone Bird or Skeleton Bird. Even further back in time this “sky bird” helped ancient shamans
access the realm of our ancestors on the other side of the Spirit River.

Also read:

THE STARRY SKY IN SÁPMI