The Beat of Nature: Aspects of Sámi Culture in the Game Skábma: Snowfall
The Beat of Nature: Aspects of Sámi Culture in the Game Skábma: Snowfall

Summary/Abstract: Rather than older, overly simplified, colonial and harmful representations of indige- nous cultures in cultural texts, more recent productions tend to depict these cultures in a more affirmative light, focusing on a somehow deeper understanding of them. These productions often rely on visual and textual references, such as clothing, choreography and language, but traditional music is missing despite consultations and the religions they present are uniformized or even superficial. In this paper, I will analyze the Skáb- ma: Snowfall game, which is an exception belonging to the trend of positive folklor- izm. First, I will show that the Sámi people are considered to be the witchcraft nation in the European tradition, which is Christian and colonial. They are stereotypically demonized and misunderstood. In reality, however, their beliefs focused simply on sustaining a connection with nature. Next, I will present the main occurring parapher- nalia: the Sámi drum, goavddis, and the magic the main character uses by drumming. Focusing on this element is connected with the Saami tradition. In Skábma, Sámi culture is taken very seriously, without deformation coming from assimilating it with more known cultures (especially, the Siberian shamanism). I propose that the game approach to colonial themes shows a new understanding of the disenclosure of the world, bringing fresh ideas to the field

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