Abstract
This paper focuses on reindeer stories, as told by reindeer herders who live in northern Finland and train and work with reindeer, both in the context of tourism and competitive racing in Lapland. The stories—ranging from anecdotes and short sequences of events to whole life stories and collected as part of broader participant research focusing on human-reindeer relationships in current reindeer herding in Finland—are used to examine cultural conceptions and meanings integral to human-reindeer relationships. The stories show that considerable emphasis is put on the character, personhood, and agency of the reindeer in contemporary reindeer-herding culture. Valued characteristics in reindeer in the stories told by herders are intelligence, independence, empathy, ability to collaborate, stamina, and psychological strength. Moreover, the stories show that emotions are an important component of the relationships between trainers and working reindeer, the affection between reindeer and their trainers, which is palpable in the way the narratives unfold.
I had a reindeer called Onni. [My daughter] remembers that he was so smart you could have taken him to church. I was doing safaris with him at night, in [the name of a tourism center], and here, and once, as I was driving home, I fell asleep. Onni came home without guidance. He had a bell around his neck, it made a sound, and I didn’t have to steer him at all. He knew everything, and when he crossed a road, he knew to look for cars. He was great. . . . I’ve had a lot of great bulls. And when they have grown old and gotten sick, parting from them has brought tears to my eyes. They have been like brothers to me (H12).
The reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) is important for many Indigenous cultures and economies of the Eurasian north. Working reindeer have probably been a central part of reindeer-herding cultures from very early on: there is archaeological evidence possibly pertaining to working reindeer use and training dating back to as early as the turn of the millennium in Siberia (Losey et al. 2021) and from the 9th to 10th centuries onwards in northern Fennoscandia (Salmi 2023). The archaeological evidence indicates that draft reindeer were trained and used as a part of small-scale reindeer herding, where multipurpose reindeer herds were managed in combination with hunting, fishing, and gathering (Salmi 2023), and that they contributed to the economy, mobility, social networks, and ritual life of the Sámi (e.g., Fjellström et al. 2022; Halinen 2022; Salmi et al. 2022; Salmi and Seitsonen 2022). Medieval and Early Modern-period historical sources describing Sámi reindeer herding often mention draft reindeer (e.g., Magnus [1555]1996; Rheen [1671]1897; Schefferus [1674]1979; Tornaeus [1672]1900). Likewise, draft reindeer were important for the Swedish Crown’s officials, tradesmen, and priests during the Late Medieval and Early Modern periods, as they relied on transport reindeer, managed and trained by Sámi reindeer herders, when they needed to travel to distant parishes and marketplaces for business and official duties (Kortesalmi 2008:63–64,73–81). Reindeer herding and draft reindeer use were also adopted by Finnish farmers in the 18th century (Kortesalmi 2008:137–174).
The use of working reindeer ranged from herding tasks and the seasonal mobility of reindeer-herding communities to commercial, industrial, and wartime transportation purposes (e.g., Kortesalmi 2008:44–52, 73–81, 137–174; Turunen et al. 2018). Working reindeer culture almost disappeared in the latter half of the 20th century due to motorization and other changes in the practices and socioeconomic conditions of reindeer herding (Pelto et al. 1968; Soppela et al. 2022, 2024). However, it has been revived in the last three decades due to Lapland tourism boom, with herders starting to organize reindeer drives for travelers (Soppela et al. 2020, 2024). Today, working reindeer training combines traditional knowledge with the requirements of modern society and is seen as an important bearer of reindeer-herding culture by the herders (Soppela et al. 2020, 2024).
Reindeer husbandry is practiced in Finland both by Sámi and non-Sámi (unlike in Sweden and Norway, where it is mainly an exclusive right of the Sámi). Reindeer husbandry has important economic, cultural, and social significance in northern Finland (Soppela and Turunen 2017), and provides employment through meat processing, handicraft production, and tourism. In recent decades, reindeer herding has undergone significant changes, such as loss and fragmentation of pastures (Anttonen et al. 2011; Kumpula et al. 2014), the introduction of new technologies and policies, and changes in management practices (Helle and Jaakkola 2008; Mazzullo and Soppela 2023). Reindeer herding is also in a state of change due to the cumulative impacts of global warming (Rasmus et al. 2020; Tyler et al. 2007) and competing land uses such as forestry and traffic (Sarkki et al. 2018). Despite changes and differences in practices and environmental conditions between the herding districts, the activities of reindeer herding are still based on the annual cycle and behavior of reindeer, and prevailing seasonal weather conditions. The calves are born in the spring and ear-marked in the summer or the following fall. During the rut in the fall, the reindeer get together and are thereafter gathered at round-up sites, counted, and separated for breeding, training, or meat production. During the winter months, in most of the reindeer-herding districts in Finland, reindeer are fed either in the forest or in enclosures near the herders’ houses (Turunen and Vuojala-Magga 2017). The purpose of feeding is to support pregnant hinds over the winter, manage working reindeer, and protect the herd. The choice of reindeer suitable for working purposes is done during fall roundups and winter feeding (Soppela et al. 2020, 2024). Training starts in November or December and continues as long as there is snow on the ground.
In our previous study, we focused on aspects of human-reindeer relationships in working reindeer training as well as changes and continuities in training practices (Soppela et al. 2024). The work was part of a larger project concerning human-reindeer relationships in the process of reindeer domestication.1 We found that the training of working reindeer follows similar steps to those followed in the last century in northern Finland (Itkonen 1948; Kortesalmi 2008), but nowadays the training starts earlier, already with calves in their first fall, and lasts longer, usually three to four winters (Soppela et al. 2024). When introduced to training, reindeer are accustomed to human nearness and touch. Some calves approach humans more readily than others and are chosen for training. The candidates for training are carefully chosen according to their future work. In contrast to the multipurpose reindeer of the past, working reindeer and racing reindeer are selected on a different basis—favoring calmness in the former and a certain “wildness” in the latter—and training is adjusted according to individuals and their personalities (Soppela et al. 2024). Training can also be more specific. For instance, reindeer pulling a sledge for tourists can be trained for different roles in the driving team, such as the lead, middle, or last reindeer, according to their preferences. The herders in our study highlighted that the establishment of human-reindeer collaboration and relationship is based on regular contact, learning from each other, and trust (Soppela et al. 2024). Working reindeer are kept in feeding enclosures throughout the winter season, but separately from other reindeer fed during the winter. The rest of the year, the working reindeer, similarly to other reindeer, freely roam in the wild.
As we conducted interviews with reindeer herders to study working and racing reindeer training, we noticed that the technical and practical aspects were often communicated via stories (Soppela et al. 2024). Herders communicated numerous little anecdotes, series of events that had taken place during training and working together with reindeer, and whole life stories of reindeer individuals. Stories like that of Onni, a sled reindeer trained for tourism, recount events and link them with meanings, emotions, and lives shared with the reindeer. Thus, similarly to anthropologist Monika Kolodziej (2022), we “did not ask for stories, but found conversations in the field to be punctuated by them.” In addition to the technical and the practical, these reindeer stories contain a wealth of information about the cultural, social, and emotional sides of living and working with reindeer. Thus, interpreting them as narratives offers a chance to provide insights into cultural meanings imbued in human-reindeer relationships.
In this paper, we focus on reindeer stories told by herders who live in Northern Finland and train and work with reindeer, both in the context of tourism and competitive racing in Lapland. We examine the cultural conceptions and meanings of human-reindeer relationships emerging from these stories, interpreting them in the context of contemporary reindeer-herding culture, which we understand as a multispecies community appreciative of reindeer agency and personhood (Helander-Renvall 2010; Soppela et al. 2024; Vuojala-Magga 2010). We maintain that stories are indicative of individual and cultural values related to reindeer herding, human-reindeer relationships, and emotions, asking 1) what the stories tell about human-working-reindeer relationships, 2) what kind of values the stories communicate, and 3) what kind of emotions were imbued in working reindeer training and use?
Theoretical Perspectives
Our theoretical framework in this paper is broadly informed by the affective turn in social sciences, posthumanist, and multispecies scholarship (e.g., Haraway 2008; Ingold 2013; Kirksey and Helmreich 2010; Kohn 2013). Thus, we acknowledge the contribution of nonhumans to social relationships—that the webs or relations consist of both human and nonhuman actors in culturally specific ways and that animals have personhood and agency that emerge situationally and culturally. In the context of reindeer herding specifically, it has been noted that reindeer are considered as persons in possession of considerable agency and autonomy. They are also capable of learning, communicating with people, and making their own decisions, these capabilities being acted out and manifesting differently in various situations (e.g., Helander-Renvall 2010; Mazzullo and Soppela 2023; Soppela et al. 2024; Stépanoff et al. 2017; Vuojala-Magga 2010). Moreover, we acknowledge that emotions are an important component of these social relationships, as people form emotional bonds with a variety of nonhuman animals; the emotions in question are as variable as the human-animal relationships are.
A significant portion of research focusing on emotional bonds between humans and animals has addressed pets and other nonhumans with whom modern urban westerners form relationships (Franklin 1999:98; Juola 2024; Schuurman and Dirke 2020). People form close and even familial bonds with pets, but also relationships with synanthropic species such as pigeons and rats are imbued with emotions ranging from loss and sorrow to awe, disgust, and annoyance (Juola 2024; Schuurman and Dirke 2020). In addition, emotional bonds are also formed with livestock and working animals, such as cattle, horses, and reindeer (Kaarlenkaski 2014; Leinonen 2013; Mazzullo and Soppela 2023; Soppela et al. 2023, 2024; Vuojala-Magga 2010). The expressions of emotions towards working animals are dependent on the cultural and social context and, therefore, variable in time and space. Working horses, such as Finnhorses, for instance, were considered friends and active companions as well as a labor force in agrarian Finland, working with them evoking feelings of joy and pride, but also shame if the horse was old and slow. Parting with a horse at death caused sorrow and a deep sense of loss (Leinonen 2013). To mention another example, feelings of pity, empathy, and solidarity were expressed towards cows, particularly by women, who in Finnish traditional agriculture have been mostly responsible for tending them (Kaarlenkaski 2014). On the other hand, cows, Lapland cattle, for example, have brought joy and a spark to the lives of people who tend them (Soppela et al. 2023). Regarding reindeer, Vuojala-Magga (2010) describes her personal experience of training working reindeer as evoking a feeling of joy (“we had a wonderful time”) and her becoming emotionally more secure about training reindeer with practice.
Emotions are integral to social relations in general; one of the ways they are expressed and articulated is through narratives. Stories meaningfully link what happens in terms of actions, thoughts, and feelings (Götsch and Palmberger 2022). Therefore, the approach of this paper will be based on narratives, focusing on reindeer stories told by the herders. Narrative and narrative practice serve as umbrella terms for different kinds of stories, tales, and storytelling (Götsch and Palmberger 2022). Narratives serve multiple social and cultural purposes; they help individuals and groups make sense of experiences, contribute to socialization into group practices and norms, and transmit ideologies and worldviews (Götsch and Palmberger 2022; Heikkilä 2021; van Hulst 2020). Storytelling is in many ways integral to humanity (e.g., Freeman 2015; Heikkilä 2021). Stories form meaningful links between actions, thoughts, and feelings and, as such, they help us make sense of the world (Götsch and Palmberger 2022). Therefore, the reindeer stories told by the herders reflect various aspects of human-reindeer relationships in reindeer herding today. They are stories that help the people who tell them to make sense of experiences, transmit knowledge, and contribute to the socialization of the reindeer-herding culture.
Stories come in many forms—current understanding of narrative is broad, comprising both more typical narratives, understood as stretches of talk that convey a sequence of past events and the teller’s perspective on them, but also other types of narrative fragments, such as the recounting of ongoing or future events, non- or multilinear unfoldings of events, and the recounting of mundane and everyday events (de Fina and Georgakopoulou 2015; Gordon 2015; van Hulst 2020). For the purposes of this paper, we embraced a broad definition of narrative, considering both longer stretches of speech recounting and interpreting whole life stories on one hand, and shorter unfoldings of everyday events on the other, as valid narratives.
Materials and Methods
In this paper, we focus on stories that the herders, who train and drive reindeer, told about the reindeer during the interviews. The field work included both interviews and participatory observation among reindeer herders. We interviewed 13 reindeer herders (nine males and four females) from different parts of the reindeer-herding area in Finland during 2019–2019 (Soppela et al. 2024). Nine herders trained draft reindeer for tourism enterprises of their own. Their enterprises were located in the neighborhood of large tourism centers. The other four herders trained racing reindeer. All the herders except one had been reindeer herders their whole lives. They all had long experience of training draft reindeer (mean 30 years) and practicing reindeer herding in general, including meat production. The average age of herders was 47 years; 35 for women (range 27–43 years) and 53 for men (range 37–66 years).
The interviews were semistructured and included questions on topics ranging from working and racing reindeer training to their personalities, relationships with other reindeer and humans (Soppela et al. 2024). The questions were organized according to the topics, but the interviews were kept flexible and open-ended. The focus of this paper is on the stories herders told about the reindeer during the interviews. It is important to note that the values, meanings, and emotions attached to reindeer and reindeer herding are not necessarily the same across all herders. Although reindeer herders observe and interact with all reindeer to some extent, for instance, during roundups or feeding, working reindeer engage in much more frequent and close interaction with herders than other reindeer in the herd.
All the interviews were conducted in Finnish, recorded, and transcribed. The interviews were coded (H1–H13), and the data were used anonymously according to data protection and ethical practices (University of Lapland 2009). The transcription material was analyzed with the aid of thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke 2008) using the RQDA package (Huang 2016) of the R programming system (R Core Team 2020). This included choosing the codes for the keywords drawn from the interviews and marking the codes on the transcripts (Soppela et al. 2024). Each researcher coded the transcripts separately, after which the coding results were reviewed and discussed together, and a preliminary summary was made. This was followed by the classification of the results under the themes drawn from the interviews and using them for further analysis, discussion, and reporting.
Stories of Companionship
It is exactly that, the trust. An ability to trust. It is very hard to teach a reindeer that is almost totally wild. It has not been in contact with people. You can see it clearly if you start to teach reindeer at about four years of age. Although it is . . . . Take Yrjö, for instance. His training started when he was four years old [almost adult]. He had been on a leash, but he hadn’t even been made such that you could walk him around on it at four years of age. He came to people, but when he was tied up, he didn’t trust the person anymore. But take Arska. He was also four when he came [for training]. He hadn’t even been on a leash. But he came to people for petting when they offered him food. He let me pet him and everything. He was put on a leash, and it took maybe two or three weeks until he was completely used to it (H3).
Stories such as these, from little anecdotes to full life stories on individual reindeer, cropped up repeatedly in the conversations with reindeer herders. In these stories, the herders identify the reindeer individual by name and describe the technicalities of the training, showing how the personality of the reindeer affected the choices the herder had made training it (Fig. 1). The herders talked about how they observe the animals and make choices based on their characteristics during training. This is in line with our prior research on reindeer training: the reindeer literacy of reindeer trainers develops both in their reindeer-herding practices and draft-reindeer training, the herders closely observing reindeer behavior in different situations before and during training, and paying particular attention to the personalities of the reindeer they have frequent contact with (Soppela et al. 2024). Herders make interpretations about the differences/personalities between individuals and the suitability of the reindeer for training and draft based on their behavior, recognizing the reindeer as different persons (Soppela et al. 2024).
A herder walking a male reindeer calf on a leash. The training of sledge reindeer starts early, usually during their first winter. Photo: Päivi Soppela.
The herders often conceptualized reindeer personhood and personality by using the word “luonne” in Finnish, referring to the reindeer’s temperament and individual way of reacting. This word corresponds to the word “character” or “personality.” Reindeer express their personalities through their temperament, learned habits, and behavior. The descriptions of the herders about the character and behavior of individual reindeer (reading of reindeer) gave detailed knowledge of reindeer personalities, either as direct interpretations or through stories. The herders also spoke about different types of reindeer based on their relationship with them. They referred to reindeer with nominations such as “tavanporo,” an ordinary reindeer in the herd, or “tuntoporo,” a known reindeer, or “ajokas,” a draft reindeer.
Herders told numerous stories about draft reindeer and how they regarded them as persons: “They have different energy and different learning motivation” (H8). Some reindeer were described as being distinctive from the other reindeer when observing the herd and looking for candidates for training.
“That sort of reindeer stands out though — a sort of naturally tame, or a really, really timid reindeer.” (H5).
“And yes, such reindeer do stand out, those who are a bit more cheerful than the others.” (H6).
Some of the draft reindeer candidates were also described as being more active in nature than others, and some were described as solitary, and some as more social individuals of the herd (H4, H5, H7). All interviewees agreed that it is up to the reindeer’s personality how it adapts to become a draft reindeer (a reindeer itself shows whether it can be trained to be a draft reindeer or not) (Soppela et al. 2020, 2024). Some draft reindeer can be very talented individuals in their learning abilities, as quick learners. The reindeer trainers recognized the influence of heritage on reindeer personalities and used this information to assess reindeer behavior and select candidates for draft training. The trainers recognized similarities in the offspring and siblings of certain female reindeer (i.e., brothers, as well as in characteristics related to reindeer color). “There are sort of similarities there you can almost see from a calf” (H13). For example, all interviewees described the characteristics of white reindeer in a similar way: usually drowsy and passive (Soppela et al. 2024).
However, the stories herders told about the training process and the reindeer were not solely about characteristics that affected training-related decisions—they were often rich narratives, inclusive of assessment of the character of the reindeer, but also interpretations of their motivations as well as emotionally charged moments between the reindeer and the herder.
But the best ones are of course, and I’m not a good storyteller, by the way, the feelings of success that you get with a working reindeer when you see that he’s doing things, and he trusts you. And, you know, that same reindeer called Bingo was still with me back then when folks were building the first cottage on [the name of an island] in [the name of a lake], they were building it at the last minute but still wanted to get bricks on the island during the spring. There were already melted spots on the ice and [an unclear word] when they asked for a reindeer to pull the bricks. There were many hundreds of bricks, of course, to build a big, long pipe and then a wall. . . . There was still some slush ice in the lake. . . . Then I said that I could try to get there with the reindeer. And the weather was already such that it would be quite difficult to get there, so I first went to see for myself how I could get to the island. And in my own opinion, I found a route, and so I said that I could try it with the reindeer. Those bricks were pretty heavy. I do not remember the number of pieces, but I had a three-pack sledge and I put two of them in a row. The reindeer pulled, and I pushed to help him, and he knew how to go on my earlier track, so it didn’t need more than that one rein to guide him. I just commanded him, and he was ready to help me, so we got the bricks to the island that evening. I promised the reindeer that now you can have a holiday—there were snowless spots, scrubs and lichens—and I took the empty reindeer harnesses and brought them out myself, and he was so tired that he stayed on the island in the evening, but he came home again in the morning, and he didn’t stay there any longer. But it’s been one of those rousing experiences for me. If the reindeer hadn’t wanted to do it, it wouldn’t have been possible; there was no way I could have done anything. I would not, it wouldn’t have happened if I’d forced the reindeer to go there. But the reindeer went in front, and I pushed the sledge behind him to help. There are that kind of reindeer (H13).
In this story, the herder emphasized how the reindeer—Bingo—helped him because he wanted to. He was that kind of a reindeer. Moreover, the herder’s role in this story was to help Bingo by pushing the sledge behind him. The herders’ support and care of Bingo manifested in him carrying the harness home himself, and Bingo returning home the next day. Thus, the story emphasized a mutual feeling of friendship and a willingness to help the other even in taxing circumstances.
This kind of nuanced understanding of motivations and emotions—agency—of the reindeer occurred repeatedly in different contexts. In the herders’ stories, the agency of draft reindeer varied in relation to their position among other draft reindeer, age, and experience. A draft reindeer could act as a lead draft reindeer in a group of sledge reindeer (Soppela et al. 2024). Likewise, an old, experienced draft reindeer could act as a trustworthy driver of children. These agencies could be so regular that one could even call them roles. The herders also referred to particular agencies of the racing reindeer: “A competent racing reindeer shows whether it wants to run and is naturally fast” (H1, H2, H5, H6, H9, H13). The herders discussed and pondered among themselves the causes and consequences of reindeer behavior, the reindeer’s species-specific behavior, and reflected on the reindeer’s behavioral response to their own actions in different situations. In training situations, interviewees emphasized the importance of the messages sent by the trainer (see communication), through which the reindeer are able to read the human. This mutual reading and interpretation of each other by the human and the reindeer results in a relationship of trust, which is weighed up during the training, and which guarantees the continuation and success of the training relationship (Soppela et al. 2020, 2024). In addition, as this story exemplifies, mutual trust and understanding were interpreted in terms of collaboration, friendship, and mutual care.
Stories of Care
Already touched upon in the story we quoted above, care is another aspect of human-reindeer relationships that frequently cropped up in the stories the herders told about reindeer.
He [Poju] was like this. . . . For example, if I wanted to drive out of our yard. I put a water sled or whatever behind him, and he was always like . . . let’s just go! He never acted out. I was driving on skis with him, and if I fell on a bump and he saw that I had fallen, he stopped and waited for me and watched when I grabbed the reins again, and then, when I commanded him, he immediately started to run. He never left me. Wherever I was driving him, and if I happened to fall and lose my grip, I was so small. I couldn’t just keep on hanging behind him. He saw that I fell over and he stopped. So, I went again and grabbed the reins and watched. And if the rein was under his leg, I’d go under the neck and clear the rein for him and put the rein straight, and we’d start again. Then we just went on again (H1).
In the story quoted above, there is a relationship of mutual care and understanding between the child and the reindeer, both willing to play together and adjust to the needs of the other. The reindeer stops as it notices the boy falling; the boy sorts the reindeer’s reins; and off they go again. The story shows how the reindeer understands that the boy is just a child and adjusts its actions accordingly, and how the herder, now as a grown man, still remembers the care and companionship.
Care in the context of reindeer herding can take many forms. Care can mean protecting the reindeer from predators or guiding them to fresh pastures when old ones are depleted. Furthermore, it can mean feeding the reindeer, feeding places acting as places of care and comfort for animals and people (Anderson et al. 2017; Birke 2017). Reindeer herd management is strongly tied to the land and, therefore, holistic in nature. The herders’ primary concern is to take care of the herd’s welfare in such a way that reindeer can roam freely, find their food from pastures, reproduce, and be safe from predators. The herd should be diverse in terms of animals of different ages, sizes, and types, making it strong to adapt to and survive varying conditions. Such a herd is a beautiful herd or čappá eallu (North Sámi) (Mazzullo 2010; Tyler et al. 2007).
Feeding is important for many purposes: establishing a relationship between the reindeer and humans, helping with taming, and keeping reindeer in good condition (Soppela et al. 2024) (Fig. 2). Herders mentioned that some reindeer are more eager for food than others and get more easily accustomed to humans and, thereafter, to training.
You just need to whisper and chat with them often enough. You’ll take them for a walk and feed them and just be there, crouch beside them and give them lichen and, when they come to eat from your hand, you know you’re on the right track (H11).
Winter feeding is important not only in keeping reindeer in good condition but also in building a trusting relationship between the reindeer and the herder. Photo: Päivi Soppela.
Feeding is also an important occasion when the herders can observe that the reindeer are healthy and get to know their reindeer personally. Observations of behavior, appetite, and quality of excrement are made during feeding.
When you give the food, you always watch that everyone comes to eat. They stay for a while and don’t go away immediately. Then you know that they are [healthy]. A reindeer is like that; if it doesn’t come to eat and won’t eat, then it has some problems (H5).
Herders can also tell that when a reindeer, through regular feeding, care, and training, has learned to trust a human, it becomes “imprinted,” seeking human closeness and protection in unexpected or threatening situations, showing a preference for and great degree of trust in their herder (Soppela et al. 2024). Moreover, the reindeer learn to recognize their trainer as “a homeperson” whom they recognize by visual and other sensory cues such as smell.
Reindeer trust that the human will help them. For example, last November . . . I was there in the reindeer park two kilometers from here, and the reindeer were in a large enclosure covering about ten hectares, and I went there to feed the reindeer so that I could round them up in the holding area. As I stepped out of the car and started calling the reindeer, a tourist from the Czech Republic pulled over and let a husky out to pee. The husky immediately smelled the reindeer and happily ran into the enclosure. Luckily, it was a big enclosure. When the reindeer ran, the dog chasing them, they kept on running past me, looking at me as though they were asking me to catch the dog (H8).
In addition to human-to-reindeer or reindeer-to-human care, the herders’ stories touched upon care between reindeer.
Well, that’s Pikku Valkko (Little White). Just the one that we saw . . . It was right from the first winter, it was kind of like he took those younger reindeer . . . or some weaker reindeer as his friends. Even now, that happens when we have had those younger reindeer in that enclosure . . . now that he is four years old. He always takes one of those yearlings, the weakest one, as a friend. It’s like he’s defending the weakest ones. When he was two years old, he stayed with us for a bit longer in the summer in that enclosure. There was an orphan calf, and he took her as his little sister, a female calf. . . . He adopted the orphaned female calf . . . He (Pikku Valkko) is such that even this winter, he adopted a reindeer calf that is deaf. And he himself is a really small male reindeer, but he took the deaf one as his friend. They slept there in the enclosure with their backs to each other, as the deaf reindeer doesn’t react to sounds. So they slept with their backs to each other. Whenever this Pikku Valkko got up, the other one (deaf) knew that he had to wake up too . . . I’m still waiting for him (Pikku Valkko) to grow up; he’s still growing. He will become a great reindeer (H3).
The story of Pikku Valkko is exceptional in that it addresses care between reindeer, which was not a topic raised in any of the other interviews, apart from care between mothers and their calves. Telling the story, the herder assessed the character of the reindeer based on the care it showed towards others, seeing it as a virtue of Pikku Valkko’s. The story ends with a glimpse towards the future where the herder expects Pikku Valkko to grow up and “become a great reindeer,” the underlying assumption being that the lives of the herder, Pikku Valkko, and other reindeer in the herd will continue over seasons and years.
Conflicts and Confrontations in Reindeer Stories
Not all the stories depicted reindeer in a positive light. In general, the herders aim to train working reindeer who are tame and behave in a safe way around tourists; if a conflict arises, the herders negotiate the situation with the reindeer via different means, such as soothing body language (Soppela et al. 2024). However, the will of the reindeer and the herders occasionally clashed in ways that prompted the herders to tell stories about “badly behaving” reindeer. Such behavior was often described in terms of the reindeer trying to get an upper hand on the herder, as for example in this narrative:
Keijo is such that not everyone can work with him. When he has gotten an upper hand on someone, noticing that person can be manipulated, he will try to do the same to the next person, and if that person backs off too, Keijo will already be testing me and my brother. Then we know that we will have to have a wrestling match again, oh what great fun! Keijo is good at manipulating; he can read it if someone is afraid. He will try to take a couple of quick steps closer, head held high to frighten, and make snorting sounds. If he backs off from the harness, it is impossible to get him to wear it. He will come at you, show you one hoof, and then soon he will be standing on two legs when you are trying to put the harness on him. We sometimes call him a psychopath (H11).
Keijo’s behavior is described in terms of “testing” people; he is depicted as good at manipulating people with aggressive behavior, jokingly even called a “psychopath.” It is also implied that some people are more susceptible to Keijo’s antics, although his owner sees right through him. Indeed, a common trope in stories about badly behaving reindeer was a reindeer trying to get the upper hand on people. In these stories, the reindeer were forgetting their place in the hierarchy, sometimes actively challenging it, as in Keijo’s story, sometimes showing the lack of understanding of human-reindeer hierarchy by more indirect means.
If there’s a tame reindeer, he can easily be defiant. He will try, like any other animal, to see where the lines are drawn. You need to be really strict with them; what is forbidden is always forbidden. They can’t tell people what to do. For instance, when people are feeding them, they can’t kick the person like “give me the food, quick.” Because it is what it is, the reindeer herd has a hierarchy, and you will just have to show that you are on top of that hierarchy. It doesn’t mean subjugating the reindeer; it’s just how the reindeer behave. For instance, when I’m walking in the enclosure, I always walk so that the reindeer give way to me. I don’t have to intimidate or act menacingly; I’m just confident, and I’m communicating with my body language that I’m above you and we belong to the same group. I’m going to feed you and so on. This is something that applies to all reindeer and all animals. They will know their position in the herd—they will know what’s allowed and what’s not (H8).
In the quote above, the reindeer who forget their place in the herd structure are described as too “tame”; it is implied that such reindeer will consider people their equals, fellow herd members with similar social standing. Besides highlighting unwanted behavior in reindeer, stories like this emphasize that the correct order of things needs to be reestablished. Herders had several strategies for doing that, informed by their knowledge of reindeer social behavior. In Keijo’s case, active means of putting the reindeer back in his place were needed, described as a “wrestling match”; in other cases, more indirect means such as confident body language communicating leadership and care were used to maintain a hierarchy where the herders and reindeer were on the same side—“belonged to the same group”—but with the herder at the top of the hierarchy. The stories about badly behaving reindeer were thus imbued with an understanding of reindeer as creatures with their own will and behavioral traits that need to be accounted for. However, the stories also emphasized how people need to actively take, even earn their place at the top of the hierarchy through knowledge, experience, and care.
Sometimes the stories about reindeer misbehavior were also laced with humor. Although the underlying moral of the story may have emphasized the need to establish a human-reindeer hierarchy, the humorous tone highlighted the appreciation of the reindeer’s personality and will.
We have a reindeer called Julli. Julli is a very expressive reindeer. He likes to use his antlers . . . he had large antlers. Or has. He likes to take a person between his antlers and rub people with his antlers, and we needed to teach him not to, at least not with customers. He still takes drivers between his antlers. He also liked to throw people. For instance, when my daughter kept him as the lead bull, he wanted to play, but he needed to go work on safari. He walked behind and [my daughter] did not understand . . . she kept giving him more leash, like “let’s just walk this safari.” Well, Julli accelerated, racing forward at full speed. He didn’t have antlers at that time, so he stuck his head between [my daughter’s] legs, lifted her up with his head, threw her in the ditch, and then just stopped there to eat snow and to laugh. The customers were amused. . . . The next day, another young girl [one of the drivers] went on safari with him, and Julli stopped. [The girl] called me from the safari, asking what to do and saying that Julli was broken. “What?” I asked. “Julli is not moving.” I said, “I can’t help you from here, it’s such a long way, and I have customers here. You’ll just have to tell Julli you need to go.” Soon, she called me back, saying that Julli was just jumping on the spot and totally fooling around. The customers were laughing so hard and wondering what was going on. I said that she needed to tell Julli not to act up. “You need to take back control; now he’s just laughing at you.” I heard nothing back after that. Julli had taken his time jumping on the spot, while [the girl] had tried to learn how to order a reindeer to move. Eventually, he had thrown [the girl] into a ditch a couple of times on the way, but they had made it back in the end. But the customers had fun. Julli can be such a character. They’ve got that; they can communicate with people (H8).
From Family Stories to Life Stories
Different continuations—training processes, lifelong emotional bonds, family lines—were a recurring element in the interviews. For instance, herders regarded the family lines of the female reindeer as an important part of the selection process when choosing their offspring for driving and racing education. Interviewees did not keep records of hinds, but said they remembered their reindeer (H3, H4, H5, H12). The hinds included known reindeer (tuntoporo), whose offspring were observed. The family lines of the hinds were taken into account in the selection process.
There are some good ones among the hinds. You remember them and you know them. You know them in a certain way. In general, they are a bit bigger. Reindeer that you like. Reindeer that you know. And then, of course, you can observe them to see if they are like that (H12).
. . . we will start training a reindeer already as a calf, so it’s important to know what family it is from and what kind of calf it is . . . . It’s important to look as far back into the past of the mother reindeer, how it was grazing and where it was rearing, and what kind of reindeer the family included, so it’s kind of a very precise matter. Training won’t succeed if you just take a reindeer and start to train it (H12).
Our earlier studies have shown that the essential basis of the human-draft-reindeer relationship is trust established in a regular and continuous interaction between them (Soppela et al. 2020, 2024). It starts very early, already when the calves or yearling reindeer are chosen for training. The herders then pay attention particularly to those reindeer that are not afraid of humans and approach them easily. It is familiarization with the nearness of humans that is the very first important step of human-reindeer interaction. Thereafter, all the other interaction gets easier, and the reindeer starts to get used to human touch. Feeding practices were considered a key factor in the process, as well as taking care of the holistic well-being of the reindeer. The continuity is created by frequent contact and, in terms of training for working reindeer, repeating the same practices (Fig. 3).
Human-reindeer bonds form in continuous close interaction with the reindeer. Photo: Päivi Soppela
The interviewees had personal preferences and practices for building trust, but there were some similarities and typical milestones in this process (Soppela et al. 2020, 2024). For example, it was generally regarded that the reindeer’s acceptance of being walked on a leash is a significant moment in the training process. Some herders highlighted an important turning point in the human-reindeer relationship, trust, and “domestication.” They mentioned that it happens when the reindeer seek protection from humans in unexpected situations, such as when they get alarmed by predators (H10). One interviewee described the moment as follows:
A kind of exciting feeling when the reindeer gets scared of something and goes behind your back for the first time. That has been a kind of inspiration for me (H6).
The herders stated that reindeer always have a reason for seeking human protection, although it might not be evident at first. When the reindeer seeks shelter, it is “imprinted” and bonded to the human, they said (H10).
The herders emphasized that a reindeer must be allowed to follow its own learning pace and not be trained in a rush. If there is no progress in the development of the reindeer, despite careful teaching, it is wisest to let him go (Soppela et al. 2024). If a reindeer is too “wild,” it cannot become a draft reindeer. However, it was also emphasized that trainers should not give up training too soon. A reindeer can be too tame, test its trainer, and make different moves. Then, one day, it is over, and the reindeer starts to behave like a draft reindeer.
A certain amount of taming has to happen before you can start training a reindeer. It does not mean that it is as tame as a horse or a cow or something else. The taming of a reindeer is a bit different (H8).
There is a natural break in the summer and fall between the training and working seasons of reindeer, and working reindeer freely roam in the forest. The herders mentioned that reindeer have good memories and that they remember what they have learned in the previous training season. They even remember unwanted bad habits (H1), even if there has been a break of several years in between (H5). They, of course, also remember their trainers. Younger reindeer tend to forget more easily what they have learned, but that varies individually (H13).
Then those reindeer that have become a little familiarized to humans, that have been fed part of the winter and been the rest of the time in the forest, are already imprinted on humans, so they understand that humans bring them food, and then they will follow (H8).
The continuous nature of human-reindeer relationships in reindeer herding culminates in life-long bonds and intergenerational ties between people and animals. In some of the stories the herders told, the perspective was multigenerational or comprised the whole intertwined life courses of a reindeer and a human. For instance, in the following story, the herder situates himself as a part of a family, a chain of generations engaging with reindeer herding—“He was one of my father’s reindeer”—but in addition to that, the story focuses on the lifelong emotional bond that comes into being through care, trust, and companionship.
He was my first. He was one of my father’s reindeer. I worked with my father’s reindeer, but they weren’t actually mine if you know what I mean. The first reindeer who was really mine was called Uusikuu. He was a white reindeer. All white. We really connected around the time he was five. He got really sick with diarrhea. I don’t know where he got it from. My father said it was time to give up on him. He had gotten so thin. But I said no, I will not give up on him. I think we should keep trying. And I don’t remember anymore what I did exactly to take care of him, but I did, and I got his stomach working again. I saved him, and so Uusikuu and I became really close. He was always following me around, and when he was let out of the enclosure, he stayed over there in the field, and every time I went there, he followed me. Even though we let him into the forest for the summer, he always lingered here. He was imprinted.
He worked. He was 12 . . . no 13. I could see in the spring that he wasn’t in good condition. He still had his teeth, but they were not in good condition. He was really skinny. His stomach wasn’t working properly anymore. He came home in the fall and was really skinny. And then, it was around the time of the first snow, in November, when I went to the enclosure one morning and he couldn’t get up anymore. His hind legs were paralyzed. He was just lying there, calm, waiting for me to help him. I said goodbye and thanked him for everything. He was really important to me (H3).
Discussion
Reindeer herding is an important means of livelihood and cultural practice in the Eurasian Arctic. Recent environmental, social, and economic changes have caused transformations in reindeer-herding practice, but, on the other hand, there is significant long-term cultural continuity in many reindeer-herding practices (Mazzullo and Soppela 2023; Salmi et al. 2022; Sarkki et al. 2018). In particular, working reindeer training and use have been an essential part of reindeer herding probably since its beginning, and still continue today, albeit in a different form: in tourism-related activities and competitive racing (Soppela et al. 2022, 2024). The relationships with draft reindeer are long-term and integrated with the herders’ lives. Working reindeer become known as persons and individuals, people telling stories—ranging from short incidents and anecdotes to complete life stories—about them. These stories are told and experiences shared between family members, generations, and other herders. As narratives, they contain a wealth of information about the cultural understanding of human-reindeer relationships.
Reindeer character, personhood, and agency were often highlighted in the stories the herders told about training and working with reindeer. The interviews showed that all reindeer are different for the herders; most animals in the herd are considered ordinary reindeer (“tavanporo” in Finnish) while some, particularly those trained for working and racing, are known individuals (“tuntoporo”). The herders see that reindeer have different personalities. Especially in the context of working reindeer training, the personalities and individual learning styles of the animals come into play. The herders interact with the working reindeer over the course of several seasons and years and get to know them well (Soppela et al. 2024). Herders also felt that fully trained draft reindeer differed from ordinary reindeer: they are described as “tame,” are known by their names and personalities, and treated as individuals. Herders also observe ordinary reindeer in a herd when rounding them up in the fall or feeding them in winter, but not as closely, assessing their capabilities and potential. Some of these reindeer become better known as individuals due to a special trait or position, similar to draft reindeer. For example, some female reindeer in a herd were the ones followed by others and got a bell around their neck, strengthening their role. Moreover, the agency of female reindeer in leading the herd and teaching their calves how to behave was acknowledged by the herders. Similar female leadership roles have been observed in Lapland cattle, for instance (Soppela et al. 2023). Thus, herders see the herds as consisting of individuals with different characteristics, social roles, and relationships with humans, for instance, working reindeer forming closer bonds with humans than other reindeer.
These observations are in line with previous research, which emphasizes that, in reindeer-herding cultures more generally, reindeer are seen as endowed with considerable agency and autonomy (Mazzullo and Soppela 2023; Soppela et al. 2022, 2024; Stépanoff et al. 2017), the herd consisting of individuals with varying characteristics, social roles, and degrees of familiarity with humans (Stépanoff et al. 2017; Takakura 2010). This also holds true for relationships between humans and other animal species in traditional agricultural contexts (e.g., Kaarlenkaski 2014; Leinonen 2013; Soppela et al. 2023). Moreover, in the case of a draft reindeer, agency can be seen to refer to its action as a working reindeer, the action that becomes apparent in interaction with humans and other reindeer, but also to its other entities. This includes the idea of relational agency, which is formed in relationships with other actors (Despret 2013). Agency is thus not a built-in characteristic or mode of action of individuals but is formed in relationships with other actors, with all of them contributing and being affected by this process. The agency of the animals varies in different social situations and over time. Because of the relationality and situationality of reindeer personhood and agency, there are likely temporal and regional differences in these aspects of human-reindeer relationships, dependent on, for instance, the intensity and frequency of the contact with the reindeer.
In addition to highlighting aspects of reindeer personhood and agency in draft reindeer training, already familiar from other ethnographic work among reindeer herders (e.g., Soppela et al. 2022, 2024; Vuojala-Magga 2010), the stories touched upon emotional ties, family relationships, and lifelong relationships with reindeer. Relationships with reindeer—particularly working reindeer—are continuous over several seasons and years. This holds true for current reindeer-training practice but has likely applied to some extent to human-working reindeer relationships in past reindeer herding as well. In practical terms, this means that the training takes place over several seasons, with check-ups and re-evaluations occurring along the way (Soppela et al. 2024). Likewise, the ability of the reindeer to remember the previous training seasons and form bonds with their trainers is appreciated by the herders. Over the course of this relationship, trust is slowly established between the reindeer and the trainer, the moment of “imprinting” being a key moment in this relationship as described by the herders. Moreover, these relationships can even be cross-generational, as family lines of reindeer are recognized and taken into account in selection for training (Soppela et al. 2024). In other words, the continuity in human-reindeer relationships is created in frequent contact with the reindeer, the herders always being mindful of the reindeer, their individual life histories, and characteristics. Persistence is needed to build long-term relationships with reindeer, and such relationships are not formed with all individuals. The relationships with working reindeer were often interpreted in the light of companionship: themes of friendship, mutual care, and willingness to help each other emerged in several narratives, for instance, the stories of Bingo, Uusikuu, and Poju.
These long-lasting relationships are imbued with and built upon emotions. The reindeer stories we heard conveyed various feelings, ranging from affection and joy to mourning and sadness. Narratives are particularly valuable for gauging these emotions and meanings, as narratives help narrators convey what they think is important and give meaning to events and experiences (Götsch and Palmberger 2022). They help narrators make sense of things, and thus, are ideally suited to conveying emotions, meanings, and values. The story about Bingo and the herder transporting bricks to an island in difficult weather conditions, for instance, conveyed both tiredness and weariness, but also joy and pride, as the herder described the feeling of success in seeing the reindeer cooperating and trusting the herder. A rousing experience, it evoked a feeling of appreciation towards Bingo in the herder’s mind: “There are that kind of reindeer” (H13). Joy and humor were also expressed in the stories, as for instance in the story of Poju, where driving the reindeer was an enjoyable experience for the child: “Then we just went on again” (H1). Likewise, the story of Julli, the tourist reindeer who pulled a stunt on the driver and refused to move on a safari, was imbued with humor and appreciation of Julli’s character and will. Even in stories such as Uusikuu’s, where feelings of worry and sadness were part of the narrative arc, the prevailing feelings were those of thankfulness, affection, and appreciation.
A recurring element in the stories was thus appreciation of reindeer, both as companions whom the herders were attached to and as creatures with their own will and agency. What these narratives also do is that they emphasize values—what is a good working reindeer?—and by doing so, shed light on cultural understandings of how human-reindeer relationships should be. For instance, in the story about Bingo, the herder emphasized how Bingo helped him because he wanted to, being that kind of a reindeer. As another example, we learned that Onni was seen as a great reindeer—“He was great”—based on the initiative and intelligence he showed in making sure his sleeping human got home safe. Poju, on the other hand, was appreciated for the care he showed for the child who was driving him. Thus, valued characteristics in reindeer according to these stories are intelligence, independence, empathy, and the ability to cooperate. Some of the stories even followed a hero’s journey type of a story arc, the reindeer facing obstacles—think of Bingo, for instance—and overcoming them with their strength and wisdom. They therefore emphasize the value placed on the wit, stamina, and psychological strength of the reindeer. Moreover, some of the reindeer characters—Julli and Keijo, for instance—resemble a clever and cunning trickster character type. Even though the stories depicting “badly behaving” reindeer often emphasized reestablishing the hierarchy—that the human should ultimately take the lead—they also showed an understanding and respect for the reindeer’s character and will. In these stories, the reindeer’s willingness to cooperate had to be negotiated.
Although these observations are especially pertinent to current reindeer-herding culture and working reindeer training in Finland, it is interesting to note that these values, as well as the emphasis these stories place on companionship, negotiation, and mutual care, are in line with the values of reindeer herders more generally. Research has shown that North Asian reindeer herders highly value autonomy and a disposition to cooperate in domesticated animals (Anderson et al. 2017; Dwyer and Istomin 2008; Stépanoff et al. 2017). Herders exert close control over animals only when necessary; otherwise, the animals themselves are expected to function independently of humans. The herders appreciate, encourage, and take advantage of the animals’ autonomy as well as their disposition to cooperate with humans (Mazzullo and Soppela 2023; Soppela et al. 2024; Stépanoff et al. 2017). Thus, the ideal relationship between human and reindeer seems to be companionship wherein the human and animal partners come together in temporary cooperations while retaining their respective autonomies (Stépanoff et al. 2017). Narratives organize experiences and provide moral direction and explanations of what holds the world together (Götsch and Palmberger 2022). The stories told by the reindeer herders in this study, structured around the themes of mutuality and reindeer autonomy, clearly show the moral and emotional importance of these qualities of the human-reindeer relationship in contemporary reindeer herding culture.
Conclusions
Stories help make sense of the world—they make meaningful links between actions, thoughts, and feelings, contribute to socialization into group practices and norms; and transmit ideologies and worldviews (Götsch and Palmberger 2022; Heikkilä 2021; van Hulst 2020). Perhaps unsurprisingly, considering humankind’s predisposition to storytelling, reindeer herders who engage in training and working with reindeer also tell stories about the animals they share their lives with. Working reindeer training and use are important parts of many reindeer-herding cultures—the motivations and techniques vary in time and space, but the underlying interspecies relationship generally contains elements of companionship and trust (Losey et al. 2021; Soppela et al. 2024). In the current reindeer-herding culture in Finland, reindeer are trained for and used in competitive racing and tourism, the training combining traditional knowledge with modern requirements and being considered as an important bearer of reindeer-herding culture by the herders (Soppela et al. 2020, 2024).
In this paper, we have explored reindeer stories told by herders who train and work with reindeer, both in the context of tourism and competitive racing in Lapland, as narratives indicative of values and emotions related to working reindeer. The stories—ranging from little anecdotes and short sequences of events to whole life stories—showed that considerable emphasis is put on the character, personhood, and agency of the reindeer. Working reindeer are persons with often life-long relationships with their trainer, their personalities, quirks, and individual characteristics shaping their relationships with herders and making their way into the herders’ narratives. Furthermore, this paper has shown that emotions are an important component of the relationships between trainers and working reindeer. They were articulated and expressed in reindeer-herders’ narratives, emphasizing values related to working-reindeer culture as well as the affection between people and the reindeer they worked closely with. The reindeer stories explored here show clearly how independence and care were valued, both in terms of humans taking care of reindeer and vice versa, the affection between the two palpable in the way the stories were unfolding: “I said goodbye, thanked him for everything. He was really important to me” (H3).
Cultural conceptions of animals and human-animal relationships are always relational and situational; that is why it is important to remember that the values and emotions highlighted in the reindeer stories addressed in this paper reflect those of present-day reindeer herders in Finland. For instance, the specifics of the reindeer-herding techniques, such as the relatively low-frequency contacts with ordinary reindeer in the herd versus the lifelong and close interactions with reindeer trained for competitive racing and tourism, probably shape cultural conceptions of human-reindeer relationships in this cultural context. We have noted elsewhere (Soppela et al. 2024) that the valued characteristics for working reindeer have changed in recent decades due to the different purposes the reindeer are used for; in a similar vein, the emotions and values attached to working-reindeer training and use are dependent on their historical and cultural context. Participatory and narrative approaches to case studies like this have the capacity to contribute to our understanding of the affective qualities of human-animal relationships, thus far rarely examined in pastoral and traditional agrarian contexts across the Arctic.
Acknowledgments
The participant interviews were conducted as a part of the Domestication in Action project, funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement No. 756431). An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Society for American Archaeology conference in New Orleans in April 2024 in a session organized by Jean-Luc Houle and Oula Seitsonen entitled “Exploring Long-Term Pastoral Dynamics: Methods, Theories, Stories.” We are grateful to the session organizers and participants for the opportunity to present and discuss our research. We would also like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their insightful feedback on the earlier version of this manuscript. Finally, and most importantly, we wish to warmly thank all the reindeer herders we interviewed for sharing their wonderful reindeer stories with us.
Footnotes
↵1. Domestication in Action, a European Research Council and Academy of Finland-funded project running at the University of Oulu, 2018–2023.
This open access article is distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) and is freely available online at: https://aa.uwpress.org.
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