Taatsin Seita

Far to the north in the Finnish Lapland lies the village of Pokka. A very small place in the middle of one of Europes wildest places between Kittilä and Inari.

On the steep side of lake Taatsijärvi with its calm, almost black water stands a mighty peculiar looking cliff measuring 10 meters tall.

This cliff is known as Taatsin seita and it is a natural formation on which people have left offerings. On my visit I could see reindeer antlers and candles.

A Seita or Sieidi is a type of rock that is holy to the Sami peoples. They would traditionally sacrifice to them by leaving offerings to them while asking the spirit of the rock for favors like luck in hunting or fishing. Special Sieidis was believed to be better at certain things like fishing, while others were better for hunting. If the Sieidi didn’t fulfill what was asked from it the offerings could be taken back and given to another one instead. There’s even accounts of Sami deliberately damaging the stone in revenge or just insulting it. But in most cases they were revered and people would remove their hats as a sign of respect in their presence.

Taatsin seita is originally said to have a top that looked like a traditional Sami hat called čiehgahpir or The Four Winds hat. This ”hat” was according to Samuli Paulaharju destroyed by unbelievers that knocked it off.

Jaakko Fellman in his writings from 1820 noted that it was a very well known offering place in the past. People all the way from Kautokeino in Norway would travel there.

Popular offerings here were heads of fishes like Pike, Trout and Common Whitefish. Horns from both wild and domesticated Reindeers, and some people would also leave money or jewelry as an offering.

The steep cliffs of the lake were once used for hunting by driving wild reindeer off the cliffs, a type of hunting with very old roots.

Archeologists have found bones at the base of the Seidi dating from the 12th century up to the 20th century.

When I visited it was raining and the slope was dangerously slippery making it impossible for me to reach the Seidi to see it close up without the risk of falling down. I was impressed that people dared making the descent to pay their respects.