LAPLAND, 107 



r 



I 



these, tftey wear handkerchiefs, and little aprons, made of painted 

 cloih, rings on their fingers, and ear-rings, to which they sometimes 

 hang chains of silver, which pass two or three times round the neck. 

 They are often dressed in caps folded afier the manner of turbans. 

 They wear also caps fitted to the shape of the head : and as they are 

 much addicted to finery, they are all ornamented with the embroidery 

 of brass wire, or at least with list of different colours. 



A young man is not permitted io marry till he be able to take and 

 kill a rein-deer. When he is thus qualified, and has chosen a female 

 to whom he wishes to make proposals, he communicates his desire to 

 his own family, who then repair in a body to the dwelling of the pa- 

 rents of the girl, taking with them a quantity of brandy to drink on 

 the occasion, and a slight present for the young woman ; for instances 

 a girdle ornamented with silver, a ring, or something of the like kind= 

 When they come to the door of the hut in which she lives, the prin- 

 cipal spokesman enters first, followed by the rest of the kindred, the 

 suitor waiting without until he shall be invited to enter. As soon 

 as they are come in, the orator fills out a bumper of brandy, which he 

 offers to the girl's father, who, if he accept it, shows thereby that he 

 approves of the match about to be moved for. The brandy is handed 

 round, not only to the girl's father and mother, and her friends assem- 

 bled together, but likewise to the intended bride ; and in the course 

 of this compotation, leave is obtained for the young man to forward 

 his suit in his own person. The orator, then, in a set speech, makes 

 a beginning ; and in this stage of the courtship the lover is himself 

 introduced, but takes his seat at a distance from the rest, placing him- 

 self near the door. The parents of the girl at length signifying their 

 full consent to the match, the suitor offers the maiden the present he 

 has brought with him, and at the same time promises wedding- 

 clothes to the father and mother. If the parents, after having thus 

 given their consent, depart from their word, it is an established law 

 * amongst the Laplanders that all the expences incurred must be made 

 good, even to the brandy drank at the first visit. The parties being; 

 thus betrothed, the young man is allowed to visit his mistress from 

 time to time. On the day of the nuptials the bride appears dressed 

 in her gala habit, with this difference, that whereas her head is close 

 covered at other times, upon this occasion her hair is left tci flow loose 

 upon her shoulders, and she wears a bandeau of different coloured 

 stuffs, and sometimes a fillet. The nuptials are celebrated in a fru- 

 gal manner, and without show. Such of the guests as are invited, 

 and are of sufficient ability to do it, make the bride a present of mo- 

 ney, rein-deer, or something towards a stock.* 



The Laplanders, it is said, entertain an aversion to war; and it has 

 never been found practicable to convert them into soldiers : but this 

 is rather to be attributed to their habits of life, which disqualify them 

 for military discipline ; as they will brave the fury of the tempestuous 

 ocean with astonishing intrepidity, and skait without fear along the 

 edges of tremendous precipices. 



Language. ...The language of Lapland appears to have an affinity 

 to the Finnish, with an intermixture of some words evidently of Go- 

 thic origin, derived perhaps from their intercourse with the Danes 

 and Swedes. Very different dialects, however, are spoken in differ- 



* Acerbi, vol, ii. p. 285. 



