3°4 
GENERAL REMARKS 
inhabitants of Norway ; names apparently derived from the fuper- 
ftitious practices of the ancient inhabitants of the country ; though 
from the difficulty of afcent thefe mountains would feem to be 
inconvenient for the purpofes of a place of worfhip. There could 
be, therefore, no other inducement for making them the feat of 
their devotions, than the religious horror which they impreffed on 
the minds of a weak, fuperftitious people. 
The veneration for thefe pajfe-warck has not yet entirely dis¬ 
appeared : fome Laplanders vifit them yearly in their beft clothes, 
and though they offer no frefli facrifices, they are careful to leave 
the bones of former offerings untouched. On no account will 
they pitch their tents in the neighbourhood of thefe facred fpots, 
left they fliould difturb the deities w ith the cries of their children, 
or other noifes. When they pafs them, they condudl themfelves 
with the utmoft reverence : they would not attack a fox, a bear, 
or any other animal, near thefe places ; and if a woman be in 
their company, flie is under tire neceffity of turning her head 
afide, and covering her face with her hands. 
The ordinary feafon with the Laplanders for offering up facri¬ 
fices, was about the clofe of the autumn, when they were killing 
their fat cattle for the winter’s ftore.; befides thefe, they fhowed 
their devotion upon extraordinary .occafions, and as neceffity re¬ 
quired. 
No woman was allowed to have any concern in the preparation 
Gr folemnization of thefe facrifices; they were exclufively per¬ 
formed by a privileged clafs of men amongft the Laplanders, 
called 
