The Reindeer Herder's Compass
Being a reindeer herder is not just an occupation, it’s a way of life. This film depicts the every life of a Sámi reindeer herding family living in Northern Norway in winter. Winter is a challenging time for the herders, when temperatures drop down to -40 °C and difficult snow conditions are common. Through the daily activities of the family, that revolve around working with their reindeer and reindeer materials, the film offers to experience the wide landscape and harsh conditions of the arctic in winter. Life is never a perfect story, but rather a series of activities, surviving and time passing.
About the Project
This film was made as part of the master in Visual Ethnography at Leiden University (as part of the Master Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology). In Visual Ethnography audiovisual methods are used as part of the research process, as well a way to present the reserach. I graduated this master with both a written anthropological research and a ethnographic documentary film about Sámi reindeer herders.
In January 2019, I travelled to Northern Norway to live with a family of Sámi reindeer herders. For 2,5 months immersed myself in the everyday life of the family. I experienced what it's like to live(and film) in temperatures as cold as -40 °C. When in the mountains with the reindeer, the landscape was completely white, silent, and empty.
I feel the icy wind against my cheeks. It is completely dark except for the ray of light from the snowmobile. We are slowing down. Slowly the sound of the snowmobile gets softer until completely replaced by the silence of the mountains. I’m wondering why we are stopping, did he notice something? I’m amazed by the fact that he can see anything at all in this darkness.
“Did you see something?”, I ask. He turns around and points at the ground. He explains that there are reindeer tracks, which means that some reindeer might have wandered off. He tells me that we’ll follow the tracks to see if they have already turned around, and if not to bring them back to the herd. “Do you know how to see which way they walked?”, he asks me. I shake my head. He explains that only the front of a reindeer paw is round, which you can see in the tracks.
The snowmobile turns back and he starts to follow the tracks. While the cold wind touches my cheeks again, I wonder how he manages to follow the tracks, drive the snowmobile and at the same time recognises the way back to the herd. The only thing I can see is the darkness around us.
Stills & Photographs
