The goavddis is “not just a drum. It is more-than-a-musical-instrument”, Juhán promptly rectifies after being asked about the membranophone featured in his artwork. Conversely to how presented in ethnographic literature, this object is seldom regarded as musical instrument in Indigenous discourses by virtue of its ancestral usage as oracular tool. Not attributed to music-making, its ritualistic percussion was criminalized by ecclesiastical forces across Fennoscandia. Concealed from the public sphere, only few goavddis survived a centuries-long colonial purge. It was not until the 1970s – amidst broader struggles for Sámi self-determination and cultural reawakening – that these objects reclaimed a public life, even taking on protagonist roles in the Indigenous resistance. Within these societal changes, the goavddis underwent an ontological revolution, being refunctionalized from oracular tool to musical instrument embraced on stage and in the studio. Based on fieldwork discussions and Sámi written sources, this paper intends to offer a contribution to the historiography on Sámi drums, confronting the critical definition of goavddis within- and beyond-music in light of Indigenous ontologies. Findings underscore how public and private realms provide distinct responses to the pivotal question: when does a goavddis cease to be a drum and when does it assume musical agency instead?
Renzi, N. (2025). Are Sámi Drums Really “Drums”? The Ontological Revolution of Goavddis from Concealed to Public Life. New York : New York Institute for the Humanities and Social Studies.
Are Sámi Drums Really “Drums”? The Ontological Revolution of Goavddis from Concealed to Public Life
Nicola Renzi
2025
Abstract
The goavddis is “not just a drum. It is more-than-a-musical-instrument”, Juhán promptly rectifies after being asked about the membranophone featured in his artwork. Conversely to how presented in ethnographic literature, this object is seldom regarded as musical instrument in Indigenous discourses by virtue of its ancestral usage as oracular tool. Not attributed to music-making, its ritualistic percussion was criminalized by ecclesiastical forces across Fennoscandia. Concealed from the public sphere, only few goavddis survived a centuries-long colonial purge. It was not until the 1970s – amidst broader struggles for Sámi self-determination and cultural reawakening – that these objects reclaimed a public life, even taking on protagonist roles in the Indigenous resistance. Within these societal changes, the goavddis underwent an ontological revolution, being refunctionalized from oracular tool to musical instrument embraced on stage and in the studio. Based on fieldwork discussions and Sámi written sources, this paper intends to offer a contribution to the historiography on Sámi drums, confronting the critical definition of goavddis within- and beyond-music in light of Indigenous ontologies. Findings underscore how public and private realms provide distinct responses to the pivotal question: when does a goavddis cease to be a drum and when does it assume musical agency instead?I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
