Goahti
Goddesáhpán
The North Sámi name for the lemming goddesáhpán is a compound word, the first element of which is goddi 'wild reindeer', and the second element 'sáhpán', which means a mouse or a similar animal such as a mole or a shrew.
The name 'reindeer mouse' is said to come from the fact that reindeer sometimes eat lemmings.
Lemmings are small mouse-like animals that live in the tundra. In summer they are brown, but in winter they are all white. Their white coats help them to hide from the snowy owl and other predators who depend upon them for food in winter. Lemmings make simple burrows in the tundra during the summer, and they can make it very difficult to walk around. Especially when you fall through them up to you knees! In winter, they hide from the coldest weather in shallow burrows in the snow.
Lemming populations shrink and swell depending on how many plants and berries are available. One type of lemming, the Scandinavian lemming, migrates in a huge group when food becomes scarce. They will run in one direction through meadows, woods and towns. If they come to a large body of water they will swim and swim looking for land.
During the summer of 2007, Nuorgam saw a large Lemming migration Learn more >>
Source courtesy of: The Saami. A Cultural Encyclopaedia. Ed. Kulonen, Seurujärvi & Pulkkinen (2005), mnh.si.edu/arctic/html/lemming.html
