Goahti
Luomi
The cloudberry is one of the tastiest berries growing in the area inhabited by the Saami.
It was the most important berry for the Saami.
It was eaten fresh and preserved for the winter, and it was added to milk foods, gruels and porridges. It was also pureed with whitefish, fish fat and fish stock into a dish named meastu.
The name for this berry in North Saami is luomi. Equivalent forms are also found in all the eastern Saami languages from Inar to Ter. It has been suggested that it is of Scandinavian origin, cf. Old Norsee blómi 'a flower and a leaf, a bloom; freshness, luster, growth'.
The berry has another, more widespread, name that is used throughout the Saami area from South Saami to Ter Saami to refer to a ripe cloudberry, The North Saami form is láttat. It is of the same origin as the words láddat 'to ripen' and lá 'ripe, mature'. This word therefore probably meant specifically a ripe cloudberry.
Source courtesy of: The Saami. A Cultural Encyclopaedia. Ed. Kulonen, Seurujärvi & Pulkkinen (2005
