Dette Er Fortellingen Om Et Mord, Noen Neppe Har Hørt Om
Dieckagåhpe Photo: Cato Hultmann The murder at Dieckagåhpe In the southernmost outpost of the Sulitjelma mountains, high above Saltdal’s smallholdings and patches of farmland, there was a murder in 1829. The incident has not become part of local folklore, and the name of the place where the murder happened, Dieckagåhpe, has been forgotten. Even the grave of the woman who was killed is hidden in a forgotten cemetery at Saltnes in Saltdal. Through reading Petrus Læstadius’ book Fortsättning af Journalen öfver missions- resor i Lappmarken innefattande åren 1828–1832 (“Continuation of the Journal of Missionary Journeys in Lappmark during the Years 1828–1832”), I became aware of the mention of a murder committed in Norway, where the murderer was arrested by the Norwegian authorities. Since the books are about the people who lived in Pite Lappmark, which also includes the Sulitjelma mountains, I found it interesting that the incident was unknown, both in the local historical literature and among the people who had had great knowledge of this area for generations. Two of the Sami that were mentioned by name in this case were known from the local history of Sulitjelma. One was “Smoleck”, who has a small river in Sulitjelma named after him. The other, Jon Andersson Ljung, is strongly associated with the prediction of Sulitjelma’s establishment – and its decline, should the church tower ever have a spire. An enquiry sent to the State Archives in Trondheim, where the municipal records for Salten Tinglag (judicial district) are archived, produced results. Soon, I had copies of witness statements, minutes of court proceedings, and correspondence between the sheriff, the bailiff and the local judge in my mailbox.
[Show full text]