4. Sound Matter in the Acousphere of Fennoscandian Ritual Sites
4.1 Enchanted Sound Forms and Acousmatic Listening
As revealed by the analysis of Sámi historical records, the sounds heard and described from sacred rocks and mountains encompass a range of types. While many of these contribute to the uncanny atmosphere of the sites, a particular subset consists of vocal sounds – including “shouting”, “calling out”, “humming”, “whistling”, “speaking”, ”talking”, “yoiking”, “chanting”, “preaching” and “laughing” – suggesting that spirit actors produce sounds characteristic of human vocal expression.
Other groups of sound are described as noises or sound objects attributed to human activities or to unknown sources, including the tinkling of bells, gunshots, booming, howling, and strange, unidentifiable, sounds. In all cases, however, the exact source of these extraordinary sounds – which seem to leak from the spiritual world behind the rock surface – remains unidentified, and the sounds can be classified as acousmatic. The effects produced by these phantom sonic apparitions are described as scary, imposing, or enchanting, with the echo beings appearing as excellent singers who can even be heard in duos. The rock appears to possess an overwhelming sonic potency that humans cannot overcome. Thus, one “must not shout against the rock wall” (see Section 2.3).
There is no single agreement regarding the volume or other qualities of these sonic forms, suggesting that the audible manifestations of spiritual forces can be heard in a variety of ways, differentiating between loud and barely audible, high and low tones, subtle and strong. Yoik collector Karl Tirén (Isof/Tirén 1931) and the archival sources describe kadhihah (gadniha) “prophesizing in words” (speaking or talking) or “tones” (chanting or yoiking) punctuated with pauses and jumps, delivered in both high falsetto and “strong voice” – reflecting precisely the type of vocalization in which magic chants were performed, for example at the sacred rocks of Onnegæđgi and Ávrronásje (see Section 2.1). The stylistic mirroring of these performances attests to the interconnectedness and continuity of human and more-than-human forces. Yet, kadhihah and gufihtars may also have bewitching, beautiful voices used to perform chants that lure strangers toward them, much like the mythical sirens.
Sound forms emanating from rocks and mountains are mostly perceived as enchanted, as explicitly narrated in the story of the reindeer at Áhkobákti (see Section 2.2), who were entranced and tamed by an echo of the gunshots. Similarly, beating a drum near sacred rocks may induce a hypnotic effect, in which reflected beats follow and extend the direct beats, resulting in a canon-like pattern and a spatial surround sound experience. Trapped by these schizophonic auditory elements, the listener may receive an experience of being disoriented and dissociated. Tirén, referring to a particular type of Sámi chanting, claims that certain voiced sounds in mountainous areas had a magic effect:
That the Sámi attributed certain tones to magical work is not surprising. It is indeed possible to cause reindeer – whether alone, in a flock, or in herds of a thousand – to remain cataleptic for a few minutes upon hearing, for example, the following notes: from Karesuando […] or Arjeplog […]. Other tones, or the trill[17] alone, do not produce the same effect. Anyone with a high falsetto can confirm this when encountering reindeer in the mountains. On countless occasions […], I have demonstrated how even dog-driven herds of reindeer came to a halt at these high falsetto notes, causing the dogs to also slacken. (Isof/Tirén 1931, our translation)
Based on the analyzed accounts, the perception of voices and noises emanating from echoing rock sites, yet lacking apparent sources, encourages acousmatic listening and related listening modes. Descriptions of the wide range of specific sounds heard at the sites indicate an activation of reduced listening, characterized by a primary focus on the sonic qualities themselves. In this context, enchanted listening is linked to a form of schizophonia: the dissociation of sounds from their original sources followed by the identification of new, augmented sonic realities.
Stories often describe such situations as taking place at night or in the early morning, corresponding to the quietest moments of the day, offering ideal conditions for every sonic vibration to be distinctly heard. These quiet periods, when the world is most likely windless[18] and largely dormant, provides an ideal aural situation in which it becomes possible to hear the rock not only shouting or calling but also talking, whistling, and enunciating quiet sounds. The customary noise-making taboos that prohibit breaking silence at Sámi rock sites (see Section 2.1) are likely rooted in listening practices that require stillness as a precondition for focused auditory perception. This tradition of receiving acoustic revelations from the rocks – and of sound tuning by human actors in order to receive them – could only emerge within cultures oriented toward listening.