The Stallo
I have been translating a French adaptation of Just Qvigstad’s record of stories from Sapmi by Jacques Privat. I refer to the northern regions of Norway, Sweden, and Finland as Sapmi, and the indigineous people of that region as Sami, rather than the derogatory terms Lapland and Lapps that were used in earlier centuries.
Qvigstad explains that children who were found skiing or making noise before and after Christmas Day could be taken by the Stallo, so skis were hidden during the Christmas season. People preferred to ride horses on Christmas Eve, and would blame the Stallo if they got stuck.
Another source, C.J. Billson, describes the Stalo, with a different spelling, as big, armored, reclusive men with possible Viking origins. They are described as either good or capable of eating men, and may have been real rather rather than mythical. Billson records a mention from the 19th century work of Friis that a woman claimed to be descended from a Stallo, which would date them during the Viking age, about 1000 B.C.
Just Qvigstad’s depiction of the Stallo is like a sinister sort of santa, and Christmas Eve seemed to be a night of fear rather than joy. Qvigstad had the one thousand page journal of Isaac Olson in his possession at one time and wrote a one hundred page summary of it. Isaac Olson was a Lutheran missionary to the Sami for over a decade beginning in 1708, so we can date one of Qvigstad’s sources to the very early eighteenth century. The Stallo drive sleighs with reindeer leading and a trail of lemmings behind. The lemmings are described as “rennes de traits,” either draft reindeer or literally, milking reindeer. Rather than leaving gifts, they snatch children who dare to ski at Christmastime, and drink the blood of those who forget to leave water out for them on Christmas Eve.
Also on Christmas Eve, Sami children must sweep the bits of wood that fall from logs onto the path and trim the ends of branches in the forest near their homes so the Stallo’s reindeer don’t become entangled in the branches on their evening ride. If the Stallo become stuck, they will shout for the person who didn’t properly clear their path to come and release them.
Qvigstad also records that a bucket of water and a plate of sliced meat were left on the Christmas Eve table. The Stallo were out traveling on Christmas Eve, and if they didn’t find sustenance when they returned, they would drink blood from the heads of humans. [I am still looking for other sources that describe the Stallo as vampires].
On New Year’s Eve, a bucket of sea water was covered with a blanket. When they woke up the next morning, if they found many pearls on the bottom of the bucket, it would be a good year for fishing.
Source: J.K. Qvigstad, Contes de Laponie, adaptation en français par Jacques Privat, Editions Esprit Ouvert, 2008, p. 112-114.
Source: C.J. Billson, “Some Mythical Tales of the Lapps,” 1918, p. 191.