Two documents concerning a Lapplander who was sentenced to death in
1671 but who was not executed because he had committed suicide by magic.

The court protocol:

Lower court trial in Kemi Lappland with the people of Kuolajärvi (Kuolalake),
Kitka and Maaselkä people, 8 March 1671.

Jury:
Matts Sarresson from Kuolajärvi village; Hans Michelsson from Kitka village;
Torns Michelsson from Kitka village; Nils Andersson from Maanselkä village;
Erich Nilsson from Noppi village.

On that day, sheriff Arrendt Grap gave to the court an written appeal made on
3 Jan.1671 by Lappland priest sir Gabriel Tuderus and Kitka village's deputy
priest (sexton) Uula Uulasson. He said that he had it 24 Feb.1671 from Gabriel
Tuderus in Inari village.

There it was written that Aikie Akiesson from Kitka village had confessed to
sir Gabriel (Tuderus) how one peasant (fisherman) called Tobias from Mordula
village had asked Aikiesson to get better luck fishing for salmon with his magical
powers, promising him a fur made of dog skin as salary. But because Tobias did
not pay the salary even though he got better luck fishing, Aikie Aikiesson had
caused the death of Tobias in the salmon dam where the victim was fishing.

And when sir Gabriel (Tuderus) had asked the bailiff in Inari village to arrest Aikie
Aikiesson for his evil crime and bring him in to the court it was done. Now Aikie
Aikiesson, who was about 80 years old, was brought into the court.

First the judge asked if Aikie Aikiesson now would confess again what he had
admitted on 3 Jan.1671 to his own priest sir Gabriel Tuderus and deputy priest
(sexton) Uula Uulasson.

At first, he answered that he could not remember what he had said to sir Gabriel
because he had been seriously drunk at the time.

The examination continued and, when he was ordered to tell the truth, he confessed
that it was true that three or four years ago Tobias from Mordula village had asked
him to procure better luck with salmon, using sorcery, and promised a sheepskin.

Secondly, he was asked if he had done something to get better luck for Tobias. He
said that he had done it with his magical power. But he said also that he had only
received a pair of cotton gloves and a pair of cotton socks in payment.

When asked, he confessed that he had used his drum and songs to get this to
happen, which method had almost never failed to procure whatever he had wished
to happen to himself or to others.

After that, he was asked if he would confess that he had killed Tobias near the
salmon dam with his maleficium, because he had not received the fur, but only the
gloves and socks.

He said that he could not deny that, because his purpose was to kill Tobias with
maleficium because he had not received his full pay for procuring luck for Tobias.
That was why he had used his drum and songs. He also said that he could not know
the truth of the matter but, two years later, Tobias fell into the river at the dam and
drowned.  That same summer, a Finnish man called Nikkaris Kauppi had told him
(Aikie) in Soulajärvi (Soulalake) that Tobias had drowned, which bailiff Arrend
Grap had said that he had heard from sir Gabriel, which sir Gabriel must know
because he lives in the same village in Kemi where Tobias lived.

Aikie Aikiesson was asked which words, songs and methods he uses while
drumming his drum and what happens.

He answered that he was so old that he could not remember what he sang. He also
said that he had given his drum away three years ago because his left hand was so
weak he could not use it to hold his drum any more.

But he remembered and confessed also that five metal rings were put on the drum
skin during the drumming and that they traveled on it, because of the drumming
and noise. That would be continued until the rings would stop on a certain painted
symbol or picture. So he would know what was going to happen or what he could
get. Finally, the rings were so tight on the symbols that they would not travel any
more even if he was still drumming but had to be removed by hand.

Then he was asked how he had killed Tobias.  He said that he had sung some bad
words which he could  not remember any more and he drummed so long that the
rings had traveled onto the lower part of the drumskin, to the place where the Devil
and Hell are painted.

And contrarywise, when someone wants to do something good for anybody, he drums
so that the rings will travel to the upper part of the drumskin where the symbols for
angels, sun, moon and stars are painted.

Finally, he confessed that he had learned his skills for his father when he (Aikie) was
about ten years old. That was the best confession the court could get from him.

That was all presented to the jury and its verdict was that Aikie Aikiesson from
Kitka had himself confessed that he had practised witchcraft (maleficium) against
the peasant Tobias from Mordula village in Kitka so that the victim had dropped
into the river from his own salmon dam and drowned. The jury sentenced him to
death by axe, according to chap.6, Of  the Highest Crimes of Criminal Law, which
sentence will be sent to Higher Court of Appeal to confirm.

In his book Lapponia (1674), Johannes Schefferus wrote that he had heard from
Johannes Tornaeus (d.1681) about Lapp witchcraft:

Among those Lapplanders there was an eighty-year-old man who confessed how he
had until recently used evil magic learned from his father. In 1670, he had used that
evil skill and killed a peasant from Kemi only for a pair of gloves, so that the peasant
was drowned in the river. He was sentenced to death and put him in irons to carry
him to the nearest Länsipohja city (Piitime). But on the way he used his magic verse
and died even he was sitting in the sleigh, totally healthy and in good condition as
he had foretold would happen because it was better to die than get into the hands of
the executioner.