Both in the Edda and in the sagas Sámi (finnar) can appear as giants and dwarfs. This identification has been caused by the similarity of the stereotypic features of the Sámi with those of the giants and dwarfs on the one hand and by the incorporation of the corresponding persons of the Sami mythology into the Scandinavian mythology on the other. The Sámi stone sites were interpreted by Scandinavians as Scandinavian mountain giants, and Sami saivo, passe olmai and ganii were treated as Scandinavian dwarfs. In this way the originally Indo-European giants and dwarfs have obtained new features due to the Sámi — Scandinavian cultural contact. The identification, of the Sámi with the giants and dwarfs has resulted both in the addition of stereotypical Sámi features to the dwarfs and giants and to the addition of the original giant and dwarf features to the Sámi In the Old Scandinavian literature.
Kuzmenko Yury. SAMI AS GIANTS AND DWARFS IN OLD SCANDINAVIAN LITERATURE