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As far as priests and monks of the Pechengsky monastery are concerned, the example of Christian "piety" made the Saami avoid Christianity rather than be attracted to it. Restored in 1883 as a branch of the Solovetsky monastery, the Pechengsky monastery grasped the Saami`s fishing places and reindeer pastures and took hold of the Ainovy islands rich in cloudberry and eider down. According to the Saami`s words, the priests who were sent here received small salary, they drank, extorted meat and fish. Due to this circumstances the former religious beliefs of the Russian Saami remained under an external cover of Christianity.

The original religion of the Saami possesses several characteristics: magic, fetishism and animism. To tell the truth, the enumerated elements are basic for all religions; they are emphasized because the Saami`s beliefs were not complicated with mythology, not covered with philosophy, act in all the primitive simplicity. Already in the 16-17th centuries the glory of the powerful Saami magicians was well known even outside Lapland. The magic of the Saami magicians frightened the Vikings, occupied the minds of sovereigns and admired travelers.

But even on the territory of Lapland the most powerful magicians were the Saami of the Kola Peninsula. The Saami`s folklore and legends are full of images of many magicians. Not long ago 5-7 persons (both men and women) able to conjure could be found in each settlement. According to folklore, the Saami magicians were common people having the same interests as all the others. They didn`t pray, didn`t worship any creatures or spirits, didn`t exaust themselves with fast, they had wives and children - so they didn`t differ from the rest of the inhabitants. They "were able to conjure" as well as they were able to shoot, go fishing and make stable "kereza". Their magic abilities didn`t surprise others because everyone was able to conjure if he was taught or found out the methods by trick. The majority of famous magical methods are based on the concept of sympathetic affinity of the phenomena. In the period that preceded domesticating of reindeer the major instruments of the hunting magic were horns of wild reindeer (chuerv`-garty). Knowing about this way of witchcraft, "freethinkers" told about it only a well-known man and with such an air of secretness as if he could suffer greatly from this knowledge.

Having chosen a place in hunting area of the settlement, a hunter brought there horns of the reindeer he had killed and put them in two parallel lines so that horns should stand as if the reindeer ran one after another. The custom to place horns on the roofs of houses, on the facade of dwellings is undoubtfully connected with sacral qualities of horns. Probably, a respectful attitude to reindeer horns and the idea of their useful properties indicate intimate relations to ancestors - totem, taking care of him, and through this using his potential force in one`s own interests. According to stories by the Izhemtsy, who went fishing in the Porozero ("porjavr`" means " a sacrificial lake", has its roots in the verb "porr" - "eat"). They saw there many sacrificial reindeer horns decorated with strings of beads and pieces of color cloth. The Semiostrovskie Saami, on whose territory the Porozero is situated, confirm this. In each settlement the best hunters had "chuerv`-garty", which contributed to successes in hunting and helped to protect the settlement from enemies. As soon as any Saami, even not a magician but simply "able to own chuerv`-garty", moved reindeer horns - a terrible storm began on the lake and killed the enemies. If father-in-law carried away the frontal reindeer bone with a horn from his son-in-law`s "chuerv`-garty", the herds of wild reindeer moved after him. If an old woman shook her trousers - a blizard rose and killed the enemies. An obedient seine was gathered in the boat or scattered in water. The Saami learned about the future according to the form of clouds or the soap boiling in a cauldron. If a guest came when fish was put into a cauldron then fishing would be successful; if a man left the house when fish was taken out of a cauldron then fish would escape from the trap. Every careless movement could frighten away the game or fish and lead to its disappearance, it was natural. Every careless cry or push could frighten a person concentrated on something, it was also natural. But even such an imagined phenomenon like a frightened person turning into a stone didn`t cause surprise. Primitive psychology tried to give simpler answers to complicated questions concerning the surrounding phenomena. It`s important to emphasize that the mentioned magic elements, forming an essential part of the ancient Saami`s religious beliefs, are not connected with belief in supernatural creature or creatures. They are as simple and unusual as all the enigmatic surrounding nature.

Alongside with magic, Sejd-fetish attracted the imagination of the ancient Saami. Even now in any settlement one can see several stones which were considered Sejds. The Saami sometimes point at a whole mountain and call it Sejd, though only one stone on it is the Sejd. Sejds as a material expression of the Saami`s most ancient beliefs were equally distributed among both Russian and foreign Saami. Sejd was usually worshipped by the whole settlement and was probably connected with respect by the ancestors. The word "Sejd" is etymologically connected with the name of a settlement belonging to the kin - "sijt". Possible reasons of turning into a stone were the following: a fright caused by a sudden cry, anger of relatives or the only way out when chased by the enemies. Turning into a stone, caused by magic charms of stronger magicians, was seldom in the legends. It`s possible to suppose that Sejds were situated at hunting and fishing places. There are indications of the fact that beneficial influence of Sejds was also spread upon the herds of domesticated reindeer when reindeer-breeding appeared. The Sejds indicated now are located near the Saami`s hunting and fishing places.

Originally Sejds were patrimonial fetishes. When patrimonial industrial places were divided Sejds became family fetishes. In difference from material magical objects, Sejds were objects of worship and reverence. First of all a person took Sejd`s interests into consideration. Sejd demanded respect and observing well-known rules in the area of its influence, especially near it. Observing the silence, avoiding curses and even jokes were the most widespread rules. Moreover, Sejd liked gifts and the Saami`s favorite food. In exchange for such attention it made nets full of fish, helped in hunting and reindeer-breeding. Otherwise Sejd punished the Saami not only by deprivation of fish but also by diseases and even death.

The lake Babozero (Akkyavr`: "akka" - "grandmother") is situated four kilometers from the lake Chudzjyavr. The syenite sione reminding a sitting old woman is situated on a high rocky coast of the lake, among the fragments of a mountain destroyed by the time. According to the Saami`s words this stone was considered to be a woman turned into a stone and was an object of worship. The stone-"grandmother" gave its name to the lake. The Saami`s stories tell that hunters and fishermen came to the stone and brought arrows and bullets and then - money, reindeer horns, foot bones with brains (the Saami`s favorite food) as a gift to "grandmother". Probably, "grandmother" and her conjure were considered to be patronizing in hunting and fishing and maybe in trade also since the Saami brought money to the sacred stone. They said, it was recommended to observe a complete silence while fishing in the lake near the stone.

The legend about the origin of the stone was written down in spring 1937: "The wife argued with her husband, was stubborn and didn`t want to concede. He wanted to hit her, she seized her daughter and ran, ran, ran. She wanted to come to her father near the lake Voronje, sat down to have a rest on a mountain and turned into a stone".

The third element of the Saami`s believes was spiritualizing of nature forces - the sun, the moon, the clouds, the thunder, the polar lights, etc. These animistic ideas of nature are reflected in the Russian Saami`s folklore and some material attributes as personification, probably, images of the sun, ring-shaped pendants on belts and preference of white, solar colour of reindeer.

Sacrifices were made to increase reindeer herds, to improve well-being and health of all the Saami. Sometimes sacrifices continued more than two weeks and one or two animals were killed every day.

The Saami`s sacral-intimate attitude to reindeer, using it as a sacrificial animal Loud-hozik - mother-mistress, the idea about a magic force of horns and using them for protection and as instruments of conjure were widely spread among people engaged in reindeer-breeding.

Bear, whose cult existed alongside with female spirits, should be included into the number of male spirits of masters. The Saami preferred to call it "grandfather", "old man", "shaggy", etc. rather than to call it "tal".

The sun, the moon, the clouds, the thunder, the polar lights were probably imagined as amorphous essences and were depicted symbolically by the Russian Saami as well as images on shamans` tambourines by the Scandinavian Saami. Besides, the spirits of diseases were also amorphous and sometimes personified with the form of the struck part of organism. In general the spirit of diseases was derived from the magical force of a person who sent a disease by the evil eye or magic.

Except for animal-like and amorphous spirits a belief about the existence of different rather neutral anthropomorphous demons, leading invisible life and seldom influencing people, was spread among the Saami.

There are three types of demons: "chaklingi", "changi" and "kushtnatemolmynch".

"Chaklingi" are small, naked people, not more than 2/4 high. They live in rocky cracks and hummocks. It is very difficult to see the "chuklingi`s" dwellings situated among swampy hummocks, so very few people managed to see them. "Chaklingi" are poor; that is why poor and dirty Saami are often called "chakling-piras" which means "a family of chaklingi".

Except for "chaklingi" the Saami believed in a special invisible world grazing its herds around them (kushtnatemolmynch). There are white and black reindeer in those herds. A happy person who sees from such a herd should go directly to the reindeer without blinking and throw a loop on its horns. After that the entire herd becomes visible.

Mentioning about "changi" is connected with wandering in the wood, looking for the way home or broken sledges. That is why it`s possible to make a conclusion that their function corresponds to that of a wood-goblin in Russian peasants` beliefs.

Due to magic and animism, the beliefs concerning anthropomorphism zoomorphism or possibility of transforming people into animals were widely spread among the Saami. Trying to avoid starving an old man turned into a bear and spent winter in a den; in some cases male and female magicians turned into reindeer, dogs, wolves and even fish. Children of these reincarnated people would be the same: reindeer, dogs, frogs, who however could sometimes turn into a human again.

In the most ancient Saami`s beliefs the following circumstance should be named: in spite of the variety of imagined spirits and different supernatural forces the attitude to the Saami was rather benevolent than hostile. At worst it was indifferent. Almost in all elements of the beliefs there is a red thread - the person`s superiority over the world of spirits surrounding him.

From numerous examples connected with cleaning value of alder tree it is possible to make a conclusion that it was considered to be sacred. In the fairy-tale about a dead magician, told by Haruzin, a Saami saves himself by cutting down an alder stick and drawing a line with it, so that the dead magician can`t cross it. There are a lot of examples of using ashes from a fireplace or a hearth as a means of cleaning. The idea of sacred properties of ashes is probably connected with the cult of a hearth existed earlier.

The most widely spread objects of protection were horns of wild reindeer and pike teeth. Claws of bears worn by men on their belts and reindeer teeth fastened to infants` cradles were also objects of protection.

Among amulets only " the stones of happiness" or "a living stone" (erpe chet`ke) were famous. The "stone" was a flat petrified nut with the size not more than a copper five-copeck coin. Being put in a glass of water it didn`t sink, distended, absorbed the water, and therefore was considered "living". This "stone" found in the ground or on a seacoast in washouts, according to the Saami`s beliefs, brought happiness to its owner.

The administrative influence of Christian believers and general cultural development of patrimonial male and female magicians was substituted by one strongest magician in the settlement - "nojd", whose functions reminded those of a usual shaman of northern people. "Nojd" treated ill people, expelled their diseases, supervised over sacrifices, communicated with spirits and predicted the future. In difference from former magicians "nojd" was strong not by his skill to conjure but by his ability to contact spirits and realize forces to bless or make harm to people.