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<P align="justify"> Arctic hysteria … <P align="justify"> Arctic hysteria is a term proposed by Maria Antoinette Czaplicka in 1914 for a theory relating to the history of [[Shamanism|shamansim]]. It maintained that shamanism arises from the mental imbalance caused by the Arctic cold, darkness and lack of nutrition and the hysterical phenomena associated with it. It claimed that northern man typically reacted in a way resembling hysteria to things that deviated unexpectedly from the normal way of the world. This behaviour was characterized by sudden affective outbursts exploding out of a background of withdrawal and passivity. It was explained psychoanalytically by a weakness of the ego, which according to the theory of Arctic hysteria would make people susceptible to shamanistic trances and visions. </P>
<P align="justify"> Although the theory has been more or less rejected in present-day interpretations of shamanism, there is a certain amount of evidence for the phenomena referred to by the theory in the case of the Saami. The name for this labile mental balance was keuvot in the Saami language, and a person in this state was called keuvolis. It is described in many mutually independent sources from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries, and it seems to have been particularly characteristic of old women, who could easily lapse into such a state if frightened or irritated. Keuvot meant a psychic regression, the temporary lapse of control of one s behaviour. People in this condition might behave in a violent way, lash out indiscriminately at those around them and mouth off ; they would also frequently strip themselves naked or behave in some other sexually provocative way. When they recovered, they would remember nothing of their behaviour. The state of keuvot probably gave the Saamis, particularly the women, a way of giving vent in a traditionally acceptable way to their sexual and other frustrations. The fact that the phenomenon was not as common among the men may have been a consequence of the old patriarchal Saami society, but one can also assume that, for example, the role of shaman offered men another traditional way of releasing their regressive pressures.</P>
<P align="justify"> The visionary loss of consciousness that was characteristic of the [[Čuorvut movement|<i>čuorvut</i> movement]] can also be linked to the theory of Arctic hysteria, although in this case the regression took on a new expression provided by the Christian tradition. On the other hand, it is questionable whether the [[The Laestadian "movements"|ecstasies]] of the Laestadians can be connected to the same group of phenomena.</P> to the same group of phenomena.</P> +
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