{{Short description|Piece of traditional Sámi clothing}} [[File:Sami female traditional costume collar with silver.jpg|thumb|A goldwork collar of a traditional Sámi woman's gákti. This gákti has a metal embroidery collar with pewter or silver thread and traditional Sámi silver buckles.]] [[File:Sami Metal Embroidery Male Collar Aasele Sweden 1920.jpg|thumb|A pattern of a metal embroidered collar for a traditional male Sámi gákti from Åsele, Västerbotten, Sweden. The metal thread most commonly used for the embroidery is Pewter.]] [[File:Costumes Saami.jpg|thumb|Two Finns dressed up in fake gákti outside of Rovaniemi, Finland. Though at first glance, these may appear authentic to non-Saami people, the patterns on these gáktis are not traditional anywhere in Sapmi.]]

'''{{lang|se|Gákti}}''' is the Northern Sámi word used by non-Sámi speakers to refer to many different types of traditional clothing worn by the Sámi in northern areas of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Kola Peninsula in Russia. The gákti is worn both in ceremonial contexts and while working, particularly when herding reindeer.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}} The traditional Sami outfit is characterized by a dominant color adorned with bands of contrasting colours, plaits, pewter embroidery, tin art, and often a high collar.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

==Characteristics== The colours, patterns and decorations of the costume can signify a person's marital status and geographical origin. There are different gákti for women and men; men's gáktis are shorter at the hem than women's. Traditionally the gákti was made from reindeer skin, but in modern times, wool, cotton or silk are more common. The gákti can be worn with a belt (pleated, quilted or with silver buttons), silver jewellery, traditional leather footwear and a silk scarf. Traditionally, if the buttons on the belt are square, it shows the wearer is married. If they are round, the person is unmarried.

== In other Sámi languages == "Gákti" is the Northern Sámi term for the clothing. The following terms in other Sami languages do not refer to the Northern Sami gákti, but to their own clothing:

* '''South Sámi:''' {{lang|sma|gaeptie}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://gtweb.uit.no/cgi-bin/smi/smi.cgi?text=gaeptie&pos=N&mode=full&action=paradigm&lang=sma&plang=sma |title=gaeptie: Substantiv (N) |language=no |website=gtweb.uit.no |access-date=2019-03-15}}</ref>{{lang|sma|/gapta/gåptoe}} * '''Ume Sámi:''' {{lang|sju|gápttie}} * '''Pite Sámi:''' {{lang|sje|gáppte, gåppto}} * '''Lule Sámi:''' {{lang|smj|gáppte/gábdde}} * '''Inari Sámi:''' ''{{ill|mááccuh|smn|anarâš_mááccuh}}''<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=http://sanosesaameksi.yle.fi/pikaopas-saamelaiskulttuuriin/ |title=Pikaopas saamelaiskulttuuriin |trans-title=A quick guide to Sámi culture |website=Sano se saameksi |language=fi |access-date=2019-03-15}}</ref> * '''Skolt Sámi:''' {{lang|sms|määccaǩ}}<ref name=":0"></ref> * '''Kildin Sámi:''' {{lang|sjd|ма̄цэх/юххьп/юппа}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://saami.su/o-saami/materialnaya-kultura/odezhda.html |script-title=ru:Одежда российских саамов |title=Odezhda rossiyskikh saamov |trans-title=Clothing of Russian Sami |website=Saami.su |language=ru |access-date=2023-02-17 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811054319/https://saami.su/o-saami/materialnaya-kultura/odezhda.html |archive-date=2022-08-11}}</ref> * '''Ter Sámi:''' {{lang|sjt|mā͕ᵈtsa͕ᵍ}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://kaino.kotus.fi/algu/index.php?t=lekseemi&lekseemi_id=72227 |title=Kotimaisten kielten keskus |website=kaino.kotus.fi |language=en, fi, de, se |access-date=2023-12-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204173825/https://kaino.kotus.fi/algu/index.php?t=lekseemi&lekseemi_id=72227 |archive-date=2023-12-04}}</ref>

==Fake gákti== The Finnish tourist industry is notorious for displaying fake "Sámi" culture for tourists in order to make a profit.{{editorializing|date=August 2016}} Ethnic Finns dress up in fake "gáktis" and perform fake "traditional rituals". This activity has been met with criticism<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.galdu.org/web/index.php?odas=3374&giella1=eng |title=SÁPMI: No Fake Samis, Stop the Misuse of Our Culture |publisher=Galdu.org |date=2008-10-31 |accessdate=2012-10-13 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217221046/http://www.galdu.org/web/index.php?odas=3374&giella1=eng |archivedate=2012-02-17 }}</ref> both from the Sámi since it creates a false image of and appropriates Sámi culture, diverts tourist industry money from ethnic Sámi to ethnic Finns (thereby exploiting the Sámi and Sápmi, land the Sámi are native to, without giving anything back) and is dishonest towards tourists.

==See also== * Four winds hat * Luhkka * Beaska

==External links== * [https://samiskeveivisere.no/kart/ Clickable map of information about the traditional clothing of various Sámi groups]

==References== *[http://ndla.no/nb/node/114083 Fra hverdagsplagg til kulturelt kjennetegn] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808203331/http://ndla.no/nb/node/114083 |date=2016-08-08 }} Norwegian Digital Learning Arena / Norwegian News Agency {{in lang|no}} {{Reflist}}

{{Commons category-inline|Sami clothing}}

== Further reading ==

* Gustafsson, Anna. 2024. “[https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/metrics/10.1080/14759756.2023.2185740 Ten Perspectives of the ''Gáppte'': Materializing Different Ways of Being Sámi.]” ''Textile'' 22 (1): 277–91. doi:10.1080/14759756.2023.2185740. {{Folk costume}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gakti}} Category:Sámi clothing Category:Sámi-language terms