Inari Sami people Inari Sami people Inari or Aanaar Sami are a group of Sami people who inhabit the area around Lake Inari, Finland. They speak the Inari (Aanaar) Sami language, which belongs to the eastern Sami languages. There are an estimated 700–900 ethnic Inari Samis in Finland, of whom approximately 300 speak Inari Sami. They are the only group of Sami who live within one state and one municipality. Inari Sami are indigenous peoples of their area. The traditional homeland of Inari Sami is the shores of the Lake Inari and the surrounding areas. Historically they are believed to have inhabited a
Inari Ōkami the pleasure quarters where these individuals lived. They began to be worshipped as the "Desire-Fulfilling Inari", a deity of luck and prosperity; a common saying in Osaka was "Byō Kōbō, yoku Inari" ("For sickness [pray to] Kōbō, for desires [pray to] Inari"). Inari also began to be petitioned for good health; they are credited with curing such diverse afflictions as coughs, toothaches, broken bones, and syphilis. Women prayed to Inari to grant them children. After a government decree mandated the separation of Buddhist and Shinto beliefs, many Inari shrines underwent changes. At Fushimi Inari, for instance, structures that were obviously