Rana Niejta

Rana Niejta in a park in Mo i Rana in Rana Municipality in Northern Norway

Rana Niejta and Rana Niejte are variant forms of the Ume Sami name of a goddess in Sami mythology. In Northern Sami she is called Rana Neida and Rana Neide (names in other Sami languages are Rana Nieda, Ruona Neida, Radien-neide and Blende).

Rana Niejta is the goddess for spring and fertility. The literal translation of the name Rana is «the green» or «the green, fertile fields». The name Rana Niejta can freely be translated as «the daughter of earth». According to Sami mythology, it was she who made the southern slopes of the mountains green, so that the hungry reindeer would have enough food.