LEARNING JOIK AT THE UNIVERSITY

Frode Fjellheim is a famous Sami musician and producer. He has done a lot of memorable and historical stuff in Sami music - too many to start listing things... I think he deserves his own blog post. 

But he has for years now been teaching joik at the University. His course is called "Med joik som utgangspunkt".  and its a 60 hour course. 

I have thought about this course for many years, but never attended. Not only because I didn't have time but also because I didn't think this course was for me. Frode joiks the southern-semi way, and I am Northern Sami  - so I didn't think that this was a course I could attend. But I have seen now many Northern Sami people have done this course. 

My mother mentioned to me that we have forebears who are Southern Sami - so it is ok for me to learn joiking Southern Sami way. That made it easier for me.

After I started experimenting with joik about 4 years ago, I have discovered that I naturally joik more the Southern Sami style then the Northern Sami style anyway, so maybe this course is perfect for me. 

Some people asked me : why do you go this course - you know how to joik. And I say - yes in one way I do, I know the feeling of joik now, and I understand a lot about it - but I really want to learn everything others know about it.  

But in another way - I don't really know anything about it - because the "joik-police" have come for me many times and said that what I do is not joiking. And in a traditional view it is not joiking. 

When we where asked to make our own joik the first day at the course the joik I made was actually the only one that couldn't be called a joik, because it was arranged more like a piece of music would be. It was not built as a traditional joik, - or something that everybody would categorize as a joik. 

This did not surprise me I as am always the one who does things differently then everyone else, even when I am not trying. But he did say - this was based on joik - but it is a very futuristic and a very non-sami way of building the joik because it was arranged. So it was taking the joik to another level - to a level where some people might not call it a joik anymore - but a song. 

So if anything - this course will teach me why what I do is not joiking - and what I can do to make things more traditional, - if I ever choose to...