MESSAGE FROM ELF GARDEN IN REYKJAVIK

In 2013 I went to Iceland for the first and only time (for now). It was a big luck that I actually went, but I learned the most exciting things about elves there - and it made me want to learn more!

My brother Ove and I went to a guided trip in the Hellisgerdi park.  http://www.elfgarden.is/
This very nice lady, Ragnhildur, showed us through the park and told stories about the elves that lived there. This park is open to everybody, so its a public park. Luckily there are very few times that anyone does any damage to the park, although it has happened. But stories tell that the elves there will not allow anyone to mess with their park. They have guards.

She said that for everything that grows - a tree, flower, grass etc, there is always at least one being that lives with that thing. For example a tree or a group of trees have at least one being that lives with it. The tree cannot live without this being, and this being cannot be there without the tree.

There are all kinds of beings - not only elves, trolls, fairies, dvarfs etc. There are many more beings and they can all live in the same stone or area and not see each other. Ragnhildur would walk past a stone, and in one side there where beings of light that sing magic into things (!)- and on the other side of the stone there would be dwarfs living. They all live in different dimensions, and all of them don´t have the ability to see each other. Some of them don´t have the ability to see humans. So for me this was a big eye opener! It is a fairly common thing to not be able to see other beings. They can´t see us either...

DID I MEET ULDA GIRL?

Picture from Pinterest.

I lived in the basement of my mother and fathers house from I was about 13 until I moved away when I was 16. I had alot of room there, and my own bathroom. It had its own front door too, and a huge room with sofa and chairs etc before entering my bedroom. I was the only one living on that floor.
This happened summertime. Summers where always a really fun time for us, cause we would just do whatever we wanted when we wanted. There is light day and night, so life is kind of eternal, or it stands still. No hinders, no beginning or end, just life. Experiences.


I was sleeping in my bed when i heard this whisper: "Eliiin Eliiiiiin." 
I thouht it was my friend Leila (who I told you about before), when she comes she could always think of some prank or funny thing to do just to make people laugh. I thought she had came to visit me. Doors where always open for everybody when I grew up. We never used to call in beforehand and check if we could come visit, we would just turn up whenever. And if they are not home - we go to someone else instead.

I looked up from my bed, but I couldn´t see anyone, so I went back to sleep.

SOUL RETRIEVAL

My brother Ove Kåven har written this blogpost. I asked if he wanted to write a post for me, cause he has become very intrested in subjects like these lately, and so have I, so its perfect!

You can read one of my personal experience with loosing pieces the soul here.

Soul Retrieval
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When people experience traumatic events or losses, a part of them will sometimes try to escape or dissociate from the event, in an effort to survive, or just get away from the pain. Sometimes, these parts don't come back. The result is a person that doesn't feel whole. The person might suffer from chronic depression, be unable to feel joy, feel out of touch with the rest of the world, feel like they're seeing themselves from outside of their bodies, or even be chronically or severely ill. And there may be a gap in the memories, so that the person can't remember anything about what caused the trauma. To fill the hole in their lives, they may become addicted to things like entertainment, gambling, sex, or drugs.

IS ONE MOMENT ENOUGH?

The darkest days of my life.
Nothing seems to work. Everything struggles.
No aspect of my life has light upon it.
No future.
Who knows what will happen. Is there even a spark to light a fire from?
Is there even a slightset bit of hope? Is there anything at all?

I must find out. I must search in the dark for that one thing to hold on to so I don´t fall, disappear and vanish.

Panic! Who´s idea was it to search the dark anyway?
I prefer to sit still until the lights come on.
No one can tell what´s in there. What we will find...
Fear of course. Fear of the dark, that´s the first thing found...

But you came. You came into the darkness and searched with me. Like you said you would.
In one hand you held my hand, and in the other you held up light. And you loved me. 
There is no need to feel fear again!
As long as I trust you, you will never let me down. 

MY DRUM TAUGHT ME TO JOIK

I did not learn to joik in my childhood (learn about joiking here). I never thought that I would be yoiking either, I have always seen myself as a singer, and I never yoiked much, for different reasons I will tell about soon.
But a few years ago I started thinking more and more about what singing actually is, what is music, why do I really want to sing etc...?  I just got very philosofical about things and life. And I wondered about joiking as well. What is joiking anyway, and why don´t I joik?
Always when I travelled abroad people where intrested in hearing about it and hearing joiks. I started thinking that "I am sami singer, so I should joik as well!"

I had made a drum at a workshop at this shaman festival Isogaisa, and I sometimes would take it out and try it. I listened to it carefully and it felt like the drum was making the sound of the earth. It´s hard to explain, but the sound made me feel the earth more, and it connected me to it. I enjoyed drumming  - just making sound and I started hymning to it at well... I sang different songs, and just played with it.
One day I suddenly started making sounds similar to what american-indians would make. Humming in a way, and at this point I felt myself opening up. I felt that this sound came through me - it was not soemthing I created - like I do when I sing, but it was something that came to me from the earth.

WHAT IS JOIK?

Yoiking is the sami traditional way of using the voice. When I tried to find information about it to share with you, I saw that wikepedia has alot of updated info on this! Here you go:


A joik (also spelled yoik), luohti, vuolle, leu'dd, or juoiggus is a traditional Sami form of song.
Originally, joik referred to only one of several Sami singing styles, but in English the word is often used to refer to all types of traditional Sami singing.
As joik originats from the Sami culture which is not a text based culture, there are no references to how and where joik originated. In the oral tradition legend tells that it was the faires and elfs of the arctic land that gave yoiks to the Sámi People. Just Quigstad who recorded the Sami oral tradition has documented that in several works.^[1] According to music researchers, joik is one of the longest living music traditions in Europe, and is the folk music of the Sami people.^[2]
The sound of joik is comparable to the traditional chanting of some Native American cultures,^[3] but non-verbal singing as such is by no means limited to these cultures.
With the Christianization of the Sami, joiking was condemned as sinful. The Norwegianization assimilation policy and the church and ecclesiastical movement's views on joiking as sin have played important roles in the devaluation. In the 1950s, it was forbidden to use joiking in school in Sami areas, and one of the reasons that joiking was controversial may be its association with noaidi and pre-Christian mythology rituals. Meanwhile, joiking was strongly rooted in culture and tradition was maintained. Today joiking is still alive and is also used as a source of inspiration and an element in contemporary Sami music.

 

CHAGA

Innlegget er hentet fra http://isogaisa.org/hva-er-chaga.php   Skrevet av Ronald Kvernmo

Hva er chaga?

Chaga er en sopp som vokser på bjørk. Den blir tørket og malt, og av pulveret lager man te.

Chaga en hellig drikk?

Chaga fra bjørk - er fra gammelt av kjent som en hellig samisk drikk - og det er ikke uten  grunn! Mange mener at chaga regnes som den kraftigste naturlige antioksidanten som finnes, og at chaga er generelt styrkende, krefthemmende, bakterie og virushemmende. Og i tillegg har Chaga en rekke unike egenskaper. De gamle samiske sjamanene visste nok hva de drev med!

Utklipp fra Urtekildens planteleksikon:

Chaga er en sopp med en kaffelignende smak. Den har et adaptogen som virker immunregulerende, kreft/svulsthemmende, gen-beskyttende, generelt styrkende (tonikum), blodrensende, blodsukkersenkende, smertestillende, magestyrkende, leverstyrkende, betennelseshemmende, bakterie- og virushemmende. Soppen utgjør den kraftigste naturlige antioksidanten som er kjent. Av alle medisinske sopper har Chaga trolig det største mangfoldet av medisinske egenskaper.

 

THE ARCTIC FAIRY

I got my name ”The Arctic Fairy" at a bellydance festival in Leicester England. This festival is called Gothla.uk and it is a gothic bellydance festival. I hold this festival very close to my heart, it has had a huge impact on my life and art.

When I started bellydancing I danced dark fusion bellydance and Gothic bellydance. 

In 2007 I had just started teaching bellydance in Oslo, and was buying belts to sell to my students. I bought the belts from one of the organisers of the festival, Rosie, and she suggested I come to this festival. I did, and I have only missed 1-2 since.

Next year is the 10th anniversary for the festival!

I was invited to teach there many times, and also performed. This is the most important festival for me to meet people who like the same things as me.

One of the organisers, Heike Humphreys said to me once: ”You look like a demented elf who has been lying underground in the tundra for 100 years and then came out dancing. ”

And alot of people kept telling me again and again that this is what they get from my performance - the arctic-nordic feeling and expression.

STÁLLU

Photo from Wikipedia

Stállu is a creature in Sámi mytholgy. As children we used to fear Stállu, because if we did not behave it could come and take us away and even eat us.

If you think about it its much like a police officer. Who knows, maybe one day police officers will be mythological creatues as well! Haha.

I just released a christmas song about stállu. Since the Sami people did not have much of a christmas celebration before we got the christian traditions - Stállu is the most obvious thing to write about connected to Sámi christmas – but who knows, if I have time to do more research I might find something else for next christmas!

GIVING UP - (NOT DOWN)

Like I have written before, the last few years have not been easy for me. I had to stop dancing and my life in general was not good because of health issues. I tried ALOT of things to make it better, but nothing seemed to work. I tried my best to come up with how to improve my life. I seeked help many places, but I never quite found anything or anyone who could get to the bottom of my illnesses. I went to doctors, coaches, physitherapisths, massagists, chiropractors and so on, but nothing seemed to help.

I became more and more discouraged, and lost the will to continue fighting, trying and struggeling. I was loosing all motivation to keep on looking for ways to improve my life. It felt like no-one could help me anyway.... And thats when I decided what to do. I decided to give up!
I had thought this in a negative way so many times: "There is no use, I give up. I´m never gonna find anyone who can help me anyway...". 

But this time I did it in a postive manner. I said: " I give up. I give my body to the hands of god/ the universe/ the divine. There is nothing else I can do to save my body from aches and pains, and my mind from exhaustion. I leave it up to YOU to make me what was I meant to be. From now on I know that I am taken care of by YOU. The perfect outcome has already been chosen and I trust cycle of life to be on my side. Whatever happens is always the best."

A SAMI CHRISTMAS SONG!

Photo Geir Anders Hætta Berg.

Tomorrow I will release a christmas song in Sami language. Terje Andre Tovik Wollmann has written the melody, and I have written the lyrics for the song. The song is about the sami myhtological creature "Stállu".

About a year ago I met Terje at a concert in Oslo. I had not seen him for many many years. I only knew him because he is the ex-boyfriend of a girl I used to live with in Bergen.
I told him I was an artist, and he told me had started working as a music-producer, so we just figuered why not try and do something together. We kept in touch, and I told him that I had wanted to do a christmas song for may years, but never got around to it, and he was immidiately into the idea of making a christmas song together, and so we did!

The reason why I wanted to make a christmas song is that when I was a child I remember christmas as a very positive time of the year. I used to cuddle up with my duvet in a chair in front of the telly and watch Disney - cartoons, and other programs. It was dark season, so it was constantly dark outside, so we lit candles and spent alot of time togehter with my family inside playing games, making christmas decorations, bakery and toys and gifts of course.

VIKINGENES JUL - VIKING CHRISTMAS

Vikingene skålte uten stans de tre lange nettene julefesten varte.

Vikingenes jul var preget av alkohol

Før julen ble kjent som dagen da Jesus ble født, var høytiden vikingenes viktigste fest. De pyntet med blod, drakk sterkt øl og forspiste seg på svinekjøtt til gudenes ære.

23. november 2015 av Esben Mønster Kjær fra dette nettstedet: http://historienet.no/sivilisasjoner/vikinger/vikingenes-jul-var-preget-av-alkohol

Julen var et lyspunkt for vikingerne

Vinteren var en hard og langdryg årstid for vikingene. Når frost og snø la seg over landet, søkte de ly i sine mørke hus og pakket seg inn i skinnfeller for å holde varmen. Beboerne hadde knapt med varme­kilder til å motvirke trekken fra det utette langhuset. Ildstedet i midten ga god varme, men gjorde også et stort daglig innhogg i vedstabelen.
Dyrene, som holdt til i den ene enden av huset, var også med på å varme opp rommet. Hester, kyr, sauer og geiter fikk ly for vinteren og bidro til gjengjeld med kroppsvarme og melk til smør og ost.
Med dyrene så tett på måtte beboerne også holde ut en konstant eim av møkk, uansett hvor mye det ble måkt. Stanken blandet seg med røyken fra ildstedet og kunne merkes i alle kroker før den sivet ut av et hull i taket.
Mens vikingene hostet og krøp sammen under skinnfellene, hadde de god tid til å bekymre seg for matlagrene. Gjennom sommerhalvåret hadde de stått på for å få avlingene i hus, men dersom utbyttet var magert, kunne det blir en utfordring å holde liv i familie, dyr og treller hele vinteren, selv med streng rasjonering.
Det var ikke fritt for at vikingene også kjente på kjedsomheten. Tiden sneglet seg av gårde i halvmørket innendørs mens menn og kvinner fordrev tiden med å produsere klær, flette tau, ­reparere hullete seil og slipe redskapene.
Vikingene hadde bare én ting å se frem til i mørketiden: julen. All frykt for fremtiden ble glemt, og vikingene ga seg selv lov til å fråtse hemningsløst.

#WESPEAKEARTH

A few months ago my dear collegue Sara Marielle Gaup (traditional yoiker in the band Àdjagas and Àrvvas) told me about her plan for the COP21 in Paris 12th of december 2016. This is a meeting with top leaders of the world where they will discuss the global warming and climate changes in the world.

She told me she had made a yoik, and she hoped that people from all over the world would yoik this yoik on the streets of Paris during this important meeting about our earth. She was going to ask sami artist and other to make their own version of the yoik, make a video and put it on youtube. She also asked if I would want to come to Paris and participate on this event.
I have thought about me going there since the day se asked, and I still want to go, but unfortunately my shcedule does not allow it. I am hoping my shcedule for next year leaves more blanks in it, so I will be able to do more things on impulse. Especially if it is for such an importnat cause as this!

I immidiately knew that I wanted to contribute to this. Because we are talking about our world, and there is nothing more important than our earth!  

HIRAS :: DEMURE

Waiting for my single to ble released!

WHY I SING IN SAMI

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Promo pic by Mari A. Lorentsen from 2008.
Shot ouside the sami kindergarden in Oslo. 

I left Sápmi when I was 16 years old and swore never to come back. I felt there was nothing to do there for me. We had high suicide-rates in Karasjok and the culture there was not particurlary supportive. I had my friends, of course, but when you live in a small town everything is see-through and you can´t really do anything without someone commenting on it.

I was happy living in the city and I sang in different bands and whenever I had the chance to. But I sang in English. I went back home to visit Karasjok less and less frequent and I noticed that everytime I came back I had forgotten words, and after about 8 years I was struggeling to say anything in sami. I had always had good degrees in languages, including sami, so it started to scare me. What if I was to forget the sami language, and not speak it at all – ever? That would be such a shame! I decided to do something about it, without actually having to move back, cause I didn´t want that either.  I decided I would write lyrics in sami, so that I would have something sami in my life.