the winter market, day 1

so many things have transpired since the few days i've written..where to begin?

yesterday i attended the last day of the historic sami market in jokkmokk. this is the smaller of the two markets which the Sami reindeer herders have been gathering together at for the past 402 years. the purpose of the historic market is to show how the markets of the past used to be like, as well as to celebrate more specific events relating to the Sami culture before the big main market begins.

i'll backtrack for a minute, just in case. from wikipedia:

"The Sami people (also Sámi, Saami, Lapps and Laplanders) are the indigenous people of Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and the Kola Peninsula of Russia. Their ancestral lands span across an area the size of Sweden in the Nordic countries. The Sami are one of the largest indigenous groups in Europe. Their languages are the Sami languages, which are classified as Finno-Ugric. Traditional Sami occupations are hunting, fishing, reindeer herding and farming, though only a minority of today's Sami make a living from these activities alone, and virtually none live in a natural economy nor have a nomadic lifestyle. The population is estimated at about 85,000, although it is difficult to establish the exact figure."

the day started at a pleasant -15C. this temperature was so significantly better than the day before's -22C it was mindboggling. i started the day out at jokkmokk's Attje Museum, the best museum about Sami culture in the world. it had some amazing dioramas and was very thorough (from what i could read in the english translation booklet), AND the exhibition halls were laid out in the shape of a reindeer corral (circular with different rooms branching off of it). i think the highlight of it for me was the beautiful room of cases of taxidermied birds of Laponia - not only were the birds presented beautifully, but the magnificent cases were unlike any i've ever seen






i then went to the forest where the historical market was taking place and met up with a fellow hostel friend, Vito, an Italian photographer on assignment. i stood by a fire for a long time and observed the amazing, amazing surroundings. among the things available at the market were herbal medicines from gamela apotheket (old pharmacy) made by the students of a local natural medicine school, various reindeer food/clothing/anything products, and amazing clothing, mittens, hats, and fabrics. many of the Sami were wearing their traditional local costumes, usually reserved for special occasions. i observed many people wearing it in some form throughout the market.


sami guy

the historical market

man making a drum

we stayed for the inaguartion of the traditional market after dark. then attended a very crowded opening at the Sami school for an exhibition of handicrafts made by students - silver smithing, weaving, millinery work, working with furs and skins, etc. about a half hour later i realized i had lost my cellphone at the opening, mere minutes before the last bus to Porjus was to arrive. Vito suggested i go back and that he would come get me later with our hostesses' car, so i walked back in cold dark to the school.

a group of Sami people were standing around and i asked them if they'd seen it. with the help of a boy named Aslak i actually located it (someone else had found it), and i hung out with him and his girlfriend for a while, who were selling some handicrafts at the market. they said they came from a village 15km outside of Jokkmokk, population 140, and their full-time livelihood was reindeer herding. they never left their village except for once a year to come to market in Jokkmokk, and that is truly the purpose of the traditional market - the time to stock up on stuff, everything from socks to tools and stoves, over four days. at one point I started to excuse myself for fear of taking up too much of their time, but they said that during the winter they don't really see anyone else but their relatives for months. we talked about the market and the things they were selling (belts made of reindeer skin and silver jewleries). as a general rule, most Sami crafts are incredibly expensive, by the way. i asked Aslat what he would do with $1,000,000 dollars and he said he'd pay someone to take the reindeer to graze when it was -40C, but not during the other times of the year because he liked to be outdoors then. in regards to the losing of my cellphone and meeting them, he said "perhaps you didn't lose anything, but gained something"...

after i left the school i had to go wait in another building for my ride back to Porjus. while i was waiting i got engaged in a conversation with a miner from Jokkmokk who worked in the iron ore mines of Kiruna and Gallivare. he told me he was also a stock car racer and mechanic and that his teenage son was also racing cars. he also spoke about some sort of car racing on ice (?), but our mutual language skills were a bit limited...after an interesting night, i finally got home around 12:30.

ok, i'm really tired now, and this site is being really slow, so i'll post more photos from the market tomorrow. god natt!