#Bergnäs

[lienwyn]

I'm finally getting better at making my speed paintings speedy. I did this one in just under one and a half hours.

Which, then again, might be because I picked a view I know like the back of my hand, but still xD

#Landscape #Speed Painting #Bergnäs #Art #My Art #This was actually supposed to be a snow study #But also turned into a speed painting #So I'll just count it as both xD

[revenseventyr]

Taking back our family history: Grandfather's language was used to tell secrets

Original article by Mette Ballovara can be read here in Norwegian (bokmål). Click the link and scroll to the bottom to see a video of Simon and Helena speaking Ume Sámi together.

Translation by revenseventyr.

Simon and Helena have learnt a language very few speak. They refused to accept that the language of their forefathers would disappear.

'It's very near to my heart and my family. There are so many feelings connected to this language, it's not possible to describe,' says Simon Forsmark (33).

The language he's talking about is Ume Sámi. It's on Unesco's list of the world's most threatened languages.

He is one of ten people who recently completed a three-year education in Ume Sámi at Samernas Utbildningscentrum in Jåhkåmåhkke/Jokkmokk in Sweden.

'This is my way of taking back a part of the history of our family. Continuing to carry it forwards and rediscover my own history is important to me,' he says.

In Norway there's almost no one left who speaks the language any more, but the situation for Ume Sámi is a little better in Sweden.

Cut connections to Ume Sámi

Today Simon has no one in his immediate family who speaks Ume Sámi. This is in spite of the fact that his grandparents spoke the language.

He has recently found out why this is.

In 1925 in the Bergnäs area (Giertsjávrrie in Ume Sámi), which lies between Sorsele and Ammarnäs in Sweden, the elder generation decided to stop speaking Sámi to their children.

'It was shameful to be Sámi and they wanted their children to avoid any problems,' he explains.

Being used to tell secrets

Simon is proud that he is part of preserving his grandfather's language.

'In 1925 my grandfather was 14 years old. He absolutely spoke the language. And my Dad's older siblings heard some Ume Sámi expressions while they were growing up. They've told me about it, now they know I'm taking back our language. It's lovely,' says Simon.

After 1925, exceptions to the 'language ban' were only made in very special cases. Simon explains:

'From that year Ume Sámi was only spoken if someone was sharing a secret, or if there were problems,' he says.

Bringing the voices of our forefathers to life

There are few statistics on the speakers of Sámi languages. Some would say that the total number of Ume Sámi speakers is still in double digits.

Others have perhaps slightly more optimistic estimates.

A member of the Governing Council of the Sámi Parliament (Sametingsrådet), Mikkel Eskil Mikkelsen, is elated about the group who have completed the course in Sweden.

'That the number of people who speak Ume Sámi has increased by ten people is nothing less than formidable. It is an increase of tens of percent,' says Mikkelsen, who himself speaks Lule Sámi.

He is extremely impressed with Helena, Simon and their coursemates, who have now received certification of their knowledge of Ume Sámi.

'The language is the voice of our forefathers. And I want to say to everyone who speaks Sámi and to everyone who wants to learn it: it is an incredibly important element of the effort to continue the culture of which they are part,' says Mikkelsen.

Sámi languages in Norway

Northern Sámi, Lule Sámi and Southern Sámi are the most-used Sámi languages in Norway.

Ume Sámi, Pite Sámi and Eastern Sámi/Skolt Sámi are languages that are no longer considered to be in active use in Norway, but government websites state there is ongoing work to save them.

There are no up-to-date statistics on how many speakers of the different Sámi languages there are. In 2019 the Sámi Parliament (Sametinget) and the Norwegian Tax Administration established a voluntary register of Sámi language speakers in Norway.

Areas where Sámi languages are spoken cover parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. The language borders don't follow the borders between countries.

In 1992, additional provisions about the use of Sámi in Norway were added to the Sámi Law of 12 June 1987. The law confirmed that Sámi and Norwegian are equal languages. Within a more precisely defined administrative area, Sámi is used equally alongside Norwegian in public contexts.

Feeling whole as a human being

Helena Isaksson (63), one of Simon's coursemates, also feels a responsibility to preserve the language.

'I would say that Simon and I are brave, that we are doing this on what I would call 'trembling legs'. Maybe we can inspire others. The most important step is of course to dare to use the language,' she says.

Helena doesn't try to hide that the course has been challenging at times.

'Some things happened to me as a person. I know I'm also doing this for my parents' sake. Both my parents are dead, but I managed to interview my mother. She told me it was shameful to be Sámi.'

The 63 year old is glad she defied her forefathers' choice to let their language disappear.

For her, it's now about feeling whole as a human being.

'When we know something has been taken from us, such as language, it is incredibly healing to take it back. I would say that this is vital for me. It strengthens my Sámi identity,' she says.

#norsk #translation #sami

[muvahkangapptie]

Sara Albertina Långberg

Sara föddes den 6 augusti 1886. Hon föddes som nummer två i en syskonskara som sedermera kom att bestå av fyra syskon. Hennes föräldrar, Anna Pedersen och Johan Anton Långberg bodde på ett nybygge i Klippen invid sjön Giertsjaur.

Saras farfar hade ansökt om att få inrätta ett nybygge på det lappskatteland som tillhörde honom. Förutom renar hade familjen kor, får och häst.

När Sara var 12 år dog hennes pappa. Hennes farbror Nils Johanson Långberg som var bosatt i Gertsbäck utsågs till att var förmyndare till henne och hennes syskon. Sara fortsatte att vara bosatt i Klippen tillsammans med sin mamma och sina syskon.

Det fanns flera kusiner jämnåriga med syskonen Långberg. Både på mors och fars sida. Släktkänslan var stark och relationerna goda.

Sara var intresserad av omvärlden och vad som hände. Hon var tilldragande och det fanns män som uppvaktade henne.

Den första i syskonskaran att stadga sig var Sara. Hon hittade sin man i grannbyn Bergnäs. Han var fyra år yngre och enda sonen till Mikael Sjulsson och Maja-Stina Andersdotter. Isak Arvid Mikaelsson hette han. Den elfte juli 1915 stod bröllopet i Bergnäs. Då var Sara 29 år. Gästerna var många och det pratades om bröllopet länge efter. I maj året efter föddes sonen Arvid Rudolf. Han var stark och frisk. Sommaren två år senare föddes dottern Inga Elisabet. Hon blev sjuk och fick inte leva mer än ett par månader. Detta blev ett hårt slag för Sara.

Livet i byn Bergnäs var krävande. Men det fanns också utrymme för glädje. Spanska sjukan slog hårt mot Sverige och den letade sig ända upp till Bergnäs. Som på övriga platser var det unga och starka människor som drabbades hårdast. Sara var en av dem. År 1920 låg Sara svårt sjuk. Sara dog på sjukstugan i Norsjö. Isak hämtade hem hennes kropp och hon begravdes vid kyrkan i Sorsele.

– Lena Axelsson Westergren

#indigenous #native #samisk dräkthistoria #saami #sámi

[amethystina]

Writing Tag

I was tagged by @morgandeeyue! Thank you, sweetheart <3

1) How many works in progress do you currently have in progress?

WELL. Counting the ones I’ve actually started writing on I have twenty WIPs — eighteen fanfics and two original works. The fanfics are from four different fandoms and for seven of those fics I only have the first chapter. Two projects (one fanfic and one original) are actually rewrites of older stories.

2) Do you/would you write fanfiction?

I have written over 1 500 000 words worth of fanfic. So yes.

3) Do you prefer paper books or ebooks?

I like both but for different reasons. If I have to choose, I would say paper books.

4) When did you start writing?

That’s a tricky question. I wrote some creative stuff for school as a kid and started writing various stories relating to roleplays somewhere around the age of 15 and 16, though they rarely passed 30k. But then, all of a sudden, one of those turned into an 90k book by accident back in 2012 (I was 23 at the time) and a couple of months after that I started writing fanfics and my very first one was a 290k monster because I don’t know how to do things by halves.

So while I did some smaller test runs as a teenager, I wouldn’t say that I started writing until I was 23. At least I didn’t call it writing until then.

5) Do you have someone you trust that you share your work with?

Sometimes? I am a terrible perfectionist and really insecure about my unfinished works, but there are some people I trust to read the stories even when they’re not ready for beta reading or public consumption. And they know who they are <3

6) Where is your favorite place to write?

Bergnäs or a hotel room.

7) Favorite childhood book?

I had several but one I remember clearly was Den underbara pumpan by Lennart Hellsing and Svend Otto S. Translated it would be The Wonderful Pumpkin and it’s about two bears who fly away in a huge pumpkin. Because why the fuck not?

8) Writing for fun or writing for publication?

Fun so far but I do want to give publication a try at some point.

9) Pen and paper or computer?

Computer, definitely. I type much faster than I can write by hand and I like the fact that I can make as many changes as I want without having to erase or scratch things out. For my first fanfic I did plot things out on actual paper, though, so I can’t say I never use it.

10) Have you ever taken any writing classes?

Nope. I literally have no idea what I’m doing.

11) What inspires you to write?

Honestly, @morgandeeyue gave an almost perfect answer: “Most cases, either canon leaving a gap in the narrative that I feel an urge to fill somehow, or me wishing to explore an ‘what if’ scenario.”

But I also want to add: wanting to explore characters, different relationship dynamics, and create worlds. Also: spite. I cannot count the number of fics I’ve written simply because I want something done right and that clearly means I have to do it myself.

I tag: @sjazna, @wayofthewarrior, @imafriendlydalek, @jinxedambitions, @ivoughrie, @getmcfucked, and @shi-toyu

#Amethystina Does Memes #Amethystina Does Tags #Writing Tag #This was fun! #Though some of my answers are pretty stupid #But there you go