Subject: soc.culture.nordic FAQ, part 2/8 (Miscellaneous topics)
Date: 3 Oct 1995 22:38:01 +0200
Summary: This posting is a part of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
         file for the newsgroup soc.culture.nordic. Its purpose is to
         introduce new readers to the group, provide some general information
         about the Nordic countries (Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark and
         Iceland) and to cover some of the topics frequently discussed in 
         the group.

Archive-name: nordic-faq/misc-topics
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Version: 1.3
Last-modified: 01/10/95 (dd/mm/yy)


 A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) -file for the newsgroup
 
 S O C . C U L T U R E . N O R D I C
 
 *** PART 2:  MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS ***
 
 
------------------------------
 
Subject: 2.1  Who are the Sami (or Lapps)?
 
 
(This section by Kari Yli-Kuha)
 
 
2.1.1  Who they are
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 The Sami people are one of the aboriginal peoples of the Fennoscandian area,
 (meaning here: Scandinavia, Finland, eastern Karelia and Kola peninsula)
 and for long they lived more or less disconnected from the European 
 civilization.
 
 They are often referred to as Lapps but they themselves prefer to be called
 Sami (Saamelaiset/Samerna) because this is the name they use of themselves.
 I use the terms Lapp/Sami interchangeably without any intention to hurt the
 Sami's feelings.
 
 Anthropologically the Sami people form an internally heterogeneous group 
 which differs from other European populations.
 
 The Sami languages (there are several of them) are Finno-Ugric languages
 and the closest relatives to the Baltic-Finnic languages (Finnish, Estonian).
 
 Sami people live nowadays in an area which spreads from Jmtlands Ln 
 in Sweden through northern Norway and Finland to the Kola Peninsula 
 in Russia. 
 
 
2.1.2  Sami history
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 The origins of Sami people have been researched for long but no certain
 answer has yet been found. Anthropologically there are two types of Sami
 people, the eastern type which resembles northern Asian peoples, and the
 western which is closer to Europids. Blood survey, especially in this
 century, indicates western rather than eastern heritage. The long isolation
 from other cultures may explain that some rare features in genetic
 inheritance have accumulated and that Sami are very original people, not
 only compared to other cultures but also internally.
 
 It is believed that the original Sami people came to areas now known as 
 Finland and eastern Karelia during and after the last ice age, following
 herds of deer. Prehistoric (some 4000 years old) ski findings by the Arctic
 Sea show that there was some sort of Sami culture living there already at
 that time. Some 1500 rock paintings have been found in the areas where they
 lived, e.g. by lake Onega and in Kola peninsula; the easternmost of them
 are 3000 years old.
 
 Some archeologists have linked the oldest known Scandinavian stone age
 culture, so-called Komsa culture by the Arctic Sea, to the ancestors of
 the Sami.
 
 In any case, it is known that the Sami people are the original people in
 the Fennoscandia area. Many names even in southern Finland and central
 Sweden are of Sami origin. There was Sami population in those areas as
 late as the sixteenth century. The Sami have always been known as
 "peaceful retreaters" adapting to changing living conditions, whether
 they were caused by nature or by other people. The Sami are known to have
 fished and hunted seals on the west coast of the Gulf of Bothnia, but in
 the late Middle Ages the Swedish agricultural population "invaded" the
 coastal area, pushing the Sami further north. The same thing happened in
 Finland so that now the original Sami people can only be found north of
 Arctic Circle.
 
 
2.1.3  Sami cultures
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 Sami people have always settled thinly in a large area, making
 their living mostly hunting and fishing, families having large hunting
 areas around them. Connections to other people were rare although they
 had a strong sense of community thinking when it came to dividing
 hunting/fishing areas between families, and, of course, the marriages
 were made between people in nearby regions. This seems to be the major
 reason why there is no one Sami culture and language, but several
 Sami cultures and languages. The cultures have been formed both by different
 surroundings and living conditions and varying contacts with other cultures;
 in Sweden and Norway the Germanic culture, in Finland the Finnish culture 
 and in Kola peninsula the Russian and Karelian cultures.
 
 FOREST SAMI
 
 Sami people living in coniferous forests lived mainly by fishing, but 
 hunting was also very important. Most of the Finnish and Swedish Sami people
 belong to this group. Families formed Lappish villages ('siida')
 normally by some large river. The size of the siida varied from just
 a couple of families up to 20 or 30, totaling some hundred individuals.
 Watersheds were natural borders between these villages. It was also common
 to have some reindeer for transportation and for the furs, which were an
 important material for clothing.
 
 A special group of forest Sami are the Sami north of Lake Inari because
 their language differs from the rest of forest Sami - it's the westernmost
 dialect of eastern Sami languages.
 
 FJELD SAMI
 
 (About the word "fjeld": The ice age has shaped the Scandinavian mountains,
  especially in Lapland, so that the top of them is round, and mostly bare.
  In some Nordic languages there is a special word for them (fjell/fjll/
  tunturi) to separate them from other mountains. There is also a rarely
  used English word "fjeld" for the same purpose. The word "fjeld" means here
  _a [treeless] mountain in Lapland_)
 
 The fjeld Sami are also known as "reindeer Sami" because the reindeer is by
 far the most important part of their economy. They live on the fjelds between
 Sweden and Norway and on the highlands north of it tending their herds.
 This kind of nomad culture is unique in Europe and as such it has
 been the subject of a lot of interest. It has been seen as the most typical
 form of Sami culture although as such it's only a few hundred years old.
 It's not nearly as common as the half-nomad forest Sami culture. The fjeld
 Sami do also some fishing and willow grouse (am. willow ptarmigan) trapping.
 The importance of reindeer in the Sami culture can be seen in the fact that
 in Sami languages there are about 400 names for reindeer according to gender,
 age, color, shape etc.
 
 One special group are the River Sami living around river Tana (Tenojoki)
 and its tributaries. They live mainly fishing salmon but they also have 
 some agriculture and more permanent settlements than the fjeld Sami.
 
 SEA SAMI
 
 The first written remark of the sea Sami living in northern Norway by
 the Arctic Sea was made in year 892 by a Norwegian tribal chief Ottar.
 The remark described that "up in the north there are people who hunt in
 the winter and fish on the sea in the summer". This half-nomad culture
 is strongly affected by both Norwegian and Finnish inhabitants. They live
 in two different areas. The Norwegians call the northern people
 "sjfinner" and the southern "bufinner".
 
 KOLA PENINSULA SAMI
 
 The Lapps living in the Kola peninsula are the original population in that
 area. The number of Lapps there has remained pretty much the same throughout
 the years, slightly below 2000 people. They live mostly fishing and
 reindeering.
 
 
2.1.4  Sami religion
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 Living of the nature has formed the original religious views
 among Lapps; the religion was animistic by nature, with shamanistic
 features. They believed that all objects in the nature had a soul.
 Therefore, everybody was expected to move quietly in the wilderness;
 shouting and making disturbance was not allowed. This beautiful concept
 still prevails among Lapps.
 
 The Lapps believed that alongside with the material world there was a 
 spiritual world, called _saivo_, where everything was more whole than in
 the material world and where the dead continued their lives. Important
 places had their divinities. Every force of nature had its god and sources
 of livelihood were guarded by beings in spiritual world which could be
 persuaded to be more favourable.
 
 Not all beings in the spritual world were benevolent; the most famous of
 the malicious gnomes known in all Sami cultures was _stallu_ (taalo in
 Finnish). Stallu was a large and strong but simple humanlike being living
 in the forest, always traveling with a dog, _rhk'k_, and he could some-
 times steal a young Sami girl to become his wife.
 
 The Sami had no priests but the head of the family was responsible for the
 contact with gods with a "magic drum". A person with this special gift
 could be 'called' and accepted by the community as a _noaide_ (shaman). A
 noaide was capable of visiting the saivo and people from far away would
 come to him/her for advice.
 
 In the forest you could find trees which resembled a human body, or you
 could make one. These were called _sieidde_ (in Finnish _seita_) and they
 were worshipped. Also a strangely shaped stone or rock could be a sieidde.
 
 Christian missionaries and priests normally didn't understand the religious
 concepts of the Lapps, partly because of language problems. Sami people were
 converted to Christianity by force and shamanic practices were forbidden.
 In addition, the disintegration of the hunter/gatherer culture and the
 transition to other forms of occupation meant that the old religion had less
 meaning for the Sami. The "Sami apostle", Norwegian Thomas von Westen
 (1682-1727) started public education among the Sea Sami in Sami language.
 From 1773 on Sami language teaching was forbidden and all teaching had to
 be in Danish until nineteenth century.
 
 Lars Levi Laestadius (1800-1861) has had the strongest religious influence
 on Sami people and his thoughts spread all over Sami region although there
 is evidence that elements of the original religion of the Sami was practised
 as late as the 1940's. Characteristic to Laestadius' ideas is the central
 significance of parish. This has helped in preserving Sami culture.
 
 
2.1.5  Sami languages
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 As there are several Sami cultures there are also several Sami languages
 and dialects. It is not known what kind of language the Sami originally
 spoke, before any Finno-Ugric contacts. Now the common theory is that
 the Sami languages developed through language exchange with early basic
 Finnish so that there was some sort of basic Sami language somewhere
 1000 BC - 700 AD which then developed to various languages and dialects
 as we know them now. Now Sami languages are regarded as Finno-Ugric 
 languages and their closest relatives are the Baltic-Finnic languages 
 (Finnish, Estonian).
 
 It's often hard to decide whether two related forms of speech are in fact
 different languages or merely dialects of a single language, especially when
 there are transition areas between them. Commonly the Sami languages are
 divided into nine main dialectal areas.
 
 The numbers in brackets represent the approximate number of speakers
 of the language according to the _Geographical distribution of the Uralic
 languages_ made by Finno-Ugric Society in 1993.
 
 1. South Sami - in central Scandinavia                 [500]
 2. Ume language                                        [very few]
 3. Pite language                                       [very few]
 4. Lule language                                       [2 000]
 5. Northern languages (Norwegian Sami, fjeld language) [30 000]
 6. Inari language - north of lake Inari                [400]
 7. Skolt language - in Pechenga                        [500]
 8. Kildin language - in central Kola peninsula         [1 000]
 9. Ter (Turja) language - in eastern Kola peninsula    [500]
 
 As there are several languages, there are also several grammars and 
 orthographies for them. The areas 2 - 5 have more or less the same
 written language but several orthographies. Language 6 has its own 
 orthography whereas areas 7 - 9 use mainly Kildin language in publications.
 
 The following description about the history of written Sami concerns mainly 
 the languages spoken in Sweden.
 
 The first Sami books were religious literature, used for converting the
 Sami people to Christianity during Gustav II Adolf's reign in the 17th
 century. The first books (ABC book and mass book) were made by priest
 Nicolaus Andreae in Pite 1619, but they were in a very clumsy language. 
 The first written grammar was again made in Sweden by the priest Petrus
 Fiellstrm in Lycksele 1738.
 
 For a long time the written texts in Sami languages were solely for religious
 purposes. Poetry and other literature in Sami languages is rather recent.
 In 1906 a Sami teacher Isak Saba (1875-1921) published a poem _Same soga 
 lavla_ (the Song of Sami Family) which is known as the national anthem of 
 the Lapps. Four years later Johan Turi's (1854-1936) _Muittalus samid birra_
 (A Story about Lapps) was published in Sweden. This is probably the most
 famous volume written in Sami language. Just as an example what Sami language
 looks like here's the first verse of _Same soga lavla_ in the orthographic 
 form proposed by Sami Language Board in 1978 (a' and c' denote a and c with
 apostrophe):
 
           Sa'mi soga la'vlla                    Song of Sami Family
   Guhkkin davvin Da'vgga'id vuolde       Far in the north under the Plough
   sabma' suolggai Sa'mieatnan:           looms quietly the land of Lapps:
   duottar laebba' duoddar duohkin,       a fjeld lies behind a fjeld,
   ja'vri seabba' ja'vrri lahka,          a lake spreads near a lake,
   c'ohkat c'ilggiin, c'orut c'earuin     peaks on ridges, tops on bare fjelds
   alla'naddet almmi vuosta';             rise against the sky;
   s'a'vvet jogat, s'uvvet vuovddit,      rushing rivers, wuthering forests,
   ca'hket ceakko sta'llinja'rggat        steep steel capes stick
   ma'raideaddji mearaide.                into roaring seas
 
 
2.1.6  The Sami as citizens
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 Before 1600s the Lapps lived their own life more or less undisturbed.
 They were gradually pushed further north by new inhabitants but it happened 
 peacefully. It is believed that the Lapps were mainly following 
 deers and other wild animals which were also retreating further north.
 
 In the 1600s, and later, there were some "colonialistic" features in the
 way the Sami were treated by the kingdoms ruling over their lands. It was
 considered "natural" to subjugate cultures that were regarded as
 "undeveloped" and "primitive". At that time the government of Sweden-Finland
 had a political goal to have permanent agricultural settlements in the
 Swedish Lapland instead of sparse nomad inhabitation; it was thought that
 keeping the area within the state would be easier that way. This is why
 many Finns were also encouraged to move there.  Although the same basic
 European colonialistic thinking was also common in Scandinavia, it has to
 be noted that the attitude towards the original people has never been as
 inhuman as it was in many colonies elsewhere in the world.
 
 As a general observation it can be said that as the Nordic countries divided
 the Sami territories between states they failed to take into account the 
 Sami colonies and to let them develop naturally. Instead the Sami people 
 were forced to adapt to the cultural system of each country. 
 
 The Swedish king Gustav Vasa declared that "all permanently uninhabited 
 land belongs to God, Us and the Swedish crown". This declaration concerned
 also the territories where Lapps lived. Because of their nomad way of living
 they were not seen as "permanent inhabitants". Later the Sami's right for
 land was stabilized as certain "family areas". In 1867 in Sweden a new
 administrational "cultivation border" was formed. It goes several tens of
 kilometers from the Norwegian border all the way from Karesuando to 
 Ja"mtlands La"n.  All land in the Swedish territory was given to the Sami
 and only Sami people were allowed to live there without a separate
 permission. All activities that are done there need a permission and the
 money goes to "Lapland fund". The money of this fund is used for reindeering,
 building bridges, etc. in that area. All this is done by the state and 
 the Sami people have very little to say about how the money is to be used.
 
 There have been discussions about the Sami's right for the natural
 resources in their areas between the Nordic Council and the Nordic Sami
 Council but so far there has been little progress in this issue.
 
 There have been several agreements between the Nordic countries and
 the Sami people but they are beyond the scope of this document. 
 
 All in all, the Nordic countries have not been indifferent about Sami
 but due to lack of ethnosociological knowledge the Sami have been treated
 as "children who don't know what's best for them".
 
 Because arctic occupations favour the individual mind, and the Sami
 population is sparse, their own activities as Nordic citizens have
 developed very slowly. Also, belonging to four different countries
 doesn't make it easier - on the other hand crossing borders between the
 Nordic countries has never been a problem. This belonging to different
 countries has been one factor which has increased the common sense of
 ethnicity among the Sami people during this century. Only a few decades
 ago it was not desirable that Lapp children spoke Sami with each other
 in school whereas now, in principle, it's possible to complete university
 degrees in Sami language.
 
 How many Sami are there, then? Well, that depends on who is counted as a
 Sami and who isn't, as there has been much assimilation and mixing with
 the rest of the population. Some figures were presented in the chapter
 concerning Sami languages. Another often presented statistic tells that
 there are 25000 Sami in Norway, 17000 in Sweden, 4000 in Finland and 2000
 in Russia. Yet another statistic which only counts people who speak Sami
 languages as their mother tongue says: 10000 in Norway, 5000 in Sweden, 
 3000 in Finland and 1000 in Russia.
 
 
2.1.7  The Sami Today
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 For centuries the majority population has had a patronizing attitude 
 towards the Sami, which has affected cultural policy and politics. This
 policy was abandoned after World War II. This phase was signalled in 1948
 in Norway by the official "Proposals for Sami School and Educational Affairs"
 from the Coordinating Commission for the School System. A definitive change 
 did not come before 1963, however, when the Norwegian parliament discussed
 the recommendations of the Sami Committee of 1956. The official policy then
 adopted is expressed in the Parliamentary Records for 1962-1963 as follows:
 
 "The policy of the national state must be to give the Sami-speaking
  population the opportunity to preserve its language and other cultural
  customs on terms that accord with the expressed wishes of the Sami
  themselves."
 
 Later in 1980 the Norwegian government appointed two new commissions with
 very extensive mandates: the Sami Rights Committee and the Sami Cultural
 Committee. At the moment demands for clarification and legalization
 of local rights in areas traditionally used by the Sami are under
 consideration by the Sami Rights Committee. Since much of this area
 has diversified use by different Sami and non-Sami groups, it has been
 difficult to arrive at a just and nationwide solution.
 
 The Nordic Sami Council was established in 1956 to promote cooperation
 among the Sami in Finland, Norway and Sweden. The Council has 12 members,
 4 from each country. Both state authorities and the Nordic Council have
 recognized the Sami Council as a legitimate spokesman for the Sami and
 have met many of its demands.
 
 The Cultural Heritage Act, passed in 1978 in Norway, states that everything
 which is more than 100 years old and related to the cultural heritage of
 the Sami, is automatically protected by law - this is to protect historic
 sites and monuments.
 
 Sami as an elective language is taught in primary schools in several places
 in Lapland. Special Sami high schools are located in Kautokeino and Karasjok.
 Sami language and culture courses are taught at several universities in the
 Nordic countries.
 
 Modern Sami applied art has largely extended the development of traditional
 Sami handicrafts such as horn- and wood-carving, basketry, leather work, etc.
 Sami art appears at present to be undergoing an important period of
 creativity - this applies to music as well. The traditional Sami folk song,
 the 'joik', has won increasing recognition and interest. The Norwegian Sami
 Singer Mari Boine Persen has won international fame among world music fans,
 while in Finland e.g Nils-Aslak Valkeap (who sang joik in the opening
 ceremonies of Lillehammer Olympics), Wimme Saari (who mixes joik with
 ambient techno backgrounds) and the band Angelin Tytt have gained acclaim.
  
 There are five Sami newspapers, or newspapers intended for Sami readers, in
 the three Nordic countries but the circulation figures for them are small.
 The newspapers and magazines are dependent on state funds for their existence.
 Radio programs are broadcast in all three countries, in Karasjok (Norway),
 Kiruna (Sweden) and Inari (Finland). Plans exist for the establishment of
 a Nordic-Sami production center for radio and television programs, but the
 extent and form of cooperation have not yet been agreed upon.
 
 Because of growing Sami cultural consciousness and sympathetic official
 minority policies, there is good cause for believing that the Sami will
 survive as a viable ethnic and cultural group in Scandinavia. The meaning
 of "Sami" will change as the way of life itself changes. The Sami's own
 actions and self-conception will be decisive in forming the future meaning
 of the term.
 
References:
 Karl Nickul: _Saamelaiset kansana ja kansalaisina_, 1970
 Mikko Korhonen: _Johdatus lapin kielen historiaan_, 1981 ISBN 951-717-248-6
 Bjrn Aarseth: _The Sami Past and Present_, Norsk Folkemuseum, Oslo 1993
    ISBN 82-90036-32-9
 
 
 
2.1.8  SANA - The Sami Association of North America
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
(from: Ruth M Sylte)
 
 SANA was formed on 10 April 1994 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
 
 The purpose of SANA is to create a strong Sami presence and an 
 understanding of the Sami people and Sami culture in North America.  
 Membership includes a subscription to _Baiki, the North American Sami 
 Journal_, which will continue to function as the official organ of 
 communication for the group.
 
 SANA encompasses both the United States and Canada.  It has recently 
 been given permanent observer status at the Sami Governing Council.
 
 For more information, contact:
 
        Susan Gunness Myers, SANA USA
        10010 Monticello Lane North
        Maple Grove, MN  55369  USA
                E-mail:  smyers@nh.cc.mn.us
 
        Faith Fjeld, Editor
        BAIKI
        3548 14th Avenue South
        Minneapolis, MN  55407  USA
 
 
------------------------------
 
Subject: 2.2  What do we know about Scandinavian mythology?
 
 
2.2.1  Short introduction to the sources
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 Not very much, I'm afraid, and we're lucky to know even as much as we do.
 For example, most of the ancient poems about pagan deities (they're the
 most authentic source of Norse mythology) that survive to this date are
 from a certain book called Codex Regius, the only extant copy of which
 was rescued in half-rotten condition from an abandoned Icelandic barn in
 the 17th century.
 
 Although the Vikings were, in theory, a literate people, the runic script
 was never used for anything more complicated than a few sentences, usually
 commemorating some person or event, e.g "Bjorn had these runes carved in
 the memory of Hofdi. He died in Srkland." The runestones and other
 archaeological material offer clues as to the nature of the Norse religion,
 and there are some accounts by Christian and Moslem contemporaries of the
 Vikings -- e.g the bishop of Hamburg, Adam von Bremen, and the Arab traveller
 Ibn Fadlan -- but the main sources of information are the _Eddas_, written
 down in Iceland in the early middle ages. The _Poetic Edda_ is a collection
 of poems on mythological themes by anonymous poets; even more important is
 the _Prose Edda_ written by the Icelandic scholar Snorri Sturluson in about
 1220, which is a collection of old heathen myths in prose form. For more
 about sagas and Eddas, see section 5.5. The medieval Danish historian Saxo
 Grammaticus can also be mentioned, but he is less reliable and perhaps less
 interesting to read.
 
 The problem with those sources is that they were written down hundreds of
 years after the conversion of Scandinavians to Christianity, indeed some
 of the authors (e.g Saxo) were members of the Catholic clergy, and their
 work is to some extent influenced by Christian and classical ideas. Also,
 the picture given is no doubt biased towards the particular form of pagan
 religion practiced in Iceland; while the main deities Odin, Thor and Freyr
 seem to have been worshipped all over Scandinavia, there must have been
 a lot of local variation, local deities, differences in emphasis given
 to the main deities and their aspects, etc.
 
 Nevertheless, the stories of the Eddas have become a common cultural 
 heritage of the Scandinavian countries, and at least a basic knowledge
 of it is a must for anybody interested in Scandinavian culture.
 
 The following summary of the main features of Scandinavian mythology
 is taken from the excellent book _Gods and Myths of Northern Europe_,
 by H.R.Ellis Davidson, 1964, pages 26-30, Penguin Books.
 
 
2.2.2  The World Tree Yggdrasill
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 This world had for its centre a great tree, a mighty ash called Yggdrasill.
 So huge was this tree that its branches stretched out over heaven and earth
 alike. Three roots supported the great trunk, and one passed into the realm
 of the Aesir, a second into that of the frost-giants, and a third into the
 realm of the dead. Beneath the root in giant-land was the spring of Mimir,
 whose waters contained wisdom and understanding. Odin had given one of his
 eyes to drink a single draught of that precious water.
 
 Below the tree in the kingdom of the Aesir was the sacred spring of fate,
 the Well of Urd. Here every day the gods assembled for their court of law,
 to settle disputes and discuss common problems. All came on horseback except
 Thor, who preferred to wade through the rivers that lay in his path, and 
 they were led by Odin on the finest of all steeds, the eight-legged horse 
 Sleipnir. The gods galloped over the bridge Bifrost, a rainbow bridge that
 glowed with fire. They alone might cross it, and the giants who longed to
 do so were held back. Near the spring of fate dwelt three maidens called
 the Norns, who ruled the destinies of men, and were called Fate (Urdr),
 Being (Verdandi), and Necessity (Skuld). They watered the tree each day with 
 pure water and whitened it with clay from the spring, and in this way
 preserved its life, while the water fell down to earth as dew.
 
 The tree was continually threatened, even as it grew and flourished, by
 the living creatures that preyed upon it. On the topmost bough sat an eagle,
 with a hawk perched on its forehead: the same eagle, perhaps, of whom it is
 said that the flapping of its wings caused the winds in the world of men. At
 the root of the tree lay a great serpent, with many scores of lesser snakes,
 and these gnawed continually at Yggdrasill. The serpent was at war with the
 eagle, and a nimble squirrel ran up and down the tree, carrying insults from
 one to the other. Horned creatures, harts and goats, devoured the branches
 and tender shoots of the tree, leaping at it from every side.
 
 
2.2.3  The Creation of the world
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 The tree formed a link between the different worlds. We are never told of
 its beginning, but of the creation of the worlds of which it formed a centre
 there is much to tell. In the beginning there were two regions: Muspell in
 the south, full of brightness and fire; and a world of snow and ice in the
 north. Between them stretched the great emptiness of Ginnungagap. As the
 heat and the cold met in the midst of the expanse, a living creature appeared
 in the melting ice, called Ymir. He was a great giant, and from under his
 left arm grew the first man and woman, while from his two feet the family of
 frost-giants was begotten. Ymir fed upon the milk of a cow called Audhumla,
 who licked the salty ice-blocks and released another new being, a man called
 Buri. He had a son called Bor, and the sons of Bor were the three gods, 
 Odin, Vili, and Ve. These three slew Ymir the ancient giant, and all the
 frost-giants save one, Bergelmir, were drowned in his surging blood. From
 Ymir's body they formed the world of men:
 
        ... from his blood the sea and the lakes, from his flesh the earth,
        and from his bones the mountains; from his teeth and jaws and such
        bones as were broken they formed the rocks and the pebbles.
 
 From Ymir's skull they made the dome of sky, placing a dwarf to support it
 at each of the four corners and to hold it high above the earth. This world
 of men was protected from the giants by a wall, made from the eyebrows of
 Ymir, and was called Midgard. The gods created inhabitants for it from two
 trees on the sea-shore, which became a man and a woman. They gave to them
 spirit and understanding, the power of movement, and the use of senses. They
 created also the dwarfs, creatures with strange names, who bred in the earth
 like maggots, and dwelt in hills and rocks. These were skilled craftsmen,
 and it was they who wrought the great treasures of the gods. The gods caused
 time to exist, sending Night and Day to drive round the heavens in chariots
 drawn by swift horses. Two fair children, a girl called Sun and a boy called
 Moon, were also set by them on paths across the sky. Sun and Moon had to
 drive fast because they were pursued by wolves, who meant to devour them.
 On the day when the greatest of the wolves succeeded in swallowing the Sun,
 the end of all things would be at hand.
 
 
2.2.4  Asgard, the realm of the Gods
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  
 Once heaven and earth were formed, it was time to set about the building
 of Asgard, the realm of the gods. Here there were many wonderful halls, in
 which the gods dwelt. Odin himself lived in Valaskjalf, a hall roofed with
 silver, where he could sit in his special seat and view all the worlds at
 once. He had another hall called Valhalla, the hall of the slain, where he
 offered hospitality to all those who fell in battle. Each night they feasted
 on pork that never gave out, and on mead which flowed instead of milk from
 the udders of the goat Heidrun, one of the creatures that fed upon Yggdra-
 sill. Odin's guests spent the day in fighting, and all who fell in the
 combat were raised again in the evening to feast with the rest. Horns of
 mead were carried to them by the Valkyries, the maids of Odin, who had also
 to go down to the battlefields of earth and decide the course of war, sum-
 moning fallen warriors to Valhalla. Somewhere in Asgard there was a building
 with a roof of gold, called Gimli, to which it was said that righteous men
 went after death. There were other realms beyond Asgard, like Alfheim, where
 the fair elves lived, and as many as three heavens, stretching one beyond
 the other.
 
 
2.2.5  The Gods
       ~~~~~~~~
  
 As to the gods who dwelt in Asgard, Snorri twice gives their number as
 twelve, excluding Odin himself. Odin was the father and head of the Aesir;
 he was called All-Father, but had many other names, among them One-Eyed,
 God of the Hanged, God of Cargoes, and Father of Battle. He journeyed far
 and wide over the earth, and had two ravens to bring him tidings from afar.
 His eldest son was Thor, whose mother was Earth. Thor was immensely strong,
 and drove in a chariot drawn by goats. He possessed three great treasures:
 the hammer Mjollnir, which could slay giants and shatter rocks; a belt of
 power which doubled his strength; and iron gloves with which to grasp the
 terrible hammer.
 
 Another son of Odin was Balder, said to be the fairest of all and most
 deserving of praise; he was white of skin and bright-haired, and was both 
 wise and merciful. The gods Njord and Freyr were also dwellers in Asgard,
 but were not of the race of the Aesir. Njord came of the Vanir, and was
 sent to Asgard as a hostage when the two races were at war, and Freyr was
 his son. Njord controlled the winds and the sea, helped in fishing and
 seafaring, and brought men wealth, while Freyr gave sunshine and rain
 and the gifts of peace and plenty. Freyr possessed the ship Skithblathnir,
 large enough to hold all the gods, but small enough when folded to lie in 
 a pouch, and also a wonderful boar with golden bristles.
 
 Another god was Tyr, who could give victory in battle, and it was he who
 bound the monster Fenrir and was left as a result with only one hand. There
 was also Bragi, who was skilled in the use of words and in making poetry.
 We hear, too, of Heimdall, who was called the white god, and was said to
 be the son of nine maidens. His dwelling was beside the rainbow bridge,
 for he acted as the gods' warden, guarding heaven from the frost-giants.
 He could see for an immense distance, while his ears were sharp enough to
 catch the sound of grass growing on earth, and wool on sheep. He owned the
 Gjallarhorn, whose ringing blast could be heard through all the worlds. 
 
 There was also among the gods Loki, the son of a giant, who was handsome 
 to look upon but given to evil ways. He was a cunning schemer, who both
 helped and hindered the gods, and he gave birth to the wolf Fenrir, to
 the World Serpent, and to Hel, the ruler of the land of death. These were
 the chief of gods, and beside them were others of whom we know little: Ull,
 a famous archer and skier, Forseti, the son of Balder and a good law-giver,
 Hoder, a blind god, and Hoenir, who was sometimes the companion of Odin 
 and Loki in their wanderings. The sons of the great gods, like Vali, Vidar,
 and Magni, had special parts to play, for they were to inherit the world
 of Asgard when the older generation had perished.
 
 
2.2.6  The Goddesses
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 There were also certain mighty goddesses. Frigg was the wife of Odin, and
 like him knew the future of gods and men. Freyja was Freyr's twin sister,
 and the most renowned of all the goddesses; she helped in affairs of love
 and had some power over the dead. She drove in a chariot drawn by cats.
 Freyja was said to have husband called Od, who left her to weep tears of
 red gold at his disappearance. Skadi, the wife of Njord, came from the 
 mountains to marry the sea god. The marriage was not a success, because
 neither was willing to live away from home, and in the end Skadi went back
 to the hills, where she went on skis and hunted with the bow. Bragi's wife
 was Idun, who had one important part to play: she guarded the apples of
 immortality, on which the gods feasted in order to keep their perpetual
 youth. Other goddesses are little more than names. Thor's wife, Skif, had
 wonderful golden hair. Balder's wife was Nanna, and Loki's Sigyn, while
 Gna and Fulla are mentioned as servants of Frigg. There is also Gefion, to
 whom unmarried girls went after death.
 
 
------------------------------
 
Subject: 2.3  What about those horned Viking helmets?
 
 
 Surprising though it may sound, the Vikings have never worn even the
 tiniest little horns in their helmets. Viking helmets did sometimes have
 neat figures and all kinds of decorations, but not horns. There are some
 Danish bog-findings of ritual helmets that do have metal horns in them, but
 these date from the Bronze age -- some 2000 years before the Vikings.
 
 The idea has its roots in the art of the Romantic period -- first half of
 the 19th century -- when the artists started to introduce native myths and
 legends in painting and sculpture instead of Greco-Roman ones. But since
 archaeology as a science didn't really even exist yet, they had a very poor
 idea of what sort of equipment the heroes of the sagas had used. So they
 used their creative imagination. Later, despite the fact that we now know
 better, the myth has been further popularized by Hollywood movies and comics
 such as Hagar the Horrible, and nowadays a "Viking" is almost by definition
 "someone who wears a pair of horns in his head". 
 
 
------------------------------
 
Subject: 2.4  Looking for a Nordic girl-friend?
 
 
About once a week, some cretin mistakes soc.culture.nordic for a dating 
service and posts a version of this actual message:
 
   In article xxXxx.xxXX.Xxxx.it <someone@somesite.it> writes:
        >  My name is DAVID and I Live in ITALY.
        >  I'm looking for swedish GIRL-FRIENDS.
        >  Let's write me!!!!!!
        >  I am a very interessant boy.
 
These type of queries, however innocent they might be, indicate faulty 
assumptions about the purpose of s.c.n. and about Nordic women.  
Understandably, therefore, they tend to provoke flames from s.c.n.ers. 
These flames often digress into a more general sort of flaming on our usual 
topics of, for example, US imperialism, Norwegian whaling or the status of 
Finnish in Sweden / Swedish in Finland.
 
An s.c.n. Nordic woman has written the following reply to such requests. If 
you have not bothered to read this FAQ entry before posting a request for 
correspondence, you will most assuredly receive this, or a less polite 
version thereof, in response to your posting:
   
   Dear soc.culture.nordic Poster:
   
   You are receiving this message because of your recent posting to s.c.n. 
   asking for or offering correspondence with Nordic women.  It goes 
   without saying that your post will achieve its desired objective only 
   when hell freezes over.  However, Hell is in Norway and regularly 
   freezes over - so the analogy suffers, but the sentiment remains intact.
   
   Those of us on s.c.n. know that the natural beauty, friendliness, and 
   sincerity of many Nordic women attracts attention from all corners of 
   the world.  We are also well aware that general cultural mythology, 
   adventuresome travelers, and Nordic cinematic efforts of the 1960s have 
   led many non-Nordic men to believe, among other things, that a) all 
   Nordic women are blonde, b) all blondes are stupid and/or c) Nordic 
   women of any hair color are somehow "easy", or at least "easier" than 
   most.  These myths are not true.  We can assure you that Nordic women 
   are quite desirable, but for *far* more reasons than *you* can imagine.
   
   Bluntly put, Nordic women are not interested in corresponding with you 
   simply because you exist.  You have simply "dropped in" to the s.c.n. 
   neighborhood to see if you can pick up chicks and your post clearly 
   shows your stunning ignorance on the topic of Nordic women.  Note this 
   well: The men who have made it through the Viking gauntlet to become 
   regular readers and contributors to s.c.n. (whether Nordic or not) are 
   more than sufficiently intelligent, sincere, and funny to attract the 
   interest of any Nordic woman.  We are *not* suffering here.
   
   One last word.  There is a popular misconception that many females 
   reside on this group.  Don't be fooled.  Nordic men are notorious for 
   hiding behind names that the rest of the world identifies as female - 
   only to pounce on ignorant boys who attempt "friendly" correspondence. 
   This is, of course, considered a Viking sport and a favorite form of 
   s.c.n. entertainment.  Be forewarned...
   
   Ruth Marie Sylte
     Regular s.c.n. contributor
       writing on behalf of, but not for,
         the Nordic Goddesses and Gods of s.c.n.
 
 
------------------------------
 
Subject: 2.5  What is "Janteloven"?
 
 
The word "Janteloven" occasionally pops up in s.c.n, often with no
hint given as to what it's supposed to mean since apparently it's common 
knowledge in most Nordic countries. Not so with the rest of the world, 
however, or Finland for that matter, so a brief explanation warrants a
place. It derives from the the novel "En flygtning krysser sitt spor"
('A refugee crosses his tracks') by the Norwegian/Danish author Aksel 
Sandemose. The book takes place in an imaginary Danish small town called 
Jante, based on Sandemose's hometown Nykbing Mors. The book is about 
the ugly sides of Scandinavian smalltown mentality, and the term "Jante-
loven" meaning "Jante Laws" has come to mean the unspoken rules and 
jealousy of such communities in general.
 
This translation of the Jante Laws was suggested by Leif Knutsen (except
that I replaced "venture to think" with "to presume", as suggested by
someone in the group):
 
The form and style of the Ten Commandments in Norwegian are "straight," 
i.e. unencumbered by the "thous" and "thys" of the older English translations
of the Bible.  I've made the assumption that Sandemose deliberately chose 
10 laws and that his style was intentionally reminiscent of the Ten 
Commandments.  It's also interesting to note that the Ten Commandments 
(and the other laws of Leviticus) are often referred to as "Moseloven" 
(or the Mosaic Law) in Norwegian.
 
Also, there are some messages that are implied in these laws that are not 
explicit.  I've included those in brackets so as to convey the meaning 
better, although they should properly be construed as editorializing on 
my part.
 
                _The Jante Law_ by Aksel Sandemose
 
1.  Du skal ikke tro at du *er* noe.
 
    Thou shalt not presume that thou *art* anyone [important].
 
2.  Du skal ikke tro at du er like saa meget som *oss*.
 
    Thou shalt not presume that thou art as good as *us*.
 
3.  Du skal ikke tro at du er klokere en *oss*.
 
    Thou shalt not presume that thou art any wiser than *us*.
 
4.  Du skal ikke innbille deg du er bedre enn *oss*.
 
    Thou shalt never indulge in the conceit of imagining that thou 
    art better than *us*.
 
5.  Du skal ikke tro du vet mere enn *oss*.
 
    Thou shalt not presume that thou art more knowledgeable than *us*.
 
6.  Du skal ikke tro du er mere enn *oss*.
 
    Thou shalt not presume that thou art more than *us* [in any way]
 
7.  Du skal ikke tro at *du* duger til noe.
 
    Thou shalt not presume that that *thou* art going to amount to anything.
 
8.  Du skal ikke le av *oss*.
 
    Thou art not entitled to laugh at *us*.
 
9.  Du skal ikke tro at noen bryr seg om *deg*.
 
    Thou shalt never imagine that anyone cares about *thee*.
 
10. Du skal ikke tro at du kan lre *oss* noe.
 
    Thou shalt not suppose that thou can teach *us* anything.
 

------------------------------

Subject: 2.6  The soc.culture.nordic drinking game!
 
 
  I'm including this already classic article by Lee Choquette in the FAQ.
  Posted ca. three years ago, it has stood the test of time pretty well,
  which I suppose tells something quite fundamental about the nature of this
  newsgroup.  
 
From: lchoqu%asylum.cs.utah.edu@cs.utah.edu (Lee Choquette)
Date: 24 Nov 92 11:58:18 MST
 
I got the idea for this article from one about the US presidential debates
posted in rec.humor.funny last month.  I've also seen such games for several
different TV shows.  Now I introduce...
 
                     THE SOC.CULTURE.NORDIC DRINKING GAME
 
You need a supply of your favorite drink (aquavit, koskenkorva, a glass of
vodka in a pitcher of Pommac, whatever) and a stack of articles from
soc.culture.nordic, if your local pub doesn't have Usenet.  Read through the
articles, and take a drink (sip) each time one of the following conditions is
met:
 
1.  An American asks what "canulla" means.  Two drinks if a Swede responds
    and can't figure out what the word is.
 
2.  A heated argument erupts over whether Vikings had horned helmets, or where
    Santa Claus lives.  Take an additional drink for each week the thread
    continues.  The whole glass if someone draws a color-coded graph of which
    Internet domains believe Vikings had horned helmets.
 
3.  Someone complains about software that strips the eighth-bit.  Two drinks
    if it's not someone from Iceland.
 
4.  Someone criticizes the Swedish king.  Two drinks if s/he mentions the
    Norwegian prime minister or the 1994 Winter Olympics in the same
    sentence.
 
5.  Someone relates an anecdote demonstrating the kindness and earthy humanity
    of the Norwegian king or his father.  Two drinks if it involves mass
    transit.
 
6.  You hear about the Danish prince who doesn't use mass transit. Two drinks
    if it's a story about a new crash.
 
7.  There's an article about Olof Palme *again*.  Drink the whole glass if
    someone actually talks about Palme's life or beliefs, not just his death.
 
8.  An American asks about an obscure Scandinavian band, and the conversation
    somehow shifts to Vikingarna and how awful dansband music is.  Two drinks
    if someone confesses to having played Vikingarna on a jukebox.
 
9.  Jungle animals are on the loose in Finland.  Two drinks if the topic turns
    to alcoholism in Finland.
 
10. Russian submarines are detected in the Stockholm archipelago.  Two drinks
    if the topic turns to alcoholism in Sweden.  Three drinks if it turns to
    drunk tourists in Copenhagen.
 
11. A genealogist to the group asks about a place one of his/her ancestors came
    from, and for a couple of weeks we talk about how to translate ln and
    kommun into English.
 
13. An American asks what this newsgroup is for, and unwittingly sparks a
    flame war over the meanings of "Scandinavia" and "Skandinavien."  Two
    drinks if the debate is instead over whether sports comes under culture.
 
14. The Great Whaling Debate resumes.  Two drinks if it doesn't continue
    beyond a single article.
 
18. Swedish-speaking Finns are referred to as aristocrats.  Two drinks if a
    Finland-Swede refers to his potato-farming ancestors.
 
17. A Finnish-speaking Finn complains about mandatory Swedish classes.  Two
    drinks if s/he can't write in Swedish despite the classes.
 
26. We face the age-old question, "Why 'Italien' and 'italienare,' or
    'Frenta staterna' and 'amerikanare,' but 'Finland' and 'finlndare'?"
 
81. Finns in Sweden are portrayed as the victims of racism, ethnic
    cleansing, or genocide.  One drink for each of the following words
    or phrases you see:
    a.  home language or hemsprk (2 drinks for "skolbyrkratisk term");
    b.  Forest Finns, skogsfinnar, or Vrmland (2 drinks for Ntti-Jussi);
    c.  Tornedal Finns (2 drinks if someone disputes that they are Finns);
    d.  Nazi Germany, Holocaust, or the like; or
    e.  Hasan B. Mutlu.
 
I hope I didn't offend anyone by this game.  I mean it as a good-natured
(self) parody of this newsgroup.
 
 
  -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-END OF PART 2-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
