Friday, July 22, 2011

At Riddu Riddu Sami festival

There is no wi fi here, so I cannot transmit my wonderful photos yet, but a journalist here will help me so check back later. Opening ceremony featured wonderfully avante garde dance featuring multiple indigenous peoples with masks and darting dance movments. with speeches by various officials of the festival...and a new cultural center has opened on the festival site, supported by Norway as it was controversial and tense before regarding Sami and local non Sami Norwegians...

Anniversary show  by Svante Henrysson "The Plateaus Within Me" which featured a large orchestra and music that was both classical, jazz, folk and rock...it was beautiful and then we were treated to free coffee and many different cakes including chocolate, strawberry shortcake and carrot cake...  I saw my friend Lena Sternberg, a Swedish Sami multi media artist who is showing "The Hunting Man Laavu" which is a Sami tent set up to ironically account for hunting with a toy gun with pink ribbon, a yule log burning on a TV set , a half eaten sandwich, a hunting cap, and I plan to post photos of it and other art here at the festival...There are many Sami laavus of all shapes and sizes, as well as a turf hut made of grass and sticks that looks like a doorway into nature. Lena said Sami kids hang out in them and there are animals furs inside to keep you warm...many of the laavus here are free for people to go in to make fires and stay warm...we are surrounded by amazing mountains...  more later.

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