Print Norway Map Coloring Page for coloring. Free to print Norway Map Coloring Page.
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Hello all, this is part three of my overview of Norway, even if I published them out of order. This will cover the west of Norway from south to north, with the exception of Hordaland, which will be the subject of my next article. This area is in shades of pink on the map below. The National Bunad Council Bunad- og Folkedraktrådet , the authority on national costumes appointed by the government, has developed five categories to grade modern day bunads according to ‘authentic’ regional folk clothing: Category 1 – a bunad that represents a ‘final’ link’ in the development of a folk costume. This is basically an original folk costume that has taken on the function of a bunad. Category 2 – a bunad that has a background in a particular folk costume that is out of use but not forgotten. It is generally reconstructed from first-hand knowledge. Actual old garments exist. Category 3 – a bunad that has been reconstructed from preserved folk garments which reflect the actual time and region of the piece. Pictures and writings are used as sources in reconstruction. Category 4 – a bunad that has been made based on random and incomplete folk material. Missing pieces have been designed to match the style of the materials. Category 5 – a bunad that has been completely or partially ‘freely composed’. It was the 1800s bunad movement that has given these types of bunad their status. New ‘bunads’ that are being designed every year, must go through the strict judgement process of the National Bunad Council in order to be classified as a proper ‘bunad’. The council is very strict in making sure new additions follow closely the traditions and history of the area. Because of this, many designs today, even though they have the same function as a bunad, generally don’t make the cut and thus can not be called ‘bunads’. They receive the name drakt. Costumes are readily available in Norway, there are many businesses which make them. These are called Husflid. They are, however, expensive, as the Norwegians believe in paying a living wage to people who do things like embroider or weave by hand. For every one of these costumes, whether bunad or drakt, there is at least one sewing house, or husflid, which specializes in making it. So let us continue. Rogaland This is the center of Norway's petroleum industry. The name seems to be taken from that of an ancient Norse tribe that lived in this area. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogaland There is only one bunad for this province that has any historical authenticity. It is worn over the entire province. There are various local costumes, but they are all mostly made up, cat 5. I will cover them after. Rogaland Mens Bunad There are two men's bunads. Both are in common usage. There was a very sharp one designed in the 1920's, after various museum pieces. It features a vest of patterned brocade, and red piping on the jacket and breeches or pants. cat 4 The second is a more recent reconstruction of an older, more colorful type of costume from the early 1800s. It was designed in 1986. cat 3 Rogaland Womens Bunad There is one bunad, but it comes in several variations. The caps and shawls are copies of actual old garments. As several of them were found, the embroidery of any of them may be used. These variants are named for the districts in which they were found. The same embroidery is copied onto the aprons and pockets. The bodice is of silk damask or brocade, and can be one of many colors. It may be waistlength or have a gathered peplum. The skirts are plain, but may be black, blue, or green. The caps may be trimmed with lace, and sometimes a small tulle scarf is worn over them, with a bow in back. cat 4 Here is a map which shows where the original shawls and caps were found. A quick view of the various embroidery patterns. Bjerkreim Frafjord Bokn Jelsa Erfjord The woman on the left is wearing the Erfjord embroidery. The one on the right has Tjelmeland. Loland Tjelmeland In recent years, more embroidered shawls have come to light, and those designs are also used. There are also several composed drakts that exist in Rogaland, all cat 5. Åsestakken This is not linked with any particular part of Rogaland. cat 5 Lund This municipality is in the southeast, on the border with West Agder. The bunad was a free composition which was finished in 1998. cat 5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lund,_Norway Egersund or Eigersund This municipality is north and west of Lund. It has two costumes, both cat 5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eigersund Jaeren This is a district just south of the capitol, towards the center of the province. This district has two costumes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%A6ren This bunad was presented in 1980 cat 5 This one is called the Karen and Knud drakt, for women and men, respectively. Presented in 1982 and 1993. cat 5 Sandnes This is a municipality just south of Stavanger. The bunad is called Leirfivel. cat 5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandnes Stavanger This city is the center of administration for Rogaland. They have two different bunads, both cat 5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stavanger Liljedrakt Annedrakt Haugesund This municipality is in the northwest of Rogaland, on the coast. This was designed in 2001 and is meant to symbolize the history of the area. cat 5 Karmøy This is an island and municipality off the northwest coast of Rogaland. The bunad was a free composition in 1984. The mens bunad was designed later. both are cat 5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karm%C3%B8y Hordaland This is the most complex province in terms of folk costume. In Hordaland are three bunads which are category one, living traditions down to the present day, as well as many that are reconstructed and a couple which were designed. I will devote a separate article to this province. Sogn and Fjordane This province is home to two Unesco world heritage sites. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sogn_og_Fjordane There are three districts in this province, each of which has basically one bunad. Going from south to north. Sogn By 1900, folk costumes were no longer worn in Sogn, however, there was a wealth of preserved garments which enabled the reconstruction of the bunad in various forms. These include those for married women, unmarried girls and children as well as those for everyday and formal occasions. Married women wore a white headdress, which they continued to wear even after they gave up the rest of the costume. The Inner and Middle Sogn Womens bunad. This was revived in the early 1900s. A green silk blouse could also be worn under the bodice by married women. cat 4 This woman is wearing the green blouse, but has omitted the headdress, which is incorrect. This girl is unmarried according to her bunad. Unmarried girls wear headbands or kerchiefs. Both married women and unmarried girls could wear a plastron under the bodice for more formal occasions. Recently a reconstructed bunad has been released for Inner and Middle Sogn. It does not differ that much, but offers more options. The same rules apply for married vs unmarried women for the headdress, but unmarried girls may wear a jacket under the bodice. Little girls wear a bonnet. cat 3 Mens bunad from Sogn This also has an early 20th cent version. cat 4 As well as a recently reconstructed version. cat 3 Brekke This is a former municipality in Outer Sogn on the coast, which has now been combined with the municipality of Gulen. This is the only bunad which I have found from Outer Sogn. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brekke Sunnfjord There is one bunad for this district, with a few variants. There was much material available to reconstruct this bunad. A new reconstruction was done recently, but it did little except make more variety available and change minor details. One notable detail is that unmarried girls have red piping on their hats, but married women have black. This is a detail that one has to look closely to see. old bunad cat 4, reconstructed cat 3 Good image, but this woman is wearing a cap of the wrong shape. Here you can see the red edging on the girls' caps. Nordfjord There is only one bunad for Nordfjord, but it has many variants. The original bunad was launched in 1927. There was an attempt to revise the bunad in 1947, but after doing research, the committee found little that needed changing. A variety of apron, pocket and shirt embroideries exist. cat 4 Møre and Romsdal The name of this province was controverted for quite a long time. The three districts in this province each have more ties to the next province over rather than to each other. This is evident in the costumes, Sunnmore to Nordfjord, Romsdal to Oppland, and Nordmore to South Trondelag. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%B8re_og_Romsdal Sunnmøre Bunads for this district were designed in the 1920's, copying embroidery from old bodices and aprons. They are all of the livkjol type, with differing embroideries from different municipalites. Refer to the map above to find their locations. There were apparently costumes worn within living memory at the time, but they were too plain to be adopted. Recently there has also been a reconstructed bunad. Mens Bunad There is a bunad from the 1920s cat 4 There is also a more recently reconstructed bunad cat 3 Reconstructed Sunnmøre bunad cat 3 Inner and north Sunnmøre These are all variants of the same bunad, each based on a different old apron which was found and copied in various locations. The cap may be worn with or without the kerchief. The married womens kerchief is embroidered all in black, while the unmarried girls' kerchief is embroidered in various colors. A silk scarf is worn around the base of the kerchief. I will start in the north and work clockwise around. cat 5 Skodje Ørskog This is the most famous version of this bunad, because it has been worn by the royal family. There were two different groups which designed the bunad, one in Oslo, and the other in Sunnmøre itself. The embroidery on the bodice differs, likely the Oslo group copied a different bodice. Oslo variant Sunnmøre variant Norddal Stranda Sykkylven I Sykkylven II Hjørundfjord This was a former municipality which was located around the fjord of the same name. It now forms the eastern part of the municipality of Ørsta. In the first image it is on the left. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hj%C3%B8rundfjord Ørsta bunad This is for the village of Ørsta and the former municipality of that name, which forms the eastern part of the current municipality. This bunad differs in that there is no apron, and the embroidery is done on the skirt instead. cat 5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%98rsta South and Outer Sunnmøre This bunad differs in the bodice, which is made of a brocade material with a different cut. The brocade is orange on one side and red on the other. Either side may be worn facing out. There are two variants, one from Dalsfjord which is used for all of south Sunnmøre, and one from Vigra which is used for outer Sunnmøre. Dalsfjord This was a former municipality found around the fjord of the same name. It now forms the western part of Volda municipality. The apron embroidery is similar to that of neighboring Nordfjord. cat 5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalsfjord,_M%C3%B8re_og_Romsdal Vigra Vigra is an island and a former municipality on the coast. It now forms the north part of the municipality of Giske. The bunad is worn all along the coast. cat 5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vigra This image shows Vigra on the left, and Dalsfjord on the right. Romsdal There are three basic bunads from Romsdal, which reflect different periods. The first bunad to be presented in the 20th cent, based on very good research into 19th cent costume resembles that of western Oppland. Rutastakk fra Romsdal cat 3 While the rutastakk suited the pietistic mood of the 19th cent, its simplicity and quiet dark colors were not met with approval by the people of the 20th cent, who wanted a colorful, embroidered bunad. Thus research was done, and bunads were designed based on embroidered bodices from the 18th cent. There were four of these, all cat 5 Mens bunad Bolsøy Bunad This is the best known of the four, based on a bodice found in the former municipality of the same name, which is currently part of the municipality of Molde. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bols%C3%B8y Vågstranda Bunad This village is on the south bank of the Romdalsfjord, in the northwest of the municipality of Rauma. Rødven Bunad This village is on the Rødvenfjord, just south of where it empties into the Romsdalfjord, in the northeast of the municipality of Rauma. Malo Bunad This bunad was designed by Anne Malo, based on material found in the Romsdalmuseum. Reconstructed Romsdal Bunad This is based on the clothing of the 18th cent, and features some of the same embroideries as the 20th cent designs. cat 3 Nordmøre The whitework from this region is famous, and there are many designs used in the bunad. The apron may be of linen with white openwork, or of silk plaid. There are likewise two headdresses, the older is called linhatte, and is made of white linen with openwork embroidery, the more recent, from the 1800's is called piklue, and is a pointed cap made with black silk that has multicolored embroidery around the base. This bunad is worn all over the district except in the two easternmost municipalities. cat 3 Mens Bunad There is a bunad which was designed in 1922 based on old pictures and interviews, with a brown jacket and embroidered blue vest. cat 5 There is also a reconstructed bunad, based on clothing from around the year 1800. cat 3 This can be worn with black wool knickers or natural suede knickers. Rindal Bunad This municipality is landlocked and lies at the eastern end of Nordmore. It borders South Trondelag on three sides, and the costume reflects this. cat 3 Aure and Hemne Aure is in the northeast of Nordmore and Hemne in the southwest of Trondelag. The bunad is worn in both provinces. cat 3 This concludes part three. I hope that you have found this to be interesting and informative. Thank you for reading. Roman K. email - [email protected] Source Material: Aagot Noss, 'Draktskikk i Aust-Telemark', Oslo, 2010 Kari-Anne Pedersen, 'Folkedrakt blir Bunad', Cappelen Damm, 2013 Bjorn Sverre hol Haugen, 'Norsk Bunadleksikon' Oslo, 2009 Kjersti Skavhaug et al, 'Norwegian Bunads', Oslo, 1991 Heidi Fossnes, 'Norges Bunader og Samiske Folkedrakter', Oslo, 1993 Ellen Scheel et al, 'Bunad-Brodering', Oslo, 1997 Janice Stewart, 'The Folk Arts of Norway', University of Wisconsin, 1953 Guvnor Traetteberg, 'Folk Costumes of Norway', Oslo, 1966, 1976 Thorbjorg Ugland, 'A Sampler of Norway's Folk Costumes', Oslo, 1996 Laila Duran, 'Scandinavian Folklore vol I - III', Sweden, 2011-2013
Norway's stave churches are an iconic feature of the rural landscape. Arguably the most authentic of them all lies at the very heart of the country. Borgund is Norway's most visited stave church.
Norwegian Lefse is a cross between a fluffy loaf of potato bread and a tortilla, yet sweeter and eaten much like a crepe on holidays or special occasions. Spread it with sweetened butter, jam, bacon or a combination of the two, and roll it up to eat it.
Hello all, Today I will do an overview of the costumes of the Saami people. Previously they were called Lapps, but this is not what they call themselves, and they consider the term to be pejorative. The origin of the word Lapp is controverted, but it may be from Old Finnish/Estonian for a place far away. The Land of the Saami; Sápmi, Sábme, or Saemie, depending on the Dialect, is split between four nation-states, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. It consists of the northern part of the Fenno-Scandian peninsula. Here is the webpage of the artist who created this map, Hans Ragnarmathisen http://www.keviselie-hansragnarmathisen.net/ The Saami do not have political recognition as a people, but they do have a flag. The colors of the flag are the same colors used in Saami costume, for the most part. Linguists group the various Saami dialects into 9 Languages, of which 3 are moribund. These languages are completely unrelated to Norwegian, Swedish or Russian, and only distantly related to Finnish. There are about 160,000 Saami worldwide, of which maybe 20,000 speak one of their native languages. In spite of this linguistic diversity, they do indeed think of themselves as one people, and recently have been very active politically. For more information see these articles. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sami_people http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sami_languages There are a large number of blogs and articles online as well. I will be following the linguistic groups in my discussion of the costumes. Here are two maps which show the different groups. The second one omits the three moribund languages, but has many useful place names. I will be referring to both groups and locations throughout the article. Saami languages were also once spoken much further south. This second map lumps some of the groups together: 1 Southern Saami 2 Central Saami 3. Northern Saami 4 Inari Saami 5 Skolt Saami 6 Kola Saami The term which the Saami use for their costume is Gákti. This has been borrowed into Norwegian as Kofte, into Swedish as Kolt, and into Finnish as Takki. There is no equivalent in Russian. The couple at the head of the article are wearing the costume which is the most famous, from Kautokeino (Guovdageaidnu) in Norway. [Throughout this article I will give the internationally recognized name of a location first, followed by the Saami name in parentheses.] This is undoubtedly the poster child of the Saami group, being one of the most colorful and impressive. Most of the Gákti have the same basic construction, however. The main part of the costume consists of a pullover, which is basically the same for men and women, the mens' version hangs about mid thigh, while the womens' hangs to the knee or mid calf, depending on the local variation. The following drawings by Max Tilke show the basic cut. The first is a woman's garment from 'Tornelappmark', which is an old name for far northern Sweden. This is a man's garment, place of origin unspecified. This shows a pair of pants and a variety of different hats and bonnets used by the Saami. The basic garment is belted with either a woven sash or leather strap, which may be variously ornamented. Men wear pants, and women also in cold weather; low boots with woven straps are worn, some of plain leather and others of reindeer fur. Reindeer fur leggings are worn in winter over the pants, these sometimes have 'wings' attached to the upper edge. Hats and bonnets vary greatly according to location. The basic color of the cloth is usually the blue of the Saami flag, but it may be black, off-white, or sometimes green. Garment pieces may also be of leather. The trim is almost always red and yellow, with some green added at times. Overgarments of reindeer fur are worn in winter. DMC has put out a book titled 'Lapland Embroideries', but NONE of the embroidery designs pictured in the book are Saami. There are a couple of designs from the woven sashes on p. 40, but the rest of the designs are from various other northern peoples ranging from the Icelanders to the Nanai. The Saami do not traditionally do embroidery as such. They do a lot of applique and patchwork on their costumes, and they do a type of metal couching using pewter wire. This is commonly done on belts, and on the bags which hang from the belt, and are also done on the dickey which is worn under the main garment in many Saami costumes. Here are a couple examples of this work, In the eastern parts of Sabme, beadwork is also done. In this image, the two woven sashes are Northern Saami from Enontekiö (Eanodat) in Finland, and the beaded one is Skolt Saami. I will now give short illustrations of the costumes of the various groups. This will by no means be exhaustive, as there are many regional types, and detailed information is difficult to find on some of them. Please refer to the above maps. SOUTH SAAMI There are about 2000 South Saami, of whom perhaps 600 can speak the language. Here is the costume from between Femunden and Saltfjellet in Norway. A closeup of the dickey, pin, purse and belt of this costume. Notice the pewter wire couching. This costume is from around Idre in Dalarna, Sweden. This young man is also South Saami from Sweden, from around AmmarnäsTärnaby, VilhelminaÅsele. CENTRAL SAAMI The central Saami traditionally spoke the Ume, Pite and Lule languages, going from south to north. Ume Saami currently has about 10 speakers, and Pite Saami has between 25 and 50. There are more who no longer speak the language. So many good sources of images do not bother to record the exact origin, so many of the images which I have are simply marked 'Sweden' or 'Norway'. I have not been able to find many images of these people. Ume Saami This is the only image which I have been able to find which is unequivocably Ume Saami. This woman is LenaMaria Nilsson who is active in Saami politics. Pite Saami Lule Saami Lule Saami is still spoken by perhaps 2000 people, the second largest of the Saami languages. A Lule Saami couple from Tysfjord Norway Lule Saami from Jokkmokk (Jåhkåmåhkke or Dálvvadis) in Sweden NORTHERN SAAMI The Northern Saami are found in the northernmost parts of Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Theirs is the largest of the Saami languages at 15,000 or more speakers. There are districts where they are still the majority population. There are a dozen or more very colorful costumes worn by the Northern Saami I will highlight just a few. Sweden: Jukkasjärvi (Čohkkirasjávri) Karesuando (Karesuanto, Gárasavvon or Karasavvon) Norway These are some of the Northern Saami costumes found in Norway. Troms (Romsa) Varanger (Várnjárga) Karasjok (Kárášjohka) The same basic costume is also worn in Tana. You can see the 'wings' on the fur leggings on the man. Kautokeino ( Guovdageaidnu) This is often described as 'embroidered', but in fact the ornamentation consists of rows of appliqued patterned ribbon. Finland The costumes of Enontekiö (Eanodat) are basically the same as in Kautokeino (Guovdageaidnu) Sodankylä (Soađegilli) Utsjoki (Ohcejohka) INARI SAAMI The Inari and Skolt languages are each highly divergent from the other Saami languages. About 300 people currently speak this language, although there is a movement to start teaching it to younger people. The Inari only live in Finland. SKOLT SAAMI The Skolt Saami number about 1250 and live in Norway, Finland and Russia, although most of the 400 speakers of the language live in Finland. Some of them abandoned the Gáktii for chemise and Sarafan as worn by their neighbors, The Karelians and the White Sea Russians. The women wear beaded caps which are similar to the Sorokka worn by the Karelians. KOLA SAAMI These only live in Russia. Of the three languages, Akkala is extinct, and 2 people still speak Ter. Kilden Saami is still spoken by perhaps 600 people. It is not used much in daily life, and most Saami in Russia do not speak it. I have found several images of Saami from Russia, but I do not have information as to which costume comes from which location. Some of these may be Skolt. Here is one blog which is devoted to Saami culture. This is well worth looking over for more information and links. http://saamiblog.blogspot.com/ Thank you for reading. I hope that you have found this interesting. The circumstances in which the Saami find themselves, being split by political borders, having local ways of speaking which are unintelligible to other communities, having no common language of their own, Identity at best ignored or often suppressed by the governments of the majority people are not unique. They are unfortunately similar for many indigenous people around the world. Each culture is a unique treasure which in a sense belongs to humanity at large. We should at least be aware of them. I have pieced this article together from many sources, and while I have caught some obvious errors, there may be others which have found their way into this article. I am particularly unsure concerning the material from Sweden. If anyone, Saami or otherwise notices such errors, I apologize and would greatly appreciate better information and images. Thank you. Feel free to contact me with requests for research. I hope to eventually cover all of Europe and the Former Russian Empire/Soviet Union. I also gratefully accept tips on source materials which i may not have. I also accept commissions to research/design, sew, and/or embroider costumes or other items for groups or individuals. I also choreograph and teach folk dance. Roman K. [email protected] Source Material: Ulf Hård af Segerstad, 'Dakkan En Bok om Samernas Slöjd', Malmö, Sweden, 1971Rolf Kjellström et al, 'Saami Daaidda', Helsinki, 1981 Heidi Fossnes, 'Norges Bunader og Samiske Folkedrakter', Oslo, 1994 Liv Trotzig et al, 'Sockendräkter Dalarna', Dalarna, 1976 Natalia Kalashnikova et al, 'National Costumes of the Soviet Peoples', Moscow, 1990 L. N. Molotova, 'Folk Art of the Russian Federation', Leningrad, 1981 Max Tilke, 'East European Costumes', London, 1926 Charles Holme, ed., 'Peasant Art in Sweden, Lapland, and Iceland', London, 1910 Laila Duran, 'Scandinavian Folklore vol I - III', AB, Sweden, 2011-2013 Much of this material I found online, I thank all those who make such information available. Upon request I will include explicit sources of the images. Thank you
From ships to churches to living history, immerse yourself in Norse history and culture with this Viking travel guide to Norway. Successful TV series such as Vikings, The Last Viking and Norsemen have propelled Norse
The remarkable Oseberg Viking ship burial. It consisted of an astonishingly well preserved ship that contained the remains of two women along with a wide array of accompanying grave goods.
Planning a Norway vacation? Discover these fascinating aspects of Norwegian culture to know before you go.
