Thomas Marainen is a Yoika ( at least I think that’s the word ). His new album may not yet be on itunes but I have managed to bag a copy of his first album of Yoiks which are traditional Sami songs usually sung unaccompanied. To the uninitiated non-Sami speaker ( as of course I am ) a Yoik seems a little repetitious. Give it a whirl though, you might just like it.
His wife Randi makes beautiful silver jewelry ( sometimes for the Crown princess ) and kindly posed outside in her wonderful traditional dress.
Vildhasse ( self proclaimed ‘ Wild Hasse ‘ ) claims to have the only Nordic sausage museum ( please comment if you know otherwise ). He seems to speak in parables and makes a living selling sausages and other ‘ mountain products ‘ . See his website. His beard is home to half a kilo of ice ( it is minus 28 celsius after all ) and I make a mental note to grow mine even longer for the next trip.
Today is national Sami day celebrated to coincide with the opening of the first Sami national congress in 1917. I join the crowd to see the singing of the Sami national anthem but not before we have been warmed up by a popular rendition of the Jokkmokk-rock.
Those familiar with John Redwood’s painful rendition of the Welsh national anthem will see parallels here.
Our 11am rendezvous with Tommy was only just kept after a hectic start to the day. Saturday is the final and busiest day of the market ( 18,000 visitors in a town with a population of 3,000 ) so I thought it prudent to get all my stall shots before 10.30. Tommy is one of those magical men ( he has a long beard, of course ) you seem to find in the North. For many years he lived out in the forest with thirty dogs but now busies himself with sculpting, smithing and helping children with behavioural problems. I photograph him with a snow sculpture he made for a children’s play area and delights in watching them clamber around it.
On my previous trip to Jokkmokk I photographed a painter called Lars Pirak. He was in poor health but still gave us a couple of hours of his time and was both interesting and charming. One of his prints hangs in my office ( a picture of his Grandfather out hunting bear ) and is much enjoyed. It was unsurprising but sad to hear that he died late in 2008. Today we visited his former home to see an exhibition of his work and chatted with his son and daughter in law. It seems in a last flourish of creative energy Lars produced many new paintings to add to his legacy as one of the most important artists of the North.
One character who stood out at the market was Gunnar Kuoljok who was part of a recruiting team for the Swedish ‘ Dad’s army ‘. Men with guns usually make me nervous but Gunnar was not that kind of man.
The day ended at the Coop, in search of Birgitta and her fellow Christians. I was lucky to meet them just as they were setting out their stall but had to wait for a few dance routines to end before I could get a group portrait. Accompanying the dancing ladies was an engaging Iraqi preacher from Mosul in Iraq. The dancing is apparently Yiddish inspired and despite my not sharing some of the opinions of the good ladies I did feel like joining them for a twirl.
