Sonic Images of the Sacred in Sámi Cinema
From Finno-Ugric Rituals to Fanon in an Interpretation of Ofelaš ( Pathfinder )
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 18947461 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Tina K Ramnarine (Royal Holloway University of London, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2013 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 239-254 |
| Publication date | 2013-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Interventions (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1369-801X • E-ISSN: 1469-929X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/1369801x.2013.798474 |
| OpenAlex | W1583167876 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 7 |
This essay explores ‘indigenous’ and ‘western’ forms of the sacred through the case of the Sámi in the northern fringes of Europe. The focus is on sonic images, ritual performance, shamanic drum practice and animal symbolism in the film Ofelaš (Pathfinder 1987). The essay explores how this film represents and affirms indigenous sacrality, reinscribes the dualities of indigenous–western and reifies ethnic politics in the northernmost regions of modern Nordic nation-states. Ultimately, the exploration moves beyond the micro-dynamics of polar politics to look at the film's wider relevance. In privileging sonic expression and its spectres, I read the film as contributing to critical perspectives on authority, knowledge, history, oral tradition and climate change in postcolonial thinking. Keywords: ecologyFinno-Ugric ritual Ofelaš sacralitySámi cinemasound Acknowledgements I am grateful to the Leverhulme Trust for the award of a Research Fellowship to carry out short periods of field research on Sámi music, politics and environment (2006–8) and to the British Academy for a grant enabling me to research sonic creativity in northern European contexts (2009–10). Notes 1The director, Nils Gaup, used only a joik fragment in his second Sámi-based film, Kautokeino Opprøret (Kautokeino Rebellion 2008), which moves from a mythical era to the historical record in exploring the nineteenth-century rebellion in the northern Norwegian village of Kautokeino. Gaup commented that despite its iconic status, the joik is not always necessary to Sámi film soundtracks, an indication perhaps of the gains in state recognition of Sámi claims by this time (personal communication, 2008). 2Hagen (Citation2006) discusses cases in Norway in 1627 and 1692. 3See Thuen (Citation2004) for a discussion of cultural property, political rights and knowledge production. 4See http://www.acoustics.hut.fi/projects/aurora/ASoundsNews.html (accessed 27 March 2013). Auroral recordings taken in Canada have been posted on the Internet at http://www-pw.physics.uiowa.edu/mcgreevy/#latest (accessed 27 March 2013)
Aesthetics · Art · Art history · Movie theater · European Linguistics and Anthropology · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,33 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2023 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |