Sami Storytelling Traditions

The Sami storytelling tradition reflects an incredibly rich life in an Arctic climate, where foremothers, dreams, resistance, love and other worlds move side by side. Based on the work of Britta Marakatt-Labba, we take a step into the power and transformation of the Sami storytelling tradition together with author Linnea Axelsson, who recently released a new collection of poems, “Sjaunja”, and multi-artist Elle Márjá Eira, director of the North Sami opera “Jordens hjärta/Eatnama váibmu” (The Heart of the Earth) that will be performed at the Royal Swedish Opera this autumn.

In “Sjaunja”, Sami goddesses, marshes and memory landscapes are woven together in a poetic investigation of man’s place in nature and history. “Jordens hjärta/Eatnama váibmu” is a family opera with music by Britta Byström and libretto by Rawdna Carita Eira that is based on the Sami creation myth – a visual and music-dramatic reinterpretation that thematises the struggle between good and evil, and living in harmony with nature.

Participants

Linnea Axelsson

Linnea Axelsson was born in 1980 in Porjus, Norrbotten, but now lives in Stockholm. She studied humanities at Umeå University and defended her thesis on art history in 2009. In 2010, she released her first novel, “Tvillingsmycket” (Twin Jewelry), and in 2018 the acclaimed epic “Ædnan” was published, which won the Swedish literature award the August Prize. In 2022 the novel “Magnificat” was published and in 2024 the poetry collection “Sjaunja”. In 2024, the English edition of “Ædnan” was nominated for the National Book Award for Translated Literature.

Elle Márjá Eira

Elle Márjá Eira was born in 1983 and is an artist, director, writer and composer. She is based in Guovdageaidnu/Kautokeino in Northern Norway and originally comes from the Sami reindeer herding village 26 Lákkonjárga. Eira directed the feature film “Stöld” (Stolen), which reached the top ten in 71 countries after its Netflix premiere in 2024. In addition, she has directed and produced several short films and video installations. Eira has worked as an actor and composer at the Sami National Theatre Beaivváš and collaborated with film composer Christophe Beck on the music for “The 12th Man” (2017). Her video installations “VR 360 EALLU” and “EALÁT” were shown at the Venice Biennale and the Kochi Biennale in 2022.

Her music combines traditional yoik with contemporary expressions, cinematic soundscapes and elements of pop and rock. She is the winner of Arctic Talent, Northern Norway’s largest music award, and the winner of the Ghost Rocket Song Contest at the Hollywood Independent Music Awards. Eira’s next major project is to direct “Jordens hjärta/Eatnama Váibmu” (The Heart of the Earth), the Royal Swedish Opera’s first opera in Northern Sami.

Patricia Fjellgren

Patricia Fjellgren was born in 1976 in Stuehkie/Stockholm and is of both Northern and Southern Sami origin. She spent her first six years in Saudi Arabia, grew up in the suburbs of Stockholm and now lives in Staare/Östersund. She has long worked with the revitalisation of the Sami languages and was awarded the Language Council of Sweden’s Minority Language Prize in 2017. As a project manager, she has been responsible for the Sápmi Theme at the Gothenburg Book Fair 2024, and editor of the anthology “Inifrån Sápmi” (Sápmi from within). Fjellgren is one of the initiators of the language performance “Gïellačïrkuš/Språkcirkus” (Language Circus) at Giron Sámi Teáhter, where she has also participated as an actor. Today, she is a member of The Truth Commission for the Sami People.