”Elveland” – Irony and Laughter as Power Media in Sea Sámi Folk-Song Tradition

Abstract

The article is a literary analysis of the satirical Sámi folk-song ”Elveland”. The song about about the road man, forester and river attendant Elveland on the west side of the municipality of Porsanger was made in the beginning of the 1900s, as a form of revenge on the part of the local community because he would not let them cut as much firewood as they needed. With irony as an important device, the text serves as a meeting point for dialogues between different voices, and where power relations and the political nature of cultural identity is revealed.

The Trickster and the Engineer

“…Humor and irony in the Sámi folk song tradition at the beginning of the 20 th century, in the municipality of Porsanger in Northern Norway, were important means to show opposition to regulations set by central authorities, and to articulate cultural identity. In the songs, which were in the Sámi language, the language was a means to empower the Sámis, using humor, irony and satire to mock the Norwegian authorities (Fredriksen 2004).…”