Flag Day!

Well, its still pretty windy! Just as well really, as it has been yet another of the national flags days that Finland have. Oh-so proud of their flag - it gets hoisted up at every opportunity! :D (The total opposite to the UK where the flying of a flag is received with scorn sadly!)

July 6th is Runon ja Suven Päivä, a celebration of both Poetry and Summer. It also commemorates the birthday of a much loved Finnish poet Eino Leino. (July 6th 1878 - January 10th 1926) Considered as one of the pioneers of Finnish poetry. His style is said to be similar to the famous Finnish Kalevala with nature, love, and despair as the frequent theme. He is still popular and much read, even today.

The flags are everywhere! Virtually every street has at least one flag pole...if not more. I can see two from my house. In town there are several flying.... but then they fight against the other flags.. because the supermarkets and lots of shops fly flags as standard advertising! I love it! So unusual to me! I think we have a secret flag fairy though...as I never see them go up...and never see them go down again! Honestly though, each area does have a designated flag representative, whose job it is!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eino_Leino

I had to deliver one of my 8 week old kittens to its new home today (boo hoo) and this flag was seen outside their home.....the last kitten out of the four..leaves us on thursday!



Although this is a little dark.. this was downtown earlier today.. you can just about see two Finnish flags! The hard one to see is now flapping open..and is by the satellite dish. Click picture to enlarge!



PS. I am sorry this blog got left so late... I was listening to the 2008 Wimbledon Men's Final CONGRATULATIONS * NADAL * ON A HISTORIC WIN!

Windy Weather....

Last night I was speaking to my Mum on the phone... she lives in Bournemouth, a seaside town in the United Kingdom. Although I am in Finland, we talk twice a week, thanks to the wonders of Skype.

She asked me what the weather was like. (Funny how conversations ALWAYS seem to include the weather!) I said it had been a bit drab that day, but glorious the day before. 'We have terrible wind' she said... having a toilet humour giggle to herself. 'Well, you know what I mean!' she laughed. She went on to ask me if we had the same bad weather and I said no.

An hour or so after the conversation finished, I turned from my little comfy hidey hole that is my computer zone, poked my head outside and realised that we did now have the self same type of weather front. Since then its been quite blowy... and the tall, tall Pine trees - (of which there are many around me) - have all been fervently waving and chatting to each other!

So, the God of Wind has been here again... or in Laplands shamanic circles it is the divine work of the Tuulenjumala (Wind God), Tuulen = Wind and Jumala = God (or Tuulimies = Wind Man). In Saami he is Bieg'golmmai. He is believed to live in the rocks and precipices and can cause storms both on land and upon waters. Accordingly, he has his own symbol on the Noitarumpu!

In actual fact, there are a few different versions, dependant upon region. The Gods name is Ilma and he naturally governs the element Air, controlling the winds and thus the carriage and safety of travellers too! He is asked for blessings as a form of good luck too. His name literally translates as Air or Sky in the Finnish language.

He can be seen holding some type of weather machine and a beater or two shovel like tools that he wafts together to increase the winds! Naturally, he is a very powerful God!

This is my personal favourite design of his...available hand pyrographed on reindeer horn bracelets, necklaces and keyrings etc...as well as found on Noitarumpu!

Whilst writing this, the wind has calmed down somewhat...perhaps Ilma is saying he is happy that I have honoured his presence. :D

The Noitarumpu Lapland Witches Drum

Hi all,

Yesterday, I mentioned the Noitarumpu drum and teased you with a photo of one that was made recently. Today, I will tell you a little more about just what a Noitarumpu actually is.

The Noitarumpu drum, when translated literally from the Finnish word, means Witches Drum... Noita = Witch and Rumpu = Drum. It can however also be written as Shamaanirumpu the Shaman's Drum.

It's history is long and indeed ancient... yet much information has been lost because of the Witch trials in history... that too came to Finland and the regions of Lapland. It was a time when Christianity poured throughout the land and endeavoured to flush the local paganism away.
( Note: 'Endeavoured' meaning that they never truly succeeded! :D ) Hundreds if not thousands or more drums were destroyed... and because there were so many drums freely given up by the trusting dwellers of this land at that time - too many to be taken away for destruction - that it is recorded that they were all burnt on the spot!

My heart feels heavy with that...but it is a historical fact that I cannot run from. Fortunately, several Shamans were wise enough to store their drums away and hid them - many staying hidden for centuries - cared for by the secret custodians with in the family, who ensured that the old world beliefs stayed alive, if not quietly 'underground'. These drums - and I believe that there are around seventy of them - are now safe, held in many museums around the world. :D It is from these drums and the symbols found upon them, that the drums of today are founded.

Used ceremonially from a time before records began, the noitarumpu is deeply engrained in the Saami heritage. The local Shaman, much like the wise woman in many villages across the world, would be the healer, the wise one, the one who had visions and entrusted by his people to care for them physically and spiritually. The Shaman was THE great person, second only to the spirits or gods.

The drum was the Shaman's aid to the other worlds, with ritual and chanting, the use of natural powers also came from natural objects such as stones, feathers etc. The Shaman would call for the help of the great spirits by beating on the drum, with a reindeer horn hammer - and he would do so rythymically, until falling into a trance like state. During trance, he would walk the underworld, where the dead would help provide advice or solve a problem. At other times, the Shaman could predict the future with the drum. The divination of such came from the symbols on the drum.

Each Shaman would have made their own drum and chosen the placement and indeed which symbols to have on the drum - which ones resonated the most for him, or worked best for him in ritual - which Gods he had the greatest connection with for example. I will cover this subject again later...

There are a few different styles of drums, but effectively they were and still are made today from Reindeer leather and Birch Wood. There are some touristy versions of it.. but the true Noitarumpu is a handcrafted, unique item. The sort of gift one would give to a very important person..or purchased by those interested or involved in spiritual activities.

Here are a few more images.....

By the way.. Happy Independence Day to all the American readers! Have a good day! Finlands Independance Day is not until December 6th!

HELLO BIG WIDE WORLD - Greetings from Lapland!

Welcome to my blogspot... So, you found me...LOL!

I aim to make this a fun place to share with you, a bit about me, my life and my business. Who am I? I am the "Arctic Rainbow" to many..... a bit of colour amongst the white snow!

I am 43 years of age, happily married to the love of my life. We have two teenage sons and we moved to the Lapland area of Finland four years ago, after following a long held dream. We are all British - no, I am not married to a Finn. This was a total life change!

My interests lie in the spiritual and pagan fields, it is of no surprise that I love, amongst other things...shamanic and symbolic products. The Lapland Noitarumpu drum of divination especially! What's that you say? LOL... well I want to shout to the WORLD about them. Its time for the whole world to know what they are!

Well.. you will have to come back to my blog tomorrow to find out...LOL.. but here is a sneak image for you....



See you tomorrow! (or Nähdään huomenna! in the Finnish)