Earth
Viitahuhta Marja
In Eanan, a luohti (Northern Sami yoik) about earth and land, the lifegiver and cultural starting point of the Sámi people, is performed by indigenous musician Ánnámáret.
The video, animated by Marja Viitahuhta, is produced from ethnogaraphic photographs and drawings from the book Die Lappische Zaubertrommel, an encyclopedia about old Sámi drums. The work both reveals and hides the original drums in the noise of its digital imagery. These images are combined with those of plant leaves and flower petals printed on film as well as film clips affected by clay and salt.
The work illustrates the relationship of Sámi people to their land, their environment and their cultural heritage. It reflects on the issues in recording indigenous spiritual tradition and how it has been otherized, lost or destroyed in the process of colonisation.
Ánnámáret’s joik is accompanied by Ilkka Heinonen on the jouhikko (a traditional bowed lyre) and Turkka Inkilä’s electronic music. The work is part of a long-term collaboration by a four-member artistic team, which has produced a series of video pieces, two music albums, and performs together at concerts and festivals.
Earth
24 works