Sing 'til the cows come home!

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Though the age of "summer farms" has dwindled and many "seters" have been abandoned, in the summer of 2008, there were still 1100 independent summer farms in use. There were also over 200 "shared summer farms" for goats and cattle. Archaeological finds have proven the tradition of summer farms was used in the 7th century - Iron Age! With farmland being so scarce in Norway and Sweden, perhaps 10 acres or less, farmers need these acres for growing their crops during the summer months. This means they must move their cattle and sheep up into the mountains to graze. In the 12th century, old Norwegian Law stated if a farmer didn't send his herds to summer pasture he could be reported for illegal grazing - "grass robbery"! Other valuable perks of the summer pasture: fishing and hunting, haymaking in adjacent meadows and gathering wood.

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The children and older women of the family were usually left to care for the animals; herding and milking them. They also ran their own little dairy, making cheese and butter. And mmm...that good 'geitost' goat cheese! Either you love it or you hate it. The ladies also got to spin wool and knit stockings (and probably darn stockings!) and mittens for the coming winter. The "seter" (summer mountain farm) would have a little cottage and a "stabbur" for storing their cheese, butter and supplies. The stabbur was built on rock pillars to keep out the rodents.

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There were no neighbors to a seter, just surrounding forest land between the seters, cutting the herdswomen off from civilization, so they had to handle every situation on their own. These girls developed a means of communication through a method of singing called "kulning" - also known as "kauning" in some parts of Norway and Sweden. The sound is sung without vibrato and at full volume, a very concentrated and high-pitched vocal sound which carried long distances. Each tune has a particular function - different songs for different situations. If an animal wandered off, a herdswoman could call it back with a few notes of music. If she needed help finding one of the flock, she could sing the message so girls in other seters would know to help search. (The herders got close to their animals while up in the mountains and since the herds were small with only about a dozen animals, those animals often learned to recognize their own names). Kulning was a comfort to the girl who became lonesome also, as this was a way to communicate with girls in other seters by using their kulning tunes.

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The only weapons the girl had to protect herself and her animals if a wolf or bear attacked, were wind instruments. Using them to make loud and ferocious noises, she hoped to frighten away that big bear! We haven't heard how many of those bears didn't get scared... Life and death stuff. The animals were very precious to the farmers and it was the girl's duty to bring each one of them back home in the fall. Without them, a family could face starvation. Ram and cow horns with 3 or 4 finger-holes were the usual wind instruments. Visnum, Sweden can boast to having the oldest surviving animal horn, dating back to the the end of the Iron Age. There are few big-horned animals in Scandinavia, so the Scandinavians often made a wind instrument from wood which they wrapped with birch bark and called a "lur". I am not sure how this would differ from the vuvu horns heard at Minnesota games??

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Kulning supposedly was developed by young girls who were alone with the goats and cattle all summer. They needed company when they were lonely and help when trouble came. Their kulning sound traveled long distances, ringing and echoing against the mountains. The girls liked to embellish their tunes with trills It was said the "kulade" at times was so beautiful "that men would lean on their scythe handles and women on their rakes - just listening. They were so enchanted by the grace of her trills that they couldn't work." ----

Remaining seters in our time have become more diversified. Some are single farms, o

thers are shared summer farms. Some are purely milking operations while others process milk. Some have roads and other seters are secluded. Tourist business has helped the economy with several farms

having opened to the public, serving farm fare meals and selling sour cream, butter, cheese and other dairy

products. Artists and writers have been inspired in this beautiful mountainous area. During the winter months, (lots of those in Scandinavia!) abandoned seters are now used by skiers. But if you plan to visit, in the winter, bring your long-johns. It is chilly up there and those seters don't have furnaces! Forty below zero is not unusual.

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Brrrr! Winter comes early with long winter nights.

Don't Miss the Boat!

Looking for a unique winter cruise? The travel industry now offers everything from climbing walls and water parks to bingo, karaoke and dancing girls on their cruises. Then there is Norway’s Hurtigruten line. None of that here! These are working ships which ply the magnificent craggy western coast of Norway. They pride themselves on being "the anti-cruise ship" line. These ships haul things like refrigerators, dryers, lumber and electronics north to tiny coastal communities. Going south, they pick up pallets of fish or maybe equiupment which needs repair. Oil and gas workers, college students, retirees and families are transported in both directions along with cars, bikes and strollers. ---------------------------- Ships can arrive and depart from these little ports in the middle of meals or the middle of night, however it happens. Tourists are allowed to leave the ship to see the sights, but if they don't get back before their ship leaves again, they've literally "missed the boat". Some of these little hamlets have bus or train connections, others not. Best option may be to wait for the next Hurtigruten boat though it will not be able to catch up with the one they are booked on. -------------------------------People must understand the ship’s route doesn’t revolve around them and this is not the trip for them if they can’t stomach fish. It was noted that one buffet included 14 varieties of fish. -----------------------------------So why would anyone be interested in this cruise? The scenery !!! The experience of seeing beautiful Norwegian fjords, the Arctic Circle, Northern Lights, the Midnight Sun, playful killer whales riding the ship’s bow wave as it leaves a fjord... There is the fun of tossing fish in the air to be snatched by sea eagles and being greeted by Sami herders and their reindeer en route to Nordkapp, a plunging cliff at the top of Europe. -------------------------------------------------- If you go: The weather is rough and relatively wild year round so dress accordingly. Twelve-day voyages through fjords cost from $1502 per person. Most popular departures are in winter to see the northern lights, with February being the busiest month.