HRAFN. GÁTTIR. HELGISIÐUR.
Hike commenced 10:30pm, soundpieces heard sometime around 1am (sub-arctic 24 hour sunlight) atop the summit of Spákonufell Mtn.
Image above by Megan Nilsson (2018), below by Melody Woodnutt(2010)
NES:10 Anniversary Festival, Skagaströnd, Iceland.
June 21, 2018.
Two soundpieces were presented:
Hrafn Gáttir Helgisiður by Melody Woodnutt,
And Sunn by Burke Jam.
A summer solstice ritual continuing the annual local tradition to climb the mountain on the night of the summer solstice. The sound works were based on the selkie, the circumnavigation of the sun, and the mythology of the raven. In varied subarctic cultural lore the raven stole the sun and released it. Alongside raven’s role as an ominous gatekeeper between light and dark, the deathly connotations of a raven may help grasp a glimpse of significant shifts atop the summit or simply gain a birdseye view, This mountain, Spákonufell, is particularly significant due to the sagas and the prophetess, Þórdís, who first inhabited the area. Her saga has steeped the mountain in rich layers of lore and female empowerment.