See Reindeer, Warm Up at Arctic Market
J O K K M O K K, Sweden, Jan. 14, 2004 -- In the monochrome gloom of the Arcticwinter, the intense blues and reds of Sami ceremonial garb glowlike the promise that summer will return someday.
When Samis, the reindeer-herding indigenous people once known asLapps, converge on Jokkmokk for the annual winter market, the grayskies and white snow seem to recede, becoming just a background forthe finery— sapphire coats stitched with yellow and orange, capstopped with shimmering crimson plumes.
As they lead reindeer through the streets lined with marketstalls, visitors stiffened by 20 degrees-below-zero temperatureslean close, as if to partake of some radiant heat.
Samis have been coming to this town of 3,000, perched just abovethe Arctic Circle, for a market in the first week of February sincethe early 1600s. In 2004, the Feb. 5-7 gathering marks the event's399th year.
Tough People, Mischievous Reindeer
It began under royal order as a way for Sweden's rulers to keepan eye on commerce and ensure that taxes were being paid, and toexpose the pagan Sami to Christian proselytizing. In recentdecades, it's also become an opportunity for visitors to get ataste of Sami life without the rigors of venturing into the frigidforests.
What they find is a life that is harsh but sophisticated. Samicraftwork is marked by its understated elegance — intricatelycarved objects of antler and wood, knives so well-balanced that thehand seems to draw strength from them.
The nightly performances of "jojk" singing also reflect thiscombination of the crude and the elevated. The songs are meant toevoke or identify with something in nature — a bear, a fox, moose —and at first the jojks sound to an outsider as bleak and rough asthe landscape. But listen awhile and the hypnotic, even ecstatic,qualities stealthily take over. Visitors also get close exposure to reindeer, a revelation foranyone who knows them only through Christmas songs and thus thinksof them as goody-goody Rudolphs. Though compact, they're tough andpowerful, and as they're led through town, there's a glint offierce mischief dancing in their eyes.
They get to show that side of their nature on the Tavaltissjoe,the lake on the edge of Jokkmokk, when the reindeer races are held,charging full-tilt across the snow as if they want to get as farfrom humans as possible.
Other primally energetic creatures also are on the lake — teamsof sled dogs. Although they happily accept strokes and coos fromvisitors admiring their plumed tails and ice-blue eyes, these aredogs with something other than humans on their minds.
They want to run, and if they have to stand still for more thana few minutes, they begin to howl in an eerie chorus of yearning.These dogs often have especially flexible voices and they seem onthe verge of being able to put their desires into words. The nearbyhumans with cold-stiffened lips are only marginally more eloquent.
When a visitor manages to speak, he can arrange a ride on one ofthe sleds, either a 10-minute jaunt around the lake or an hour'strip through the woods, punctuated by a stop at a "kota" tent fora badly needed cup of coffee or tea, piping hot.
Warm Clothes, Ice Hotel
If an outsider shows up in Jokkmokk feeling underdressed for thepiercing cold, he can find warm clothes in abundance and atappealing prices at the market. This may be the world's premierplace to buy socks — rough wool, cuddly angora, high-tech thermalfibers and a wide selection of joke socks. A favorite for Swedesshows a goofy-looking antlered creature and the inscription"Trevlig alg" — meaning "nice moose," but a homonym for "Havea good weekend." The Ajtte museum is also a popular place to get warm, with theadded advantage that it contains extensive and detailed exhibits onSami history and culture. The $5 admission price is good for ayear's worth of visits, in case one happens to be back in theneighborhood sometime.
For most visitors, though, one day in Jokkmokk is enough tothoroughly appreciate the market. After that, northern Sweden'sother winter charms are at hand.
Just two hours to the northwest lies Jukkasjaervi, home of therenowned Ice Hotel, with a sauna constructed so that one can scanthe sky for the aurora borealis while sweating in tropical heat.
Lulea, a coastal city of 50,000 to the southeast, hasexceptionally fine cross-country skiing in the formidable hills onthe edge of town and excursions into the frozen archipelago can bearranged. Lulea also has the UNESCO world heritage site Gammelstad,a collection of hundreds of cabins clustered around a 15th-centurycathedral.
The church has a glowing gilded interior and, like the Samis'coats, is redolent of warmer times. Yet, throughout these northernreaches, winter is never far away, and the region's people seem totake comfort in that. Outside the Ajtte museum, a winding path cutthrough deep snow into which candles had been placed that lightedlittle placards with poems. One poem extolled the glories of summerin the forest where, even in June, "snow still sits in theshadow."
If You Go…
GETTING THERE: Buses connect Jokkmokk with the cities ofGallivare (about 90 minutes) and Lulea (about 2½ hours) and thetrain station in the tiny settlement of Murjek (about an hour). Twoovernight trains connect Lulea with the capital, Stockholm, andboth Lulea and Gallivare have commercial air service.
ACCOMMODATIONS: Although Jokkmokk has more hotel rooms thanyou'd expect in a small town, they're usually booked as long as ayear in advance for the market weekend. The local tourist officecan offer guidance to visitors who arrive on short notice. Roomsbeginning at about $50 nightly for a single are usually availablein Lulea, Gallivare and Kiruna.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: For Jokkmokk town tourist information,visit www.turism.jokkmokk.se/eng.shtml. For Northern Sweden touristinformation, visit www.norrbotten.se. For Northern Sweden regionalbus schedules, visit www.ltnbd.se (Swedish only, but with aphrasebook, you'll manage). For Swedish train and long-distance businformation: www.tagplus.se. To telephone the Scandinavian touristoffice in New York, call (212) 885-9700.