Lögberg-Heimskringla - 23.05.2003, Page 2

page 2 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Friday, 23 May 2003
Editorial • Ritstjórnargrein
Lillian Vilborg
Managing Editor
WlNNIPEG, MB
What is an Icelander any-
way?” That’s what I
overheard an L-H visitor ask in
the outer offíce this week. It
didn't sound like a rhetorical
question.
Rather it was provocative.
That’s kind of Icelandic, I
thought to myself. Being
provocative. During the future
directions discussions at the
INL/NA convention, when they
became heated, someone said,
“Þau eru bara að rífast. ”
Arguing for the sake of argu-
ing.
It was a very popular form
of entertainment in my family.
My father liked nothing better
than a good argument, on big
subjects like politics and reli-
gion. But he was happy with
any subject, like what direction
the house faced!
Another observation about
Icelanders I heard from the
outer offíce the other day v/as
the fact that they tend to be
“penny pinchers.” When I
stuck my head around the cor-
ner, someone was describing
this by rubbing their fingers
together. They said that the
Icelanders outstripped all those
other groups who have the rep-
utation for being “cheap.”
Many people think that if
you have an “Amma” you must
be Icelandic.
I don’t think these are the
kinds of things our friend
meant about “being Icelandic,”
however.
When I lived isolated from
the Icelandic communities I
grew up with in Manitoba, I
cherished contact with
Icelanders, through Norðurljós
and the other Alberta clubs in
Markerville and Calgary.
For some reason, amongst
those people I felt comfortable.
They evoked a memory. The
same was true on my various
trips to Iceland. Some memory
of people, language, landscape
was awakened when I set my
eyes on the lava strewn ground
of the Reykjanes Peninsula,
when I was surrounded by the
pleasing melody of the lan-
guage, and when I responded to
the generosity of all those I
met.
That’s not a very crisp def-
inition of what it is to be
Icelandic. But it has something
to do with shared history,
shared genes, recognizable
behaviour, a flashy smile.
Of course, we, the mem-
bers of the Icelandic diaspora,
aren’t Icelandic. We are
Canadian, American, Brazilian,
Australian. Legally. By birth,
by citizenship. We have emo-
tional attachments to our coun-
tries of birth. But that does not
negate feelings we might have
for Iceland and being Icelandic.
I once asked the ambassa-
dor to Canada, Hjálmar W.
Hannesson what he considered
the essential requirements for
Icelandic citizenship. His
response was that a person had
to be culturally Icelandic, and
that an essential component of
that is speaking the language.
But the person who posed
this provocative question was
not talking about being an
Icelander in Iceland. He was
talking about being an
Icelander away from Iceland.
The Icelander in Iceland
today is in some ways quite dif-
ferent from the Icelanders who
left there at the end of the last
century. Today they are urban,
postmodern, high tech, intema-
tional, global in their outlook.
Immigration to the country is
changing its face and its genet-
ic makeup. A 100% Icelander
will be very different from the
100% Icelander of old. When
our forebears left Iceland, it
was only visiting fishers and
merchants who created alter-
ations to genetic pattems, intro-
ducing brown eyes and dark
hair to the notionally blonde
blue- eyed nation (actually they
describe their hair colour as
skollitað, which translates to
mousy brown).
When someone in North
America says they are 100%
Icelandic, they are talking
about a personal history that is
part of a past that was mral and
isolated in a country where
poverty was common and free-
dom limited. But that’s never
how we thought of it.
When I asked Lorne about
this question, he said, “There
has to be some caché associated
with being part of such a small
country with a population one
one hundredth that of Canada’s.
And the land in Iceland is the
newest on earth, and that geot-
hermal heat is intriguing to
everyone.”
Yes, that’s true, I thought.
And there’s no question that the
written record left by the early
Icelandic settlers has had a pro-
found effect on identification as
an Icelander. The sagas are
simply amazing.
When the Icelanders first
came to North America they
were considered “good immi-
grants” because they integrated
into the main society so well. It
is interesting then that after sev-
eral generations they continue
to self identify as Icelandic. I
recently said in an interview
with Faces, a Saskatchewan
publication, “People know
when they are Icelandic.”
And if they decide to take a
trip to Iceland, their fate is
sealed. Something happens
when we go there. Look at all
the Snorri grads. It warms the
heart to see these young people
involved and interested, five or
six generations after settlement.
I haven’t done a very good
job of answering the provoca-
tive question “What is an
Icelander anyway?” I wonder
what members of the genera-
tions after me would say about
this question. Let us know your
answer to “What is an Icelander
anyway?”
Letters to the Editor • Bréf til ritstjóra
Dear Editor,
We enjoyed seeing and
hearing you at our convention.
First Lutheran Church
Celebrating 125 years
(1878-2003)
580 Victor Street Winnipeg R3G 1R2
204-772-7444
www.mts.net/~flcwin
Worship with us Sundays 10:30 a.m.
Pastor Michael Kurtz
Come Home!
Anniversary Weekend
October 17-19, 2003
Though I saw you only in pass-
ing, as it became hectic some
times keeping all the gears
whirling in the same tempo. I
would like to reiterate Walter
Sopher’s thank you sentiment.
It was the people who attended
who helped to make the event a
success.
There were some people
whom I wanted to thank pub-
licly and just plain forgot in the
crush of all that was happen-
ing. Namely Shirley Sigurdson
Minnist
BETEL
í ERFÐASKRÁM YÐAR
and Svala Dunn. These two
ladies organized our Cultural
Display Rooms, solicited the
exhibitors, and told some of us
guys how they wanted us
to make the display panels. I
think the displays were very
successful.
I am making a list today of
people to thank for their contri-.
butions and it is up to sixty at
the moment. It was a big com-
munity effort.
I would be very pleased if
you could add our grateful
mention of Shirley and Svala.
Bob Rennie
President, Norðurljós Chapter
Edmonton, AB
Dear Editor,
I always read the editorials
and think that our Editor
Lillian is a great gift!
Barnahornið reassures me
that my Icelandic, my first lan-
guage, can still be found by
reading this page.
I am grateful to those who
work to publish a well-bal-
anced weekly with some old,
some new, some flashbacks
and emphasis on celebrating
youth endeavours.
Ólöf Hardy, daughter of
Ragna and Björn Balwinson.
Ólöf Baldwinson Hardy
Selkirk, MB
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