Reykjavík Grapevine - 10.02.2006, Blaðsíða 12

The pagan holiday of Þorri, which begins on
a Friday between the 19th and the 25th of
January and ends on a Saturday between the
18th and 24th of February, still survives today
in the form of þorramatur – a banquet of foods
that many find questionable at best, inedible
at worst. Just mention some of the items on
the menu – ram’s testicles, putrefied shark, and
lamb face – and most people will think you’re
joking, and that this must indeed be the foulest
stuff on earth.
Not so. Once you get past what the food is
actually made of, þorramatur can be extremely
enjoyable, especially for those who enjoy meat
– the only veggies on the menu are boiled ru-
tabagas and, occasionally, mashed potatoes. To
this end, we give you the following introduc-
tion to þorramatur.
Svið. The centrepiece of any Þorrablót (a Þorri
celebration offering the food) is svið; seared
lamb heads. While every part of the head is
edible, including the eyes and ears, the tastiest
part by far is the jaw muscle. Not that the
eyeballs are without their charm – done right,
their taste resembles a slightly chewier version
of boiled eggs. Svið is often available all year.
Sviðasulta. The meat from svið, compressed in
gelatine. For those too squeamish to eat food
that stares at them.
Hrútspungar. Ram’s testicles, usually soaked
in mýsa (whey – which has a sharp, citrusy
flavour). As the mýsa is usually the only thing
you can taste, you’re left instead with the soft,
crumbly texture of the nads themselves. Not
entirely unpleasant, but nothing to push people
out of the way to get, either.
Svínasulta. Pork compressed in gelatine. This
is also usually soaked in mýsa. If it isn’t, the
taste is pretty sweet.
Slátur. There are two types of slátur: lifra-
rpylsur (liver sausage) and blóðmör (blood
sausage). The former is ground liver mixed
with rye meal boiled in a sheep intestine cas-
ing; the latter is the same, only substituting
the liver with blood. Lifrarpylsur naturally
tastes like liver, which you either love or hate,
whereas blóðmör has a wheaty, slightly beefy
taste to it. Some people sprinkle sugar on these
items. These people are regarded with scorn
and disdain.
Lundabaggar. Various and sundry internal
organs from sheep, rolled up into a net, boiled,
and soaked in mýsa. This is a pretty fatty
dish, one that should be savoured. Fans of the
Scottish dish haggis will find this especially
appealing.
Bringukollar. OK admittedly, this stuff is
pretty foul. It consists of bones with fatty tissue
still clinging to them, soaked in mýsa. I can
think of no workable reason to even try this.
Magáll. This is my personal favourite – fatty,
smoked sheep stomachs pressed to the hard-
ness of wood. Akin to hangikjöt, with a more
powerful flavour.
Some foods served at a Þorrablót can be found
all year. Apart from svið, there is also hangikjöt
(smoked lamb), harðfiskur (dried haddock),
flatbrauð (flat bread), rugbrauð (rye bread) and
hákarl (putrefied shark). All hákarl has an am-
moniac flavour to it, thanks to the ureic acid in
shark flesh, but the white flesh – as opposed to
the brown, marbled portions – are a lot easier
to take, as while the flavour is stronger, the
texture is softer than the marbled pieces.
Approached with an open mind and an
empty stomach, there is no reason why pig-
ging out at a Þorrablót can’t be a thoroughly
enjoyable experience. This is especially true if
you engage in other Þorri traditions along with
the food, such as dancing poorly and drink-
ing brennivín. As an added bonus, there’s the
satisfaction of knowing that you’re taking part
in one of the few surviving purely Icelandic tra-
ditions left. If you want a taste of true Icelandic
culture, this is a great place to start.

Þorramatur
A Meat Lover’s Paradise
by Paul F. Nikolov
In Friðrik Þór Friðriksson’s movie Cold Fever
- the story of a young Japanese man who
travels to Iceland - there is a scene where the
protagonist and an old Icelandic farmer are
discussing the similarities between their two
countries. The farmer speculates that both
countries have a great number of ghost stories
because both countries are volcanic - death is
cold, he explains, so the ghosts stay close by in
both Iceland and Japan in order to stay warm.
For whatever reason, many Icelanders feel a
connection to Japanese culture, as was evident
at the 2006 Japan Festival held at the Univer-
sity of Iceland’s main building last month, an
event that was a joint effort from the Japanese
Embassy, the Iceland-Japan Association and
the Japan Studies program at the University of
Iceland.
When I arrived in the early afternoon, the
place was packed, despite the fact that the fes-
tival comprised four classrooms and one large
hall. Milling about the main hall, there were
stations set up displaying manga comics, teach-
ing origami paper-folding, offering samples of
sweet saké and green tea, as well as Japanese
calligraphic artists writing people’s names
in the katakana phonetic alphabet. There
was scarcely move to walk, especially during
demonstrations of judo and aikido martial arts,
which took place on a stage at the front of the
hall. As interesting as all this activity was, we
decided to explore some of the classrooms,
where there seemed to be fewer people.
In one room, the walls were adorned with
some fascinating photographs taken by an
Icelandic exchange student. Rather than the
typical pictures of Mt. Fuji or cherry trees,
these slice-of-life photos showed everything
from street musicians to people dressed as
popular cartoon characters. It was refreshing
to see Japan depicted from the point of view of
an average person walking the streets of a new
city.
I decided to skip the “karaoke bar,” as I’ve
heard “Total Eclipse of the Heart” butchered
enough times already to last me a lifetime, and
went instead to the game room. Here, the tra-
ditional Japanese board games Igo and Shogi
were being played by some Icelandic college
kids in deep concentration. Across the hall,
Japanese music was the theme. There I learned
that if I ever visit Japan I will probably spend a
great portion of my day watching music videos.
While some “J-Pop” (Japanese pop music)
acts like Hitomi don’t seem to be any different
from their western equivalents, I was particu-
larly impressed with Bennie K. This female
duo combine hip-hop, rock and pop (not to
mention Japanese and English) in their songs;
drawing from outside influences yet creating
something uniquely Japanese - something the
Japanese have been doing for centuries.
Overall, the festival provided a fairly thor-
ough introduction to Japanese culture, both an-
cient and modern. Here’s hoping that next year
they’ll find a larger space to hold the event.
So More Than Karaoke
The University of Iceland celebrates another great island
by Paul F. Nikolov
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