Reykjavík Grapevine - 19.07.2019, Qupperneq 16

In Iceland’s rural Westfjords district
of Árneshreppur, a struggle brews for
the memory of the land. Tension lies
between the construction of a hydro-
power dam and the erection of a yurt.
Árneshreppur has been the focus of
interest for its depopulation over
decades. The district currently has 53
residents. Over the past thirteen years,
Vesturverk has planned to construct the
Hvalárvirkjun Dam—a divisive project
for residents and Strandir-interested
folks alike.
Yurt-opia
In the wilds of Árneshreppur, Elín Agla
Briem has erected the yurt.
Elín Agla is a self-professed vernacular
culture farmer, and the yurt has become
the vernacular culture farm. Elín Agla
describes vernacular culture farming
as a way to practice culture. “You don’t
study, discuss, or write about culture;
you practice in a particular place. The
place will tutor you about her culture.”
In her work, Elín Agla advocates for
cultural memory embedded within land
and traditional practices. Her dream of
establishing Árneshreppur as a site for
knowledge exchange and cultural activi-
ties has come to fruition this summer,
housed in the yurt.
Are you a witch?
Elín Agla was formerly the headmis-
tress of the region’s rural school and is
currently the harbour master. Her own
ties to the region stretch back over a
decade. After she was married there,
she saw an advertisement for the posi-
tion of headmistress. “I saw this ad. It
said, ‘ARE YOU A WITCH’ and I was like,
what’s that? I looked, and it was that
little school where I got married.” Elín
Agla was hired and moved to Strandir.
When asked if she identifies as a
witch, Elín Agla replies, “The word in
Icelandic would be norn, which is the
same root as north. This is a practice
of the north. The seiðr practice is what
we now call magic, but it’s a practice of
letting words affect what’s happening.
I’m a definite believer in that.”
In addition to vernacular culture
farming, Elín Agla works as Norður-
fjörður’s harbour master. “It’s an
amazing group who come to fish in the
summer. I’m on the forklift, weighing
cod and chatting to the fishermen. It’s
a really good life.”.”
Land as culture
The importance of inhabiting Árneshrep-
pur, for Elín Agla, lies in the gift of land-
based memory. “What Árneshreppur
gave to me was this memory. It was lost
in my surroundings in Reykjavík and in
my family lines—just a direct connec-
tion to memory,
in my marrow, my
blood. But you can’t
tell people that you
should move there
because it’s impor-
tant to preserve
culture. That’s the
funeral descrip -
tion of culture. If it
happens, it happens.”
T h r o u g h h e r
Masters studies in
cultural ethnography,
Elín Agla focused
on the philosophy
of sustainability in
conjunction with the
Árneshreppur popu-
lation. In 2014, she held a meeting to
present the idea of Árneshreppur being
deemed a cultural national park. Such a
designation, she suggested, “would get
us a better road and supply us with jobs.
We can preserve our culture and live
here. It’s a win-win situation.” While the
cultural national park idea has stalled,
Elín Agla has continued her efforts with
cultural heritage through establishing
the yurt.
Yurt versus dam?
Over the past months, volunteers erected
the yurt in Seljanes. “So many people
came and helped day after day. People
told these incredible jokes to lighten
the situation because it’s highly political
at the moment. We were getting relief
and joy from being a community, to give
beauty back to the land.”
The yurt overlooks the location of
the proposed hydropower dams, where
dissent has reached a fever pitch over
whether Hvalárvirkjun should move
forward. Elín Agla voiced her opin-
ion on Hvalárvirkjun two years ago. “I
organized a conference for two days
where everyone was invited, the people
making the dam and their opposition.
After that, I haven’t spoken about it.
I’m not fighting anyone.”
Damnation
While the dam construction and road
development received a permit from
the Árneshreppur district council on
June 13th, the project has since received
multiple legal complaints.
Landvernd, Rjúkandi, Náttúru-
verndarsamtök Íslands, and Ungir
umhverfissinnar issued a complaint
to the Environmental and Natural
Resources Complaints Board to have the
permit reconsidered. The environmental
organizations contend that the Environ-
ment Impact Assessment conducted of
the site was not considered by the district
council, as development would violate
environmental protection laws.
Drangavík landowners likewise filed a
complaint against the decision to grant
the permit. They claim that the area
slated for the hydro-
power dam is based
on incorrect property
boundaries, and that
landowners have not
agreed to the devel-
opment. The appeal
requested construc-
tion to halt while
the matter is inves-
tigated.
When the hydro-
power project faced
legal obstacles over
the past month, Elín
Agla explains, “the
people who want
to make the dam
view the yurt as the
symbol of everything that has gone
against the dam. They have focused
their whole rage against the yurt because
everything is falling to pieces. Their last
fight is against the yurt. It’s incredible
to put these as opposites.”
Elves, stones, stories
Elín Agla relates yet another legal action
taken by landowners in Ingólfsfjörður
against road development that supports
Hvalárvirkjun. “They started to nibble at
the rocks where there’s an elf colony. The
people in Ingólfsfjörður pressed charges,
saying we own the land and road.”
Elín Agla continues. “The belief in
elves is really strong with Icelandic
people. We’ll move roads because of elves.
You shouldn’t move stones unless you
need to. This is his home. The battle now
is a battle over stones up in the wilder-
ness. The rift between seeing stones
alive, with spirit, to wanting to crush
them in a 270km square area, this is the
story we need to hear.”
Yurt Happenings
The yurt officially opened on July 13th,
with a feast honouring women excel-
lent at handcrafts. One guest of honour
was Marianne Tóvinnukona, who has
become prominent for working wool
with a Settlement-Age spindle. Kvæða-
konur, or women who perform Icelandic
chanting, sang to the land at the opening.
The next event, on July 22nd, will
feature Canadian storyteller Stephen
Jenkinson and musician Gregory Hoskins
as they present Night of Grief and
Mystery. There will also be a course at
a later date on constructing morning
altars.
Stones Alive
Elín Agla Briem on vernacular culture farming in Árneshreppur
The stones speak: Elín Agla wants to preserve the earth in Strandir
Words:
a rawlings
Photo:
Art Bicnick
News 16 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 12— 2019
“The rift between
seeing stones
alive, to wanting
to crush a 270km
square area,
because they’re
so ugly; this is
the story we
need to hear.”