Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.03.2019, Qupperneq 7

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Lögberg-Heimskringla • 15. mars 2019 • 7
It had long been a dream
of mine to visit L’Anse
aux Meadows. This past
summer I had that chance.
It was to be a destination of
the Snorri West group. Last
year’s group consisted of
Daði Geir Samúelsson, Ívar
Gautsson, Dagrún Malmquist
Jónsdóttir, and Sigmundur Geir
Sigmundsson. A few years ago,
the Snorri West group went
there and really loved it. Three
of the four participants were
students or past students at the
high school where I work. They
raved about it and I saw many
photos taken there.
Yes, I am a little old to be
in the Snorri Program, but I still
had to ask. I asked the program
coordinator, Jody, who is a friend
of mine, if I would be able to go.
I explained that I did not want to
be a burden on the young people
and would only be with them
during the time that they would
be in Newfoundland. I explained
my reasons for wanting to go.
I knew that they wanted us to
dress as Vikings and be a part
of the museum. I told her that
I have my own costume that I
could take. She said she would
ask Parks Canada (at L’Anse
aux Meadows), which she did,
and got a favorable reply. I think
the beard helped. I could not
pass up the chance to ask if I
could go along.
I met up with the Snorri West
group here in Iceland before they
went on their adventure. The
four participants spent time in
Washington, DC, Toronto, and
Ottawa before arriving in Deer
Lake, Newfoundland. They had
to wait an hour for me to arrive
from Halifax – I hope they did
not mind. Our gracious Parks
Canada host, Penny, met us –
and off we went. It was a long
drive north, about five hours.
Scenery was actually similar to
some of the areas of Iceland.
Trees were getting smaller and
fewer as we went north. The
coastline was spectacular. We
were all pretty tired when we
finally arrived.
Parks Canada helped with
everything. They were fantastic.
We were given cabins to stay
in, which had decent kitchen
facilities. We were treated to a
boat tour among the icebergs
and whales. We were also
taken to a number of local
restaurants and other activities.
I did not have the energy to go
to be “screeched in,” but most
of the others did. They went
through the whole ceremony
of becoming honourary
Newfoundlanders, drinking
screech and kissing a codfish.
The locals were so friendly they
drove them to the bar and the
bar owner drove them back to
the cabins when they were done.
While on the subject of locals,
they were fantastic. None of
them were of Icelandic descent
but they went out of their way to
help us. I thought that we were
going to be out in the middle of
nowhere with nothing to do but
that was not the case. We were
offered many activities with
the locals like playing soccer,
drinking beer, and warming
ourselves by bonfires.
Our first day on the site
was more of an information
session. We experienced the site
as visitors would, exploring the
visitor centre, which has all the
information about how the the
site was found, an explanation
about the location, the
construction of the replica sod
house, and an overview of the
site in general. There are several
videos and other multimedia
experiences offered as well as
some of the Norse artifacts that
have been found to confirm that
the site was definitely Norse.
Though I have studied this
topic quite well, there were some
interesting theories that were
explained. The most fascinating,
I felt, was about the meeting of
two worlds for the first time.
As we have been told, Native
North Americans originally
came from people who left
Africa and migrated across
Asia over the Bering Strait and
through Alaska. The Norse were
great travellers and they visited
places like Istanbul and Russia.
The Norse were very much
Europeans but their roots were
ultimately from Africa as well.
The Norse discovery of Vinland
and attempted settlement,
which brought the Europeans
into contact with Native North
Americans, completed the
human circumvention of the
globe.
From there we went on to the
area where the archaeological
digs had been done. The
foundations were very clear
and each one was explained
by our guide. The smithy was
pointed out. It was a little way
from where the other buildings
had stood. There was a nice
little river flowing through the
site, so they had fresh water.
Considering we are talking
about over 1,000 years ago,
those were substantial buildings!
They have reconstructed a
few buildings very close to
where the original ones were,
using original measurements
of the foundations. The
largest reconstruction is of a
Norse longhouse. It is based
on the second-largest ruins
they unearthed. The largest
foundation is said to be the
building that Leif had built.
The largest building is called
the skáli (kitchen). It is where
the people stayed and worked
during the long winters. Half
of the building was more of a
workshop and even held a big
weaving loom.
The guides and re-enactors
were fabulous – they loved
telling stories and explaining the
life of the Norse. All the usual
suspects were there: Egill the
adventurer, Thora the weaver,
and Ragnar the blacksmith, to
name a few. They were even
ready to explain Njal’s Saga
and the Vinland Saga. They
were happy to have us assist
with their pronunciation of
some of the names and places
in the sagas. It was kind of
funny to hear some of the
names with a Newfoundland
accent – for example, Gunnar
was pronounced more like
Gooner and Egill more Eggil.
... continued pages 8 to 10
WALKING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF LEIF EIRÍKSSON:
THE HISTORIC SITE L’ANSE AUX MEADOWS
Kent Lárus Björnsson
Reykjavík, Iceland
GENEALOGY IN
A DIGITAL AGE
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Session 3: Developing Your Family Story and Sharing It
At its best, genealogy is about more than names and dates –
it’s about telling the stories of our families and locating ourselves
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W nesdays
April 3, 10, & 17, 2019
7:00 to 9:30 pm
at the Lögberg-Heimskringla oce
835 Marion Street, Winnipeg, MB
$25 per session (non-subscribers)
$20 per session (subscribers)
*Spots re limited
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Register today and discover your family story
GENEALOGY IN
A DIGITAL AGE
Lögberg-Heimskingla is pleased to o er a three-session genealogy
course on how to make the most of your family research,
led by L-H editor Stefan Jonasson.
Session 1: Tracking Down Your Ancestors
Session 2: Pedigree Charts and the Worldwide Web
Session 3: Developing Your Family Story and Sharing It
At its best, genealogy is about more than names and dates –
it’s about telling the stories of our families and locating ourselves
within them.
Wednesdays
April 3, 10, & 17, 2019
7:00 to 9:30 pm
at the Lögberg-Heimskringla o ce
835 Marion Street, Winnipeg, MB
$25 per session (non-subscribers)
$20 per session (subscribers)
*Spots are limited
To register: WWW.LH-INC.CA | (204) 284 5686 | LH@LH-INC.CA
Register today and discover your family story
PHOTOS: KENT LÁRUS BJÖRNSSON
The original Vinlanders weren’t required to wear safety
goggles – but times and laws have changed. Wandering
among the archaeological ruins. Playing Viking games.