Republiken Jämtland

 

Fake news? Aprilskämt? Eller är det sant? En *gigantisk* pelikan har siktats i Jämtland?! 

Jättefågel i Sverige - första gången någonsin

Lilith´s spawn

 

"Nordiska väsen" is a entertaining book by Swedish author, illustrator and gamer Johan Egerkrans. The topic? Creatures of Nordic, mostly Swedish, folklore. Both the good, the bad and the literally ugly! The first edition was published in 2013. I recently procured the 2023 "jubilee edition", which apparently includes twelve new entries. For some reason, Egerkrans´ works are sold as children´s books, which may explain why I almost missed them! I´m not *entirely* convinced that "Nordiska väsen" is suitable for kids...or even adults, if you think ghouls and hobgoblins are real and haunt your back yard (or is it church yard).

The illustrations are somewhat "non-traditional", but as Egerkrans shrewdly points out, nobody really knows how the creatures of folklore really look like anyway. Besides, what counts as "traditional" might in many cases be national romantic images from the late 19th century (think John Bauer or Ernst Josephson). I´m not an expert on Swedish folklore, but if Egerkrans is to be believed, trolls weren´t seen as ugly or obviously different from humans - quite the contrary, they were often seen as (almost) human-like. Other critters look pretty much as expected: Näcken is green and dangerous, Odin is one-eyed and rides a fast horse, the gnomes are small and grumpy, and so on. 

I was surprised to learn that there are special gnomes associated with ships, and still others with water mills. Indeed, the folkloric imagination is virtually endless. Have you heard about merchildren before, or that some people living in coastal areas claimed descent from such? Did you know that the trolls have dangerous pets, such as hell hounds? Or that the often dangerous and ambivalent creatures of folklore are said to be descended from Adam´s first wife Lilith and her new husband Alför? According to another tale, the critters are spirits who fell out of heaven by mistake (!) during the war between God and Lucifer. Not belonging in hell, but unable to return to heaven, they have settled down in the Scandinavian forests... 

Some of the paranormal folkloric creatures would probably be seen as "cryptids" today, had people still searched for them. One example is the gamm or gam, an enormously large and evil raptor-like bird which preys on cattle. Another is the dragon-like lindorm, which indeed *was* downgraded to a cryptid during the 19th century by the maverick folklorist Hyltén-Cavallius. Other creatures seem to have been similar to modern cryptids from the start, such as the sea-serpent or the kraken. 

Some pagan deities seem to have survived the introduction of Christianity, although demoted to spirit status. Odin´s wild hunt was still seen and heard by the baptized but superstitious peasants, Odin supposedly being cursed (by God?) to search and destroy other spirit-beings until kingdom come. Every church was said to have a supernatural guardian: the spirit of an animal sacrificed when the church was built. It´s not clear from the account whether animals actually were sacrificed in this manner, or whether they were merely thought to have been so. The whole thing smacks of paganism. The goddess Hel lived on in the folklore, since her three-legged hell horse sometimes stalked the countryside. And ancient handaxes sometimes found in the wilderness were interpreted as Thor´s hammer and were said to protect the owner against all forms of malevolent sprites and spirits. 

Does anyone still believe in the creatures described in the book? That´s a good question. At least in my youth, a few people still took reports of Storsjöodjuret (known as Storsie in English) seriously - that would be the monster of Lake Storsjön. Our very own Loch Ness monster! Otherwise, I strongly suspect that the UFO-alien mythology has pretty much taken over everything...

"Nordiska väsen" (2023 edition) is recommended if you understand Swedish and/or like artistic books suitable as collector´s items. 

MacGyver meets the Blair Witch Project

I've only seen one episode of "Destination Truth", the one ominously called "Alien Invaders/Swedish Lake Monster". I admit I laughed quite a lot, sometimes with Josh and his team, sometimes at them (or rather at the concept). But sure, this should get higher ratings than the incredibly boring "MonsterQuest" over at History Channel.

After a positively bizarre visit to the ex-Soviet republic of Kazakhstan (complete with Cold War kitsch and sputniks falling from the sky), Josh Gates and his indefatigable investigators make a landfall in Sweden - of all places. Somehow, paranormal phenomena isn't something you would normally associate with the land of The Welfare State and the Polkagris!

But yes, folks, Sweden has its very own version of the Loch Ness monster, called Storsjöodjuret (try pronounce that). It supposedly lives, breathes or perhaps snorkels in the cold waters of Storsjön, a lake outside the Swedish town of Östersund in the county of Jämtland.

For decades, the monster was protected by law, but in 2005 the local authorities were forced to rescind the protection, since higher authorities found it to be "frivolous" - after all, there *is* no Great Lake Monster, and you can't legally protect a species that doesn't exist. Ah, the Swedish red tape, don't you just love it! According to urban legend, the decision to protect the monster was taken by the county office at April Fool's Day, but I haven't been able to confirm this.

Frankly, I didn't know people in Jämtland took their little monstrosity so damn seriously. Josh isn't kidding - there are cameras rigged all around the lake, to catch the monster on tape if it ever shows up above the waterline, a project financed by both the Swedish government (or rather by an obscure outfit of the vast Swedish government bureaucracy) and the European Union. So *that's* alright, but legal protection's a no-no?!

I think Storsie, as English-speaking forteans call the monster, and "Destination Truth" go together very well, LOL. This show could be described as MacGyver meeting the Blair Witch, complete with team members screaming "OH MY GOD, WHAT IS THAT?" and constant cliff hangers (and commercial breaks) keeping the viewers on the edge...well, sort of. Josh & The Team certainly made an impression - they are still mentioned at the official website of Storsjöodjuret, where Josh is affectionately referred to as "The Boss".

OK, let me guess, this show is...well, scripted?!

That being said, I still feel a bit too old for this concept, but I'm sure the little people around 12 years of age will love every minute of it. As a crazy local patriot, I naturally have to give the episode five stars. But, as all monster shows, even "Destination Truth" ends inconclusively. After all, the Great Lake Monster might simply be...a pike.

They are not protected by law.

A republic in waiting?

Funny. Amazon carries the unofficial flag of Jämtland, actually the flag of the fictitious “Republic of Jämtland”. Jämtland is a province in northern Sweden. While its denizens are, of course, Swedes, they have always been critical of the “central power” in Stockholm which they believe isn't giving their region a fair shake. Opposition to the European Union is also stronger in Jämtland than in other parts of Sweden. The “republic” is seen by many as a part-humorous, part-serious protest against the national government.

Unsurprisingly, the “president” is an anarchist, the minstrel singer and stand-up comic Ewert Ljusberg! He styles himself “president of Jämtland, Härjedalen and Ravund”, a parody of an old Swedish royal title. He also claims to have an army at his disposal, known as the JRA (named after the IRA)!

The flag of the “republic” deliberately isn't a typical Nordic cross flag, with the argument that the “republic” is older than Christianity. The seal is real, bestowed on Jämtland in 1274 by the Norwegian king Magnus Lagaböte. The lion with the axe is the traditional coat of arms of Norway, to which Jämtland and Härjedalen belonged until 1645. The three stripes symbolize Jämtland, Härjedalen and Ravund or Ragunda (really a part of Jämtland, but purportedly a separate territory according to some medieval document – or so the “republic's” website says).

At the present moment, the Republic of Jämtland is about as real as the Great Lake Monster (Storsjöodjuret), the local Jämtish version of Nessie. However, it wouldn't surprise me if this particular flag will one day fly over the capital of a real (albeit small) nation, say 100 years into the future as Sweden (and the rest of the world) descends into anarchy due to climate change and peak oil…

The flag can be seen here: 

https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republiken_Jamtland