"As long as the reindeer are alive and the water is still flowing, we can survive."
Sofia has been telling her this for as long as she can remember.
They are Sami, the oldest inhabitants of Europe,
A mysterious people living in the Arctic.
Anthropologists have not been able to determine its source.
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Sofia Jannok is a Sami singer. Confused, helpless, angry, hopeful... Janok wrote it all down in her song, and she sang her heart to the outside world in Yoik, a Sami-unique way of singing.
Arctic-born singer - Sofia Janok
The unique "Yoik" singing style
She was born in Sweden's northernmost Arctic, in a small city called Gällivare, with a glacial lake of light blue pupils, blonde hair that pours out of the sun, and skin as white as snow. People around her said she was a child who had been kissed by an angel.
As Janok grew up, she liked to run on the grass, kissed the sun lightly, liked to lie in the night and watch the aurora and stars explode in the sky. But her favorite were the reindeer that her father had domesticated.
Sweden's northernmost home
I liked the reindeer that my father domesticated
Timid Janok was afraid of all strange things, but not at all of the reindeer, and when he stroked their noses, Janok could talk quietly to them.
"Daddy came back from town today and brought me a cake!"
"Did you say the Tooth Fairy would come tonight, would he?"
"I'm going to go on stage tomorrow, but unfortunately you can't come... I want to sing it for you. ”
This was the day before Jarnock made his debut on stage.
Jarnock and her band
The next day, the voice that had been kissed by the angel amazed everyone, and they couldn't believe the sound of nature they heard. For a long time afterwards, she was featured in Swedish newspapers and television stations.
That year, Jarnock was only 11 years old. Since then, she has been recording records and singing music for film and television dramas. The road of music was so broad that it spread out in front of her eyes at once.
A singing voice that has been kissed by an angel
At the age of 18, Janok returned home after his world tour. Iliwala in December is silvery white. The world was so silent under the thick white snow. At night, as when she was a child, she lay under the stars and wrote About Liekkas, which made the world listen:
Under the stars
I'm looking
A sign of the Northern Lights
The Northern Lights in the sky meander and change like a dance
In the silence that could not be interrupted, breathing echoed
I don't feel cold
The breeze whistles
It's like you're chanting in your ear
……
Let those who hear it indulge, and wake up like a dream
The beauty of the world, the heart of a young girl, melted in the frosted snow. At that time, Janok would not have thought that in the future, everything would change.
Melted in frosted snow
As the global climate warms, the Arctic Circle is the first to be affected. Winter here is a whole month less. However, even in winter, it rains. Reindeer began to die in droves.
Everything is good, it seems to be slowly fading. Jarnock felt trepidation.
She remembered what her mother had said: "As long as the reindeer are alive and the water is still flowing, we can survive." ”
Deteriorating environment
Her singing is ashamed and sad, like a world shrouded in clouds, making those who hear it addicted, and like waking up from a dream.
If you wish, put on your headphones and listen to the wind.
Written by Yu Yichen
Tips:
The Sami, known as the "last of Europe's indigenous peoples", live in the Arctic region of northern Europe and live in four separate countries: Finland, Norway, Sweden and Russia. With a total population of less than 70,000, the Sami are among the smallest indigenous peoples in the world, but have their own language, national costumes, lifestyles and eating habits. Today, about eight percent of the Sami still make their living by breeding reindeer.