Programme summary in English

Riddu Riđđu Festivalá 2008 takes place 9-13 July in the Manndalen valley in Kåfjord, Northern Norway. Here you can learn about the diversity of Sámi culture and get to know indigenous peoples from other parts of the world. In the programme you will find music, film, theater, dance and literature as well as separate children and youth programming. Truly a cultural experience not to be missed!

Music at the main stage

Angelique Kidjo is a fantastic West African singer and composer representing modern African music. She is a key figure in the World Music genre and six times Grammy nominee. Her music is rhythmic, engaging and explosive!

Inga Juuso is currently one of the most important artists in Sápmi. Juuso grew up with and learned classic joik. She’s a flexible singer, who frequently works across genres and her collaboration with artists from other cultures has taken joik to a new level.

Áilloš is likewise of the most important recent developments in Sámi music. After several years of contributing to other people’s records, this year he made one of his own, described as revolutionary in traditional joik.

Altan Urag is the most popular band in Mongolia. The band takes traditional instruments into a modern context. Among others the band made the soundtrack for the Academy Awards nominated film “The Mongol”.

Fiassuit is a hard rock group representing the new generation of Greenland artists. The language is kalaallisui and they are inspired by Linkin Park, Korn, Metallica and Nirvana. Welcome to a truly energetic experience.

Inka Mbing is an artist and indigenous rights activist. She is one of the most important indigenous artists from Taiwan. The music is based on the melodies, lyrics and song techniques of the Atayal mountain peoples. Her passion for traditional music is rooted in a hope to preserve the songs and traditions for the future generations.

If you mix Norwegian traditional music, rock, blues, soul and jazz the answer is Valkyrien Allstars. They have become extremely popular in Norway over the last years and are singing at some 20 Norwegian festivals this summer. Expect a shakeout with traditional Norwegian instruments at the core.

Eline Grønnvoll is this years Young Artist at Riddu Riđđu. She is a young singer-songwriter from the area, with an enormous musical talent. The music pulls at the heart-strings and shounds beautiful in either Norwegian or English.

Englebarn (literally Angel Kids) played for the first time at Riddu Riđđu in 1995. Since then, they have become one of the most popular bands in Tromsø. After some years of silence they are now back again and of course return to the festival which helped them on the way. The style is rock and the language is Norwegian.

Our artist in residence for this year, Herborg Rundberg, has decided to center her work around old Coastal Sami psalms. She will play her interpretations of these on piano; prepare yourself for something which is historical and gripping. 

Riddu Násttit

This is a talent competition for Sámi youth in cooperation with the Sami section of the national broadcasting company (NRK). We asked: How do you as young Sámi express yourself from a stage? You'll see the result on the main stage Thursday, July 10. Four skilled candidates will show their talent and compete for a stipend of NOK 25.000,- 

Other festival activities

Riddu Riđđu aims to be more than just a music festival, so we've tried to explain a little more about what we are offering this year.
While some of these events might be hard to follow if you don't speak Norwegian, you might like to know what's going on everywhere. Activities that are especially suitable for English speakers, through translations or for being without words, are marked with an [e] in the programme.

Note that many of these activities have limited seats available, so you might have to show up early, pre-order seats on-line or inquire at the information desk upon arrival.

Indigenous film [e]

This year's films span themes ranging from the close and personal, such as identity and belonging, to more global issues, such as climate change and minority rights. Most films are subtitled in English, so consult the film programme, which will be available in English, for more information.

Dance: Gieje [e]

Gieje means ”the paths the ancestors left”, and is a performance of contemporary dance, with five dancers and one claim: joik and dance have a common source. 

A Sami tricskter: Reindeer Snoop Deer / Boazobánni [e]

The story of the runaway Reindeer Snoop Deer and his observations of life today. A performance based on traditional Sami visual communication combining tricksters, poetry and yoik. Read more

Northern People: Nenets [e]

The Nenets people are one of 30 indigenous groups in the Russian north, Siberia and Far East. During the festival you can experience Nenetsian culture through song, dance, food traditions and games for both children and adults.

Visual arts [e]

This year's exhibition is a co-production with the arts academy of Tromsø. The students have been asked by the festival to evaluate the importance of "identity and belonging" with regards to location. You'll see the exhibition all around the festival area.

Courses

The course programme starts every day at 11am. Our key courses are Traditional herbs, joik, Mica techniques and Festival Sámi. Inquire at the information desk for an updated programme.

Tea ceremony [e]

During the festival, the Altay artist Cheinesh will host several ritual tea ceremonies for the festival audience. Here, you will be served tea from Altay, while her throat singing will take you along on an exciting journey.

Language walk

Learn Sámi while walking! The walk and rowing trip will take you to coastal sámi areas and let you experience story-telling and food traditions, plus you'll learn some sámi on the way. Some knowledge of Norwegian will be needed to follow the language part of this course, however the walk might be interesting in any case. NB! Starts on Monday night!

Seminars

A main seminar theme this year is "the value of Riddu Riđđu for the culture of the Coastal Sámi". The University of Tromsø will also present some of the recent theses from their masters in Indigenous Studies.
Some of the seminars and presentations will require knowledge of Norwegian. Inquire for full program at info desk upon arrival.

Literature

Every day you'll have the opportunity to visit the festival library. Here you can learn more about Sámi literature, meet authors and have your book signed. Among others you can meet the authors Lene Hansen, Silverbird [e] and Ann-Helene Læstadius.

Market [e]

Our festival market should have something for everyone. You'll find traditional Sámi crafts and art, designer products, food and beverages from exciting indigenous cultures and much more.

Riddu Nourat - Youth Camp

Youth 15 to 18 can participate in the youth camp. They will follow a separate programme, with courses and concerts, all in an alcohol-free environment.

Help us help the environment!

We want to keep our valley and earth as nice as it is and aim at environment friendly solutions whenever we can. We hope you'll help and encourage you to use the recycling stations found around the festival area.