Kristine Andersen Vesterfjell (sometimes written Westerfjell; 1910–1987) was a Norwegian, Southern Sami

reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

herder A herder is a pastoral worker responsible for the care and management of a herd or flock of domestic animals, usually on open pasture. It is particularly associated with nomadic or transhumant management of stock, or with common land grazing. ...

and an important advocate for Sámi shamanism and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

. She was from Lomsdalen, in Brønnøy

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Nordland Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, N ...

Biography

Kristine Andersen Vesterfjell was born in 1910. She lived with her uncle, the reinsamen, Nils Andersen Vesterfjell.

Vesterfjell was one of the central figures that led to the finding of the " Runebomme fra velfjord" (

Sámi drum A Sámi drum is a shamanic ceremonial drum used by the Sámi people of Northern Europe. Sámi ceremonial drums have two main variations, both oval-shaped: a bowl drum in which the drumhead is strapped over a burl, and a frame drum in which the dr ...

from

Velfjord Velfjord is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1875 until its dissolution in 1964. Velfjord municipality was centered around the Velfjorden in what is now Brønnøy Municipality. Most of the muni ...

) in 1969. Although she had never seen the drum in use, she knew where it had been hidden in the early 1900s, what the surface looked like, what the symbols meant, and how runebommes were used in the past. The last user of the runebomme was Nils' grandfather and her great-grandfather, Nils Johan Johannessen Vesterfjell (1819-1871). Vesterfjell described the location of the drum as follows:— Working with her, a sketch was made of what the drum skin had looked like, together with explanations of both structure and symbols. In 1969,

Arvid Sveli Arvid, Arved, Arnvid or Arvydas is a male given name, most common in Scandinavia but also in Iran and Lithuania. In Scandinavia it is derived from Old Norse and means "forest of eagles" or 'eagle wood'. Arvid is a royal male name that is compose ...

and Herlaug Vonheim went on an expedition into the mountains to find one of the last remaining drums, and found it after an intense exploration in the inaccessible Henrikdalen.Sveli, Arvid, ''Runebommen i Henrikdalen'' in Tia va' sånn 1939-1989, 1989, p. 88-92 Vesterfjell died in 1987.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vesterfjell, Kristine Andersen 1910 births 1987 deaths People from Brønnøy Norwegian Sámi people Norwegian Sámi activists