Mari Boine (born Mari Brit Randi Boine, 8 November 1956) is a Norwegian
Sámi
The Sámi ( ; also spelled Sami or Saami) are a Finno-Ugric-speaking people inhabiting the region of Sápmi (formerly known as Lapland), which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and of the Murmansk Oblast, Ru ...
singer. She combined traditional Sámi
joik
A joik or yoik (anglicised, where the latter spelling in English conforms with the pronunciation; also named , , , or in the Sámi languages) is a traditional form of song in Sámi music performed by the Sámi people of Sapmi in Northern Europ ...
singing with rock. In 2008, she became a professor of musicology at
Nesna University College
Nesna University College ( no, Høgskolen i Nesna or ) was a university college, a Norwegian state institution of higher education, until it became part of Nord University in 2016. Its campus was in the village of Nesna in Nesna Municipality. In ...
.
Biography
Mari Boine was born and raised in Gámehisnjárga, a village on the river
Anarjohka
Anarjohka ( se, Anárjohka, no, Anarjokka or ''Anarjohka'', fi, Inarijoki, sv, Enare älv) is a tributary of Tana River. It is about long, with a drainage area of about .Karasjok
( se, Kárášjohka ; fkv, Kaarasjoki) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Karasjok. Other villages include Dorvonjárga, Šuoššjávri, and Váljohka.
Th ...
municipality,
Troms og Finnmark
Troms og Finnmark (; sme, Romsa ja Finnmárku ; fkv, Tromssa ja Finmarkku; fi, Tromssa ja Finnmark, lit. Troms and Finnmark in English), is a county in northern Norway that was established on 1 January 2020 as the result of a regional reform. ...
county,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
.
Boine's parents were
Sámi
The Sámi ( ; also spelled Sami or Saami) are a Finno-Ugric-speaking people inhabiting the region of Sápmi (formerly known as Lapland), which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and of the Murmansk Oblast, Ru ...
who made their living from salmon fishing and farming. She grew up steeped in the natural environment of
Sápmi
(, smj, Sábme / Sámeednam, sma, Saepmie, sju, Sábmie, , , sjd, Са̄мь е̄ммьне, Saam' jiemm'n'e) is the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sámi people. Sápmi is in Northern and Eastern Europe and includes the ...
, but also amidst the strict
Laestadian
Laestadianism, also known as Laestadian Lutheranism and Apostolic Lutheranism, is a pietistic Lutheran revival movement started in Sápmi in the middle of the 19th century. Named after Swedish Lutheran state church administrator and temperanc ...
Christian movement with discrimination against her people: for example, singing in the traditional Sami joik style was considered "the devil's work". The local school Boine attended reflected a very different world from her family's. All the teaching was in Norwegian.
Anti-racism
As Boine grew up, she started to rebel against the prejudiced attitude of being an inferior "Lappish" woman in Norwegian society. For instance, the booklet accompanying the CD ''Leahkastin'' (Unfolding) is illustrated with photographs with racist captions like ''"Lapps report for anthropological measurement"'', ''"Typical female Lapp"'', ''"A well-nourished Lapp"''; and it ends with a photo of Boine herself as a girl, captioned ''"Mari, one of the rugged Lapp-girl types"'' and attributed ''"(Photo: Unidentified priest)"''.
When Boine's album '' Gula Gula'', originally released on her
Iđut
Iđut AS is a Norwegian publisher of books and music, based in Ikkaldas, Porsanger kommune, Troms og Finnmark, Norway.
The company publishes novels, children's books, text books and school books, general literature, music and films. It also has ...
label in 1989 and rereleased on Peter Gabriel's RealWorld label in July 1990, its front cover showed an iconic image of the
tundra
In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless mou ...
of the far north, the eye of a
snowy owl
The snowy owl (''Bubo scandiacus''), also known as the polar owl, the white owl and the Arctic owl, is a large, white owl of the true owl family. Snowy owls are native to the Arctic regions of both North America and the Palearctic, breeding m ...
. The front cover curiously did not show the name of the album, or the name or face of Mari Boine herself; the back cover printed the name 'Mari Boine Persen', the Persen surname identifying her as a
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
rather than a Sámi. On the 2007 release on her own Lean label, the album cover explicitly names Mari Boine with her Sámi surname, and shows her in traditional robes as a
shamanistic
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiri ...
dancer of her own people, while the white background, like the snowy owl of the original release, hints at the snows of the north.
Boine was asked to perform at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, but refused because she perceived the invitation as an attempt to bring a token minority to the ceremonies.
Musical style
Boine's songs are strongly rooted in her experience of being in a despised minority. For example, the song "Oppskrift for Herrefolk" ("Recipe for a Master Race") on her breakthrough CD ''Gula Gula'', sung in Norwegian unlike the rest of the songs which are in Northern Sámi, speaks directly of "discrimination and hate", and recommends ways of oppressing a minority: "Use bible and booze and bayonet"; "Use articles of law against ancient rights".
Boine's other songs are more positive, often singing of the beauty and wildness of Sápmi, the Sámi lands of northern Scandinavia. The title track of ''Gula Gula'' asks the listener to remember "that the earth is our mother".
Boine sings in an adaptation of traditional Sámi style, using the "
joik
A joik or yoik (anglicised, where the latter spelling in English conforms with the pronunciation; also named , , , or in the Sámi languages) is a traditional form of song in Sámi music performed by the Sámi people of Sapmi in Northern Europ ...
" voice, with a range of accompanying instruments and percussion from indigenous traditions from around the world. For example, on ''Gula Gula'' the instruments used include drum, guitar, electric bass clarinet, dozo n'koni, gangan,
udu
The udu is a plosive aerophone (in this case implosive) and an idiophone of the Igbo people, Igbo of Nigeria. In the Igbo language, ''ùdù'' means 'vessel'. Actually being a water jug with an additional hole, it was played by Igbo women for ce ...
,
darbuka
The goblet drum (also chalice drum, tarabuka, tarabaki, darbuka, darabuka, derbake, debuka, doumbek, dumbec, dumbeg, dumbelek, toumperleki, tumbak, or zerbaghali; arz, دربوكة / Romanized: ) is a single-head membranophone with a goblet-s ...
frame drum
A frame drum is a drum that has a drumhead width greater than its depth. It is one of the most ancient musical instruments, and perhaps the first drum to be invented. It has a single drumhead that is usually made of rawhide, but man-made mate ...
bouzouki
The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...
,
overtone flute
An overtone flute is a type of a flute that is designed to play in the upper harmonics, typically well above the two or three harmonics that are the practical limit for most woodwind instruments.
An overtone flute has either no tone holes,Macla ...
antara
Antara is an Indonesian news agency organized as a statutory corporation. It is the country's national news agency, supplying news reports to many domestic media organizations. It is the only organization authorized to distribute news material ...
.
In 2017, she released ''See the Woman'', her first English-language album.
''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', in its 2010 F&M playlist of songs "they just can't turn off", describes "Mu Ustit, Eŋgeliid Sogalaš (My Friend of Angel Tribe)" with the words "Norwegian Sami singer Boine, with this soft, melancholy and utterly mesmerising song."
Johnny Loftus, reviewing Boine's ''Eight Seasons/Gávcci Jahkejuogu'', wrote that "Boine seems to have been inspired, collaborating with producer
Bugge Wesseltoft
Jens Christian Bugge Wesseltoft (born 1 February 1964) is a Norwegian jazz pianist, composer, and producer, son of jazz guitarist Erik Wesseltoft.
Career
In 1989, Wesseltoft collaborated with the Knut Riisnæs Quartet and was soon after ...
for a collection of pieces weaving her alternately supple and intimate, angry and otherworldly vocals into moody arrangements tinged with jazz influence and electronic programming." While there was a degree of cliché in that, wrote Loftus, it worked well, concluding: "Boine's voice, filtered at first behind the halting notes of a guitar, builds in strength over the brooding electronic rhythm, until her Joik overtakes the electronics completely, becoming fully responsible for the song's deep, chilly atmosphere. Let's see a keyboard's hard drive do that."
Awards
In 1993, Boine became the first recipient of the
Áillohaš Music Award
The Áillohaš Music Award is an annual Sámi music award created to commemorate Nils-Aslak ''Áillohaš'' Valkeapää's 50th birthday in 1993. The winner of the award is announced on Holy Saturday in conjunction with the Sámi Grand Prix dur ...
, a Sámi music award conferred by the municipality of
Kautokeino
Kautokeino ( no, Kautokeino; se, Guovdageaidnu ; fkv, Koutokeino; fi, Koutokeino) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Guovdageaidnu/Kautokeino. Other village ...
and the Kautokeino Sámi Association to honor the significant contributions the recipient or recipients has made to the diverse world of Sámi music.
In 2003, Boine was awarded the Nordic Council Music Prize. She was appointed knight, first class in the
Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a ci ...
for her artistic diversity on 18 September 2009. On 7 October 2012, Boine was appointed as a "statsstipendiat", an artist with national funding, the highest honour that can be bestowed upon any artist in Norway.
Boine has received other awards as follows:
Discography
* ''Jaskatvuođa Maŋŋá/Etter Stillheten'' as Mari Boine Persen (Hot Club, 1985)
* '' Gula Gula (Hør Stammødrenes Stemme)'' (Iđut, 1989)
* ''Salmer på Veien Hjem'' as Mari Boine Persen with
Ole Paus
Ole Paus (born 9 February 1947; full name ''Ole Christian Paus'') is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, poet and author, who is widely regarded as the foremost troubadour of the contemporary Norwegian ballad tradition ( no, visebølgen). During th ...
and
Kari Bremnes
Kari Bremnes (born 9 December 1956) is a Norwegian singer and songwriter.
She got an MA in language, literature, history and theatre studies from the University of Oslo, and worked as a journalist for several years before deciding to dedicate h ...
(Kirkelig Kulturverksted, 1991)
* ''Møte i Moskva'' with Alyans (BMG Ariola, 1992)
* ''Goaskinviellja/Eagle Brother'' (Lean, 1993)
* ''Leahkastin/Unfolding'' with
Roger Ludvigsen
Roger Ludvigsen (born 28 July 1965 in Alta, Norway, Alta) is a Samis, Sami guitarist, percussionist and composer from Kautokeino.
Biography
In the 1970s, he was part of Ivnniiguin, the country's first Sami-language rock band.Helge A. Norbakken, Hege Rimestad, Gjermund Silset, and Carlos Z. Quispe (Sonet/Lean, 1994)
* ''Eallin — Live'' (Antilles/Lean, 1996)
* ''Radiant Warmth'' (Antilles 1996)
* ''Bálvvoslatjna/Room of Worship'' as Mari Boine Band (Antilles/Lean, 1998)
* ''Remixed/Ođđa Hámis,'' (Jazzland/Lean, 2001)
* ''Eight Seasons/Gávcci Jahkejuogu'' (Lean/EmArcy/Universal, 2002)
* ''Idjagieđas/In the Hand of the Night'' (Lean/Universal, 2006)
* ''Kautokeino-Opprøret'' (Music from the Movie ''
The Kautokeino Rebellion
''The Kautokeino Rebellion'' ( no, Kautokeino-opprøret, se, Guovdageainnu Stuimmit) is a 2008 film based on the true story of the Kautokeino riots in Kautokeino, Norway in 1852 in response to the Norwegian exploitation of the Sami community a ...
'') with Svein Schultz and Herman Rundberg (Sony/ATV Music, 2008)
* ''It Ain't Necessarily Evil/Bodeš Bat Gal Buot Biros: Mari Boine Remixed Vol. II'' (EmArcy/Universal, 2008)
* ''Čuovgga Áirras/Sterna Paradisea'' (Lean/EmArcy/Universal, 2009)
* ''Áiggi Askiis – An introduction to Mari Boine'' (Lean, 2011)
* ''Gilvve Gollát/Sow Your Gold'' featuring the
Norwegian Radio Orchestra
The Norwegian Radio Orchestra (Norwegian, ''Kringkastingsorkestret'', abbreviated as KORK) is a radio orchestra affiliated with the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (''Norsk rikskringkasting AS'', or NRK). Its principal base is the ''Store Studi ...
(Universal, 2013)
* ''See the Woman'' (MPS, 2017)
Also appears on
* ''
One World One Voice
''One World One Voice'' is a world music album intended to raise awareness of environmental issues, produced by Rupert Hine in 1990. A video of the entire album was produced for television together with a "Making of" documentary.
It was created ...
Nordic Woman
''Nordic Woman'' is a compilation album that features traditional music forms performed by well known female artists in Nordic countries.
Nordic Woman album was released worldwide in 2012.
The album is the first release from WOMAN which is an alb ...
'' (Grappa Music/Fuuse Mousiqi, 2012)
With
Jan Garbarek
Jan Garbarek () (born 4 March 1947) is a Norwegian jazz saxophonist, who is also active in classical music and world music.
Garbarek was born in Mysen, Østfold, southeastern Norway, the only child of a former Polish prisoner of war, Czesław ...
*''
Twelve Moons
''Twelve Moons'' is an album by Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek recorded in 1992 and released on the ECM label.