Rondane
Recently I was in Norway. I was
skiing in the mountains. I was in
the Rondane. It is a national
park.
The Rondane is important.
[The] reindeer still live there.
They are not controlled by man.
There are bothies in the
area. In Norwegian they’re called bu. I reckon that’s connected
to bùth and both in Gaelic and to
bothy in English. The Norwegians call buildings bigger than
that hytte. That’s linked to the
English word hut.
The area is famous for oral
tradition. I reached a place
called Peer Gynt Hytte. It’s out
in the mountains. Sometimes it’s
open as a café to skiers. It’s
linked to a famous character in
Norway’s cultural heritage –
Peer Gynt.
Henrik Ibsen wrote the play
Peer Gynt. Edvard Grieg wrote
music for it. The play and the
music are famous throughout the
world. The play is based on oral
tradition and on a character that
spends time in the mountains.
But what’s the link between
a bothy in the Rondane and the
play? Well, the story collector,
Peter Christian Asbjørnsen,
spend a night in that place. That
was in 1842. He collected stories
about hunting the reindeer and
about [people] riding on the
backs of goats. Ibsen put those
things in the play.
I left the Rondane. I went to
the town of Otta, where there is a
railway station. There I heard a
story that links the area to
Scotland. It is not a good story.
There was a battle between Scots
and Norwegians.
We hear about Scandinavian [Viking] fighting forces in
Scotland. Next week, I’ll tell you
about a Scottish force in Scandinavia and how the Scots lost the
battle.
Rondane
O chionn ghoirid bha mi ann an
Nirribhidh. Bha mi a’ sgitheadh anns na
beanntan. Bha mi anns an Rondane. ’S e
pàirc nàiseanta a tha ann.
Tha an Rondane cudromach. Tha
na fèidh mhòra – no fèidh an t-sneachda
– fhathast a’ fuireach ann. Chan eil
smachd aig daoine orra.
Tha bothain anns an sgìre. Ann an
Nirribhis, canaidh iad bu riutha. Tha mi
an dùil gu bheil sin ceangailte ri bùth is
both ann an Gàidhlig, agus ri bothy ann
an Beurla. Canaidh na Nirribhich hytte ri
togalaichean nas motha na bu. Tha sin
ceangailte ris an fhacal Bheurla hut.
Tha an sgìre ainmeil airson beul-aithris. Ràinig mi àite air a bheil Peer
Gynt Hytte. Tha e a-muigh anns na
beanntan. Uaireannan, bidh e fosgailte
mar chafaidh do sgithearan. Tha e co-
cheangailte ri caractar ainmeil ann an
dualchas Nirribhidh – Peer Gynt.
Sgrìobh Henrik Ibsen an dealbh-chluich Peer Gynt. Chuir Edvard Grieg
ceòl ris. Tha an dealbh-chluich agus an
ceòl ainmeil air feadh an t-saoghail. Tha
an dealbh-chluich stèidhichte air beul-aithris agus air caractar a tha a’ cur
seachad ùine anns na beanntan.
Ach dè an ceangal a tha ann eadar
bothan anns an Rondane agus an dealbh-chluich? Uill, chuir am fear-cruinneachaidh sgeulachdan, Peter Christian
Asbjørnsen, oidhche seachad anns an
àite sin. Bha sin ann an ochd ceud deug,
ceathrad ’s a dhà (1842). Chruinnich e
sgeulachdan mu shealg nam fiadh mòra
agus mu mharcachd air muin ghobhar.
Chuir Ibsen na rudan sin anns an dealbh-chluich.
Dh’fhàg mi an Rondane. Chaidh
mi gu baile Otta, far a bheil stèisean-rèile. Ann an sin, chuala mi stòiridh a
tha a’ ceangal na sgìre sin do dh’Alba.
Chan e deagh stòiridh a tha ann. Bha
batail ann eadar Albannaich agus
Nirribhich.
Bidh sinn a’ cluinntinn mu
fheachdan Lochlannach ann an Alba. An
ath-sheachdain, innsidh mi dhuibh mu
fheachd Albannach ann an Lochlann
agus mar a chaill na h-Albannaich am
batail.
