Feeding the ravens: clothing, food, women’s work and the recollection of change in northern Iceland, 1976-82

ABSTRACT This paper concerns rural life in northern Iceland as observed through participation in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with some work undertaken subsequently. The paper considers farm life, beliefs and communal music in a monoglot (Icelandic only) society where the memories of people stretched back to the 1890s. The three main characters encountered are Lárus, his wife Pétúrina (Figure 1) and their daughter Didda. Thus it documents and reviews what was essentially women’s work, and especially home-made clothing; traditional diet, its preparation and preservation; and the daily and social contexts in which it was eaten. This forms the first part of a series. Future papers will address the background and social relationships over the time in question, covering also men’s work and travel. It will also include folk traditions and verses sung at times of social gathering for work or entertainment, and their tunes.