Song of the Samí

Karl Tirén – the Yoik Collector

By Gunnar Ternhag

Karl Tirén (1869–1955), a railway officer, travelled between 1909 and 1916 throughout the whole of Sápmi – the part of Sweden populated by the Sámi – to collect yoiks. In the winters he visited inland markets where many Sámi gathered. In the summers he carried out extensive expeditions in the fells. In 1913 he started to use a phonograph, thus becoming a Swedish pioneer in making sound recordings of music.

This book portrays Karl Tirén’s wide-ranging collecting journeys and his many meeting with yoikers. It tells of the background to Tirén’s great endeavours for the yoik tradition, of both his personal qualifications and the spirit of the times which facilitated his exceptional work.

Order from Svenskt visarkiv