På Holmön kallas tiden mars—april för vårleden. Det är övergången mellan vinter och vår. Den tiden kunde vara påfrestande för både folk och fä. Då var ofta stor brist på färskvaror. På matbordet fanns kanske bara lakegods (saltad mat) och mjölgröt.

Men vårleden var en väntans tid. Man kände den nya våren nalkas. Åter stundar öppet hav, färsk fisk och orrspel — och en ljuvlig blomningstid, en lång och livgivande sommar.

I boken berättar Albin Edlund initierat om livet i sin barndoms skärgårdsby Holmön i Kvarken. Tiden är 1920-talet och arbetet med boskapen, fisket och säljakten präglar vardagslivet. Författaren illustrerar sina berättelser kring öns folkliv och traditioner med egna teckningar.

Albin Edlund lämnade Holmön vid sexton års ålder, då han antogs till Skeppsgossekåren. Han tjänstgjorde sedan inom flottan och slutade där som kapten, men han har alltid behållit kontakten med Holmön.

En samling av kollektiva öknamn, så kallade ortsboöknamn, från norra Sverige (Medelpad, Ångermanland, Jämtland, Västerbotten, Norrbotten och Lappland).

This thesis deals with collective nicknames denoting the inhabitants of a place (parish, village etc.) in northern Sweden, i.e. names of the type arnästjuvar (denoting the inhabitants of the parish of Arnäs; tjuv 'thief') and tynderötuppar (denoting the inhabitants of the parish of Tynderö; tupp 'cock'). The main aim of the thesis is to explain why various nickname elements were chosen and to describe the general character of the nicknames of northern Sweden.

These nicknames have been used collectively about the inhabitants of a certain place in a jocular or derogatory sense. They have been used above all in male-dominated contexts, e.g. in military camps. The nicknames are ethnocentric: they denote individuals in their capacity as members of a group. They are often related to other, similar names, so that they form series which are connected phonetically, semantically or from the point of view of word formation. The discussion of these aspects is based on Hugo Moser's research on "Namenfelder".

Sources from about 1600 to the present day have been used as material. The bulk of the material consists of answers to questionnaires from the 20th century. Because of the construction of the questionnaires the material is to some extent imperfect.

The nicknames often reflect various aspects of the society of the individuals, but today the explanation for names is quite often secondary and a result of folk-etymology. Some nicknames reflect the trades of the inhabitants, others social conditions, diet or dress, others ethnic conditions. The nickname strömmingar was often given to people living on the coast where fishing was an important source of income. The nickname element finnar reflects local settlement by Finns. Some nicknames probably reflect various linguistic conditions (dialectal pronunciation, characteristic place-names or personal names), pictures in local seals or historical events.

Several nickname elements have been chosen through association with the form of the place-name or the name of the inhabitants, or with existing nicknames, referring either to the inhabitants themselves or their neighbours. There is often a similarity in sound between the place-name (or the name of the inhabitants) and nickname elements. We find e.g. alliteration, assonance and rhyme, or formations in which the place-name (or the name of the inhabitants, or part of it) is compounded with a nickname element to make up an appellative which already exists. The latter kind of formation may be illustrated with the nickname bergtroll ('mountain trolls') to denote those who live in S'àvaiberg (in the parish of Sävar). Some nicknames have as their basis an association from the place-name (or the name of the inhabitants) to the nickname element chosen. The associations are frequently difficult to trace. A nickname like orrlidtuppar (denoting those who live in Orrliden in the parish of Skellefteå) was no doubt chosen through association with the appellative orrtupp 'blackcock'. When the nickname smedstaspiken (denoting the inhabitants of Smedsta in the parish of Lit) was coined, the place-name element smed 'smith' was associated with the closely related spik 'nail'.

A close analysis of nicknames denoting parish inhabitants in northern Sweden shows that there are often pairs (or series) of nicknames which are related phonetically (through alliteration, assonance or rhyme), semantically or morphologically, just as nicknames denoting neighbours may be connected in a similar way.

Frequently, parish inhabitants have different names in relation to different neighbours. How innovations are introduced and spread is shown by the sfw/"/Z?wf-nicknames in the province of Ångermanland. An analysis of the nicknames denoting the inhabitants of parishes in north-eastern Ångermanland shows that the inhabitants of the old parishes have only one nickname each-a name which is known over a large area-while the inhabitants of the newer parishes have several nicknames. The reason why several nicknames are used to denote inhabitants in newer parishes seems to be that there was no old, unequivocal nickname tradition to fall back on.

In the final chapter the importance of patterns for the formation of nicknames is stressed, but also the importance of creativity and coinages. A striking coinage has a great chance of becoming generally accepted and also of becoming the centre of new groups of nicknames.

Ur författarens inledning i boken:

"Denna bok är tillägnad alla norrlänningar som bryr sig om sin stora landsändas traditioner och den föreställningsvärld som präglat liv och uppväxt i många hundra år, den föreställningsvärld som nu, sakta och säkert, är på väg att försvinna..."

"Men boken är inte skriven bara för norrlänningar... Materialet kommer visserligen huvudsakligen från Norrbottens och Västerbottens län jämte delar av Västernorrlands och Jämtlands län. Men uttrycken är trots detta till alldeles övervägande delen allmänt svenska; det är bara till det yttre som de uppträder i norrländsk dräkt, vilket för övrigt inte missklär dem. Att de dessutom inte bara är är allmänt svenska utan till stora delar europeiska, ja ibland orientaliska, framgår av det kommande..."

I denna bok har spelmansmusik från Västerbotten - tillsammans 415 låtar - sammanställts och kommenterats. Utöver notutskrifter innehåller samlingen bland annat biografiska uppgifter om spelmän samt kommentarer av skilda slag till låtarna.

Boken inleds med ett kapitel om spelmanstraditionen, om melodierna och uppteckningsförfarandet. Därefter följer ett avsnitt där 415 låtar nedtecknats till noter. Sist finns en avdelning med kommentarer till låtarna och presentationer av de intervjuade spelmännen.

Till grund för utgåvan ligger ett omfattande insamlingsarbete av folkmusik som påbörjades 1973. Ungefär 100 personer har blivit intervjuade och inspelade.

In 2000, Sweden ratified the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. By ratifiying the Framework Convention and the Minority Languages Charter, and by implementing legislation giving the right to use Sámi, Finnish and Meänkieli in contact with administrative authorities and courts (1999:1175 and 1999:1176), Sweden has accepted the charge of protecting and promoting the five national minorities and their languages, Meänkieli, Finnish, Sámi, Romani and Yiddish. This report argues that the acknowledgment by the Swedish government of Meänkieli as a national minority language represents a significant step forward for the language. The situation of Meänkieli has improved both in its status and in the extent to which individuals invoke the right to use it. Attitudes towards the language and the values of the population have also undergone a positive change.

The report concludes that the implementation of the legislation and the official recognition of Meänkieli are significant first steps that provide a basis upon which the government can build. Although isolated measures have been taken, major actions - crucial for the preservation and development of Meänkieli as a living language - have not yet been initiated. The report lays the groundwork for a concerted set of measures that would ensure the conditions for the preservation of Meänkieli. The recommendations of the Council of Europe have indicated on several occasions that measures should be taken in Sweden to ensure the future of Meänkieli. With support of the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages, the Swedish government has the possibility to contribute to the positive development of Meänkieli.

The report presents fourteen central fields where concrete measures are necessary both for Meänkieli to be able to develop and to support the continued use of the language in Sweden. The educational system, from pre-school to university, is one of the main areas in which much is still to be done. The report also underscores other areas such as mass media, place names and language cultivation.

Karl Tirén (1869-1955) collected yoiks amon saamis (lapps) in Sweden in the years 1909-1916 and published a great deal of his material in 1942: Die lappische Volksmusik. To his profession Tirén was a stationmaster, working in several places in the north of Sweden. Tirén is regarded as a pioneer in his field. No one had systematically collected yoiks before him, although collecting Swedish folk music were made by several persons at the same time.

The main part of the book contains a description of Tiréns expeditions. He made actually two kinds of field trips. In the winters he visited markets held in parish centers. As many saamis were gathered at these events, Tirén could easily meet yoikers and record parts of their repertories. He could also announce his forthcoming summer-trips in the mountain-areas. In these expeditions he met reindeer-breeding saamis and their family-members. His trips had a vast extension: from Lyngenfjord in northern Norway to Härjedalen in the south.

In the beginning Karl Tirén only used pen and notebook for documenting the yoiks. From 1913 and onwards he brought a phonograph and phonograph-cylinders - and then became a Swedish pioneer also in using recording-facilities for documentary purposes.

Tiréns archive, which contains his notebooks, diaries, letters, photographs, etc, is kept at the Dialekt-, ortnamns- och folkminnesarkivet in Umeå (DAUM). His phonograph-recordings are to be found at the Music Museum in Stockholm.

Karl Tirén (1869-1955) collected yoiks amon saamis (lapps) in Sweden in the years 1909-1916 and published a great deal of his material in 1942: Die lappische Volksmusik. To his profession Tirén was a stationmaster, working in several places in the north of Sweden. Tirén is regarded as a pioneer in his field. No one had systematically collected yoiks before him, although collecting Swedish folk music were made by several persons at the same time.

The main part of the book contains a description of Tiréns expeditions. He made actually two kinds of field trips. In the winters he visited markets held in parish centers. As many saamis were gathered at these events, Tirén could easily meet yoikers and record parts of their repertories. He could also announce his forthcoming summer-trips in the mountain-areas. In these expeditions he met reindeer-breeding saamis and their family-members. His trips had a vast extension: from Lyngenfjord in northern Norway to Härjedalen in the south.

In the beginning Karl Tirén only used pen and notebook for documenting the yoiks. From 1913 and onwards he brought a phonograph and phonograph-cylinders - and then became a Swedish pioneer also in using recording-facilities for documentary purposes.

Tiréns archive, which contains his notebooks, diaries, letters, photographs, etc, is kept at the Dialekt-, ortnamns- och folkminnesarkivet in Umeå (DAUM). His phonograph-recordings are to be found at the Music Museum in Stockholm.