Peasant Clothing of Saetersdal, 1871
The old inhabitant sees them disappear with regret, as they give place to the broad-brimmed, betasselled caps, which the Norwegian peasant seems to receive with especial affection wherever the national…
From: Unknown To: 1871 C.E.
Location: Saetersdal
From Sketches of Life, Scenery, and Sport in Norway by M. R. Barnard, 1871.
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
Gazing on such a prospect, one cannot but acknowledge that such a picturesque bridle-road—now boldly rounding a projecting rock, now hidden to view in a thick coppice, or again creeping down into the valley below, made with no calculation, and devoid of art, graceful in its capriciousness—would form a suitable frame to this magnified picture. But when you now roll along at your ease in a comfortable carriole through the whole length of the valley, you swallow with a feeling akin to gratitude the dust which is the constant attendant of a prosaic high-road, if you can only first rightly appreciate the prosperity and civilising influence which is mixed up in its particles.
Formerly, there was only a miserable bridle-path along which the Saetersdal peasant had to lead his mountain pony, taking his produce to the town on its back, and bringing home in the same manner the purchases he made. The old folk in the valley look back (as old folk are wont) with unspeakable regret on these bygone days, which they regard as the age of contented simplicity, in comparison with the conceited depravity of the present time.
It is true, they used to bring less from the town, and took fewer articles to market; but they were satisfied with less, and did not long for that which they neither knew of nor were used to. Now, however, luxuries and superfluities, braendeviin and coffee, frippery and foppery, are more easily conveyed on a broad road, and in a capacious cart, which formerly four horses could scarcely have dragged. At that time, too, the old-fashioned hats, with their national buckles, broad crowns, and narrow brims, did not vie with that pest of town civilisation which, beginning at the head, will soon descend lower, and exchange the genuine Norwegian costume for the tasteless ''Dano-French" tail coat.
The old inhabitant sees them disappear with regret, as they give place to the broad-brimmed, betasselled caps, which the Norwegian peasant seems to receive with especial affection wherever the national dress is disappearing.
There was a time (and there are still to be found old men who wear this dress) when the Saetersdal peasant used to go about in his long white frock, short yellow leather breeches, long white stockings, and garters with tassels; but it is long ago, and the rising generation scarce remember it. Then the overwhelming power of civilisation came from the north over the fjeld, not as now, from the south through the valley. Then there was no regular road, and the traffic with Christiansand was but small; but therefore consequently greater with Thelemarken, whence came the fashion which swept away in its devastating current the knee-breeches and the long peasant frocks, introducing in their place the short jacket and the enormous trousers peculiar to that district.
Nowadays, the Saetersdal peasant is completely immersed in his breeches, while at the same time he is hung up in his jacket, thus quite putting to shame the old proverb—"He who is born to be hung cannot drown;” for here, as is so often the case elsewhere, the fashion is carried to the extreme without any regard to tastefulness.
These walking breeches, with long dangling sleeves and short clipped head, with an ear on either side sticking up as a handle, have scarcely anything human about them, but possess a remarkable bearish look; and the word “Buxe-hjom" (or "Bear-breeches") can only be duly appreciated and understood on seeing a Saetersdal peasant. But there was good reason for abolishing the old costume, for the knee-breeches, which were held on the hips only by a single button, did not nearly come up to the short waistcoat, thus leaving a large part of the body uncovered, except by the thin shirt—a very insufficient protection against the severe climate of a fjeld district; and the people maintain that colic and cramps in the stomach are much less frequent than formerly. It must, therefore, be allowed that in this case appearance has been sacrificed to health; a great deal more than can be said of many other fashions that have come into vogue in the world, in which a total disregard to health and good taste has been the distinguishing feature. The dress is set off by a lively array of buttons, an upright green collar, light green facings, cords, and cuffs, with yellow and red embroidery upon a grey ground. The söljer (silver brooches) and silver studs are not wanting.
The peasants' shoes have a peculiar turned-up peak which gives them a kömmager appearance. The trousers, which are as narrow below as they are wide above, and reach only to the small of the leg, are trimmed at the bottoms with broad green ribbons, and buttoned at the side, leaving the thick white stockings visible above the shoes. In the winter they wear a sort of white woollen gaiter reaching to the knee, stitched at the sides 'and tops with broad dark cords. In the summer, however, adapting himself to the heat, the Saetersdal peasant lets down a part of his trousers from under the arms, thus exposing on either side a triangular patch of not over clean linen. In this way, in the most practical manner possible, he adapts his huge trousers to the different seasons of the year.
The national costume of the women has, however, undergone no such changes. Unlike their sisters in other parts of Europe, they pride themselves on adhering to antiquated customs; and, it must be owned, the dress of the Saetersdal woman, which remains quite unchanged since the days of Axild, is both characteristic and pretty.
The short skirts which reach only as far as the knee, with closely-sewn folds, have a peculiar crinoline appearance about them; while the red silk kerchief which is gracefully thrown over the head, the glittering studs of silver on the snow-white linen, and especially the woollen shawl, with its broad red stripes woven in with yellow on the white ground; thrown as a plaid jauntily over the shoulders, give their costume a picturesque and captivating appearance.
The Saetersdalians are readily distinguished from the inhabitants of surrounding districts by their tall stature, broad muscular backs, and a regular, frequently antique, cast of features. The tout ensemble, even to the oval form of the face, and the small coquettish whiskers which every Ssetersdal peasant wears, as well as his short jacket and low broad-crowned hat gives him a peculiar foreign look, and has contributed to the opinion, which circulates as a dark tradition, that he is not of the genuine Norwegian race, and that foreign blood runs in his veins.
It is said that ages ago, in the remote past, some Scotch families found their way into Saetersdal, and especially into Bykle, and settled there; and that in time they became so intermixed with the Saetersdal peasants that all indications of their foreign extraction became obliterated, except from this dim tradition and their outlandish features. This subject, however, we will not discuss, but will rather describe their character, manner of living, the secluded position of their district, and their disinclination to enter into connection with those who do not dwell among them; for the Saetersdal peasant is not generally well received out of his own parts, owing to his national peculiarities and independence of bearing.
Barnard, M. R. Sketches of Life, Scenery, and Sport in Norway, Horace Cox, 1871.
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