The story of the Norwegian bunad
have you
ever been arrested by the brunette
police
this is the first question i asked the
guest in my podcast
and the answers i get are always
interesting
i’m wearing a boo nut today and when i
do
i always got reactions most ask me
where my brunod is from where i
am from i feel festive in my view nod
but i’m also slightly concerned about
the self-proclaimed
punad police this might be
for example a person with strong
opinions on how abundant should be worn
and who may wear one given that
the bruno police doesn’t really exist as
such
the reactions to bunad open for the big
question
what is abu nad
it is easy to think of bunad as
something old
something that our ancestors wore in
pre-industrial time
but bunad as such is a modern
phenomenon in reality the brunad
was developed in the 20th century
as a way to show a national mindset
today we have approximately 450
unique variations of norwich and bunauds
each representing national regional
and local identity but the
misunderstandings
surrounding the bunad and the brunette
history
lay the battleground open for the
so-called
punad police
norwegians are not known to be overly
warm or outgoing
but on may 17th our national day
we are a joyful bunch dressed up in our
brunettes
it could be the melting snow or the nice
spring weather
the birds sprouting but in my opinion it
is
the blue nub that makes this day so
magical
when i dress up in my boon adid it is
like magic i
i feel like a superhero
i’m powerful on a quest
well-dressed all at the same time
in other countries the fall garments the
full
costumes are mostly used for folk dance
and in norway we also use the bunner for
four dance
but the brunard evolved and became
a common way of dressing for the big and
festive
occasions in life are you going to a
christening
wear brunard are you going to a wedding
where brunod are you going to graduate
wear a bunnad the bunnad
is for the grand occasions in life
where emotions run high
and maybe that’s the reason why the busy
bodies think they can comment
on the way you dress
in norway today you will find abundant
in almost every closet wardrobe or attic
norwegians wear blue nuts with huge
pride
and use large samsung money on it
more than 2.5 million bundles are found
in norwegian homes
to an astonishing estimated value of 30
billion norwegian growners
for a population of 5.4 million people
that number speaks for itself
but the value is not about the money
brunod is bigger than the cost nine out
of ten girls
are given abu nad for life when they go
through
christian confirmation or a similar
coming of age ceremony
at the age of fifteen some
might wear their mothers or their
grandmother’s brunettes
this way the bunad becomes a symbol of
family roots
and usually the boys are not given a
buna at this age
as most of the 15 year olds have not yet
developed an adult physique
and this makes the social pressure
easier
on them
the idea is that brunei should last a
lifetime
and be passed on for several generations
my bu nod my bundad is from a small
village
called rindal 110 kilometers south
west of trondheim with the
2039 current inhabitants
this spun out was constructed in 1985
using historical textiles and silver
from around the eighteen thirties
like mibunad bunnuts used to be
geographically bound at first
it was national this became clear
during a difficult time
in the 1890s norway struggled to become
an independent nation we had been under
rule
by first denmark and then sweden
our now good neighbors
during this peaceful transition time
towards
independence in 1905 the hardangerbunad
became a way to show a national state of
mind
the hardangebund was called the national
as it spread wide from the hardonga
region
to all over the country
the herdongibuna became immensely
popular
so much that the future queen mod
dressed up in one for
fun in a photo studio in bergen
while visiting the norwegian fjord in
1893
at that time she was princess model
wales
and the part of the british royal family
but she later on married her danish
cousin prince carl he became the future
norwegian king hawk on the seventh
after a referendum in 1905.
the two of them became the foundation of
the norwegian
royal house and this became the
beginning
of the modern norwegian nation
what a strike of luck it was to have
those photos
of a young princess dressed in the
hadangibunad
when nowhere became independent in 1905.
bhunad continued to develop
many wanted to loosen the cultural ties
from our former rulers
after the independence one particular
question started to rise
why should everyone wear the hardange
bunnad
to show their patriotism when they had
no
connection to our dangit
this started a new trend and one
particular woman became central
her name was hula gardberg and she
had her own agenda make norway
norwegian again
but what did that imply
for hilda it was all about the
independence
and the language and the folk dance
and the boonard
she used punad as a search for national
identity
she was a journalist and a writer and
she founded a theater group
where the actors spoke a new kind of
norwegian on stage
instead of danish she imported the no
old norse word bunad from
iceland and like many other nations at
that time
norway developed a written language
based on the different dialects
she also imported the folk dance
from the pharaoh islands and she started
a mass movement the norwegians started
to dance
wearing blue knots of course
she and her theater troupe traveled all
around the country
and the movement spread
suddenly the hardangevu not got
competition
as everyone now wanted the hula bunnet
had she started a fashion trend
hulldespunad was from hollingdale she
was a modern and practical woman so she
changed it and the first brunettes were
not
so concerned about traditions they were
randomly put together
the basic idea was that the bunad had to
be norwegian
whatever that meant it had to be
national
whatever they found that to be and it
had to be pretty
what abunad was was open for
interpretation
she changed the traditional fork garment
into something else something more
practical for dancing something more
suitable
for her agenda she got rid of the big
and impractical headdress
and she changed the waistline so it got
more comfortable to wear
she modernized tradition and the
huldaboo nod
was born or should i say developed
in the 1920s everyone wanted to make
their own
local bunnots to show off local skills
and traditions many follow the rules
given by hilda garboyk the rule
had to be norwegian the dress should
have embroidery
and lots of it and the embroidery should
be in colored wool
the regional boundary was born
from then on it has been the common rule
that the boundary you wear should be
from the place where you’re from
it’s all about identity
the regional bunas from the 1920s were
typical of the time
hurler guidebook was a grand designer
giving thumbs up
or down on the development
on new local donuts
as hilda grew older she trusted her
prodigy
clara sembe to continue her life’s work
but then the war came
punad development became impossible
because the nazis saw an opportunity
in the bunad they saw how the brunard
created
a national identity and hijacked the
bunad
to be used in nasi propaganda
this meant that the bunad could not be
used by the norwegians
opposing the nazis
and bhunad development was put on hold
when clara restarted the blue network
after the war
she had new ideas the brunard was
already established
as a modern phenomenon but now
clara wanted the boundaries to be
historically correct
she had an idea that the textiles and
the silver should be gathered from the
same time period
and the same location
the blue nut should be true to history
and this represented a different take on
bunad
bhunad evolved further
in the 1960s and the 70s ogudnos
became a real brunette pioneer when
collecting
documenting and photographing old
traditional fall comments
she cycled around asking about the
historical use
and the traditions today we have a large
archive with historical textiles thanks
to her work
this is available for us to explore
in the museum collections
and this is the base for reconstructing
and re-inventing burnouts today
many believe that bunad is exactly the
same
as our ancestor were but but that’s not
true
or at least it’s true and untrue at the
same time zombie units are actually true
to the
traditions of pre-industrial norway
others
are developed following hula guardberg
then again some are created following
clara samba
and thanks to augotnos we have a
historical knowledge pool
but for most brunettes owners the
authenticity is not about
whose ideas their burnouts is based on
on our national day may 17th
the joy and togetherness feels like
magic
this day is a very inclusive one and i
now see a trend
where the brunette has become a sign of
integration
bearing abunad gives for example
immigrants
an opportunity to be included
some find it hard to always get the
question
where are you from it can feel offensive
and be difficult to explain
norway is today a multicultural society
but wearing a boo nut could make
you feel included
when it’s not easy to explain where
you’re from
wearing a beaut shows where your heart
is
today everyone and no one is abundant
police
if your nosy neighbor comments on the
way you have your hair or makeup while
dressed in bunnad
well she’s acting like the bunnad police
if someone tells you you’re not
norwegian enough to wear a bunnad
well that person is prejudiced
and simply wrong the bruno police
is strong in norwegian mindsets but
remember
it doesn’t really exist brunard has
always served a higher purpose
it used to be an activist way to dress
also today activist movements use puna
to get attentions
the activist movements work for
different political issues
like nature climate and local health
care
but you cannot argue angrily with a
person dressed in blue nut
i would say they are inspired by hula
garbodkin
time will show exactly how brunod
will continue to evolve
but evolve it will
thank you
[Applause]