It’s been fun rereading Fiddling with Fate. I remember reading it the first time and being hooked right away. Of course, Kathleen’s books have always done that to me. But for this book, the hook was something very different. It was personal! The book contained MY heritage….the items were things I grew up with….the place in Norway was where one branch of my family came from. Like Chloe, I live in the state of the popular Brandy Old-Fashions. I volunteer at Livsreise in Stoughton so I know the Historical Society and Mandt Lodge buildings well. This book hit home to me on so many levels!
One of the things I love most about Kathleen’s books besides getting hooked right away, is her use of items or artifacts in telling the story. Her detailed research of a culture is shown in how those everyday items are used in her stories. Fiddling with Fate was no exception.
In the first chapter alone, Chloe found a bentwood box called a tine (tee-na) with a doll inside wrapped in white hardanger lace. In the kitchen was a krumkake iron and lefse pin. All these things were a part of growing up in my family’s household.
My first recollection of a tine was in my grandmother’s house. As a child, and always wanting to handle things, I could never figure out how to open it. (There is definitely a trick to doing it.) I am unsure if she had anything in there as I never got it open. Tines are storage containers that could hold a variety of things or be used as a lunch pail. I suspect my grandmother’s tine served the latter purpose. Tines were mostly constructed from wood, particularly birch trees, which were soaked and bent into an oval shape. Then they were fastened together with birch bark roots. I have always loved that lacing! The bottom boards were attached to the frame with wooden pegs. Most of the time, tines had wooden or iron handles. Often time, these storage containers were decorated with folk art designs through rosemaling, kroting, or burnt technique (svidekor). Many were just left plain, of which was my grandmother’s.
There are other wooden pieces described in the book. At one point, we read about an ambar (grøtspann) which is a stave-constructed container used for carrying butter, porridge, or other foods. Often, a new mother was gifted with a batch of rømmegrøt to help her regain her strength after the birth of her baby.
In another part of the book, the ale bowl was introduced. These are bowls with handles in the form of animal heads, i.e. horses, rams, dragons or waterfowl. The ale bowls in the Hardanger area are called Kjenge and are usually ones with horse headed handles. They are often decorated with chip carving. Beer was often drunk at special occasions such as weddings, baptisms, burials, and Christmas.
I am confident that through our travels with Kathleen, we will see a variety of examples of tines, ambars, and ale bowls. Having a sister who is Gold Medalist woodcarver, and well-versed on many types of wood constructions, I have gotten to learn about the differences between these three types of wooden items. When you see these various items in Norway and have questions, be sure to ask her!
Comments