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| The "Sel" in Egelandsdalen. Oil Painting of Finn Bringsjord |
(This is primarily a google translation).
The summer when the plague arrived, the eldest daughter of the wealthy farmer in Austigard, Ingri, given the task of herding cattle in the heath. On Bringsjord Neset grain was harvested, and the corn fields had to be kept shielded from grazing animals until the corn was harvested. Since Lyngdal Sletta is old seabed, as the last Ice Age is filled with several tens of meters thick layer of sand and gravel, there where no stone fence by cornfields, as otherwise arranged in Lista and Jaeren. The solution was therefore that all cattle on Bringsjord were grazing inland moors in summer.
The farmer in Austigard had built a "SEL" (Cabin for people) in Egeland-valley, well half a mile inland moorland. When it was getting towards evening gathering Ingrid animals around on "seteren" mountain farm and milked the cattle that had milk to give. Milk from cows cheek she butter, and the goat and sheep's milk cheese to her cheese.
Once a week, her younger brother up shutters road with packhorse. Usually he had with fresh foods in kløvkontene and returned with seats produced butter and cheese. But sometimes it could be that his father had filled one of the posting (cont = carry basket braided of birch bark) with bone and kjøttslingser from slaughter, intended for Ingris powerful companions; a pair of dogs of a breed which was then called "west manna dog *". Ingri called stud dog for "Westman" and bitch for "Vestinna."
* "Westman Dog" was the forerunner of the breed known today as "Irish wolfhound", the largest dogs.
Life smiled at Ingri. She loved "seats lives" and she loved Bjørn, farmer's son in Vestigarden. Bjorn had with her elder sister - who ran Vestigardens seats inside the Gjedebo - responsible for Vestigardens grazers that summer. He traveled the often miles inland moors with the three bears- dogs, and could be gone for days if they follow large predators. Many a time he was staying under the open sky, and many a time in harness with Ingri.
Ingri and Bjorn had betrothed himself last July, and the wedding was set for the days before Michaelmas (September 29). For a while she thought she was going to speak with the mother to push the wedding date. For already when she went to the seat she had started to become round in the stomach, and by John's Mass (Midsummer) Bjorn know little kicks and lively activity when he gently put her hand over her stomach.
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Life smiled at Ingri. She loved "seats lives" and she loved Bjørn, farmer's son in Vestigarden.
Oil Painting by Finn Bringsjord
Two weeks before Michaelmas was grain harvested, and farm folks on both farms came and took down the cattle and brought them out on the juicy autumn pastures on Bringsjord Neset. Ingrid was again a few days to churn butter and yste goat cheese and do seterbu ready for winter. But the day his brother would come to fetch her, he did not.
The day after she instructed her Westman to fit seater, while she and Vestinna proceeded to go down the hillside. Once you reach a cliff she saw her father come up shutters road with his packhorse. But he went so strangely slack and passively, indeed almost like to be tow after the horse. When Ingrid happy shouting "Hello Dad", he stopped and wiped the sweat from his face, and shouted back with a breathless, alien voice: "Do not come closer Ingri, - a terrible epidemic is upon us." Then he told about the great disaster that had befallen Bringsjord the last few days, and how her brother and little sister had vainly struggled against the plague.
"Now it's only you who is our hope, Ingri, you and the small carrying the mother's life. Therefore want your feverish mother and I that you are in Egeland valley as long as you can this fall. You will be spared the plague if you avoid dropping some into you on the harness. Your dogs will ensure that rushing people remain at a safe distance ... Can you promise me this? "
"Yes, Dad, I promise to do as you say," said Ingrid with tearful voice, 'but ... have you heard anything from Bjørn? "His father loosened "Kløven" on horseback and hung it across a oak branch. "Yes, I spoke with Bjørn before I left. He asked me to greet and say that he would go to the "taflesteinen» (table to wright messages on) you shared as often as he could. Would he joined me today, but I refused him. Could not take such a risk. " For a moment he read the charge in Ingrid's eyes, then turned away. "God bless you, my child," he said in thick voice, "but now I have to home; Mother and I will take the last journey together. " Trembling, he found a stone marker and climbed up on horseback, whereupon he halfway lying ahead horse mane gave the old faithful Fjording (Small norwegian Horse) free rein on homeward.
Ingri stood as petrified back a long time, so she leaned outward and shouted after him: "You did right, Dad ..." but then he had disappeared down the Olderskogen. (alder wood).
Ingri had most wanted to lie down and end harsh cry, but now there was no time for such things. In the north the sky was deep blue, and she had to salvage the contents of the two horse packages (kløvkontene) befor the storm began. She climbed up on a hill and summoned Westman, so they went down to "kløvkontene".
It was a half-filled sacks of flour in each of "kontene", and in addition some other useful matters wool blanket, "lighter", knife and scissors and thaw leaven. Ingrid distributed flour evenly on each end of the bags and leave them over the shoulders of west manna dogs who thrilled his new roles, would rush back to sel hut. But even if she only bar at the nearly empty kløvkontene, she struggled up the hills and at the end she felt a new and unfamiliar pain in the lower abdomen.
When the items were in place in the hut, she threw herself down on her bench and sobbed and burst into tears. Why had God sent this punishment? That she and Bjorn had broken commandments, there was no doubt, but why would her good parents and siblings had to pay with his life? So vehement and hopeless were tears that Vestinna gently poked its nose into her face and licked her tears. Ingri found comfort in this, sat up, and almost forced herself to begin and think ahead. A small child was on the way, and she would give birth alone far from people. Best to prepare, it could happen anytime.
She stood up, took out the leaven and touched half into a bowl of lukewarm cheek milk. So she filled flour in the trough and mixed leaven into the flour, along with a rosehip salt and a handful of ripe blueberries.
When it burned properly on the hearth, she hung black cauldron over the fire, filled it with water from the stream and let the water boil under the lid for an hour.
Then she pushed the pot aside, distributed embers beyond the hearth, placed an iron trianglefot midt in the coals, and let the old baking pan gently down on foot. Slowly and methodically she kneaded bread dough, patting it into smaller chunks sprinkled some flour beyond baking slab and began to roast small round nan-like bread.
She found comfort in the heat of the embers, the scent of bread, and in the quiet breath from Vestinna. Before she crawled into bed, she poured some of the boiled water into a wash thub, she got "soap" (a mixture boiled in askelut and sheep tallow), and washed thoroughly. She had done what she could, the rest she confidently in the Virgin Mary's hands.
This night was a boy child borne in seterbu in Egeland valley - almost two weeks early. The birth went fast and without complications. Having ascertained that the heart beat and breathing regularly went, she tied woolen thread about umbilical cord and cut it off with the scissors her mother had sent her. Then she lifted the little prince up chest high and gave him warm; skin to skin, heart against heart.
At the top there was a large rather who at the time was called Buhelleren. It was used by experienced local hunters and shepherds when they had to seek shelter from the weather. Ingrid packed the sack of flour into a sheepskin and buried it in the innermost, dry corner. She envisioned that her father would have liked such safeguards: "Do not put all your eggs in the same basket," was one of his many, well-worn admonitions.
Then she sat forward on the edge of the mountaintop and ate picnic bread and goat cheese as she looked beyond the Bringsjord Neset and sea that circled half the horizon. Right under the hill lay Tjønna and flashed - blue and beautiful in the evening sun. She should have known that a few years later would both mountaintop and tjønna bear her name: Ingri Åsen and Ingri Tjønna.
When she returned to Buhelleren, she saw black smoke rising from the harness down in Egeland valley. The grip of the worst premonition ran and she stumbled down the hillside. But she came too late; seterbu was burned down.
A lonely, painful scream echoed through the valley. Then everything went black, the legs would not carry her anymore, and she collapsed on the mountain farm. And while she while she shook the grass, she let sobbing and despair hit Virgin Mary and all the "skyds saints" she remembered names. Where were they when one needed them most?
Finally subsided tears and accusations, and she gradually began to sense that something was not right. Why had not Vestinna come to meet her? Why had she not come and comforted her in tears, as she usually did? Why did she only stand stationary behind a einerbrisk and stared at her with those great, dark brown eyes?
When Ingrid unsteadily got to her feet, she saw that kløvkonten lay there - right in front of the dog; while she heard the sound of whining children crying, one weeping she should have separated out among thousands. The heavens opened ... the little prince was saved.
That evening installed Ingri with son and belongings in Buhelleren. Nightgown and most of the sheets were salvaged, for she had the morning washed in a tub by the creek and hung out to dry there. Black Gryta and triangle foot was obviously intact, and the lighter and knife she always in your pocket when she was on tour. So it was; kløvkonten, woolen blankets, sack of flour, sheepskin and wash tub.
She nursed the little prince as well as she could, before she returned to Buhelleren, and began to clog parts of opening. It was probably done many times before, but it was the stone wall collapsed again. Then she made a small bonfire, put the triangle foot in place and cooked evening porridge on water and flour. There would be many porridge meal in the cave the next two weeks, and the cave is why later dubbed Graudebuhelleren.
The next morning she was awakened early by dogs, who were restless and wanted her out. And there, a stone's throw from the cave, stood Fagerros tied to a tree. Ingrid remembered that the cow was heavy with calf when she was driftet down to the farm, but she was not now. And the young mother patted excited hands, for this would ensure her child supplement of powerful colostrum for many days to come.
Then she saw Bjørn standing with his bear their dogs at Tjønn Montan and waved. When she waved back, he put his hands like funnel mouths and said questioningly, "Live -, live the little?" And Ingrid happily answered; "Yes, he does so!"
Then slammed Bjørn his hat up in the air and shouted back: "Take off your shoe
and milk the cow, and give the little to drink.
That evening the little prince went to sleep sated and happy for the comforting stanzas from Ingris craddel song. (vuggevise / barnesull).
Live, live the little?
Yes, he does so!
Take off your shoe
and milk the cow
and give the little to drink.
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