Kersti Ståbi: Vǫluspá – performing poems from the Poetic Edda #22

Vǫluspá – The Prophecy of the Seeress from the Poetic Edda is one of the most well known texts from Norse mythology. But how could this oral poem have been performed?

Kersti Ståbi, Swedish folk singer and oral storyteller explored this question in her master’s degree. Searching for a way to be a tale-singer in her own mythological tradition, she looked to living practices in Korea, India and Kyrgyzstan. In this episode she discusses this process with us, the interplay between copying and creating, and the paradox of trying to recreate something that’s not possible to recreate.


Kersti Ståbi

The Vǫluspá project

Vǫluspá Pansori first listener: Göran Hemberg

Vǫluspá Pandvani first listener: Mikael Öberg

Vǫluspá Pandvani accordeonist: Leif Ottosson

Pandvani storytelling tradition clip: Ritu Verma with ragi (first listener) Uday Ram Gandharva

Manas storytelling tradition clip: Nazarkul Seidahmanov

Pansori storytelling tradition clip: Jen Shyu

REFERENCES

Vǫluspá

Manas

Pansori

Pandvani/Pandavani/Pandwani

Bifrǫst festival

Fornyrðislag

Hexameter

Old Norse

Walter Ong (Orality and Literacy – book)

The Singer of Tales (Book)

Homeric Question


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