Quest for the Motherland
Monday, June 27th, 2005I’ve mentioned that I had my DNA tested for National Geographic’s Genographic Project, and that people in the database that had the same genetic markers as me (Haplogroup I) report that their ancestors came to this country from Scotland and Iceland.
It would be okay to be Scottish, but what really intrigues me is that I might be of Icelandic origins. After all, it seems like every other person in the U.S. has Scottish blood, and even Swedish and Norwegian descendancy is common — but I don’t often hear of people saying that they’re of Icelandic heritage.
I decided then, to see how much I could find out about my possible ancestry — so let’s take a tour of Iceland!:
The capital of Iceland is Reykjavik, whose greater urban area has a population of about 182,000, just less than that of Lubbock. The entire country of Iceland has a total population of about 300,000 — just a bit more than Corpus Christi, Texas.
Iceland has the second-longest life expentancy, after Japan.
Meet Miss Iceland 2005!
Meet the President of Iceland!
Icelandic Cuisine, Viking Feast 2005, and the Pagan Food Holiday.
The American Style Restaurant chain in Iceland features the “Bacon Borgari M/ Fronskum Og Coke!” See the complete menu in English here.
For that matter, Iceland also has Burger King and T.G.I.Friday’s franchises.
The history of Icelandic cinema, and a list of Iceland-related videos on Amazon.
Download a text file (a mere 174K) of seven Icelandic short stories, in English, courtesy of Project Gutenberg.
A New York artist has been awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study Icelandic fashion and design.
The first European to set foot in North America was born in Iceland: Leif Ericsson.
Daily News from Iceland: The headlines as I’m writing this include: Excavation in 1973 lava field reveals intact houses; higher prices predicted for groceries; Icelandic artist receives Carnegie award; The Last Farm wins Grand Prize at Spanish film festival. And Midsummer Night in was celebrated Friday in ReykjavÃk:
… There was magic in the air at the midsummer night festival in Laugardalur in central ReykjavÃk, held late last night. Eight hundred people assembled in the family park close to the open door swimming pool at Laugardalur. The pool was open and admissions were free.According to Icelandic folklore, cows gain voices and seals take off their fur at midsummer night. At midsummer night, the dew is said to be particularly wholesome, and stones are imbued with magical powers.
Books, videos, and maps for travelling in Iceland.
Over 8700 Iceland photos on Flickr.
If my ancestors were from Iceland, why did they come here, and when? There’s a good chance that the reason was the 1875 eruption of Mount Askja, which devastated the island nation’s economy and was a major factor in the emigration of 20% of the population in the remainder of the 19th century.
Iceland’s present economy? I’m glad you asked (the boldface accents are mine):
Iceland’s Scandinavian-type economy is basically capitalistic, yet with an extensive welfare system (including generous housing subsidies), low unemployment, and remarkably even distribution of income. In the absence of other natural resources (except for abundant geothermal power), the economy depends heavily on the fishing industry, which provides 70% of export earnings and employs 8% of the work force. The economy remains sensitive to declining fish stocks as well as to fluctuations in world prices for its main exports: fish and fish products, aluminum, and ferrosilicon. Government policies include reducing the budget and current account deficits, limiting foreign borrowing, containing inflation, revising agricultural and fishing policies, diversifying the economy, and privatizing state-owned industries. The government remains opposed to EU membership, primarily because of Icelanders’ concern about losing control over their fishing resources. Iceland’s economy has been diversifying into manufacturing and service industries in the last decade, and new developments in software production, biotechnology, and financial services are taking place. The tourism sector is also expanding, with the recent trends in ecotourism and whale watching.
The Iceland.com bulletin board. VirtualTourist’s Iceland Forum.
Lights, camera, Iceland: Some big Hollywood films were filmed partly in Iceland, including Batman Begins and Die Another Day.
Icelandic Folk Tales, including the myth behind the national crest of Iceland:
The four Guardians of Iceland, one for each quarter, of the country are described in an old tale telling of a magician
who was sent by King Harold Gormsson of Denmark to investigate the country prior to invasion.He came to Vopnafjörður (Fjord of Weapons) on the East coast and a huge dragon approached him, accompanied by reptiles, worms and lizards.
He went west and south and came to Breiðafjörður (Wide Fjord), where he was approached by a huge bull which waded into the sea and made loud noises, the bull was accompanied by by a large number of spirits.
He went from there and south of Reykjanes (Smoke Peninsula) and wanted to take land at VÃkarsskeið (The Sands of Vikar), but was approached by a huge rock giant whose head was higher than the mountains and carried a large iron staff, and he was accompanied by a host of other giants.
Then the magician went east along the south coast, where he could find no landing places. Thus the intentions of the King of the Danes came to naught due to the efforts of the Guardian Spirits of Iceland.This story is embodied in The Seal of Iceland, where the Dragon represents the Eastern part, the Bird the Northern part, the Bull represents the Western part and the Rock Giant the Southern part.
Is Iceland an “occupied nation“?
The 1972 World Chess Championship in Reykjavik between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky — the tournament that set off chess fever in the United States. Fischer became an Icelandic citizen earlier this year.
Iceland boasts the world’s oldest functioning legislative assembly, established in the 10th Century.
Icelanders in America: A breakdown by state of Icelanders in the U.S.
The Icelandic Canadian Home Page has dozens of links about people of Icelandic heritage in North America, like the Icelandic Club of Seattle.
The Icelandic military: The Coast Guard.
The island of Grimsey is the northernmost part of Iceland, and is intersected by the Arctic Circle. Even though the population is less than three hundred, there are several lodging houses, and visitors can get a certificate for having crossed the Arctic Circle.
The first episode of The Amazing Race — Season 6 took place in Iceland.
The genealogy site Cyndi’s List has a whole page of links of resources for finding Icelandic ancestors, including Mapping the Icelandic Genome, which is exactly the kind of thing that got me into this research.
And last but not least: Bjork!
You can find more information on this great fascinating country at Iceland.com, I Like Iceland, IcelandTravel.com, the Lonely Plant guide (including an excellent map,), the Wikipedia entry, and the CIA Fact Book entry.
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Ha — That was fun! Of course, when I get more genetic testing done, and compare the results against more databases, my ancestors might not turn out to have come from Iceland after all …
But hey, I’ve learned a lot of new things about a part of the world, and researching a land of glaciers is a pleasant diversion on these 100 degree Farenheit days in Texas.
Then again, I just might be descended from Vikings …
