Summary:
Mu eadni / Mother of Mine is a song of love and lament for the woman who gave me life, and for all women who suffer under systems that shame and subordinate them. As a Laestadian Christian, my eadni was bound by strict gender roles, and that insidious association of the feminine with sin. She was taught to be self-denying: that her highest purpose as a woman was obedience. (To males, naturally, all the way down.)
When her daughters resisted, she felt it was a personal failure. And yet, she was Sáami, with echoes and stirrings from a much older worldview, one that celebrated the feminine, that found purpose in reciprocity, not hierarchies. Sometimes, I feel her with us, free from shame, sharing our freedom. Smoothing our fringe. Adjusting our belts. Asking us to twirl.
– Mari Boine
~
Lyrics: Mari Boine
Music: Mari Boine & Svein Schultz
English lyrics translation – Julie Whitehorn
This song comes from the upcoming album Alva.
Content Source/Owner: Mari Boine
Mari Boine is a singer, musician, songwriter and activist from Sápmi, Norway.