THE SWEDES AT PLAY
The Swedes are very fond of pleasure, and enter into all kinds of
indoor and outdoor games with great spirit. They have many similar to
ours, but there are some which our boys and girls might enjoy.
Blind-man’s buff is played in several ways. Here is one. The person
who has been blindfolded is placed in the middle of the room with a
cane in his hand, while all the company form a ring round him with
joined hands. The blind man points towards one in the ring. This one
must rise and put his mouth to one end of the cane, while the blind
man puts his to the other. They hold a conversation with one another
as if speaking through the telephone. The blind man guesses who has
been talking to him, and if successful, changes places with his
victim.
Sometimes the company sit on chairs in a circle. The blind man walks
round and round, and at last sits down in the lap of someone who, if
he guesses the name correctly, is blindfolded in turn. If not
correct, the one on whose lap he is sitting gives him a slap and
sends him on, but no words are spoken.
[Illustration: A SUMMER DAY IN NORTH SWEDEN. _Carl Johansson._]
Still another game: it is called _Låna låna eld_. All the company
except one are again seated in a circle. Then the one standing walks
up to one of the company, and rapping on the ground with a cane, says:
“Låna, låna, eld” (Lend, lend fire). The other replies: “Gå till nästa
grannen” (Go to the next neighbour). He goes on doing this time after
time, and always getting the same reply. While he is doing this the
company are exchanging chairs with one another by rushing across the
room. The questioner has to watch his chance to get into a chair that
is vacant. The one deprived of the chair has then to get the cane and
go in search of fire.
The Swedes, like all Scandinavians, have a great love of dancing, and
very many of their games take the form of a simple dance. On a summer
evening you can see the villagers of all ages, men and women, boys and
girls, playing at dancing games on the village green to the
accompaniment of a fiddle or accordion. A very pretty picture they
present if they are, as often happens in Dalecarlia, dressed in their
bright native costume. While dancing they generally sing a description
of each movement as they perform it. One dance has been handed down
from time immemorial. It is named _Väfva Vadmal_ (Weaving Homespun).
No doubt it arose from the fact that the Swedish women used to weave
the cloth for all their clothes. The players imitate the weaving of
cloth at the old handloom. Some represent the bobbins; others the warp
and woof. In and out they go until they form a bale. Then they stand
still for a time, after which they reverse, unwind themselves, and
then disperse. This is a peculiarly Swedish game, and is enjoyed by
every rank of Swedish society.
There is another dancing game called _Skära Hafre_ (Reaping Oats). In
this they tell in word and gesture how the farmer sows the seed, cuts
the grain, binds it into sheaves, and threshes it.
Another favourite game is _Enke-leken_ (The Widower’s Game). This is
played in the open air, as a rule, by children and young people. They
stand in pairs, a boy and girl, in a long row, one pair behind the
other. There is an odd one who represents the widower. He stands in
front with his back to the rest, so that he cannot see them. When he
calls, “Enke-leken, enke-leken, sista paret ut” (The widower game,
last pair out), this pair separate and run forward in a wide circle.
The widower runs forward at the same time with a view to catching the
girl, but as he is not allowed to look backward, he does not know on
which side she may come. Very often the pair change places, and the
widower comes in contact with the boy instead of the girl. If he
succeed, however, in catching the girl, the other boy takes his place;
if not, he has to try again. The pair that has just been out join the
ranks at the front.
In all these games there is never seen any roughness, and the players
gain a great deal of health and pleasure in a very simple and natural
way.
Then there are what one might call the manly sports. The Swedes have
ever excelled in these. The old Viking warriors are spoken of in the
old legends as being often engaged in feats of strength and skill with
the sword and javelin, bow and arrow, in jumping and wrestling, and
other favourite sports. They have handed down this trait to the
present generation. Nowadays the Swedes practise curling, football,
acquired from other countries, and a system of gymnastics invented by
a Swede, which is being used by nearly every nation in the world.
The summer sports are very much the same as found in other countries,
but it is in winter sports that most interest is taken.
There is the national sport of skating. The Swedes excel all others
in the rapidity and gracefulness of their skating. This is owing to
the large number of lakes and rivers, and the severe winters, when the
boys and girls have every opportunity of learning to skate. But see!
What are these boys going to do? They have a pair of skates and a
piece of canvas rolled upon poles. They are skate-sailors. They
stretch the canvas on the poles, and putting the cross-bar over the
shoulder, have a sail which enables them to go before the wind or tack
as they wish, just as the sailor does at sea. They can sometimes go at
the rate of forty miles an hour with great ease. They present a most
beautiful sight as the white sails flit here and there over the ice,
and gleam in the rays of the winter’s sun. Sometimes you see
ice-yachts gliding over the frozen water guided by a powerful rudder.
There is also tobogganing. Wherever there is a hill, you see a large
number of boys and girls enjoying themselves. Down the slope they come
at a rapid rate on a little sledge, which the owner guides with his
foot used as a rudder behind. Sometimes, in the public parks, there
are specially prepared ice-courses, which require great skill to ride
on, or the consequences may be serious.
The most popular and a very useful form of sport is skiing. The skis
are two long pieces of thin wood, which are fastened to the boots. By
means of these the peasant can travel very quickly from one farm to
another, when there is sufficient depth of snow. As a sport it is most
exhilarating, but it must be acquired when one is young. Hear those
shouts from the woods! Some young men and women have come from the
town. They have gone up the slope in a zigzag manner, and along the
crest of the hill. Now they are coming down, slowly at first, then
faster and faster. See how gracefully they glide with feet placed
closely together. They have ever to be on the lookout, for they have
often to sweep round a bush, bend under an overhanging branch, or jump
a precipice. Those who are able to ski can take many short cuts, as
they do not need to keep to the roads, but can often go to their
destination as the crow flies. The speed is very great. Very many of
the soldiers are trained regularly to go on skis.
A common form of sport is for ski-runners, gliding on their skis, to
be drawn along by a horse. They hold on to a rope attached to the
traces, and as there is little weight on the horse, a speed of ten
miles an hour can be kept up for long distances. Sometimes eight or
ten soldiers may be seen moving quickly along the road by means of
ropes attached to the saddle of a mounted soldier.
The Lapps are the best ski-runners in the world. They are all trained
from their very early days to travel by this means. A Lapp, under
favourable conditions, can travel 162 miles in twenty-four hours.