Authenticity of Icelandic Culture

To accurately appraise the authenticity of culture from a tourist point of view, several reviews from www.tripadvisor.com will be used. TripAdvisor® is the world's largest travel site, enabling travelers to plan and have the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from real travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features.

In Iceland, one of the activities that tourists engaged themselves in is Horseback Riding on the Icelandic horse, part of Icelandic unique culture. Here are some of the reviews from the travellers about the activity.




“Fun and Memorable Icelandic Experience!”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed November 27, 2011

We did a private afternoon tour on November 21, 2011 with 4 adults and 2 children after arriving in Reykjavik that AM from the States. Pick up from the owner Becca was as scheduled. She is friendly, kind, funny and genuinely part of the hi-lite of the tour! We were given detailed instructions about riding the horses before getting on them, thankfully, as each of us had only ridden horses a couple of times. Becca ensured that we were comfortable with riding before venturing on. The scenery was beautiful and the ride was a perfect pace. It was a great way to spend our first afternoon in Iceland! Thank you for such an awesome experience!

Nade70

“AWESOME PEOPLE AND A GREAT TIME”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed November 20, 2011

Had great time with Begga and her Family. She took into fact that out of my group of 3 we had all levels of riding experience -- Me with the most, one novice and one just above novice level. she took her time explained everything and did not make any of us feel uncomfortable at all.

We had a great time and had some AWESOME views and photos of the surrounding area.

When i take my daughters with me next time we will be visiting Islenski Hesturinn, The Icelandic Horse again.

A must do when in Reykjavik.

Bcknight68

For more reviews of the horseriding activity, they can be found in the link provided.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g189970-d2069784-Reviews-Islenski_Hesturinn_The_Icelandic_Horse_Riding_Tours-Reykjavik.html

Almost all of the reviews are positive for this horseriding activity. They reflect on the genuine experience they had, service offered and whether if it is up to their personal expectations. From what I can infer through all the reviews, the tourists felt that is was worth their time and many recommended this activity to the readers.

Indigenous Group

The ethnic groups in Iceland are homogeneous rather than indigenous. Their descendants consist of Scandinavians and Norse, which made up 94% of the entire population. There are not really any specific group of indigenous people in Iceland and the following are several quotes from different sources to back the statement.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ic.html


http://www.arcticcentre.org/?DeptID=7768
(Click on the image, right click on the image, select "View Image", click on the image once to enlarge it)
The picture above is very useful to illustrate the various indigenous groups around the Artic regions. Iceland is not included as it does not have an indigenous group of people.

"Arctic indigenous peoples include for example Saami in circumpolar areas of Finland, Sweden, Norway and Northwest Russia, Nenets, Khanty, Evenk and Chukchi in Russia, Aleut, Yupik and Inuit (Iñupiat) in Alaska, Inuit (Inuvialuit) in Canada and Inuit (Kalaallit) in Greenland. All of the above-mentioned countries except Iceland have indigenous peoples living within their Arctic territory."
http://www.arcticcentre.org/?DeptID=7768

"Indigenous people - we don't have them in Iceland actually, but you would have in the (unintelligible) polar north the Inuit, or what used to be called the Eskimos. The Sami, or what used to be called the Lapps in Scandinavia and a number of other groups in Russian north and the American north."

This website also explains about the rights of indigenous people and impacts of climate change in the region
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18690185

"Iceland and Greenland in the north were reached by Scandinavian sailors sometime around the year 1000."
http://www.wisegeek.com/which-islands-lack-an-indigenous-population.htm

"Among Icelanders the discourse on issues of the indigenous or aboriginal or First Nation people of the North is marked by the fact that Iceland does not have an indigenous population – that is, in the meaningful salient sense of the concept indigenous."
http://www.svs.is/JHI_PresentationCanadianGGroundtable.pdf

The Norse (Vikings) and the Scandinavians makes up the entire population of Iceland. Very much similar to that of its descendants, Scandinavia is filled with arts and culture. Architectures include concert halls, museums, culture houses filled the streets of Scandinavia.
http://visitscandinavia.com.au/DestinationsAndAttractions/Scandinavia.1/ArtsCulture.5.aspx

Culture in Iceland

Iceland has only limited amount of available resources, it is interesting to note that locals think up of creative ideas to work within the constraints. It is also seen in some parts of their country how they integrate designing in their everyday living, such as recycling of materials and eco-friendly building structures. The increasing amount of green buildings in Iceland enhanced the culture of the society through eco-friendly practices.



Some of its interesting features:
-Double-glass facade that assists with the building’s natural ventilation scheme, daylighting and weather shielding
-These ice crystals made from glass formations diffuse light as it enters the building, reducing glare as well as heat gain
-Iceland is located at a high Northern latitude, so the glass is designed to take advantage of low sun angles.

Green building example - http://inhabitat.com/stunning-icelandic-institute-is-an-ice-frosted-eco-citadel/iceland-institute-of-natural-history-2/?extend=1

Through Iceland's example, it is evident that sometimes culture can also be shaped by nature. Limitations and lack of resources partially helped in shaping the Icelandic culture of building structures. Usually, culture is determined by the indigenous group of people who settled in the country.

Icelandic cuisines are not for the faint-hearted. Hakarl (decomposed shark), gravlax (salmon fish marinated with spices), hangikjot (smoked lamb), and slatur (delicacies made from sheep intestines) are some of the popular cuisines in Iceland.

http://www.mapsofworld.com/country-profile/iceland-economy-people-culture-and-flag.html

Apart from innovative designs as part of the Icelandic culture, other cultures in Iceland revolves around arts and music.

In Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, along the streets and alleys there will be project spaces, diverse artist run organisations and established galleries that offers its visitors an insight into the emerging scene. The museums in Reykjavik and surroundings offer exhibitions ranging from art historical revisions to contemporary projects as well.
http://www.iceland.is/arts-culture/visual-arts/

In terms of music, it can be categorised into classical music, opera, jazz and contemporary music. There are numerous annual music festivals in Iceland that showcase the colourful music scene with performances. Icelandic music is closely interlinked with the Nordic breed of music, pulsating the native ethnicity with folk and pop music that are religious in nature

The icon in Iceland is the Icelandic Horse. It has been purebred for a thousand years, treated with respect and raised to the highest level. The horse is a favorite among Icelanders and can be seen in art and literature all through Iceland’s history. It holds a special place in the mind of the nation. Thousands of people in Iceland own horses for the simple pleasure of riding out.

http://www.fhb.is/Files/hestarensk72.pdf

Iceland!

The country that I have selected for my assignment is Iceland. I am going to share some of my perceptions of Iceland which are not influenced by any other external factors. Iceland in my opinion should be rich in their own culture, whereby it can be very different and unique from their neighbouring countries. As I felt that not many people actually heard of or known where Iceland was, therefore I perceive Iceland as a country with its own authentic culture not influenced by people from other countries. Like most European countries, I believe that the people in Iceland will spend quite a bit of their spare time appreciating arts and music.

I feel that the people in Iceland celebrate festivals and special occasions similar to other European cities. Since entertainment in Europe is generally focused on music and arts, in my opinion there will be more music festivals and art exhibitions dedicated to its people in Iceland as well.

After the research, here is the overview of the facts of Iceland.

Iceland is located at Northern Europe and its people consists of descendants of Scandinavians and Norse. The estimated population size of Iceland as of July 2011 is 311,508. Icelandic, English, Nordic languages and German are the languages spoken in the country. The culture of Iceland, just as what I perceived, are mainly focused on design, literature, visual arts, music, film and performing arts. Their culture and passion for arts are evident even in the streets of their country.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ic.html
http://www.statice.is/?pageid=452&itemid=bfd2aafb-84f5-4ec9-81e3-461a43276bca