{"id":14380,"date":"2026-06-03T16:20:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T14:20:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rdm.no\/?page_id=14380"},"modified":"2026-06-05T15:05:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T13:05:39","slug":"olgomusea-10","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/rdm.no\/en\/olgomusea-10\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Air Museum 10"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Turf Hut (no. 15)<\/h3>\n
\n \"Sparrolavdnjegoahti.\"
Sparrolavdnjegoahti. Photo: SVD, Paula Rauhala, 2020<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n \"An
An old turf hut in J\u00e1vrebainj\u00e1rga. Photo: Harald Eidheim 1952 (DigitaltMuseum\/Norsk Folkemuseum\/NF.05074-033)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

The unique S\u00e1mi dwelling<\/h4>\n

In the harsh conditions of the Arctic region the S\u00e1mi way of life required skills and technical know-how for making various types of dwellings. An important milestone in the development of S\u00e1mi building techniques was making use of the arched poles of the\u00a0l\u00e1vvu,\u00a0<\/em>the movable fabric-covered S\u00e1mi conical tent, as a framework for permanent dwellings covered with turf, the\u00a0lavdnjegoahti\u00a0<\/em>or turf hut.<\/p>\n

The turf hut is made of wood resting on a structure covered with\u00a0birch bark<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0peat<\/a>\u00a0to provide a durable construction. The frame is made from curved birch. Curved poles are then laid against the frame, pegged and covered with overlapping sheets of birch bark, which are kept in place by layers of turf stacked against the sloping walls.\u00a0 Curved birches are found growing on hillsides. Such trees bend near the root in order to grow upright and are perfect for the curved poles of the\u00a0lavdnjegoahti<\/em>. The whole structure rests on stones, the weight of the turf and its parabolic profile providing stability.<\/p>\n

At the front and back of the turf hut are stone vents. The lower layers of birch bark are held in place by a thicker layer of turf. All the materials, wood, bark, turf and stone, are found locally. With regular maintenance, a turf hut will stand for many decades.<\/p>\n

In some areas, S\u00e1mis lived in turf huts until the Second World War. After the war turf huts were mainly used for keeping domestic animals.<\/p>\n

The larger turf hut<\/h4>\n

Sparrolavdnjegoahti<\/em>\u00a0is a larger permanent dwelling, with a construction like that of the\u00a0bealljegoahti<\/em>, the curved pole tent or turf hut.\u00a0Sparru<\/em>\u00a0means curved construction,\u00a0lavdnji<\/em>\u00a0means turf, and\u00a0goahti<\/em>\u00a0a hut.<\/p>\n

This large turf hut shows the traditional S\u00e1mi method of construction, typical for northern coastal areas.\u00a0The sparrolavdnjegoahti<\/em>\u00a0is more spacious than a\u00a0bealljegoahti,<\/em>\u00a0the curved pole turf hut, and warmer than a\u00a0l\u00e1vvu,\u00a0<\/em>the movable tent. In the larger turf hut there is space for several rooms.<\/p>\n

The fireplace is traditionally in the middle of the curved pole turf hut, but in the larger turf huts the hearth was placed near the door or in a corner. \u00a0In coastal areas\u00a0Sparrolavdnjegoahti<\/em>\u00a0 were used to house both people and livestock: a sheepfold could be built inside it. It was resourceful because having the sheep inside kept the whole dwelling warm.<\/p>\n

More recent turf huts had windows made of glass. In the earlier times dried cod stomach was used.<\/p>\n

Sparrolavdnjegoahti\u00a0in the Open-air Museum<\/h4>\n

This larger turf hut was built in 1980s as part of the film project\u00a0Sami Dilit<\/em>\u00a0, the situation of S\u00e1mis. The film was produced by the former\u00a0Norske kunst og kulturhistoriske museer<\/em>, the Norwegian Association of Museums of Arts and Cultural History, now renamed\u00a0Norges Museumsforbund<\/em>, the Norwegian Museum Association. The film project was funded by the Arts Council of Norway. The craftsmen were Jon Ole Andersen and Nils Turi.<\/p>\n

Watch the film about building a turf hut<\/h4>\n

The film was made in the Open-air Museum in 1980. Duration: 33 minutes.<\/p>\n

Film title: Goahte-ceggen: K\u00e1r\u00e1\u0161johka 1980 \u2013 Building a turf hut, Karasjok 1980. Producer: Norske kunst og kulturhistoriske museer, 1981. Narrator: Johs Kalvemo. Filmmakers: Olav Kyrre Grepp, Arild Nybakken, H\u00e5kon Danielsen, Anne Berit \u00d8. Borchgrevink, Arthur Sand, Bj\u00f8rn Harald Hansen.<\/p>\n

Film:\u00a0Goahte-ceggen<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

In 1991 Per Mienna and Thorolf Bj\u00f8rnback repaired the roof of the turf hut under the leadership of craftsman Greita-\u00c1nte Osvald (Osvald Guttorm).<\/p>\n

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The Turf Hut (no. 15)     The unique S\u00e1mi dwelling In the harsh conditions of the Arctic region the S\u00e1mi way of life required skills and technical know-how for making various types of dwellings. An important milestone in the development of S\u00e1mi building techniques was making use of the arched poles of the\u00a0l\u00e1vvu,\u00a0the movable […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-14380","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rdm.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rdm.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rdm.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rdm.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rdm.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14380"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/rdm.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14484,"href":"https:\/\/rdm.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14380\/revisions\/14484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rdm.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}