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Paper short abstract

Tales, material heritage, and technology together form a cultural pattern. In this work, I explore the relationship between water and materiality by weaving together traditional stories, words, and concepts with my own embodied experiences of sailing and rowing traditional boats.

Paper long abstract

Navigating the sea using muscle power, currents, and wind offers a distinct, embodied understanding—one that arises at the intersection of technology, culture, and nature. This mode of knowing stands in stark contrast to the mechanical-technological mindset of the present, both in theory and practice.

In this paper, I explore how the sea can be understood as a language that communicates through materiality—the boat, the oars, and the human body. I refer to this language as vannsk, a term that captures the experiential, immersive, and enactive dimensions of maritime knowledge within a cultural context.

I examine various concepts for navigating uncertainty and managing outcomes within this non-mechanized cultural framework. My sources include traditional expressions and concepts, Svale Solheim’s notion of nemingsfordom (semantic preconceptions) from 1940, and documented local narratives of boat use and boatbuilding (Planke 2001). These materials are brought together and interpreted through the lens of my own embodied experiences—sailing and rowing traditional and reconstructed boats.

Solheim, Svale 1940. Nemningsfordomar ved Fiske. Det norske videnskaps-akademi i Oslo. I kommisjon hos Jacob Dybwad. Oslo

Planke, Terje 2001. Tradisjonsanalyse. En studie av kunnskap og båter. Doktorgradsavhandling. UiO.