Hjaltibonhoga - The Shetland Fiddlers

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The Shetland Islands, in the far north of the United Kingdom, have a proud history woven with the culture of Nordic lands to her east.

 

These strong links to Scandinavia, from the early Viking settlers, have left their mark on the Islands' traditional fiddle playing, with many shared influences such as Wedding Marches, Spinning Tunes and Muckle Reels. These influences have helped create a near-unique playing style and repertoire.

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Proud of these Nordic links, Shetlanders celebrate this history with an annual fire festival known as 'Up Helly Aa'. Taking place throughout many communities in the Islands, the last Tuesday in January sees the largest of these events in the Islands' capital of Lerwick.

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Hjaltibonhoga, which means 'Shetland, my spiritual home', is representative of both the community and country she represents, but also welcomes guests from across Scotland and the world to join them in performing at The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. 

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Though the Viking invasions are now in the distant past, tonight the group invite you to join with them in celebrating the events that moulded Shetland's heritage with the tunes 'Coil awa da Hawser', 'Laandfaa' and 'Oot be Est da Vong' performed collectively as 'Viking Shetland'.