Stinas jojk
(Stina’s joik)
by Mats Jonsson
reviewed by B.J. Woodstein
Mats Jonsson is a comics artist who has devoted much of his career to producing autobiographical work, exploring his own life and background with the aim of trying to understand himself and the times he lives in through the graphic format. He has written for both children and adults. Stina’s joik tells the story of one of his relatives, a Sámi woman named Stina who had a genetic difference that meant that she didn’t stop growing. In the nineteenth century, when she lived, she was considered doubly freakish, both because of her height and because she was a Sámi reindeer-herder. When she was offered the opportunity to be a circus exhibit she allowed herself to be put on display around Sweden and Europe, because she thought at least then she could be stared at for money and this would help her poverty-stricken family.
Accompanied by her loving and considerate older sister Sara, Stina travels Europe, enduring prejudice and significant physical pain, while also sometimes being cheated by unscrupulous showmen. Stina at one point has a chance at love, with a nearly equally tall Dinka man (from one of the tallest peoples in Africa), and the reader hopes this relationship will work out, though suspects that given the circumstances, it won’t. Despite the excitement of seeing the wider world and getting to meet important people such as Queen Victoria, Stina’s life is a challenging and depressing form of drudgery. Eventually, Stina and Sara return home to Sweden and although Stina’s financial success helps her parents, her own life is not much improved. Stina dies in an accident, and her body is subsequently stolen from its grave and exhibited at an institute, without permission from her family or any recognition of the additional suffering this might cause. It was only in 2024 that her bones were returned to her relatives and buried again in her home region.
A jojk (joik) is a traditional Sámi song that expresses emotions and experiences. In life, Stina was not allowed to be herself or to truly sing her joik. Through Stina’s sad tale, Jonsson’s book depicts the way Sámi people were downtrodden, taken advantage of and humiliated by 'scientists' who thought that the indigenous people weren’t equal to Swedes. Jonsson brings attention to an important aspect of Swedish history and finally gives Stina the voice she deserves.
Stinas jojk
Alfabeta, 2024, 368 pages
Foreign rights: Alfabeta förlag
Nominated for the 2025 Norrland Literature Prize
Mats Jonsson has published a number of graphic novels. He is a recipient of Sweden’s Urhunden award, given annually to the country’s best comic or graphic novel, and has twice won the Norrland Literature Prize. När vi var samer (When We Were Sámi), his most recent graphic text, was the first time he looked at his Sámi background. That book was nominated for the August Prize and reviewed in SBR 2021:2. An extract translated by Michael O. Jones appeared in the same issue.