Mythology and Misogyny at the Edge of the World

By

Kiki Dy

IN THE EARLY hours of Jan. 28, 2020, an act of rebellion unfolds under the low-slung Shetland sky. The night feels closer, more enveloping at 60 degrees North, and as 5 a.m. nears, the women of Reclaim The Raven unsheath their surprise. 

It’s a demonstration decades in the works, targeted toward the men who organize and monopolize Lerwick’s annual Viking party, Up Helly Aa, a ritualized expression of Shetland’s invented cultural heritage and the largest fire festival in Europe. “Feminism” is still a dirty word in Shetland, and Reclaim The Raven has had enough.

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