Einar Selvik comments: “The song illustrates a dialogue between man and bear, exemplifying the various traits and abilities we humans have sought to borrow from these significant totemic animals throughout history.”
Although the bear from the very beginning has constituted a threat to our own lives and those of our livestock, humans have always identified with the bear in various ways. If you skin the animal, its body underneath the fur strongly resembles that of man, which may be a reason that as legend has it the bear in fact originated from humans, and for thousands of years we have strived for its strength and wit. In some cultures, “treading the path of the bear” means pursuing what you’re truly meant to do in life.
“The bear doesn’t need my help or any human traditional ornamentation to be its own powerful self. It is quite the opposite if one looks to past bear-traditions worth remembering. We learn, we dream of borrowing its traits and abilities. We fear, revere, and try to walk alongside but on separate paths. Respectfully, claim space and give space. However inconvenient it may be, further taming of the wild can never be the fruitful way forward. For me, it profoundly felt like the right time to give voice to the Birna, mother and shepherd of the vanishing woods,” Selvik concludes.
The music video for “Birna” was filmed in Rondane National Park in Norway and directed by Wardruna´s longtime collaborator Tuukka Koski, produced by Breakfast Helsinki and Ragnarok Film.
The Rocker - The Artist Formerly Known As Zeitgeist. TAFKAZ 
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